SPE 53937

Particle Size Distribution Selection of CaCO3 in Drill-In Fluids: Theory and Applications
R.D. Cargnel, J. P. Luzardo, SPE, M-I Drilling Fluids de Venezuela

Copyright 1999, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 1999 SPE Latin American and Caribbean
Petroleum Engineering Conference held in Caracas, Venezuela, 2123 April 1999.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
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Bridging agents are used in Drill-In fluids to prevent problems

of massive loss circulation to the formation and formation
damage through fine solids migration that invade the hydraulic
flow channels of the reservoir rock. Also, thick cake build up
that induces a differential sticking problem, as well as torque
and drag of the drill string are avoided.
The first step when selecting the particle size distribution of
bridging agents (specifically CaCO3) in Drill-In fluids is the
petrophysical
characterization
and
pore
geometry
determination of the rock. In consolidated sands, the criterion
of selection of particle size of bridging agents is: 1/7 Dpore
throat<Dparticle<1/3 Dpore throat. CaCO3 from different sources were
selected with a particle size distribution within the described
interval, determined by using a particle size distribution
analyzer through LASER dispersion technique. In order to
prove experimentally the effectiveness of the formed cake,
dynamic filtration tests were conducted in aloxite synthetic
cores previously characterized.
Determination of the pore and pore throat diameters were
performed through S.E.M imaging technique. Verification of
the particle size distribution of the CaCO3 to be used was
carried out through LASER dispersion technique. Results of
the dynamic filtration tests are reported.

 


Reservoirs worldwide and particularly in Venezuela, have

been submmited to large explotation periods, therefore, many
of them show a pressure of the fluid content in the pores
below to the normal level corresponding to the hydrostatic
pressure.

These characteristics make these reservoirs sensitive to

damage caused by the fluids used for their drilling and
completion.
Regular mud systems have large quantities of fine solids that
penetrate the productive formation causing a generally
irreversible plugging; influencing negatively in the
productivity or injection of the wells1. The main components
of these drilling muds are barite (BaSO4) and bentonite (sodic
montmorillonite). When barite invades the productive area it
creates and internal block within the formation, which can not
be removed.1
Parameters such as: low pore pressure in the formation,
invasion of the whole mud, use of barite as weighting
material, and low productivy of wells lead to establish criteria
for the design of Drill-In fluid systems. This was based on the
selection of the bridging material with a specific particle size
distribution, in accordance with the physical-chemical
characteristics of formations to be drilled.
During the drilling operation, the fluid filtration process to the
formation takes places in three different ways:2.5 Filtration
underneath the bit due to the high impact with which the fluid
is forced toward the reservoir interior. This is due to the high
speed and shear rate provided by the bit nozzle, dynamic
filtration through the wellbore in the annulus from fluid
circulation, and static filtration during trips, connections or
drilling.
In the dynamic filtration process the pore invasion increases
because of the following facts: the pressure differencial
increases, the fluid viscosity of the fluid decreases because of
the shear effect, and the mud cake erodes due to the fluid
circulation and drill string rotation.
When invasion of the pay zones occurs, fluid-fluid and fluidrock interactions are caused3. These interactions are due to the
invasion of mud filtrate, mud solids and in some cases, whole
mud to the porous media. Solid invasion to the porous media
can be classified into three main types: surface brigdging,
shallow plugging, and deep invasion.4.5 During the migration
of fine solids through the rock, they begin to accumulate in the
pore throats, forming an internal cake that irreversibly blocks
the hydraulic flow channels. To avoid this internal blocking, it
is necessary to create a surface mudcake in the pore in the near
wellbore. Calcium carbonate is a bridging material with the
proper mechanical and chemical characteristics to be utilized

R.D. Cargnel

in the Drill-In fluid design to drill the production zones. Its

thermal and mechanical resistance makes the formed mudcake
in the wellbore to have mechanical consistency that stands
impacts and high-pressure diferentials. Chemically, it is acid
soluble so that it can be removed from the porous matrix to
recover the permeability of the rock.

  
  

  

The analysis was made with aloxite synthetic cores (10 and 35
microns) as a theoretical pore diameter. Permeability to air of
the 10 and 35 microns cores are 950 milidarcys and 5,5
Darcys respectively; therefore, there is a good connecction
between pores. Pores geometry (Figs. 1 and 3) was
determined by combining Scanning Electron Microscopy
techniques and image processing. The size distribution (Figs.
2 and 4) of the pores of the 10 microns core showed a 10.2
microns d50 and 35 microns d50 for the 27.5 microns core.

      

The selection was made according to the 1/7dg<dp<1/3dg

relationship3. The size range for the core with a 10 microns
pore throat average diameter falls between 1.4<dp<3.4
microns, and for the 35 microns core falls between 3.8<dp<9.0
microns. The selected material for the 10 microns core was
calcium carbonate A and B. Sample A (Fig. 5), has a d50= 2.11
microns, a cumulative of 32.9% lower than 1.4 microns, a
cumulative of 37.70% between 1.4 at 3.4 microns, and the rest
between 3.3 and 15 microns. Sample B (Fig. 5), has a d50=
42.48 microns, a cumulative of 5% lower than 1.4 microns, a
cumulative of 5.81% between 1.4 at 3.4 microns, and the rest
between 3.3 and 15 microns. For the 35 microns core, calcium
carbonate C (Fig. 5) has a d50= 8.99 microns, a cumulative of
29.76% lower than 3.8 microns, a cumulative of 34.06%
between 3.8 at 9.0 microns, and the rest between 9.0 and 36
microns.

    

Due to the mechanical properties, calcium carbonate is the

appropriate material for the design of Drill-In fluids, since it is
resistant to high pressure differentials and to impacts of the
drill string. It is soluble in acid, which guarantees its removal
from the porous media after invasion. Mechanically, it is not
possible to separate colloidal particles (<2 microns); therefore,
the material always contains a percentage of fine solids.
However, commercial calcium carbonates are already being
produced with an efficient control on the desired distribution.



TM
      

A FLO-PRO Drill-In Fluid was designed (Table 1). This

system is characterized by high viscosities at low shear rates
developed in the annulus, achieving a better hole cleaning. It
shows the elastic properties of a solid, which give it low
mobility in the porous media and a good cutting suspension
when circulation is stopped. The fluid was formulated in a 3%
potasium chloride solution (KCI), where polymers are more
stable to temperature effects.

SPE 53937

 
      


Parameters involved in the dynamic filtration analysis are

temperature, static filtration pressure, differential pressure, and
shear rate6. A temperature of 2000 F was selected, since the
polymer fluid is stable at this temperature. This guarantees
optimal suspension of the calcium carbonate solids in the mud
column, although some FLO-PRO system designs are stable
up to 3200 F . The system internal pressure was 600 psi, which
is equal to the reservoir pressure or pore pressure. Tests can be
designed up to 2,500 psi of pore pressure. The differential
pressure at which the filtration was performed was 200 psi;
however, differential pressure can be raised up to 1,000 psi,
but is limited by the pore mechanical resistance. The working
shear rate was 100 seg-1, which is the velocity at the annulus
that produces a laminar flow regime7. The test was made on a
40-min. period, even though it is limited to a filtrate volume of
50 cc., which means the test stops before only if accumulated
volume reaches 50cc.



10 Microns Porous Element.

In order to determine the proper concentration of CaCO3 A
and B (Fig. 8 and 11) to formulate the fluid, the concentration
of the bridging material was varied from 10 to 60 ppb. As
shown in Fig. 8 and 11 there are three well defined and logic
tendencies:
1. The 20-30 ppb range of CaCO3 represents the
concentrations in which the volume of filtrate reached
minimal values. That is, for this particle size distribution of
the bridging material, this concentration range is where a
better arrangement of the particles occurs, turning into an
impermeable cake. Besides, as shown in Table 2 (Figs. 6 and
7) the initial filtration rates and spurt loss are the lowest of all
the concentrations evaluated.
2. When the concentration is reduced from 20 to 10 ppb
(Table 2), the tendency is an increase in the total filtration
volume, filtration rate and spurt loss. The thin cake deposited
at the walls of the porous element shows that the amount of
bridging material is low for the filtration area.
3. When the concentration increases from 30 to 50 ppb (Table
2) high spurt loss, filtration rates, and total filtration volumes
are observed. This increase is due to the fact that 95% of the
material at 50 ppb is larger than 3.3 microns. Therefore, the
predominant size of particles in the sample does not keep the
geometric relationship to form a matrix that can avoid the
filtration invasion. That way, a thicker cake is formed and,
with the higher filtrate volume, the amount of particles
deposited in the cake is larger.
Comparing Tables 2 and 3 for CaCO3 A and B in Fig. 5, it
can be easily seen that the concentrations between 20 and 30
ppb yield lower spurt losses, filtration rates and total filtration
volume. With the CaCO3 A (Fig. 5) the initial filtration rate,
spurt loss, and total filtrate volume (Fig. 9 and 10) are lower
than those reached in the fluid formulated with the CaCO3 B
(Fig. 5). This occurs because the amount of material between
1.4 and 3.4 microns is 37%, whereas in the CaCO3 B, that

SPE 53937

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION SELECTION OF CaCO3 IN Drill-In FLUIDS: THEORY AND APPLICATION

amount is 5.8%. Even though the filtration rates where the

system stabilizes are similar with both CaCO3, the cakes are
thicker and the radius of invasion is larger with sample B.
This means that the amount of fines invading the porous
media have better chances of migrating through this media,
because the filtrate volume is larger.
35 Microns Porous Element.
When the average size of the pore throats increases as in this
case, in the range of 3.8<dp<9.0 microns, the filtration volume
is larger, because of the increase in fine solids content in
CaCO3 C. The amount of material (Fig. 5) under 3.8 microns
is 30%, with an accumulated up to 1 micron of 7.28%. These
ultra fine solids will invade the porous media with no
restriction. Because of that, (Figs. 12 and 13) the initial
filtrate loss is high and the stabilization of the filtration rate
takes longer time than that from tests with 10 microns porous
elements. Besides, the invasion radius will be larger than those
reached in the 10-micron cores, because the filtration times in
the 35-micron cores were very short.
As shown in figure 5 the particle size distribution performed
on the filtrate yields a d50 = 7.94 microns, and a cumulative up
to 3.8 microns of 29.13 %. This means that the amount of fine
solids invading the porous media is almost the total contained
in the original sample. The portion of particles not present in
the filtrate sample is that larger than 1/7 of the average pore
throat size, which means that the theory is verified: particles
less than 1/7 of this size will actually invade the porous media.
Above this range, the particles either form a good cake or are
discarded.





1. The concentration of bridging material used in the

drilling and/or completion fluid in order to reduce the invasion
of the porous media, depend on the geometric characteristics
of such media, the particle size distribution of the material,
and the conditions under which the filtration occurs.
2. It has been demonstrated that the criteria of the square
root of the permeability in order to determine the pore throat
size is just an approximation, and should not be used unless no
other method, like the one shown here using SEM techniques,
is available. For instance, the permeability of the 10-micron
porous element is 950 mD. The square root of this value is
30.8 microns, which is three times the value found by SEM. If
the square root value had been used, fine solids invasion of the
porous media would have been extremely high.
3. As long as the particle size distribution is within the
range of 1/7 and 1/3 of the average pore throat size, the cake
formed is instantaneous and effective. This yields a small
invasion of solids into the porous media.
4. Fine solids under 1 micron always invade the porous
media to some extent. There is no way around this, because
the available material on the market will always contain them.
The only thing that can be done is to minimize this as much as
possible.
5. The dynamic filtration tests are the most representatives,
provided the whole system is characterized, to predict the

effectiveness of a bridging material and the type of invasion

occurring.

!
 

d50 = Mean Diameter, L, microns

dg = Average pore throat size, L, microns
dp = Particle diameter of the bridging material, L, microns
I Rate = Initial Rate, L3/T, ml/sec
F. Rate = Final Rate, L3/T, ml/sec

 

50 = Promedia
g = Throat
p = Particle

 

1.

2.
3.

4.
5.
6.
7.

Mrqez, A. : Fluido de Perforacin del Tipo Drill-In

Disenado Reolgicamente para Minimizar el Dano a las
Formaciones Productoras Presentado en el III Seminario
de Fluidos de Perforacin de Pozos. Caracas, Octubre de
1996.
Fergunson and Klotz. Trans AIME, Vol 201 in 1954.
Guzmn, J. : Influencia de la Geometra del Medio
Poroso en la Efectividad de Agentes Sellantes en Lodos
de Perforacin SVIP 092, Presentado en las XI Jornadas
Tcnicas de Petrleo en Maturn, Monagas, 19 de Febrero
de 1997.
Abrams, A.: Mud Design to Minimize Rock Imparirment
Due To Particle Invasion, JPT (May 1977) 586-592
Core Laboratories.: Advances in Formation Damage
Assessment and Control Strategies, November, 1998.
Fann Instrument Company.: Dynamic Filtration
System,Model 90. Instruction Manual. Copyright 1996.
M-I Drilling FluidsL.L.C.: Drilling Fluids Engineering
Manual, Copyright 1998.

Properties


"# $%  &   
 

Density, ppg
Plastic V, cP
2
Yield Point, p/100 ft
2
Gel 10, p/100 ft
2
Gel 10, p/100 ft
Brookfield V, cP
API Filtrate, cc/30 min

CaCO3,
10 ppb
8.6
9
28
13
17
38500
4.6

CaCO3,
20 ppb
8.8
9
28
13
18
38000
4.4

CaCO3,
30 ppb
9.0
10
30
14
18
38700
4.4

CaCO3,
60 ppb
9.4
12
27
15
18
39000
4.4


"# '%  

% $( ) 

*

%

Sample,
Ppb CaCO3
10
20
30
40

I Rate,
ml/sec
75
45.23
33.47
64.20

Spurt Loss,
ml
9.71
1.13
1.38
1.24

Total,
ml
30.68
25.92
29.07
32.12

F Rate,
ml/sec
1.55
2.0
2.0
2.30

R.D. Cargnel

SPE 53937


"# +%  
% $( ) 

*
%

Sample,
ppb CaCO3
10
20
30
40

I Rate,
ml/sec
91
88.37
78.14
103.14

Spurt Loss,
ml
21
8.63
8.32
15.94

Total,
ml
39.78
27.68
30.05
43.49

F Rate,
ml/sec
1.35
1.36
1.50
1.7


"# ,%  
% +- ) 

*
%

Sample,
ppb CaCO3
20
30
40
60

I Rate,
ml/sec
95.87
76.73
91.46
99.48

Spurt Loss,
ml
26.50
12.65
18.15
22.75

Total,
ml
> 50
> 50
> 50
> 50

F Rate,
ml/sec
10.50
2.30
8.5
12.5

Fig. 3- SEM Image. 35 Microns Aloxite Porous Element

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
<0

Fig. 1- SEM Image. 10 Microns Aloxite Porous Element

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
<0

[0,2)

[2,4)

[4,6)

[6,8) [8,10) [10,12) [12,14) [14,16) >=16

Fig. 2-Pore Throat Size Distribution 10 Microns Aloxite

Porous Element

[0,10) [10,20) [20,30) [30,40) [40,50) [50,60)

>=60

Fig. 4- Pore Throat Size Distribution. 35 Microns Aloxite

Porous Element

SPE 53937

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION SELECTION OF CaCO3 IN Drill-In FLUIDS: THEORY AND APPLICATION

100
35
90

80

30

60

50

Filtrate, cc

25

40

30

20

20

10
20
30
40
50

CaCO 3 A
CaCO 3 B
CaCO 3 C

10

0,1

10

100

m in
m in
m in
m in
m in

15

Filtrate of C aCO 3 C
0
0,01

1000

P AR TIC LE S IZE , m icrons

10
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

C o n ce ntra tio n o f C a C O 3 , p pb

Fig. 5- Particle Size Distribution of CaCO3 A, B, C, and

Filtrate from CaCO3 C.

Fig. 8- Filtrate Volume vs CaCO3 A Concentration.

50

35
45

40

30
35

30

Volumen, cc

25

Volumen, cc

25

20

20

15

15
10#/Bbl
20#/Bbl
40#/Bbl

10

10

60#/Bbl
30#/Bbl

10 #/Bbl
25 #/Bbl
30 #/Bbl
40 #/Bbl

0
0,00

0
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Time ,min

Fig. 9- Filtrate in 10 Microns Core with CaCO3 B.

5,00

10,00

15,00

20,00

25,00

30,00

35,00

40,00

45,00

50,00

Time, min

Fig. 6- Filtrate in 10 Microns Core with CaCO3 A.

3,0

10

2,5

10 #/Bbl
25 #/Bbl
30 #/Bbl
40 #/Bbl

2,0

Filtrate Rate, cc/seg

Filtrate Rate, cc/seg

CUMULATIVE %

70

1,5

1,0

10#/Bbl
20#/Bbl
40#/Bbl
60#/Bbl
30#/Bbl

0,5

2
0,0
25

30

35

40

45

Time, min
0
5,00
10,00
15,00
20,00
40,00
45,00
Fig.7Stabilization
Flow25,00Rate30,00with35,00
CaCO
3 A

Time, min

50,00

Fig.10- Stabilization Flow Rate with CaCO3 B.

50

R.D. Cargnel

SPE 53937

50

55

45
50

40

Volumen, cc

Volumen, cc

45

35

30

40

35

25

10
20
30
40
50

20

min
min
min
min
min

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10
20
30
40
60

10

5,00

10,00

15,00

20,00

25,00

30,00

35,00

40,00

#/Bb l
#/Bb l
#/Bb l
#/Bb l
#/Bb l

45,00

50,00

Tim e , m in

Fig. 12- Filtrate in 35 Microns Core with CaCO3 C.

10

10
20
30
40
60

#/Bbl
#/Bbl
#/Bbl
#/Bbl
#/Bbl

0
5,00

10,00

15,00

20,00

25,00

30,00

10

20

30

40

50

60

Fig. 14- Filtrate Volume vs CaCO3 C Concentration.

Fig. 11- Filtrate Volume vs CaCO3 B Concentration.

0
0,00

Concentration of CaCO 3 , ppb

Concentration of CaCO3, ppb

Volumen, cc

min
min
min
min
min

25

15

Filtrate Rate, cc/seg

10
20
30
40
45

30

35,00

Time, min

Fig. 13-Stabilization Flow Rate with CaCO3 C.

40,00

45,00

70