Developing a Green Lost Circulation Material (LCM) Derived From Coconut Coir Waste

This dissertation presents a project aims to avoid or significantly reduce lost circulation
of drilling fluid during drilling operation by introducing coconut coir waste as a lost
circulation material (LCM). The oil and gas industry spends millions of dollars a year to
combat lost circulation and the detrimental effects it propagates, such as loss of rig time,
stuck pipe, side-tracks, blowouts and, occasionally, the abandonment of expensive wells.
It is estimated that lost circulation costs the industry about US $800 million per year,
while the lost circulation products could represent as much as US $200 million.
The objectives of this research will be focusing on formulating and developing a
composition of drilling fluid containing coconut (Cocos Nucifera) coir as a lost
circulation material (LCM) to either prevent or mitigate loss of drilling fluid during
drilling wells. Two cases were developed in order to examine coconut coir feasibility as
LCM by comparing with industrial nut plug and corn cob and to study on the effect of
coconut coir concentration and particle size towards mud rheology, filtration volume and
filter cake thickness.
Coconut coir is being examined as it is among the easiest fruit peel waste that can be
found in the country and based on its characteristics. Based on study, coconut palm is
one of the most important crops in Malaysia. With the increased of total area planted
from 117000 hectares in 1998 to 147000 hectares in 2004, it also indicates that the
fruits' wastes are increasing aunually. The high content of lignin in coconut coir made
the fiber tougher and stiffer as compared to other fibrous wastes.
Overall, coconut coir has showed some potential in acting as LCM. Although nut plug
illustrated convincing values of plastic viscosity, yield point and gel strength, coconut
coir has the advantages over the amount of filtrate and mud cake thickness. For the
effect of particle size and concentration, course particles demonstrated good plastic
viscosity and yield point. Finer particles, on the other hand, managed to control fluid
loss better than course particles with thinner mud cake formation.