Drilling chemicals are an important element of geotechnical engineering used in drilling boreholes. They have a wide application in the drilling of oil and natural gas as well as water. These chemicals often come in form of liquid drilling fluid popularly referred to as drilling mud. There is a wide range of drilling fluids offered.
1. Oil Based mud additives (OBM)
It functions very much like a visconsifier and aids in filtration control in oil and synthetic mud systems used to control borehole and oil well stability. It has functions of helping in improving ease of cleaning boreholes and oil wells and reducing fluid loss.
2. Drilling polymers
This high molecular weight fluid has the ability serves to control the well’s fluid loss and to increase the viscosity. There are over four variants of this chemical which can include – but not always – polyacrylate, Snergistic polymer, polyglycol, XCD polymer or partly hydrolyzed polyacrylamide.
3. Clay and shale stabilizers
Clay and shale stabilizer reacts with the wells or boreholes water phase of the drilling fluid to improve its stickiness, induce sloughing and increasing its swelling capacity. The stabilizer is designed in such a way that it always adheres to the wall surfaces of boreholes and drill cuttings. As a result, this encapsulation process can effectively seal surfaces and prevent the reactions between the surfaces and the fluid preventing the undue consequences such as swelling, sticking and sloughing. All this is supposed to boost the stability of the borehole.
There are more than ten specialized variants of clay and shale stabilizers at Calgary Drilling Fluids.
4. Thinners
Thinners are also referred to as deflocculants. They are thinning agents used to reduce the extent of viscosity or preventing flocculation. Thinners are often incorrectly referred to as dispersants. However, a thinner tend to come in form of low-molecular weight anionic polymer that functions to neutralize the positive charges accumulated on the clay edges. Good examples of thinners include lignosulfates, polyphosphates, quebracho among a wide array of water- soluble polymers.
5. Defoamers
Formation of foam can impair the production process due to liquid carryover. Deforamers are chemicals that serve to counteract foam formation. They accomplish this by eliminating trapped gas and air from oil based mud solution systems as well as those that are water based. Once the defoamer is added, interfacial tension goes down drastically and leads to smooth escape of mud. Some of the most commonly used defoamers in oilfields include aluminium stearate, sulfonated and siliconated hydrocarbons, various glycols and octyl alcohols.
This is just a tip of the iceberg. You will find a wide arrange of drilling chemicals for every function if you visit their premises.