Preface

The book examines new advances in drilling engineering technologies. It discusses drilling fluids, well control, unconventional drilling, and thermal conductivity estimation. It also models some drilling problems.

It is common to look for new solutions to reduce issues with conventional drilling fluid compositions. An alternative is provided by the discipline of nanoscience. Chapter 1, "Polymeric Nanoparticles in Drilling Fluid Technology", discusses polymer nanoparticles, which have been used in mud formulations because they have desirable qualities such as a large specific surface area, high-temperature stability, and pollution resistance. Due to their numerous advantages, such as stability, film-forming, and gelatinization features, biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles will continue to have more uses in drilling fluid technology. Dispersion of various polymeric nanoparticle forms, sizes, and architectures might be considered to increase the effect of polymers on fluid formulations, as discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 2, "Utilization of Biopolymers in Water Based Drilling Muds", addresses biopolymers, which are widely used additives for improving the rheology and filtration characteristics of mud. Poor thermal stability is one of the deficiencies of such additives that result in an increase in non-productive time in drilling operations. The chapter discusses the applications of water-based mud, its limits, and biopolymer degradation. It studies the importance and susceptibility of various additives in harsh borehole conditions. It also examines the current additives used to improve rheological and filtration properties, as well as their drawbacks. The chapter also investigates field applications of native and modified polymeric-based mud compositions.

The Macondo blowout catastrophe highlights the importance of effective well barriers and early kick-detection systems for successful drilling and completion operations. Early kick-detection systems should be capable of detecting a gas inflow during drilling and tripping operations with minimum false alarms. Chapter 3, "Advances in Well Control: Early Kick Detection and Automated Control Systems," discusses advances in early kick detection, sensor functionality and location, smart fingerprinting, and related algorithms.

Methane recovery from gas-bearing coal seams requires novel drilling and fracturing technologies. Chapter 4, "Advanced Technology of Drilling and Hydraulic Loosening in Coal Bed Methane Using a Cavitation Hydrovibrator – Experience and Prospects", proposes an innovative drilling technique for hydraulic loosening and recovery of methane from gas-bearing coal seams. It presents a system of fractures with different inclinations due to the use of this effect on the coal mass, and the dimensions of this system are dictated by the ratio between the coal's strength characteristics and the injected fluid's energy characteristics. To produce hydrodynamic impulses, a hydraulic vibrator with cavitation is employed. Industrial testing on coal seams in the Ukrainian Donetsk basin has shown the effectiveness of deploying a cavitation hydrovibrator.

Analytical solutions for stress accumulations near holes in elastic plates are relevant for a wide range of practical applications, including geomechanical stability analysis of tunnels and deep wells used for oil and gas production. Chapter 5, "Asymptotic Solutions for Multi-Hole Problems: Plane Strain versus Plane Stress Boundary Conditions in Borehole Applications", revisits the basic solutions for plane stress and plane strain, identifies some earlier errors in displacement equations appearing in standard textbooks, and computes and compares the two end-member solutions (plane stress and plane strain). For cases with far-field stress, results show that the plane strain solution is more sensitive to the Poisson ratio than the plane stress solution.

Mechanical pipe sticking has a direct impact on drilling process efficiency and must be identified early to find the causative factors before taking further action. Chapter 6, "Modeling and Analysis Techniques for Solving Mechanical Pipe Sticking Problems in Drilling Equipment", aims to predict and specify the main causes of pipe sticking through modeling and simulation processes. Simulation results suggest that pipe sticking occurs due to high values of generation stresses. The probability of sticking during drilling can be predicted according to the relation between the drill depth with time and drag forces.

In the exploitation of oil and gas reservoirs, thermal conductivity is the property of greatest importance in the application of secondary and tertiary oil fluid recovery techniques. Therefore, this property has been analyzed by estimating its value using several calculation models. Chapter 7, "Estimation of Equivalent Thermal Conductivity Value Using Correlation Relationships with Other Oil Reservoir Properties", presents a technique for estimating thermal conductivity and determining its value using a new calculation model. The chapter also determines the thermal conductivity values for several rocks constituting some Romanian reservoirs, the aim of this material being to analyze the thermal behavior of rocks in condensed gas-rich areas.

> **Mansoor Zoveidavianpoor** Associate Professor, Petroleum Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi, Johor, Malaysia

> > **1**

practices.

**Chapter 1**

**Abstract**

Fluid Technology

*Nnaemeka Uwaezuoke*

influence on fluid formulations.

thermal stability

**1. Introduction**

Polymeric Nanoparticles in Drilling

New technologies are often sought to mitigate the problems associated with traditional drilling fluid formulations. Nanotechnology provides an alternative. A particle size of matter in the range of 1–100 nm in diameter (d.nm) is referred to as nanoparticle. Nanoparticles are broadly divided into various categories depending on their morphology, size and chemical properties. This size range lends their application in science and engineering. In rotary drilling operations where drilling fluid is at the center, performance and optimization issues have been observed. Use of polymer nanoparticles in mud formulations have been considered due to desirable properties such as wide specific surface area, high temperature stability and pollution resistance. Areas of application and advantages include improvement in mud rheology, fluid loss properties, improved lubricity, filter against hazard materials and cost effectiveness. Biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles possess the outlined properties and would continue to offer wider applications in drilling fluid technology now and in the nearest future due to their stable, film forming and gelatinization characteristics. To reliably estimate the quantity of polymeric nanoparticles to use, size and shape should be considered before concentration to apply to make prediction easier. Dispersion of different shapes, sizes and structures of polymeric nanoparticles might be a consideration to enhance polymer

**Keywords:** biodegradable, drilling fluid, nanoparticle, polymeric, rheology, fluid loss,

The drilling fluid is a general term for liquid-based, gas-based and combinations thereof that serves as the focus in a circulating system of a rotary drilling rig. Usually, it is designed to perform certain functions, possess the required properties to furnish the desired functions and satisfy recommended specifications when tests are conducted [1, 2]. Its design involves basic knowledge of chemistry, physics, mathematics and sound knowledge of petroleum engineering principles and oilfield
