EVALUATION OF THE BEHAVIOR OF BIODEGRADABLE LUBRICANTS IN THE DIFFERENTIAL STICKING COEFFICIENT OF WATER BASED DRILLING FLUIDS

Abstract

This work aims to evaluate the behavior of four samples of biodegradable lubricants in the differential sticking coefficient of aqueous drilling fluids. Eighteen formulations of fluids containing bentonite clay, lubricants and biodegradable polymers in different concentrations were studied. The experiment focused on observing the samples’ rheological properties, its filtration, the cake thickness, the lubricity coefficient, and, finally, the coefficient of the differential sticking. The results showed that the polymer additives improved rheological and filtration properties significantly. Also, the findings confirmed the idea that the presence of a lubricant leads to a reduction in lubricity, LC, and affects the differential sticking coefficient, DSC, of the fluids. However, the experiment observed a small variation on the LC as a result of an increase in the lubricant content. Overall, the results of the LC and the DSC of the fluids containing biodegradable lubricant additives were outstanding, being similar to the ones observed for oil-based fluids.