Elkem oilfield applications for drilling & completion fluids

MICROMAX® is a high performance weighting agent for drilling and cementing fluids. It is a manganese tetraoxide (Mn3O4) based material. MICROMAX® is not milled. MICROMAX® maintains a consistency in both PSD and almost perfect sphericity. It is both the size and shape which contributes to its unique properties. Unlike other weighting agents such as barite - which are milled and thus have angular mor­phology and wide PSD - MICROMAX® has spherical morphology and is produced in its fin­ished form. MICROMAX® is 15 % denser and over 60 % harder than barite. However due to its spheric­ity and particle size, the abrasiveness and fric­tion are significantly lower than barite. MICROMAX® can be used in a wide range of applications, including aqueous and non-aque­ous drilling and completion fluids. MICROMAX® is PLONOR certified, and not classified as being dangerous to health. It is ful­ly compatible with all common oilfield additiv­es.

To deal with the increase in drilling and comple­tion of challenging wells, MICRODENSE® has been introduced to the global market. MICRODENSE® is a specially selected, high density, micronized ilmenite (iron titanium ox­ide, FeTiO), applicable for drilling, completion and cementing operations. MICRODENSE® has lower abrasiveness com­pared to commonly used weighting agents, and a magnetite content of less than 0.3 % by weight, preventing interference with logging tools. The usage of MICRODENSE® ensures im­proved fluids recovery at shakers and less dilu­tion required to maintain properties as the high hardness of the Microdense particles prevents creation of fines in the fluid system. MICRODENSE® is partially acid soluble, mak­ing it suitable for drilling and completion of res­ervoir sections. By using the same fluid for drilling and com­pletion operations, costly and time-consuming displacement can be avoided thereby reducing operational time.

By nature, MICRODENSE® has high hardness, preventing degradation and the resulting in­creasing surface area that can lead to poor ECD management. Lower dilution rates and less sur­face losses can be expected, all contributed to by the hardness of MICRODENSE®.

MAXFORM™ is a suspension of MICROMAX® in saturated potassium formate, producing a slurry of 19.2 ppg (2.30 SG). Higher density slur­ries are also available, and MAXFORM™ has been successfully tested to 22 ppg (2.62 SG) at 220°C. The MAXFORM™ slurry contains viscosifier, defoamer, dispersant, potassium formate brine, and MICROMAX®. It is buffered for stability. Potassium formate brine/MICROMAX® pro­vides the base fluid to build a Maxform system. Normal use would require additions of fluid loss control chemicals, bridging material, etc, to produce a full system for drilling or completion applications.

MAXFORM™ can be used at the delivered den­sity or diluted back with potassium formate brine. MAXFORM™ does not present harm to person­nel compared to NAF’s and has a very good en­vironmental profile thereby avoiding the disad­vantages of using NAF’s. MAXFORM™ reduces formation damage compared to NAF’s. MAXFORM™ is very stable, easy to mix and maintain, and is a great substitute to NAF’s or expensive brines such as cesium formate.

ESM D2 acts as a deflocculant in freshwater and brine-based drilling and completion fluids. ESM D2 works in both mono- and divalent brines, from sodium chloride to calcium bro­mide, or a mixture of potassium and cesium formates. It provides low, controllable rheologies, avoid­ing flocculation of weighing agents at elevated temperatures and densities that can lead to high fluid loss and sag. This product has been de­signed for MICROMAX® and MICRODENSE® weighting agents but works well with barite.

It provides stable drilling fluids at temperatures over 230 °C (446 °F) and at densities above 25 ppg (3.00 SG). ESM D2 is resistant to contaminants such as cement and salt, categorized by a green HSE profile being non-toxic and environmentally safe. General use of 5-20 kg/m³ (1.75 - 7 ppb).

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