Study on the Effect of Different Ratio of Primary and Secondary Emulsifier in Drilling Fluid

Drilling fluid plays an important role in drilling operation. The main function of drilling fluid is to transport drilling cuttings from the well, control formation pressure and maintain the stability of the wellbore. Two main categories of drilling fluid are water-based mud and non-aqueous mud. In non-aqueous mud there are two types of mud which is the oil-based mud and synthetic based mud. For both non-aqueous muds, one of the most important chemical used is emulsifier. Emulsifier consists of two types which are primary and secondary emulsifier. The primary emulsifier function is to emulsify the water inside the oil so that there is no free water in filtrate and the secondary emulsifier is as the wetting agent. The efficiency of the emulsifier from the emulsion stability test using the electrical stability meter and from the filtration of the mud using the HTHP filter press. The performance of emulsifier in mud under different ratio of primary and secondary emulsifier can be predicted through the behaviour pattern. Moreover, the temperature of the down hole and performance of the mud are very significant. This project had been conducted at Baker Hughes Drilling Fluid Laboratory at Bangi by using their chemicals, equipment, and tools. In conclusion, the finding of this project is the best ratio of primary to secondary emulsifier for the temperature of 300°F and below is 1:2 while for the temperature of 300°F till 350°F the best ratio of primary to secondary emulsifier is 2:1.