The new Rhadiant ultra-high temperature non-aqueous drilling fluid system released by M-I Swaco is said to eliminate drilling fluid product degradation, prevent wellbore control issues such as barite sag, and provide a thin filter cake for enhanced logging conditions.
‘With wellbores approaching the 500°F (260°C) threshold, there is a need for a drilling fluid that can remain stable and deliver consistent performance throughout the processes of well construction and openhole logging,’ said Joe Bacho, president of M-I Swaco, a Schlumberger company. ‘The Rhadiant drilling fluid system has a field-proven record of providing excellent logging conditions to enable efficient operations and quality reservoir characterization.’
The system is formulated to maintain a stable rheological profile with little maintenance required. Unlike conventional non-aqueous drilling fluids, it maintains extreme-temperature stability even during prolonged static conditions. Stable rheologies in tandem with ultra-thin and slick filter cake deposits clear the path for logging, casing and cementing operations. These characteristics of the fluid system enable accurate perforation placement, optimized completions and quality reservoir characterization.
In an ultra-high temperature exploration well in the Gulf of Thailand, the Rhadiant system is reported to have effectively delivered filtration control and filter cake quality with stable rheological properties while drilling with zero lost circulation. For logging operations, the fluid system enabled the customer to perform seven openhole wireline logging runs, despite the fluid remaining static for more than 90 hours. Typical problems associated with the usage of conventional nonaqueous drilling fluids, such as barite sag and stuck pipe, were eliminated.