Calophyllum inophyllum Oil as Novel, Green and Low Cost Ester-Based Drilling Fluids

In oil and gas drilling operation, the drilling fluid performance dictates the successfulness of the project. The oil based mud (OBM) is proven to drill faster and results in lesser wellbore problems compared to water based mud (WBM). Yet, the usage of OBM is prohibited by regulation due to its environmental impact. The drilled cuttings are not allowed to be discharged in the environment. Thus, the usage of plant derived ingredient base oil in drilling mud using Calophyllum methyl ester might be a breakthrough in drilling fluid industry.
Calophyllum inophyllum oil is naturally organic, has similar physical properties with mineral oil base, and economic due to its non-edibility, hence very suitable as base fluid. Calophyllum oil is extracted from Calophyllum inophyllum plant, or in Malaysia, it is called ‗Bintangor‘. With wide distribution from east Africa, southern coastal India, Indonesia and Australia, Calophyllum inophyllum plant is a potential sustainable resource of base oil supply for drilling mud. The crude calophyllum oil is processed through esterification and transesterification process, to reduce its viscosity. As result, calophyllum methyl ester is produced which then be used as base fluid for ester-based drilling fluids.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the possibility of calophyllum methyl ester base fluid to be used as alternatives to replace conventional mineral oil base fluid for synthetic-based mud (SBM) application.
The scopes of this project are limited to studying the characteristic and botanical description of Calophyllum inophyllum plant as the source of calophyllum methyl ester base oil, formulating the calophyllum methyl ester based mud, testing the drilling mud performance and emulsion stability; and to conduct economic analysis prior to the application. The rheological behavior study of the lime and organophilic clay concentration effect, mud density changes, temperature changes and oil water ratio change were investigated. Filtration characteristic of the designed mud system was investigated as well.
The eco-toxicological properties test was carried out to check the impact of the mud towards the environment. Poecilia reticulate (Guppy fish) is used as fresh-water