Experimental Investigation of a Mixture of Methane, Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen Gas Hydrate Formation in Water-Based Drilling Mud in the Presence or Absence of Thermodynamic Inhibitors

Authors: F. Esmaeilzadeh, Y. Fayazi, J. Fathikaljahi

Abstract:

Gas hydrates form when a number of factors co-exist: free water, hydrocarbon gas, cold temperatures and high pressures are typical of the near mud-line conditions in a deepwater drilling operation. Subsequently, when drilling with water based muds, particularly on exploration wells, the risk of hydrate formation associated with a gas influx is high. The consequences of gas hydrate formation while drilling are severe, and as such, every effort should be made to ensure the risk of hydrate formation is either eliminated or significantly reduced. Thermodynamic inhibitors are used to reduce the free water content of a drilling mud, and thus suppress the hydrate formation temperature. Very little experimental work has been performed by oil and gas research companies on the evaluation of gas hydrate formation in a water-based drilling mud. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the experimental gas hydrate formation for a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide & nitrogen in a water-based drilling mud with or without presence of different concentrations of thermodynamic inhibitors including pure salt and a combination of salt with methanol or ethylene glycol at different concentrations in a static loop apparatus. The experiments were performed using a static loop apparatus consisting of a 2.4307 cm inside diameter and 800 cm long pipe. All experiments were conducted at 2200 psia. The temperature in the loop was decreased at a rate of 3.33 °F/h from initial temperature of 80 °F.

Keywords: Hydrate formation, thermodynamic inhibitor, waterbaseddrilling mud, salt, static loop apparatus.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1062110

References:

[1] Esmaeilzadeh, F., 2006. Simulation examines ice, hydrate formation in Iran separator centers. Oil & Gas Journal, Vol 104 Issue11.
[2] Esmaeilzadeh, F., Zeighami, M. E., and Fathi, J. 2008. 1- D Modeling of Hydrate Decomposition in Porous Media. Proceedings of World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology volume 31 July 2008 ISSN 2070- 3740.
[3] Fayazi, Y., 2009. An Experimental Investigation of Hydrate Formation in a Water Based Drilling Mud in Offshore Drilling Well Using Flow Loop in Dynamic and Static's State. Shiraz University, Ms. Thesis.
[4] Lai, D. T. and Dzialowski, A. K. 1989. Investigation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Various Drilling Fluids. SPE 18637, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, New Orleans.
[5] Pakulski, M., Qu, Q. and Pearcy, R., 2005. Gulf of Mexico deepwater Well Completion With Hydrate Inhibitors" SPE Paper No. 92971.
[6] Power, D., Slater, K., Aldea, C. and Lattanzi, S., 2003.Gas Hydrate Inhibited Water-Based Muds for Ultra-Deepwater Drilling. This paper was prepared for presentation at the AADE 2003 National Technology Conference .Practical Solutions for Drilling Challenges., held at the Radisson Astrodome Houston, Texas.
[7] Sarshar, M., Esmaeilzadeh, F. and Fathikaljahi, J., 2008. Predicting the Induction Time of Hydrate Formation on a Water Droplet" Oil & Gas Science and Technology - Rev. IFP, Vol. 63 (2008), No. 5, pp. 657-667 DOI: 10.2516.
[8] S├©rg├Ñrd, E., SPE and Eva Alter├Ñs, Hydro, N., 2001. Design of water Based Drilling Fluid Systems for Deepwater Norway. This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
[9] Talaghat, M. R., Esmaeilzadeh, F., Fathikaljahi. J. 2009. Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Double Gas Hydrate Formation in the Presence or Absence of Kinetic Inhibitors in a Flow Mini-Loop Apparatus. Chemical Engineering & Technology Volume 32 Issue 5, Pages 805 - 819.