Vegetable oil such as Jatropha has been shown to be a comparable alternative to diesel and mineral oils for environmentally friendly oil based drilling mud. However compatibility of the vegetable oils with the usual chemical additives is still a major challenge that calls for compatible and non-toxic substitutes. This study examined the suitability of hen egg yolk as a non-toxic emulsifier in invert emulsion drilling mud using vegetable oil continuous phase. 8ml of the Egg yolk which was separated from the albumen was added dropwise as a primary emulsifier to a 70/30 oil-water ratio invert emulsion drilling mud formulated with Jatropha vegetable oil. The electrical stability was tested using electrical stability tester at the recommended test temperature of 48.9oC and later at 120oC to check any variation at elevated temperature. The stability values in volts were 398V and 289V respectively. A similar formulation using a standard emulsifier (versacleanVB) an amidoamine gave stability values as 201V and 188V respectively indicating that higher stability was attained with the egg yolk. The viscosities of the mud samples were also tested giving plastic viscosities of 52 and 49 centipoise at 50oC for the egg yolk and verscleanVB emulsified muds respectively.
This study indicates that egg yolk could serve as an emulsifier for vegetable oil based invert emulsion mud in line with non- toxic additives for environmental compatibility
Keywords: Environmental compatibility, Invert emulsion mud, non-toxic additives, electrical stability, emulsion stability.
Hydraulic fracturing is one of the most important stimulation techniques available to the petroleum engineer to extract hydrocarbons in tight gas sandstones. It allows more oil and gas production in tight reservoirs as compared to conventional means. The main aim of the study is to optimize the hydraulic fracturing as technique and for this purpose three multi-zones layer formation is considered and fractured contemporaneously. The three zones are named as Zone1 (upper zone), Zone2 (middle zone) and Zone3 (lower zone) respectively and they all occur in shale rock.
Simulation was performed with Mfrac integrated software which gives a variety of 3D fracture options. This simulation process yielded an average fracture efficiency of 93.8%for the three respective zones and an increase of the average permeability of the rock system. An average fracture length of 909 ft with net height (propped height) of 210 ft (average) was achieved. Optimum fracturing results was also achieved with maximum fracture width of 0.379 inches at an injection rate of 13.01 bpm with 17995 Mscf of gas production.
Carbon-dioxide does not only affect climate change, but also contribute tremendously in acidification of rain water. Hazard identification and risk assessment are fundamental components of effective risk management, specifically in sensitive areas where adverse effects can have significant consequences. This study provides novel methodology for environmental and safety assessment of flared gases in sensitive areas such as residential homes. Distancing Sampling Technique (DST) was used to investigate the sensitivity of rain water pH at distances away from flare site in order to develop a Risk Management Model for sensitive regions. First, a review on rain water acidity was made around flaring and non-flaring areas in Niger-Delta states, which revealed Moderate-High acidity effect around flaring zones and no effect on non-flaring zone. Secondly, Flared Gas Quantification, pH Experimental Evaluation (PEE) and Risk Assessment Matrix (RAM) were the three systematic approaches used respectively to quantify, measure and evaluate the effects of CO2 and other flare pollutants around the area of study. An average of 809,300,000 Mscf of associated petroleum gases were flared around the oil and gas producing areas in Delta State, causing a release of around 43x106 tons of CO2 from 2012-2022. Experimental results showed the range of pH from 4.56 ± 0.06 to 5.10 ± 0.06 for the 33 samples of harvested rainwater in Kwale community, Delta state causing a deviation of 16.38 to 30.05% from standard. The developed and validated model suggests 4.81KM radius as the safe distance for human habitation from flare sites. Based on these findings, carbon-capture and sequestration projects must be activated in Niger-Delta to curb the menace.
Formulation of a low oil-water ratio drilling mud with vegetable oil continuous phase without adversely affecting the mud rheology and stability has been a major challenge. A low oil-water ratio is beneficial in producing low fluid loss which is essential for wellbore stability. This study examined the possibility of 50/50 oilwater ratio invert emulsion drilling mud using a vegetable oil continuous phase. Jatropha oil was used as continuous phase. 12 ml of egg yolk which was separated from the albumen was added as the primary emulsifier additive. The rheological, stability and filtration properties were examined. The plastic viscosity and yield point were found to be 36cp and 17 Ib/100 ft2 respectively. The electrical stability at 48.9oC was 353v and the 30 minutes fluid loss was 6ml. The results compared favourably with a similar formulation using 70/30 oil - water ratio giving plastic viscosity of 31cp, yield point of 17 Ib/100 ft2, electrical stability value of 480v and 12ml for the 30 minutes fluid loss.
This study indicates that with a good mud composition using guided empiricism, 50/50 oil-water ratio invert emulsion drilling mud is feasible with a vegetable oil continuous phase. The choice of egg yolk as emulsifier additive is for compatibility with the vegetable oil and environmental concern. The high water content with no fluid loss additive will also minimise the cost of mud formulation.
Abstract The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) for simultaneous methane recovery and CO2 storage is gaining recognition globally within the oil and gas industries. On the other hand, most of the residual natural gas recovered during the EGR process is highly contaminated with the injected CO2 due to their nascent miscibility nature, resulting in premature breakthrough. In this study, N2 gas was used as a buster to mitigate such early mixing between the CH4 and CO2. The experiment was administered at reservoir conditions of 40oC temperature, 1500 psig of pressure, the optimum injection rate of 0.4ml/min, and at varying N2 cushion volumes (8-36 cm3) using Bandera gray as the porous medium. Further experimental tests were administered to study the effect of this technique on connate water salinity with 5-20% water salinity been considered. The increase in buster gas volume was in direct proportion to delayed CO2 breakthrough, with the maximum at 36cm3 buster volume. This breakthrough occurred at 177 minutes which is 110min additional delayed than the conventional CO2 flooding with a breakthrough time of 67 minutes. This was due to the high shielding barrier inhibited by nitrogen, making it difficult for the CO2 to dispersed itself and mixed with the nascent natural gas resulting in delayed breakthrough as it plumes transverses into the CH4 during the displacement process. Furthermore, a poor performance was observed with the inclusion of the connate water salinity, especially at 20% wt. This was because the free pore spaces were already occupied by connate water molecules prior to the cushion gas injection which hinders its economic potential application.
Biopolymers degrade in water-based drilling fluids when exposed to high temperatures for some time, thus leading to hole-cleaning problems such as stuck pipe. To stabilise biopolymers in drilling fluids, the mechanisms by which they degrade at elevated temperatures must be understood. The degradation mechanisms of thermally labile biopolymers, therefore, include acid-catalysed hydrolysis and oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions. In this paper, an attempt is, therefore, made to investigate whether the combination of anti-oxidants, formate salt, and polyglycol could stabilise biopolymers in water-based drilling fluids with pH 8 to 10 above 200°C. Novel clay-based drilling fluids were formulated with sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, biopolymers, antioxidants, a formate salt, a defoamer and polyglycol. The rheological properties of the drilling fluid formulations were measured using Model 800 and Model 1100 viscometers before and after hot-rolling dynamically in a roller oven for sixteen hours to condition the fluids. Presented results showed that xanthan gum in bentonite-water suspension remained stable up to 1000°C, and konjac gum in bentonite-water suspension remained stable up to 65°C. Experimental data also indicated that after dynamic aging for 16 hours, the antioxidant, formate salt and polyglycol increased the stability temperatures of the biopolymers - konjac gum and xanthan gum – in water-based drilling fluid formulations above 200°C. The best additives package that increased the stability temperatures of the biopolymers was potassium formate, sodium erythorbate, and 0.7% polyethene glycol. This additive package also maintained the suspension capability of the drilling fluid formulations. These additives can, therefore, be used to stabilise water-based drilling fluids containing biopolymers in the 150-232°C temperature range without using expensive and formation damaging synthetic polymers.
Abstract Gas and liquid flooding using carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2), or brine solution have become one of the promising enhanced gas (EGR) and oil recovery (EOR) technologies for residual hydrocarbons (HCs) enhancement in conventional oil and gas reservoir respectively. However, the flow mechanism between the displacing and displaced fluids are not yet clear, especially for the novel gas alternating gas injection method adopted in this study. This experimental study investigates the flow mechanism of N2-CO2-CH4 through gas alternating gas injection techniques in consolidated rocks during EGR. The research presents a better flow behaviour characteristic using a novel N2 alternating CO2 during EGR. These values were used in determining the optimum injection rate with the minimum in situ mixing and high displacement front. An experimental laboratory core flooding, experiment was done to imitate a detailed process of an unsteady state N2-CO2-CH4 displacement in Bandera grey core sample at 35-40°C of temperature, 1500 psig of pressure, and at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 ml/min N2 alternating CO2 injection rates to evaluate the displacement flow characteristics, such as diffusion coefficient, dispersion coefficient, density and viscosity, mobility ratio, and dispersivity. The CO2 was injected after 4-5 cm3 of N2 injection throughout the runs at the experimental condition. The findings indicated that gas alternating gas injection technique presents a better flow behaviour characteristic compared to that of individual CO2 or N2 injection. Such prominent behaviour was observed at 0.4 ml/min injection, with higher displacement front and longer CO2 breakthrough time. The mobility ratio of N2-CO2-CH4 was lower compared to that of N2-CH4 and CO2-CH4. This was due to the inclusion of nitrogen which acts as a barrier between the CO2 and displaced CH4. The later contributed significantly for the delayed in CO2 breakthrough especially at lower injection rates (0.2-0.4 ml/min) during the gas alternating gas EGR process. The overall molecular diffusion coefficients were found to be 22.99, 18.48 and 17.33 ×10-8 m2/s for N2-CH4, CO2-CH4, and CO2-N2 binary interaction respectively at the test condition. The dispersion coefficient increases with an increase in the injection rate due to rise in the interstitial velocity as the CO2 plume traverses through the core sample during the EGR process.
Surface tension is very important property in petroleum and gas operations. It provide an insight into the understanding most of multiphase fluids behaviour. In this experimental study, the surface tension of methane and carbon dioxide bubbles in a confined system due to the variation of pressure and temperature have been investigated. The surface tension was studied within a pressure range of (10 – 110) psig. The surface tension of the gases was measured each at 25 C, 30 C, 35 C and 40 C within the varied pressure to establish the significance of temperature. The results showed that increasing pressure at a given temperature reduces surface tension. Also increasing temperature at a given pressure reduces the surface tension. The surface tension obtained at 25 C and 10 psig is 74.85 mN/m while that of 40 C and 110 psig is 59.55 mN/m for methane bubble. The results obtained for carbon dioxide bubble at 25 C and 10 psig is 73.09 and 58.78 mN/m for 40 C and 110 psig. The diameter of the gas bubbles was also measured as a function of time at each corresponding temperature. The diameter of the carbon dioxide bubble was found to be decreasing with time, and this shows the miscibility behaviour of the CO2 in water. In the case of CH4, the diameter was found to remain constant in the same condition of temperature and pressure used in investigating CO2. The results show that, though both CO2 and CH4 are nonpolar molecules, at the same condition of pressure and temperature CO2 has higher dispersion than methane.