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Preparation and evaluation of an ultra-high temperature resistant zwitterionic polymer viscosity reducer

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Abstract

In this study, a new zwitterionic polymer viscosity reducer (HP-THIN) was designed to address the issue of viscosity increases in high-temperature and high-density water-based drilling fluids. HP-THIN is specifically formulated for ultra-high temperatures and optimized using the viscosity reduction index before and after thermal aging. The molecular structure, thermal stability, and viscosity-average molecular weight of HP-THIN were characterized using FTIR, TGA, and rheometric analysis using a Ubbelohde viscometer. The viscosity-reducing performance of HP-THIN was evaluated in various types of drilling fluid-based slurries at 220 °C, including fresh-water slurry, brine slurry, calcium-containing slurry, and high-density composite brine slurry. Furthermore, HP-THIN was compared to commercial viscosity reducers such as Polythin and xy-27. At optimal dosage of 0.3 wt.% at 220 °C, HP-THIN demonstrated excellent viscosity reduction rates of 86%, 72%, 73%, and 51% in fresh-water slurry, brine slurry, calcium-containing slurry, and high-density composite brine slurry, respectively. HP-THIN exhibited superior viscosity reduction index in all drilling fluid slurries, compared to Polythin exhibiting reduction index of 86%, 64%, 30% and -17.8% while xy-27 achieved reduction rates of 83.3%, 56%, 55% and 37.8%. The excellent viscosity reduction performance of HP-THIN makes it a promising candidate for practical applications in the oil and gas industry.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the financial support from Sinopec Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery for Fractured Vuggy Reservoirs for this work.

Funding

Supported by the Foundation of Development of thermo-responsive-self-adaptiveness Janus nanoparticle and its shale plugging mechanism (No. 52150410427).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNPC Chuangqin Drilling Engineering Company Limited (CCDC) Drilling & Production Technology Research Institute, Sichuan, 618300, Guanghan, China

    Hu Deng, Huaizhi Tao & Jiawei Ai

  2. School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University (Wuhan Campus), Wuhan, 430100, Hubei, China

    Jindong Chen, Binqiang Xie & Lesly Dasilva Wandji Djouonkep

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  1. Hu Deng
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Contributions

Hu Deng: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing – original draft. Huaizhi Tao: Investigation, Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Jiawei Ai: Investigation, Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Jindong Chen: Project administration. Binqiang Xie: Resources, Supervision, Lesly Dasilva Wandji Djouonkep: Validation, revision.

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Correspondence to Jindong Chen.

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10965_2024_3921_MOESM1_ESM.docx

The file contains information on the orthogonal experimental procedure, the effect of shear rate on viscosity, environmental and biological toxicity evaluation, the effect of HP-THIN and filtration loss reduction agent, and the cost-affordability of HP-THIN as supporting information. (DOCX 98 KB)

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Deng, H., Tao, H., Ai, J. et al. Preparation and evaluation of an ultra-high temperature resistant zwitterionic polymer viscosity reducer. J Polym Res 31, 71 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-024-03921-9

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