Application of Ester based Drilling Fluid for Shale Gas Drilling

Water based mud is the most commonly used mud in drilling operation. However, it is ineffective when dealing with water-sensitive shale that can lead to shale hydration, consequently wellbore instability is compromised. The alternative way to deal with this kind of shale is using synthetic-based mud (SBM) or oil-based mud (OBM). OBM is the best option in terms of technical requirement. Nevertheless, it is toxic and will create environmental problems when it is discharged to onshore or offshore environment. SBM is safer than the OBM. The aim of this research is to formulate a drilling mud system that can carry out its essential functions for shale gas drilling to avoid borehole instability. Ester based SBM has been chosen for the mud formulation. The ester used is methyl-ester C12-C14 derived from palm oil. The best formulation of ester-based drilling fluid was selected by manipulating the oil-water ratio content in the mud which are 70 30, 80 20 and 90 10 respectively. The feasibility of using this mud for shale gas drilling was investigated by measuring the rheological properties, shale reactivity and toxicity of the mud and the results were compared with a few types of OBM and WBM. The best rheological performance can be seen at 80 20 oil-water ratio of ester based mud. The findings revealed that the rheological performance of ester based mud is comparable with the excellent performance of sarapar based OBM and about 80% better than the WBM in terms of fluid loss. Apart from that, it is less toxic than other types of OBM which can maintain 60% prawn's survival even after 96 hours exposure in 100,000 ppm of mud concentration in artificial seawater.