Quarterly Progress Report: January 1 - March 31, 2005

During this second Quarter of the Project, the first four tasks of Phase I--all focusing on the behavior of aphrons--were continued: (a) Aphron Visualization--evaluate and utilize various methods of monitoring and measuring aphron size distribution at elevated pressure; (b) Fluid Density--investigate the effects of pressure, temperature and chemical composition on the survivability of aphrons; (c) Aphron Air Diffusivity--determine the rate of loss of air from aphrons during pressurization; and (d) Pressure Transmissibility--determine whether aphron bridges created in fractures and pore throats reduce fracture propagation. The project team expanded the laboratory facilities and purchased a high-pressure system to measure bubble size distribution, a dissolved oxygen (DO) probe and computers for data acquisition. Although MASI Technologies LLC is not explicitly ISO-certified, all procedures are being documented in a manner commensurate with ISO 9001 certification, including equipment inventory and calibration, data gathering and reporting, chemical inventory and supplier data base, waste management procedures and emergency response plan. Several opportunities presented themselves to share the latest aphron drilling fluid technology with potential clients, including presentation of papers and working exhibit booths at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and the SPE Coiled Tubing Conference & Exhibition. In addition, a brief trip to the Formation Damage Symposium resulted in contacts for possible collaboration with ActiSystems, the University of Alberta and TUDRP/ACTS at the University of Tulsa. Preliminary results indicate that the Aphron Visualization and Pressure Transmissibility tasks should be completed on time. Although the Aphron Air Diffusivity task has been impeded by the lack of a suitable DO probe, it is hoped to be completed on time, too. The Fluid Density task, on the other hand, has had significant delays caused by faulty equipment and will likely require an additional month of work. Meanwhile, an assessment of potential methodologies for the Aphron Hydrophobicity project has been initiated and is now focused on measuring wettability of the aphron surface rather than interfacial tension

Quarterly Progress Report: October 1 - December 31, 2003

During this first Quarter of the Project, a team of five individuals was formed to characterize aphron drilling fluids, with the ultimate objectives to gain acceptance for this novel technology and decrease the costs of drilling mature and multiple-pressure formations in oil and gas wells. Aphron drilling fluids are very high low-shear-rate viscosity fluids laden with specially designed microbubbles, or ''aphrons.'' The focus of the Project is to develop some understanding of the aphron structure and how aphrons and base fluid behave under downhole conditions. Four tasks were begun during this Quarter. All of these focus on the behavior of aphrons: (a) Aphron Visualization - to evaluate various methods of measuring bubble size distribution, especially Acoustic Bubble Spectroscopy (ABS), in aphron drilling fluids at elevated pressure; (b) Fluid Density - to investigate the effects of pressure, temperature and chemical composition on the survivability of aphrons; (c) Aphron Air Diffusivity - to determine the rate of loss of air from aphrons during pressurization; and (d) Pressure Transmissibility - to determine whether aphron networks (similar to foams) in fractures and pore networks reduce fracture propagation. The project team installed laboratory facilities and purchased most of the equipment required to carry out the tasks described above. Then work areas were combined to permit centralized data acquisition and communication with internal and external file servers, and electronic and hard copy filing systems were set up to be compatible with ISO 9001 guidelines. Initial feasibility tests for all four tasks were conducted, which led to some modification of the experimental designs so as to enable measurements with the required accuracy and precision. Preliminary results indicate that the Aphron Visualization, Aphron Air Diffusivity and Pressure Transmissibility tasks should be completed on time. The Fluid Density task, on the other hand, has some fundamental problems that may preclude realization of its objectives; alternative experimental approaches and methods of analysis will be explored during the next Quarter

Enhanced Wellbore Stabilization and Reservoir Productivity with Aphron Drilling Fluid Technology

A method is developed to monitor the rate of loss of air from aphrons at elevated pressures. This technique is used to study the effects of pressure, fluid composition and rates of pressurization and depressurization on the kinetics of air loss from aphrons in APHRON ICS{trademark} drilling fluids

Topical Report: Task 1.4 Correlation of Capillary Suction Time with Leak-Off Behavior

Core Leak-off tests are commonly used to ascertain the ability of a drilling fluid to seal permeable rock under downhole conditions. Unfortunately, these tests are expensive and require a long time to set up. To monitor fluid invasion trends and to evaluate potential treatments for reducing fluid invasion on location, a simpler screening test is highly desirable. The Capillary Suction Time (CST) Test has been used since the 1970's as a fast, yet reliable, method for characterizing fluid filterability and the condition of colloidal materials in water treatment facilities and drilling fluids. For the latter, it has usually been applied to determine the state of flocculation of clay-bearing fluids and to screen potential shale inhibitors. In this work, the CST method was evaluated as a screening tool for predicting relative invasion rates of drilling fluids in permeable cores. However, the drilling fluids examined--DRILPLEX, FLOPRO, and APHRON ICS--are all designed to generate low fluid loss and give CST values that are so high that fluid invasion comes to be dominated by experimental artifacts, such as fluid evaporation. As described in this work, the CST procedure was modified so as to minimize such artifacts and permit differentiation of the fluids under investigation