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Laponite: a promising nanomaterial to formulate high-performance water-based drilling fluids

Laponite: a promising nanomaterial to formulate high-performance water-based drilling fluids High-performance water-based drilling fluids (HPWBFs) are essential to wellbore stability in shale gas exploration and development. Laponite is a synthetic hectorite clay composed of disk-shaped nanoparticles. This paper analyzed the appli- cation potential of laponite in HPWBFs by evaluating its shale inhibition, plugging and lubrication performances. Shale inhibition performance was studied by linear swelling test and shale recovery test. Plugging performance was analyzed by nitrogen adsorption experiment and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. Extreme pressure lubricity test was used to evaluate the lubrication property. Experimental results show that laponite has good shale inhibition property, which is better than commonly used shale inhibitors, such as polyamine and KCl. Laponite can effectively plug shale pores. It con- siderably decreases the surface area and pore volume of shale, and SEM results show that it can reduce the porosity of shale and form a seamless nanofilm. Laponite is beneficial to increase lubricating property of drilling fluid by enhancing the drill pipes/wellbore interface smoothness and isolating the direct contact between wellbore and drill string. Besides, laponite can reduce the fluid loss volume. According to mechanism analysis, the good performance of laponite nanoparticles is mainly attributed to the disk-like nanostructure and the charged surfaces. Keywords Laponite · Nanoparticles · High performance · Drilling fluid · Shale gas 1 Introduction such as good rheology, low filtration, strong shale inhibi- tion, good lubricity, good plugging property, etc., which are The concept of high-performance water-based drilling fluids important for safe and efficient drilling. (HPWBF) (Galindo et al. 2015; Jain et al. 2015; Jung et al. For shale gas reservoirs, the content of clay minerals is as 2013; Kosynkin et al. 2011; Morton et al. 2005) has been high as 30%–50% or even more (Li et al. 2020b; Yang et al. proposed for decades. HPWBF is defined as water-based 2014; Zou et al. 2010). Wellbore instability incidents, such drilling fluids (WBF) with good performance parameters, as wellbore collapse, stuck pipe, tight hole, excessive hole, frequently occur. In recent years, the majority of the hori- zontal sections is drilled by oil-based drilling fluid (OBF) Edited by Yan-Hua Sun (Li et al. 2014; Sun et al. 2018) to avoid shale hydration * Xian-Bin Huang (Huang et al. 2018; Jiang et al. 2016; Shadizadeh et al. 2015) 20170092@upc.edu.cn and enhance lubrication property (Sönmez et  al. 2013). However, the pollution caused by OBF is difficult to handle, Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil and Gas which could cause soil contamination and be toxic to marine Development, China University of Petroleum (East China, Ministry of Education), Qingdao 266580, Shandong, life. WBF is less polluted and less expensive compared with People’s Republic of China OBF. Synthetic-based drilling fluids (SBFs) are mainly used School of Petroleum Engineering, China University in offshore drilling areas. SBFs have good environmental of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, Shandong, performance (Li et al. 2016a, b, 2019b), strong inhibition People’s Republic of China and lubricity, and are beneficial to maintain the stability of Zhanjiang Branch of China National Offshore Oil wellbore, but the cost is high. WBFs have good applica- Corporation Limited, Zhanjiang 524057, Guangdong, China tion prospects in shale gas drilling engineering. However, CNPC Engineering Technology R & D Company Limited, the drilling mission of shale gas horizontal sections is very Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of China Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 580 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 difficult to accomplish using WBF recently. Clay swelling, However, little research was carried out on the application of pressure transmission, high drag and torque are among the laponite as multifunctional material in water-based drilling major factors to cause wellbore instability. The existing fluid for shale gas drilling. HPWBF utilizes high-performance additives such as shale This paper introduces the application of laponite in WBF. inhibitor (Jiang et al. 2016; Shadizadeh et al. 2015), plug- The shale inhibition, plugging, and lubrication performances ging materials (Riley et al. 2012; Sensoy et al. 2009; Sharma of laponite were evaluated and mechanisms were concisely et al. 2012), and lubricating agents (Li et al. 2016c; Sönmez studied. Experimental results indicated that laponite had et al. 2013) to achieve the “high performance”. good shale inhibition property, plugging property and lubri- The majority of the pores in the shale formation are cating property. nanoscale (Hoelscher et al. 2012), and microscale particles could not adapt to the nanoscale pores due to their larger sizes. Thus, the combination of nanoplugging agent and 2 Experimental shale inhibitor is often utilized to stabilize wellbores drilled in shale gas formations. Recently, the research of nanoscale 2.1 Materials plugging agents has become a hotspot. The nanoplugging agents attracting more attention recently include inorganic Laponite (99.5 wt%) was purchased from Guangzhou Bofeng nanoparticles (Hoelscher et al. 2012; Sensoy et al. 2009), Chemical Technology Company. Bentonite (99 wt%), poly- nanopolymer spheres (An et al. 2015; Li et al. 2019a; Wang ether amine (99 wt%) and graphite (99.9 wt%) were provided et al. 2013), organic/inorganic nanocomposites (An et al. by Greatwall Drilling Company, China. KCl (99.9  wt%) 2016; Hu et al. 2008), which can reduce fluid invasion and and fumed SiO nanoparticles (99.5  wt%, 20  nm) were pressure transmission according to evaluation experiments. purchased from J&K Scientific Ltd., China. Outcrop shale An important reason for wellbore instability is the hydra- samples were taken from Songlin Town, Guanghan city, tion of clay minerals in shales. Shale inhibitor is widely used Sichuan Province, China. The mineral compositions of the in WBF to reduce hydration and swelling of clay. The exist- shale sample were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, and the ing inhibitors include inorganic salts, surfactants (Lv et al. results are shown in Table 1. 2020; Shadizadeh et al. 2015), polymers, alcohols, and poly- amines (Jiang et al. 2016; Zhong et al. 2016), which reduce 2.2 Influence of laponite on rheology and filtration shale hydration by charge neutralization, wettability reversal, of the drilling fluid forming isolated layers, reducing surface tension, etc. For horizontal drilling in shale gas reservoirs, the contact The base fluid (4 wt% bentonite suspension) was prepared by area of the drill pipe with the wellbore is higher than that slowly adding 16 g of bentonite powder into 400 mL deion- for vertical drilling, so high drag and torque is another prob- ized water under 300-rpm stirring. The bentonite suspen- lem (Maliardi et al. 2014), which may cause stuck pipe. The sions were aged for 24 h at room temperature. 0, 2, 4, 6, and present drilling fluid lubricants include mineral oil, plant 8 g of laponite were then added to each of 400 mL base u fl id, oil, modified oil, surfactants, synthetic esters, which reduce respectively, and kept stirring for 24 h. drag and torque by isolating contact surface by forming oil films (Chang et al. 2011; Knox and Jiang 2005). Besides, solid lubricants act like ball bearings and isolate the contact Table 1 Mineral compositions of  the shale sample determined  by surface physically. X-ray diffraction analysis In the process of shale gas drilling in China, the exist- ing water-based drilling fluid technology has not solved Mineral compositions Content, % the technical problems such as instability of the wellbore Quartz 41 and high friction due to lack of inhibition, plugging and K feldspar 4 0.7+ lubricating performances. Laponite (N a (Mg Li Si ) 5.5 0.3 8 Anorthose 12 0.7− O (OH) ) ) is a synthetic hectorite clay with tri-octa- 20 4 Calcite 15 hedral 2:1 layered structure (Thompson and Butterworth Siderite 1 1992). The laponite crystals are disk-shaped nanoparticles Hematite 2 with a diameter of about 20 nm (Jatav and Joshi 2014; Mon- Clay minerals gondry et al. 2005) and a thickness of about 1 nm. Accord- Kaolinite 1 ing to literature research, the laponite is used to enhance Illite 10 the rheological performance (Liu et al. 2017; Xiong et al. Chlorite 1.5 2019) and thermal stability of the drilling fluid (Huang et al. Illite/smectite (I/S) mixed layer 12.5 (I/S ratio is 50%) 2019), and to inhibit the shale swelling (Huang et al. 2018). 1 3 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 581 Rheological parameters (apparent viscosity, plastic vis- The shale recovery test was conducted using a hot rolling cosity, yield point, 10-s gel strength and 10-min gel strength) oven. 20 g of shale fragments with 6-10 mesh and 350 mL and fluid losses of the prepared drilling fluid samples were inhibitive solution (aqueous solutions of different shale inhibi- measured according to American Petroleum Institute (API) tors) were transferred into stainless steel rollers and hot-rolled Recommended Practice 13B-1: Recommended Practice at 150 °C for 16 h. Then the shale fragments were filtered out Standard Procedure for Testing Drilling Fluids (API RP using a 40-mesh sieve, dried at 105 °C, and weighted (m, g). 13B-1 2009). The shale recovery (R) is calculated from Eq. (1). R = × 100% 2.3 Shale inhibition property of laponite (1) where R is the shale recovery and m is the mass of recovered The shale inhibition performance of laponite suspension was shale fragments, g. studied by linear swelling test and shale recovery test. The linear swelling test was carried out using a dual- 2.4 Plugging performance of laponite channel linear swelling tester, whose schematic diagram is shown in Fig. 1. The bentonite pellets were prepared by 2.4.1 Nitrogen adsorption test compressing 10 g of dry bentonite powders under 10 MPa for 5 min and then immersed into 200 mL different inhibitive Good plugging performance for nanoscale pores can affect solutions (aqueous solutions of different shale inhibitors). the properties of shale itself, such as reducing the pore vol- The linear swelling length (mm) as a function of time was ume and specific surface area of shale (Li et al. 2020a; Qiu recorded. et al. 2018). The recovered shale fragments before and after the shale recovery test were used for the nitrogen adsorption experiment. An automated gas sorption analyzer (Autosorb- iQ, Quantachrome, USA) was utilized in the experiment. Before measurement, all the samples were evacuated at 300 °C Displacement sensor for 2 h. Both the Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) method and density functional theory (DFT) were used to analyze specific surface area, pore volume and average pore size. All calcula- tions were performed by a built-in software (ASiQwin). Initial shale fragments and the shale fragments immersed in water for 6 h at room temperature were used for comparison. 2.4.2 Morphology The recovered shale fragments after shale recovery test were dried at 105 ± 1 °C to remove water. The surface morphol- ogy of fresh shale fragments and recovered shale fragments Inhibitive solution was studied by a high-resolution Ultra 55 scanning electron microscope (Zeiss, Germany). 2.5 Extreme pressure lubricity/film strength test Friction coec ffi ients of the v fi e samples prepared in Sect.  2.2 were measured using an extreme pressure lubrication tester (FANN 212, USA). The pressure applied was 16.95 N·m Porous plate (150 psi). The reduction of friction coefficients was calcu- lated from Eq. (2). 0 1 R = × 100% (2) Compressed bentonite pellet where μ is the friction coefficient of base fluid and μ is 0 1 the friction coefficient of the sample to be tested (base Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the linear swelling tester fluid + laponite). 1 3 582 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 size described in the literature (Thompson and Butterworth 3 Results and discussion 1992). The particle size is also proved by TEM observation as shown in Fig. 3b. 3.1 Introduction of laponite Because the surfaces of laponite nanoparticles are per- manently negative-charged and the edges are positively Laponite (Thompson and Butterworth 1992) is a synthetic charged (depending on pH), the electrostatic attraction hectorite clay, which belong to the family of (2: 1) phyl- occurs between them and “house of cards” structure forms losilicates built up of sheets of octahedrally coordinated as shown in Fig. 4a. The size of laponite nanoparticles is magnesium oxide sandwiched between two parallel sheets much smaller than that of bentonite particles (about several of tetrahedrally coordinated silica (Ruzicka and Zaccarelli micron), which is one reason of that the gel strength of the 2011) (Fig. 2). The laponite crystals are disk-shaped nano- laponite suspension is larger than that of the bentonite sus- particles with a diameter of about 20 nm (Jatav and Joshi pension under the same concentrations. This characteristic 2014; Mongondry et al. 2005) and a thickness of about 1 nm. makes laponite easy to gel at low concentrations (Ruzicka The particle size distribution of 1 wt% laponite suspension and Zaccarelli 2011). As shown in Fig. 4b and 4c, laponite was analyzed at room temperature using the Zeta Sizer Nano suspensions are in gel states at concentrations of 2 wt% and ZS Instrument (Malvern, UK). The average particle size is 2.5 wt%. However, the bentonite suspension will not gel 20.62 nm (Fig.  3a), which is in consistence with particle at a concentration of 2.5 wt% (Fig. 4d). This stronger gel structure makes laponite possible as an inorganic rheologi- cal modifier in drilling fluids (Liu et al. 2017; Xiong et al. Na 2019). 3.2 Transportability and stability in water Tetrahedral Si OH Table 2 shows the basic parameters of laponite. Laponite is a synthetic smectite clay, which is solid-state fine white Mg, Li Octahedral powder with a bulk density of around 1 g/cm . So it has good transportability. Fumed silica nanoparticles (Lewis 2018) have extremely low bulk density (usually less than 0.1 g/ Si Tetrahedral cm ), which makes it unfriendly to transport. Besides, fumed silica nanoparticles have potential inhalation toxicity which Na Interlayer region is harmful to the health of operators (Geiser et al. 2017). The cation exchange capacity of laponite is around 50-60  meq/100  g (Thompson and Butterworth 1992), Fig. 2 Idealized crystal structure of laponite revealing that laponite has relatively high negative charges (a) (b) Z-Ave, nm 20.62 PDI 0.477 Peak 1, nm 55.84 Peak 2, nm 10.34 110 100 1000 Size d, nm 20 nm Fig. 3 Particle size distribution of 1 wt% laponite suspension (a) and TEM image of laponite nanoparticles (b) using ultrathin carbon film 1 3 Intensity, % Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 583 (a) (b) (c) (d) Fig. 4 House of card structure caused by electrostatic attraction (a), the gel state of 2 wt% laponite (b) and 2.5 wt% laponite (c), and 2.5 wt% bentonite suspension (d) was prepared by ultrasonic dispersion for 20 min without Table 2 Basic parameters of laponite adjusting pH. The 1 wt% laponite was prepared by magnetic Appearance Bulk den- Surface area pH (2 wt% Cation stirring at 300 rpm for 20 min. The 1 wt% laponite suspen- 3 2 sity, g/cm(BET), m /g aqueous exchange sion was stable after standing for 5 days (Fig. 5b). However, suspension) capacity, meq/100 g settlement of Si O nanoparticles occurred after standing for 20 min (Fig. 5d). Thus, good transportability and stability White pow- 0.7–1.3 300–400 9.8 50–60 make laponite more promising in application. der 3.3 Shale inhibition property and is easy to swell and disperse in water. After dispersion, The shale inhibition performances were evaluated, and the disk-shaped nanoscale laponite particles are negatively charged (Huang et  al. 2018). The electrostatic repulsion comparison tests were made with two commonly used shale inhibitors KCl and polyether amine. Experimental results of among those nanoparticles makes laponite suspension almost permanently stable and not aggregate or settle. How- the linear swelling test and shale recovery test are shown in Fig. 6a, b, respectively. In linear swelling tests, the 16-hour ever, the stability of silica nanoparticle suspension is not good, although adjusting the pH to 9–11 could increase the swelling height of 0.5 wt% laponite was smaller than those of 5 wt% KCl and 2 wt% polyether amine. The shale recov- stability of silica nanoparticle suspension, which might be not suitable for application environment (Azadgoleh et al. ery for water is only 5.4%, which demonstrated that the shale sample was highly reactive. 2.0 wt% laponite obtained the 2014). Figure 5a and Fig. 5c are the images of newly prepared highest shale recovery (55.2%). It is concluded that laponite had good shale inhibition property. aqueous suspensions of 1 wt% laponite and 1 wt% SiO nan- oparticles, respectively. The 1 wt% SiO aqueous suspension (a) (b) (c) (d) Fig. 5 Statuses of newly prepared suspensions of  1  wt% laponite (a) and 1  wt% SiO nanoparticles (c), 1  wt% laponite after standing for 5 days (b), and 1 wt% SiO nanoparticles after standing for 20 min (d) 1 3 584 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 6 80 (a) (b) 60 55.2 44.9 3 40 27.6 5.0 wt% KCl 15.5 0.5 wt% laponite 1.0 wt% laponite 7.1 6.1 2.0 wt% laponite 5.4 2.0 wt% polyether amine 0 0 Water 5.0 wt% 2.0 wt% 0.5 wt% 1.0 wt% 1.5 wt% 2.0 wt% 048 12 16 KCI polyether laponite laponite laponite laponite amine Time, h Inhibitive solutions Fig. 6 Experimental results of linear swelling tests (a) and shale recovery tests (b) for water, 5 wt% KCl, 2 wt% polyether amine and laponite aqueous suspensions with different concentrations The inhibition mechanism was comprehensively studied gas adsorption method is used in this experiment, there is a in other study (Huang et al. 2018). The reasons for the good hysteresis loop between the nitrogen adsorption and desorp- shale inhibition of laponite are listed as follows. (1) The tion curves. Therefore, both BJH adsorption and desorption surfaces of laponite nanoparticles are permanently negative. pore size distribution will appear when BJH model is used At a proper pH value, clay particles have positively charged to do pore analysis. Generally, BJH desorption branch is edges. Electrostatic interaction exists between particle edges preferably selected to analyze rock samples for its higher (+) of clay and the surfaces (−) of laponite. Thus, laponite accuracy (Dudek 2016; Li et al. 2019c). nanoparticles can plug interlayer spaces of clays by electro- The original shale fragments, shale fragments treated static interaction, slowing down the hydration of clays. (2) with water, and shale fragments treated with 1 wt% laponite The capillary suction time (CST) of the laponite suspension and 2  wt% laponite were tested. Surface area, pore vol- increases substantially with an increase in concentration. ume and average pore size analyzed by both BJH and DFT Thus, laponite suspensions have low free water contents, model are listed in Table  3. Apparently, for the BJH and benefiting to inhibition of clays. (3) The excellent thixotropy DFT models, the changing law of the data is consistent. enables the laponite suspensions to have a considerably high When contacting with water, the highly reactive shale frag- viscosity on the wellbore wall, which might be helpful to ments would certainly swell, the existing pores would grow form nanofilms, reducing water invasion. (4) The nanopar - and new pores were produced. Apparently, immersing in ticles are effective to plug nanoscale shale pores and form water or laponite suspensions did not influence the average seamless surfaces, preventing water invasion. pore size according to Table 3. This is possibly because the production of small new pores balanced the increase in the 3.4 Plugging performance size of existing pores. After the original shale samples were treated with water, both the surface area and the pore volume Nitrogen adsorption experiment is a precise and reliable appropriately doubled. For shale samples treated with 1 wt% method which could quantitatively describe the informa- laponite suspension, the surface area and the pore volume tion of pores. BJH and DFT models are two useful meth- also increased, but they were considerably lower than those ods to analyze shale pores (Sun et al. 2017). BJH model, of shale samples treated with water. In addition, compared which is based on Kelvin equation, is more appropriate for with the shale fragments treated by 1 wt% laponite, the shale the analysis of mesoporous pores (2-50 nm) (Musa et al. fragments treated by 2 wt% laponite obtained smaller values 2011). And DFT model is more suitable for the analysis in both surface area and pore volume. of materials exhibiting a wide range of porosities (Musa The hydration of shale would lead to increases in surface et al. 2011). After shale recovery tests, the specific surface area and pore volume (Li et al. 2020a; Qiu et al. 2018), so area, pore volume and pore size of recovered shale frag- water-treated shale samples obtained the largest surface area ments were analyzed by both BJH and DFT to evaluate the and pore volume. While laponite-treated shale samples had plugging performance of the laponite suspension. When the a lower surface area and pore volume than the water-treated 1 3 Linear swelling, mm Recovery ,% Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 585 Table 3 Pore analysis of original shale fragments and shale fragments treated with water, 1  wt% laponite and 2  wt% laponite determined by nitrogen adsorption experiments Samples Items BJH model DFT model Adsorption Desorption Original (non-treated) Surface area, m /g 2.951 7.838 6.094 Pore volume, cm /g 0.018 0.020 0.016 Average pore size, nm 2.955 3.824 3.794 Treated with water Surface area, m /g 7.600 14.984 12.895 Pore volume, cm /g 0.034 0.036 0.031 Average pore size, nm 2.951 3.824 3.794 Treated with 1 wt% laponite Surface area, m /g 5.881 12.670 11.111 Pore volume, cm /g 0.030 0.033 0.027 Average pore size, nm 2.953 3.825 3.794 Treated with 2 wt% laponite Surface area, m /g 4.647 10.791 9.690 Pore volume, cm /g 0.025 0.028 0.024 Average pore size, nm 2.953 3.827 3.794 shale, which was due to good inhibition property and plug- surface of shale sample became seamless (Fig. 7b), and the ging performances of laponite. majority of pores and fractures disappeared, which would According to nitrogen adsorption experiment, we can- be beneficial to prevent water from penetration (Huang et al. not draw a conclusion that the plugging performances of 2018; Li et al. 2015; Yao et al. 2020a; Yao et al. 2020b). In laponite is good because of the smaller surface area and conclusion, laponite suspension can effectively plug pores pore volume, which might be due to the good inhibition and fractures of formations. of laponite. So the plugging performance of laponite was Shale is a porous medium with many pores and fractures further studied by SEM observation. Experimental results of various scales. In gas reservoirs, capillary suction is a are shown in Fig. 7. It is apparent that the original shale frag- driving force of water infiltration (Luo et al. 2017). More ments are porous and unconsolidated and have many pores importantly, wellbore pressure penetrates the pore space and fractures (Fig. 7a). Water from drilling fluids could eas- when water invades the shale. This fluid pressure transmis- ily penetrate into shale matrix, leading to wellbore insta- sion effect could damage the positive differential pressure bility. After treatment with 2 wt% laponite suspension, the that supports the wellbore, resulting in wellbore instability. (a) (b) 5 µm 5 µm Fig. 7 SEM images of original shale fragment (a) and recovered shale fragments treated with 2 wt% laponite in shale recovery test (b) 1 3 586 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 According to experimental results of SEM observation, fluid and almost have no influence on the plastic viscosity laponite could form a seamless nanofilm on the surface (Fig. 8a), which means the increase in apparent viscosity of the wellbore, which could reduce capillary imbibition is mainly structural viscosity. Yield point is a parameter of and pressure transmission, benefiting to wellbore stability. the Bingham plastic model and is used to evaluate the abil- ity of the drilling fluid to carry cuttings during circulation. 3.5 Influence of laponite on the rheology Gel strength demonstrates the ability of the drilling fluid to and filtration of drilling fluids suspend the cuttings when circulation has ceased. According to Fig. 8b and 8c, the yield point and gel strength increase The influence of the concentration of laponite on the prop- with an increase in concentration of laponite. The increases erty of 4  wt% bentonite suspension was investigated as in structural viscosity, yield point and gel strength indicate shown in Fig.  8. Plastic viscosity is the resistance to the that laponite is beneficial to carry and suspend drill cuttings. flow of a fluid caused by internal friction. High plastic vis- Thus, laponite can be used as an inorganic viscosifier in the cosity means high friction, which harms rate of penetration. drilling fluid. Besides, laponite can considerably decrease According to the Bingham plastic model, the apparent vis- fluid loss (Fig.  8d) in the studied concentration ranges. cosity consists of two parts: plastic viscosity and structural The API fluid loss was reduced from 22.8 mL to 13.2 mL viscosity (Avksentiev and Nikolaev 2017). Laponite can when the dosage increased from 0 to 2 wt%. The ability of substantially increase the apparent viscosity of the drilling nanoparticles with appropriate concentrations in WBF to (a) (b) Apparent viscosity Plastic viscosity 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Concentration, wt% Concentration, wt% (c) (d) 50 22.8 Gel strength, 10 s Gel strength, 10 min 19.6 16.8 14.4 13.2 10 10 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Concentration, wt% Concentration, wt% Fig. 8 The influence of laponite concentration on the properties of 4 wt% bentonite suspension, apparent viscosity and plastic viscosity (a), yield point (b), gel strength (c) and fluid loss (d) 1 3 Gel strength, Pa Apparent/plastic viscosity, mPa·s Fluid loss, mL Yield point, Pa Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 587 reduce fluid loss has been reported in many literature (Liu used solid lubricant, was 47.6%. Although laponite did not et al. 2015; Sensoy et al. 2009). The results of filtration tests reach the performance of the special-purpose lubricant, it achieved are in accordance with the literature. could considerably increase lubricating property of drill- ing fluid. 3.6 Influence of laponite on lubricating property The friction reducing mechanism has been investigated in a number of recent studies (Chen et al. 2015; Kong et al. The reduction of friction coefficients of base fluids with 2017; Li et al. 2016c). Based on these studies, the lubri- different laponite concentrations was measured. Experi- cating mechanism of laponite was concluded as shown mental results are shown in Fig. 9. As the concentration in Fig.  10. First, laponite could enhance the interface of laponite increased from 0 to 2 wt%, the reduction of smoothness. Nanoscale laponite particles could adsorb friction coefficients increased from 11.3% to 32.3%. The on the surface of both metal and shale matrix, forming friction reduction of 1 wt% graphite, which is a commonly smooth and protective films (Fig.  10a). The interface of wellbore contacted with drill string is coarse and irregular. For concaves on the surface with an appropriate size, the 1.00 wt% graphite laponite could fill the caves and mend the flaw, improving surface smoothness (Fig. 10b). And laponite could work 2.00 wt% laponite as a polishing agent to remove the small protuberance on the shale matrix (Fig. 10c). Second, laponite could isolate 1.50 wt% laponite the direct contact between wellbore and drill string, and thus the friction between them turns into the sliding of 1.00 wt% laponite crystal layers (Fig. 10d), which substantially reduces fric- tion. Besides, the protective film formed is beneficial to 0.50 wt% laponite protect the drill string from wear under extreme pressure. 0.25 wt% laponite 4 Conclusions Reduction rate, % This paper introduced the application of laponite in WBF. The shale inhibition property, plugging property, lubrication Fig. 9 The reduction of friction coefficients based on 4 wt% bentonite property of laponite and its compatibility with WBF were suspension when different amounts of laponite or 1.0  wt% graphite studied. Several conclusions can be drawn as follows: were added Drill string Drill string Film Shale matrix (a) Film forming (b) Mending effect Drill string Drill string Shale matrix Shale matrix (c) Polishing effect (d) Sliding effect Fig. 10 The possible lubricating mechanism of laponite in the water-based drilling fluid 1 3 588 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 API RP 13B-1. Recommended practice for field testing water-based 1. 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Laponite: a promising nanomaterial to formulate high-performance water-based drilling fluids

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10.1007/s12182-020-00516-z
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Abstract

High-performance water-based drilling fluids (HPWBFs) are essential to wellbore stability in shale gas exploration and development. Laponite is a synthetic hectorite clay composed of disk-shaped nanoparticles. This paper analyzed the appli- cation potential of laponite in HPWBFs by evaluating its shale inhibition, plugging and lubrication performances. Shale inhibition performance was studied by linear swelling test and shale recovery test. Plugging performance was analyzed by nitrogen adsorption experiment and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. Extreme pressure lubricity test was used to evaluate the lubrication property. Experimental results show that laponite has good shale inhibition property, which is better than commonly used shale inhibitors, such as polyamine and KCl. Laponite can effectively plug shale pores. It con- siderably decreases the surface area and pore volume of shale, and SEM results show that it can reduce the porosity of shale and form a seamless nanofilm. Laponite is beneficial to increase lubricating property of drilling fluid by enhancing the drill pipes/wellbore interface smoothness and isolating the direct contact between wellbore and drill string. Besides, laponite can reduce the fluid loss volume. According to mechanism analysis, the good performance of laponite nanoparticles is mainly attributed to the disk-like nanostructure and the charged surfaces. Keywords Laponite · Nanoparticles · High performance · Drilling fluid · Shale gas 1 Introduction such as good rheology, low filtration, strong shale inhibi- tion, good lubricity, good plugging property, etc., which are The concept of high-performance water-based drilling fluids important for safe and efficient drilling. (HPWBF) (Galindo et al. 2015; Jain et al. 2015; Jung et al. For shale gas reservoirs, the content of clay minerals is as 2013; Kosynkin et al. 2011; Morton et al. 2005) has been high as 30%–50% or even more (Li et al. 2020b; Yang et al. proposed for decades. HPWBF is defined as water-based 2014; Zou et al. 2010). Wellbore instability incidents, such drilling fluids (WBF) with good performance parameters, as wellbore collapse, stuck pipe, tight hole, excessive hole, frequently occur. In recent years, the majority of the hori- zontal sections is drilled by oil-based drilling fluid (OBF) Edited by Yan-Hua Sun (Li et al. 2014; Sun et al. 2018) to avoid shale hydration * Xian-Bin Huang (Huang et al. 2018; Jiang et al. 2016; Shadizadeh et al. 2015) 20170092@upc.edu.cn and enhance lubrication property (Sönmez et  al. 2013). However, the pollution caused by OBF is difficult to handle, Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil and Gas which could cause soil contamination and be toxic to marine Development, China University of Petroleum (East China, Ministry of Education), Qingdao 266580, Shandong, life. WBF is less polluted and less expensive compared with People’s Republic of China OBF. Synthetic-based drilling fluids (SBFs) are mainly used School of Petroleum Engineering, China University in offshore drilling areas. SBFs have good environmental of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, Shandong, performance (Li et al. 2016a, b, 2019b), strong inhibition People’s Republic of China and lubricity, and are beneficial to maintain the stability of Zhanjiang Branch of China National Offshore Oil wellbore, but the cost is high. WBFs have good applica- Corporation Limited, Zhanjiang 524057, Guangdong, China tion prospects in shale gas drilling engineering. However, CNPC Engineering Technology R & D Company Limited, the drilling mission of shale gas horizontal sections is very Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of China Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 580 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 difficult to accomplish using WBF recently. Clay swelling, However, little research was carried out on the application of pressure transmission, high drag and torque are among the laponite as multifunctional material in water-based drilling major factors to cause wellbore instability. The existing fluid for shale gas drilling. HPWBF utilizes high-performance additives such as shale This paper introduces the application of laponite in WBF. inhibitor (Jiang et al. 2016; Shadizadeh et al. 2015), plug- The shale inhibition, plugging, and lubrication performances ging materials (Riley et al. 2012; Sensoy et al. 2009; Sharma of laponite were evaluated and mechanisms were concisely et al. 2012), and lubricating agents (Li et al. 2016c; Sönmez studied. Experimental results indicated that laponite had et al. 2013) to achieve the “high performance”. good shale inhibition property, plugging property and lubri- The majority of the pores in the shale formation are cating property. nanoscale (Hoelscher et al. 2012), and microscale particles could not adapt to the nanoscale pores due to their larger sizes. Thus, the combination of nanoplugging agent and 2 Experimental shale inhibitor is often utilized to stabilize wellbores drilled in shale gas formations. Recently, the research of nanoscale 2.1 Materials plugging agents has become a hotspot. The nanoplugging agents attracting more attention recently include inorganic Laponite (99.5 wt%) was purchased from Guangzhou Bofeng nanoparticles (Hoelscher et al. 2012; Sensoy et al. 2009), Chemical Technology Company. Bentonite (99 wt%), poly- nanopolymer spheres (An et al. 2015; Li et al. 2019a; Wang ether amine (99 wt%) and graphite (99.9 wt%) were provided et al. 2013), organic/inorganic nanocomposites (An et al. by Greatwall Drilling Company, China. KCl (99.9  wt%) 2016; Hu et al. 2008), which can reduce fluid invasion and and fumed SiO nanoparticles (99.5  wt%, 20  nm) were pressure transmission according to evaluation experiments. purchased from J&K Scientific Ltd., China. Outcrop shale An important reason for wellbore instability is the hydra- samples were taken from Songlin Town, Guanghan city, tion of clay minerals in shales. Shale inhibitor is widely used Sichuan Province, China. The mineral compositions of the in WBF to reduce hydration and swelling of clay. The exist- shale sample were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, and the ing inhibitors include inorganic salts, surfactants (Lv et al. results are shown in Table 1. 2020; Shadizadeh et al. 2015), polymers, alcohols, and poly- amines (Jiang et al. 2016; Zhong et al. 2016), which reduce 2.2 Influence of laponite on rheology and filtration shale hydration by charge neutralization, wettability reversal, of the drilling fluid forming isolated layers, reducing surface tension, etc. For horizontal drilling in shale gas reservoirs, the contact The base fluid (4 wt% bentonite suspension) was prepared by area of the drill pipe with the wellbore is higher than that slowly adding 16 g of bentonite powder into 400 mL deion- for vertical drilling, so high drag and torque is another prob- ized water under 300-rpm stirring. The bentonite suspen- lem (Maliardi et al. 2014), which may cause stuck pipe. The sions were aged for 24 h at room temperature. 0, 2, 4, 6, and present drilling fluid lubricants include mineral oil, plant 8 g of laponite were then added to each of 400 mL base u fl id, oil, modified oil, surfactants, synthetic esters, which reduce respectively, and kept stirring for 24 h. drag and torque by isolating contact surface by forming oil films (Chang et al. 2011; Knox and Jiang 2005). Besides, solid lubricants act like ball bearings and isolate the contact Table 1 Mineral compositions of  the shale sample determined  by surface physically. X-ray diffraction analysis In the process of shale gas drilling in China, the exist- ing water-based drilling fluid technology has not solved Mineral compositions Content, % the technical problems such as instability of the wellbore Quartz 41 and high friction due to lack of inhibition, plugging and K feldspar 4 0.7+ lubricating performances. Laponite (N a (Mg Li Si ) 5.5 0.3 8 Anorthose 12 0.7− O (OH) ) ) is a synthetic hectorite clay with tri-octa- 20 4 Calcite 15 hedral 2:1 layered structure (Thompson and Butterworth Siderite 1 1992). The laponite crystals are disk-shaped nanoparticles Hematite 2 with a diameter of about 20 nm (Jatav and Joshi 2014; Mon- Clay minerals gondry et al. 2005) and a thickness of about 1 nm. Accord- Kaolinite 1 ing to literature research, the laponite is used to enhance Illite 10 the rheological performance (Liu et al. 2017; Xiong et al. Chlorite 1.5 2019) and thermal stability of the drilling fluid (Huang et al. Illite/smectite (I/S) mixed layer 12.5 (I/S ratio is 50%) 2019), and to inhibit the shale swelling (Huang et al. 2018). 1 3 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 581 Rheological parameters (apparent viscosity, plastic vis- The shale recovery test was conducted using a hot rolling cosity, yield point, 10-s gel strength and 10-min gel strength) oven. 20 g of shale fragments with 6-10 mesh and 350 mL and fluid losses of the prepared drilling fluid samples were inhibitive solution (aqueous solutions of different shale inhibi- measured according to American Petroleum Institute (API) tors) were transferred into stainless steel rollers and hot-rolled Recommended Practice 13B-1: Recommended Practice at 150 °C for 16 h. Then the shale fragments were filtered out Standard Procedure for Testing Drilling Fluids (API RP using a 40-mesh sieve, dried at 105 °C, and weighted (m, g). 13B-1 2009). The shale recovery (R) is calculated from Eq. (1). R = × 100% 2.3 Shale inhibition property of laponite (1) where R is the shale recovery and m is the mass of recovered The shale inhibition performance of laponite suspension was shale fragments, g. studied by linear swelling test and shale recovery test. The linear swelling test was carried out using a dual- 2.4 Plugging performance of laponite channel linear swelling tester, whose schematic diagram is shown in Fig. 1. The bentonite pellets were prepared by 2.4.1 Nitrogen adsorption test compressing 10 g of dry bentonite powders under 10 MPa for 5 min and then immersed into 200 mL different inhibitive Good plugging performance for nanoscale pores can affect solutions (aqueous solutions of different shale inhibitors). the properties of shale itself, such as reducing the pore vol- The linear swelling length (mm) as a function of time was ume and specific surface area of shale (Li et al. 2020a; Qiu recorded. et al. 2018). The recovered shale fragments before and after the shale recovery test were used for the nitrogen adsorption experiment. An automated gas sorption analyzer (Autosorb- iQ, Quantachrome, USA) was utilized in the experiment. Before measurement, all the samples were evacuated at 300 °C Displacement sensor for 2 h. Both the Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) method and density functional theory (DFT) were used to analyze specific surface area, pore volume and average pore size. All calcula- tions were performed by a built-in software (ASiQwin). Initial shale fragments and the shale fragments immersed in water for 6 h at room temperature were used for comparison. 2.4.2 Morphology The recovered shale fragments after shale recovery test were dried at 105 ± 1 °C to remove water. The surface morphol- ogy of fresh shale fragments and recovered shale fragments Inhibitive solution was studied by a high-resolution Ultra 55 scanning electron microscope (Zeiss, Germany). 2.5 Extreme pressure lubricity/film strength test Friction coec ffi ients of the v fi e samples prepared in Sect.  2.2 were measured using an extreme pressure lubrication tester (FANN 212, USA). The pressure applied was 16.95 N·m Porous plate (150 psi). The reduction of friction coefficients was calcu- lated from Eq. (2). 0 1 R = × 100% (2) Compressed bentonite pellet where μ is the friction coefficient of base fluid and μ is 0 1 the friction coefficient of the sample to be tested (base Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the linear swelling tester fluid + laponite). 1 3 582 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 size described in the literature (Thompson and Butterworth 3 Results and discussion 1992). The particle size is also proved by TEM observation as shown in Fig. 3b. 3.1 Introduction of laponite Because the surfaces of laponite nanoparticles are per- manently negative-charged and the edges are positively Laponite (Thompson and Butterworth 1992) is a synthetic charged (depending on pH), the electrostatic attraction hectorite clay, which belong to the family of (2: 1) phyl- occurs between them and “house of cards” structure forms losilicates built up of sheets of octahedrally coordinated as shown in Fig. 4a. The size of laponite nanoparticles is magnesium oxide sandwiched between two parallel sheets much smaller than that of bentonite particles (about several of tetrahedrally coordinated silica (Ruzicka and Zaccarelli micron), which is one reason of that the gel strength of the 2011) (Fig. 2). The laponite crystals are disk-shaped nano- laponite suspension is larger than that of the bentonite sus- particles with a diameter of about 20 nm (Jatav and Joshi pension under the same concentrations. This characteristic 2014; Mongondry et al. 2005) and a thickness of about 1 nm. makes laponite easy to gel at low concentrations (Ruzicka The particle size distribution of 1 wt% laponite suspension and Zaccarelli 2011). As shown in Fig. 4b and 4c, laponite was analyzed at room temperature using the Zeta Sizer Nano suspensions are in gel states at concentrations of 2 wt% and ZS Instrument (Malvern, UK). The average particle size is 2.5 wt%. However, the bentonite suspension will not gel 20.62 nm (Fig.  3a), which is in consistence with particle at a concentration of 2.5 wt% (Fig. 4d). This stronger gel structure makes laponite possible as an inorganic rheologi- cal modifier in drilling fluids (Liu et al. 2017; Xiong et al. Na 2019). 3.2 Transportability and stability in water Tetrahedral Si OH Table 2 shows the basic parameters of laponite. Laponite is a synthetic smectite clay, which is solid-state fine white Mg, Li Octahedral powder with a bulk density of around 1 g/cm . So it has good transportability. Fumed silica nanoparticles (Lewis 2018) have extremely low bulk density (usually less than 0.1 g/ Si Tetrahedral cm ), which makes it unfriendly to transport. Besides, fumed silica nanoparticles have potential inhalation toxicity which Na Interlayer region is harmful to the health of operators (Geiser et al. 2017). The cation exchange capacity of laponite is around 50-60  meq/100  g (Thompson and Butterworth 1992), Fig. 2 Idealized crystal structure of laponite revealing that laponite has relatively high negative charges (a) (b) Z-Ave, nm 20.62 PDI 0.477 Peak 1, nm 55.84 Peak 2, nm 10.34 110 100 1000 Size d, nm 20 nm Fig. 3 Particle size distribution of 1 wt% laponite suspension (a) and TEM image of laponite nanoparticles (b) using ultrathin carbon film 1 3 Intensity, % Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 583 (a) (b) (c) (d) Fig. 4 House of card structure caused by electrostatic attraction (a), the gel state of 2 wt% laponite (b) and 2.5 wt% laponite (c), and 2.5 wt% bentonite suspension (d) was prepared by ultrasonic dispersion for 20 min without Table 2 Basic parameters of laponite adjusting pH. The 1 wt% laponite was prepared by magnetic Appearance Bulk den- Surface area pH (2 wt% Cation stirring at 300 rpm for 20 min. The 1 wt% laponite suspen- 3 2 sity, g/cm(BET), m /g aqueous exchange sion was stable after standing for 5 days (Fig. 5b). However, suspension) capacity, meq/100 g settlement of Si O nanoparticles occurred after standing for 20 min (Fig. 5d). Thus, good transportability and stability White pow- 0.7–1.3 300–400 9.8 50–60 make laponite more promising in application. der 3.3 Shale inhibition property and is easy to swell and disperse in water. After dispersion, The shale inhibition performances were evaluated, and the disk-shaped nanoscale laponite particles are negatively charged (Huang et  al. 2018). The electrostatic repulsion comparison tests were made with two commonly used shale inhibitors KCl and polyether amine. Experimental results of among those nanoparticles makes laponite suspension almost permanently stable and not aggregate or settle. How- the linear swelling test and shale recovery test are shown in Fig. 6a, b, respectively. In linear swelling tests, the 16-hour ever, the stability of silica nanoparticle suspension is not good, although adjusting the pH to 9–11 could increase the swelling height of 0.5 wt% laponite was smaller than those of 5 wt% KCl and 2 wt% polyether amine. The shale recov- stability of silica nanoparticle suspension, which might be not suitable for application environment (Azadgoleh et al. ery for water is only 5.4%, which demonstrated that the shale sample was highly reactive. 2.0 wt% laponite obtained the 2014). Figure 5a and Fig. 5c are the images of newly prepared highest shale recovery (55.2%). It is concluded that laponite had good shale inhibition property. aqueous suspensions of 1 wt% laponite and 1 wt% SiO nan- oparticles, respectively. The 1 wt% SiO aqueous suspension (a) (b) (c) (d) Fig. 5 Statuses of newly prepared suspensions of  1  wt% laponite (a) and 1  wt% SiO nanoparticles (c), 1  wt% laponite after standing for 5 days (b), and 1 wt% SiO nanoparticles after standing for 20 min (d) 1 3 584 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 6 80 (a) (b) 60 55.2 44.9 3 40 27.6 5.0 wt% KCl 15.5 0.5 wt% laponite 1.0 wt% laponite 7.1 6.1 2.0 wt% laponite 5.4 2.0 wt% polyether amine 0 0 Water 5.0 wt% 2.0 wt% 0.5 wt% 1.0 wt% 1.5 wt% 2.0 wt% 048 12 16 KCI polyether laponite laponite laponite laponite amine Time, h Inhibitive solutions Fig. 6 Experimental results of linear swelling tests (a) and shale recovery tests (b) for water, 5 wt% KCl, 2 wt% polyether amine and laponite aqueous suspensions with different concentrations The inhibition mechanism was comprehensively studied gas adsorption method is used in this experiment, there is a in other study (Huang et al. 2018). The reasons for the good hysteresis loop between the nitrogen adsorption and desorp- shale inhibition of laponite are listed as follows. (1) The tion curves. Therefore, both BJH adsorption and desorption surfaces of laponite nanoparticles are permanently negative. pore size distribution will appear when BJH model is used At a proper pH value, clay particles have positively charged to do pore analysis. Generally, BJH desorption branch is edges. Electrostatic interaction exists between particle edges preferably selected to analyze rock samples for its higher (+) of clay and the surfaces (−) of laponite. Thus, laponite accuracy (Dudek 2016; Li et al. 2019c). nanoparticles can plug interlayer spaces of clays by electro- The original shale fragments, shale fragments treated static interaction, slowing down the hydration of clays. (2) with water, and shale fragments treated with 1 wt% laponite The capillary suction time (CST) of the laponite suspension and 2  wt% laponite were tested. Surface area, pore vol- increases substantially with an increase in concentration. ume and average pore size analyzed by both BJH and DFT Thus, laponite suspensions have low free water contents, model are listed in Table  3. Apparently, for the BJH and benefiting to inhibition of clays. (3) The excellent thixotropy DFT models, the changing law of the data is consistent. enables the laponite suspensions to have a considerably high When contacting with water, the highly reactive shale frag- viscosity on the wellbore wall, which might be helpful to ments would certainly swell, the existing pores would grow form nanofilms, reducing water invasion. (4) The nanopar - and new pores were produced. Apparently, immersing in ticles are effective to plug nanoscale shale pores and form water or laponite suspensions did not influence the average seamless surfaces, preventing water invasion. pore size according to Table 3. This is possibly because the production of small new pores balanced the increase in the 3.4 Plugging performance size of existing pores. After the original shale samples were treated with water, both the surface area and the pore volume Nitrogen adsorption experiment is a precise and reliable appropriately doubled. For shale samples treated with 1 wt% method which could quantitatively describe the informa- laponite suspension, the surface area and the pore volume tion of pores. BJH and DFT models are two useful meth- also increased, but they were considerably lower than those ods to analyze shale pores (Sun et al. 2017). BJH model, of shale samples treated with water. In addition, compared which is based on Kelvin equation, is more appropriate for with the shale fragments treated by 1 wt% laponite, the shale the analysis of mesoporous pores (2-50 nm) (Musa et al. fragments treated by 2 wt% laponite obtained smaller values 2011). And DFT model is more suitable for the analysis in both surface area and pore volume. of materials exhibiting a wide range of porosities (Musa The hydration of shale would lead to increases in surface et al. 2011). After shale recovery tests, the specific surface area and pore volume (Li et al. 2020a; Qiu et al. 2018), so area, pore volume and pore size of recovered shale frag- water-treated shale samples obtained the largest surface area ments were analyzed by both BJH and DFT to evaluate the and pore volume. While laponite-treated shale samples had plugging performance of the laponite suspension. When the a lower surface area and pore volume than the water-treated 1 3 Linear swelling, mm Recovery ,% Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 585 Table 3 Pore analysis of original shale fragments and shale fragments treated with water, 1  wt% laponite and 2  wt% laponite determined by nitrogen adsorption experiments Samples Items BJH model DFT model Adsorption Desorption Original (non-treated) Surface area, m /g 2.951 7.838 6.094 Pore volume, cm /g 0.018 0.020 0.016 Average pore size, nm 2.955 3.824 3.794 Treated with water Surface area, m /g 7.600 14.984 12.895 Pore volume, cm /g 0.034 0.036 0.031 Average pore size, nm 2.951 3.824 3.794 Treated with 1 wt% laponite Surface area, m /g 5.881 12.670 11.111 Pore volume, cm /g 0.030 0.033 0.027 Average pore size, nm 2.953 3.825 3.794 Treated with 2 wt% laponite Surface area, m /g 4.647 10.791 9.690 Pore volume, cm /g 0.025 0.028 0.024 Average pore size, nm 2.953 3.827 3.794 shale, which was due to good inhibition property and plug- surface of shale sample became seamless (Fig. 7b), and the ging performances of laponite. majority of pores and fractures disappeared, which would According to nitrogen adsorption experiment, we can- be beneficial to prevent water from penetration (Huang et al. not draw a conclusion that the plugging performances of 2018; Li et al. 2015; Yao et al. 2020a; Yao et al. 2020b). In laponite is good because of the smaller surface area and conclusion, laponite suspension can effectively plug pores pore volume, which might be due to the good inhibition and fractures of formations. of laponite. So the plugging performance of laponite was Shale is a porous medium with many pores and fractures further studied by SEM observation. Experimental results of various scales. In gas reservoirs, capillary suction is a are shown in Fig. 7. It is apparent that the original shale frag- driving force of water infiltration (Luo et al. 2017). More ments are porous and unconsolidated and have many pores importantly, wellbore pressure penetrates the pore space and fractures (Fig. 7a). Water from drilling fluids could eas- when water invades the shale. This fluid pressure transmis- ily penetrate into shale matrix, leading to wellbore insta- sion effect could damage the positive differential pressure bility. After treatment with 2 wt% laponite suspension, the that supports the wellbore, resulting in wellbore instability. (a) (b) 5 µm 5 µm Fig. 7 SEM images of original shale fragment (a) and recovered shale fragments treated with 2 wt% laponite in shale recovery test (b) 1 3 586 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 According to experimental results of SEM observation, fluid and almost have no influence on the plastic viscosity laponite could form a seamless nanofilm on the surface (Fig. 8a), which means the increase in apparent viscosity of the wellbore, which could reduce capillary imbibition is mainly structural viscosity. Yield point is a parameter of and pressure transmission, benefiting to wellbore stability. the Bingham plastic model and is used to evaluate the abil- ity of the drilling fluid to carry cuttings during circulation. 3.5 Influence of laponite on the rheology Gel strength demonstrates the ability of the drilling fluid to and filtration of drilling fluids suspend the cuttings when circulation has ceased. According to Fig. 8b and 8c, the yield point and gel strength increase The influence of the concentration of laponite on the prop- with an increase in concentration of laponite. The increases erty of 4  wt% bentonite suspension was investigated as in structural viscosity, yield point and gel strength indicate shown in Fig.  8. Plastic viscosity is the resistance to the that laponite is beneficial to carry and suspend drill cuttings. flow of a fluid caused by internal friction. High plastic vis- Thus, laponite can be used as an inorganic viscosifier in the cosity means high friction, which harms rate of penetration. drilling fluid. Besides, laponite can considerably decrease According to the Bingham plastic model, the apparent vis- fluid loss (Fig.  8d) in the studied concentration ranges. cosity consists of two parts: plastic viscosity and structural The API fluid loss was reduced from 22.8 mL to 13.2 mL viscosity (Avksentiev and Nikolaev 2017). Laponite can when the dosage increased from 0 to 2 wt%. The ability of substantially increase the apparent viscosity of the drilling nanoparticles with appropriate concentrations in WBF to (a) (b) Apparent viscosity Plastic viscosity 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Concentration, wt% Concentration, wt% (c) (d) 50 22.8 Gel strength, 10 s Gel strength, 10 min 19.6 16.8 14.4 13.2 10 10 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Concentration, wt% Concentration, wt% Fig. 8 The influence of laponite concentration on the properties of 4 wt% bentonite suspension, apparent viscosity and plastic viscosity (a), yield point (b), gel strength (c) and fluid loss (d) 1 3 Gel strength, Pa Apparent/plastic viscosity, mPa·s Fluid loss, mL Yield point, Pa Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 587 reduce fluid loss has been reported in many literature (Liu used solid lubricant, was 47.6%. Although laponite did not et al. 2015; Sensoy et al. 2009). The results of filtration tests reach the performance of the special-purpose lubricant, it achieved are in accordance with the literature. could considerably increase lubricating property of drill- ing fluid. 3.6 Influence of laponite on lubricating property The friction reducing mechanism has been investigated in a number of recent studies (Chen et al. 2015; Kong et al. The reduction of friction coefficients of base fluids with 2017; Li et al. 2016c). Based on these studies, the lubri- different laponite concentrations was measured. Experi- cating mechanism of laponite was concluded as shown mental results are shown in Fig. 9. As the concentration in Fig.  10. First, laponite could enhance the interface of laponite increased from 0 to 2 wt%, the reduction of smoothness. Nanoscale laponite particles could adsorb friction coefficients increased from 11.3% to 32.3%. The on the surface of both metal and shale matrix, forming friction reduction of 1 wt% graphite, which is a commonly smooth and protective films (Fig.  10a). The interface of wellbore contacted with drill string is coarse and irregular. For concaves on the surface with an appropriate size, the 1.00 wt% graphite laponite could fill the caves and mend the flaw, improving surface smoothness (Fig. 10b). And laponite could work 2.00 wt% laponite as a polishing agent to remove the small protuberance on the shale matrix (Fig. 10c). Second, laponite could isolate 1.50 wt% laponite the direct contact between wellbore and drill string, and thus the friction between them turns into the sliding of 1.00 wt% laponite crystal layers (Fig. 10d), which substantially reduces fric- tion. Besides, the protective film formed is beneficial to 0.50 wt% laponite protect the drill string from wear under extreme pressure. 0.25 wt% laponite 4 Conclusions Reduction rate, % This paper introduced the application of laponite in WBF. The shale inhibition property, plugging property, lubrication Fig. 9 The reduction of friction coefficients based on 4 wt% bentonite property of laponite and its compatibility with WBF were suspension when different amounts of laponite or 1.0  wt% graphite studied. Several conclusions can be drawn as follows: were added Drill string Drill string Film Shale matrix (a) Film forming (b) Mending effect Drill string Drill string Shale matrix Shale matrix (c) Polishing effect (d) Sliding effect Fig. 10 The possible lubricating mechanism of laponite in the water-based drilling fluid 1 3 588 Petroleum Science (2021) 18:579–590 API RP 13B-1. Recommended practice for field testing water-based 1. 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Published: Sep 23, 2020

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