Browsing by Author "Ismail, Issham"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    A comprehensive investigation on the performance of durian rind as a lost circulation material in water based drilling mud
    (Petroleum, 2019) Majid, Nor Fatin Fatihah; Katende, Allan; Ismail, Issham; Sagala, Farad; Md Sharif, Norshila; Yunus, Mohd Azizi Che
    Oil and gas operators worldwide are expecting service companies to deliver integrated techniques to minimize, if not prevent, drilling problems. Drilling fluids perform vital functions to ensure the success of drilling operations. The technical challenges often associated with water-based drilling fluids are loss of critical properties, such as fluid loss control and rheology, under demanding conditions, such as in drilling deeper, high-temperature and high-pressure wells. Fluid loss during drilling operations has a very significant effect in both reservoir formation damage and monetary terms. The use of durian rind (DR) as a new additive in controlling lost circulation would provide another opportunity to reduce waste and avoid pollution. Therefore, DR was used to improve the rheological properties of water-based mud, and it was prepared for use as a fluid loss additive. For a better understanding of the influence of pectin on drilling mud properties, the rheological evaluation of untreated DR was compared to that of mud samples containing treated DR. The pectin in DR was extracted using four different solvents, namely, ethanol, methanol, sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide, and the most effective solvent to remove the pectin was then determined. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that NaOH was the best solvent for removing pectin from DR. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to determine the thermal stability of DR before and after treatments. The TGA results demonstrated that the treated DR had improved thermal stability compared to untreated DR. The sizes of DR used were coarse, medium, and fine. The untreated DR presented better rheological properties than the treated DR. The experimental investigation showed that a concentration of 20 lb/bbl of intermediate-sized DR was the best concentration among the tested samples.
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    Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Drill Pipe Rotation on Improving Hole Cleaning using Water-based Mud Enriched with Polypropylene Beads in Vertical and Horizontal Wellbores
    (Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2019) Heshamudin, Nursyafiqah S.; Katende, Allan; Rashid, Halimatun A.; Ismail, Issham; Sagala, Farad; Samsuri, Ariffin
    Field experience has shown that the inefficient transport of small cuttings is a main factor contributing to excessive drag and torque during the drilling of a deviated hole; however, very little is known about the transport behavior of small cuttings. This experimental study investigates the effect of different polypropylene bead concentrations in water-based mud (WBM) on hole cleaning, along with the effects of cutting size, drill pipe rotation, and hole inclination angle. A total of 160 runs were performed using an experimental rig consisting of a 13 ft (3.96 m) long casing with a 2 in (50.8 mm) Inner Diameter (ID) and a rotary inner pipe with a 0.8 in (20 mm) Outer Diameter (OD). Four cutting size ranges, namely, 0.5–1.0 mm, 1.0–1.4 mm, 1.4–1.7 mm, and 1.7–2.0 mm, with a density of 2400 kg/ were tested in WBM with varying polypropylene bead concentrations ranging from 0 to 8 ppb. The concentric annulus flow test section was changed to vertical and horizontal angles with pipe rotation from 0 to 150 rpm. The mud density and viscosity were maintained at 10 ppg and 16 cp, respectively, under a flow velocity of 3.48 m/s (Reynolds number of 6620). The results indicate that smaller cuttings are easier to transport at all pipe rotations and polypropylene bead concentrations in both vertical and horizontal holes. The optimal pipe rotational speed was found to be 60 rpm. In this study, polypropylene beads undeniably enhanced the mud carrying capacity by significantly increasing the cutting transport ratio (CTR) by up to 16.57% in vertical holes and 15.73% in horizontal holes.
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    Improving Hole Cleaning using Low Density Polyethylene Beads at Different Mud Circulation Rates in Different Hole Angles
    (Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2019) Yeu, Wong Jenn; Katende, Allan; Sagala, Farad; Ismail, Issham
    In oil and gas exploration and development, drilling a hole is one of the first and most expensive operations. The continuous demand from industry to reduce costs and operational problems has resulted in numerous innovative drilling technologies that allow us to drill directionally. Nevertheless, hole cleaning has become a problematic issue in directional drilling because drill cuttings tend to be deposited on the lower side of the deviated hole. Excess accumulation of cuttings significantly reduces the rate of penetration and indirectly increases the operational cost. To improve the cuttings transport efficiency in a deviated hole, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) beads were introduced into water-based mud for hole cleaning. LDPE beads travel rapidly through the mud column due to buoyancy and move the cuttings forward by drag and collision. The interaction between the LDPE beads and cuttings facilitates the cuttings transport process and prevents the cuttings from settling. In this study, different concentrations of LDPE beads (i.e., 1% to 5% by volume) and different flow rates (i.e., 0.4 L/s, 0.6 L/s, and 1.0 L/s) were used to determine the effects on cuttings transport efficiency. In addition, the hole angle was varied from vertical to horizontal to evaluate the significance of LDPE beads in assisting in transporting cuttings. The results denote that more cuttings can be removed from a hole with higher concentrations of LDPE beads in water-based mud. This finding is due to the higher frequency of collisions, which in turn produces larger impulsive force. In addition, the improvement in cuttings transport efficiency enabled by LDPE beads is more significant in a vertical hole than in a highly deviated hole. In summary, LDPE beads are a promising additive for drilling mud to effectively remove drilled cuttings from a hole.
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    Performance of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Beads towards Drill Cuttings Transportation in Horizontal Wellbore
    (Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2018) Hakim, Hadyan; Katende, Allan; Sagala, Farad; Ismail, Issham; Nsamba, Hussein
    Drilled cuttings removal is critical in drilling operations, especially in horizontal wells. These cuttings are postulated to be among the possible causes of many costly complications, such as mechanical pipe sticking, bore hole instability, drag and torque. This study proposes a new approach that uses polymer beads as a mud additive to improve cutting transportation. In this study, the effect of the concentration of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) polymer beads on cuttings transport efficiency (CTE) in water-based mud in a horizontal wellbore was investigated. Experiments were conducted in a lab-scale flow loop equipped with a 13-ft (3.96 m) test section consisting of a concentric annulus acrylic outer casing (2 in. ID) and a static inner PVC drill string (0.79 in. OD). A total of 150 tests were conducted using 10 ppg water based mud (WBM) with 1%–5% by vol. Concentrations of polymer beads (PE and PP) were added at a range of 8–9.5 cp. Six different sizes of drilled cuttings ranging from 0.5 to 4.0 mm were used as samples to determine the CTE at a constant 0.69 m/s average annular fluid velocity. The results revealed that CTE increased with the increase of polymer bead concentrations and that PP is better compared to PE overall due to its low density. The highest CTE was recorded at a 5% concentration of water-based mud polypropylene (WBMPP), which is approximately 96% for cutting sizes of 0.50mm–0.99 mm.