This document provides a critical review of the application of nanotechnology in drilling fluid over the last decades. It discusses how nanotechnology has been used to improve the physical properties of drilling fluid, such as preventing fluid loss, reducing bit balling, friction and drag, solid content, and corrosion. The document outlines several ways that nanoparticles can enhance drilling fluid performance, including plugging nanopores to prevent fluid invasion, forming hydrophobic coatings to repel water and clay, and producing a thin lubricating film to reduce friction and wear on drilling equipment. However, the application of nanotechnology in drilling fluid is still limited and under research due to uncertainties around nanoparticle behavior.

1. A CRITICAL REVIEW OF NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATION IN DRILLING
FLUID OVER THE LAST DECADES
Abstract
Drilling fluid plays an important role during drilling process. In the past few decades, mud
engineers have been trying to modify drilling fluid to improve its quality in term of its viscosity,
density, specific gravity and any other physical properties. The demand of a better drilling fluid
increases when oil and gas company turns their attention to other unexplored areas such as the
unstable shale areas and high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) areas. This is where the
nanotechnology takes part in oil and gas challenges.
The use of nanotechnology in drilling fluid has been proven in many researches and experiments
could improve the physical properties of the drilling fluid. Although there are many papers that
discuss the application of nanotechnology in oil and gas industry, but yet, not many researchers
are focusing on the application of nanotechnology in drilling fluid itself. Therefore, this paper will
provide a better exposure of the application of nanotechnology in drilling fluid over the last
decades. By going through this paper, it will first explain about nanotechnology before providing
more information in details of its application in drilling fluid.
In addition, this paper will only provide information on the areas which shows a promising future
in oil and gas industry, where in reality the involvement of nanotechnology in drilling fluid is still
under research.
Introduction
In the past few decades, nanotechnology has been a prominent research in many areas including
oil and gas industry. The continuous study of nanotechnology and its chemical properties have
lead into numerous applications in many products especially in cosmetics, medical, electronics,
food, fabric, painting and coating industries as well as in oil and gas industries. Nanotechnology
is the any technology that is utilized at the Nano-scale approximately between 1 and 100
nanometers (El-Diasty & Salem, 2013).
Figure 1: The nanoscale (Nanoscience, n.d)

2. Figure 2: Nanoparticle size vs cells(Barr, 2008)
These tiny particles offer exceptional characteristics which are very useful and can be applied in
various fields. Most of the products or technology developed by those industries used nanoparticles
to deliver drugs, enhance strength and durability, and as a repelling properties which is commonly
used in painting and coating. Some example of nanoparticles and its uses are described herein.
Nanoparticles Uses
Gold nanoparticles It is used to target drugs to certain parts of
body to treat tumor
Silica It is used as an additive to rubber and plastics
Zinc oxide It is used to make the food last longer
Silver nanoparticles It is used to kill bacteria in fabric
Silicon dioxide crystalline It is used to strengthen a racquet by fill in the
gap between carbon fibre
Titanium dioxide It is common ingredients in sunscreen to
protect us from harmful UV ray
Table 1: Examples of nanoparticle and its uses
Some nanoparticles might have more than one uses. For example, apart from treating tumor,
Gold nanoparticles are also used to solve air pollution when embedded with other elements.
Therefore, it is possible that most of these nanoparticles could be having different uses that are
yet to be discovered. As time passes by, the uses and advantages of nanoparticles of every
elements are revealed one after another and its uses are put into application wherever they see fit.
However, there are some serious issues related to nanotechnology. Nanoparticles are very small
compared to its normal size particle. This distinction in size lead to the change in the properties
of the particles. In other words, nanotechnology have a very unique of physical and chemical
properties. As the properties of tiny particles is not easy to handle and predicted there is
uncertainties in that matters. For example, a piece of gold is obviously gold in color but that is
not the case for gold nanoparticles which might have deep red in color or even black if it is mix
with water.

3. Due to these uncertainties, the application of nanotechnology in oil and gas industries is still
quite limited even though almost every industries have already make use of the benefits and
advantages of nanotechnology. In fact the application of nanotechnology in oil industry is only
limited to the construction and material side, whereas the use of nanotechnology in drilling fluid
is still not applicable. It is because nanotechnology is still new with a lot of uncertainties. As a
precaution step the company is more concern in minimizing the risk by reducing the
uncertainties. Therefore, this paper will provide an exposure on how these unique characteristic,
physical and chemical properties of nanotechnology can improve the drilling fluid, thus increase
the efficiency of the overall process.
Definition
In the year 2005, nanoparticle is defined as a capability to create new matter in an atomic scale or
molecular level with the aim to study and exploit the new matter’s properties (Mansoori & Soelaiman,
2005). Later itisdefined asascience,technologyandengineeringof matterthatare preciselymanipulated
at nano scale dimension. This technology involved the use of materials at a range of 1-100 nanometers
size all bythemselvesortocreate anothernew large material fromthemwhichisbeneficial anduseful to
others.Nanotechnologygotitsname fromprefix “nano”whichmeansone-billionthof ameter(El-Diasty
& Salem, 2013).
Nanotechnology involved the study and application of tiny things which is known as nanoparticles.
Nanoparticles are matter that has all three dimension in the nanoscale ("Nanotechnology and Food
Safety," 2010) and is made up of atoms which has radius below 100nm (El-Diasty & Salem, 2013).
Characterization of Nanoparticles
In order for us to understand the true capabilities of nanoparticles, specified knowledge about them is
needed.We mustdigintothe nanoparticles’worldsothatwe canfurtherexamine howthe nanoparticles
behaves in certain environment and what are its characteristics.
Nanoparticles’sizeissotinyin nature whichisin range of lessthan 100 nanometerleadstothe increase
of total surface area exposedcomparedtomaterial of the same volume.Thus,more particle can forma
bondwithnanoparticlesinvariouswayswhichwill make a strongerlightweightmaterial.Figure 2shows
how nanoparticleshashightotal surface area exposedcomparedtoother material of the same volume.
It also has fine structure of grain and can form a very thin layer of lubricating coating which allow
themselvestoslide smoothlyagainsteachother(Amanullah&Al-Tahini,2009; El-Diasty & Salem, 2013).
Figure 2: Comparison of total surface area exposed("Nanotechnology and Food Safety," 2010)

4. High total surface area exposed of nanoparticles and its small and tiny sized characteristic make
nanoparticle’s heat transfer coefficient better.Thus, good heat transfer coefficient makes nanoparticles
capable toaccelerate the transmissionof heatfromone pointtoanother.Inasimplerword,the hightotal
surface area characteristics owned by the nanoparticles enhanced them to conduct heat more easily
(Amanullah, AlArfaj, & Al-abdullatif, 2011).
Some of the nanoparticles are water-wet and some are oil-wet depending on the nature of the
nanoparticles themselves. Nanoparticles with oil-wet characteristic will let oil wets its total surface area
exposed thus creating a film of oil on the entire surface of the nanoparticles which in turn lead to
hydrophobicfilmbeingform(El-Diasty&Salem, 2013).Beside oil-wet,there are some nanoparticlesthat
has a water-wet characteristic which is vice versa of oil-wet.
Nanoparticles are also ecofriendly and stable which can be used to drill well that is sensitive to harsh
environment. It is ecofriendly and green because it is added in small amount into the drilling fluid
compared to the conventional drilling fluid that is not green and leads to environmental pollution
(Amanullah et al., 2011). As nanoparticles is so small, once the size get below 100 nanometer, the
attractive forces between one another particle becomes significant to one another. Thus will result in
more viscousfluidatrelativelylow level of concentration.Furthermore,due tothe high particle-particle
interaction,bondingbetweennanoparticlesisstrong.Therefore,certainnanomaterial canwithstandhigh
pressure and high temperature environment (Hoelscher, Young, Friedheim, & De Stefano, 2013).
Table 1: Summaryof Nanoparticleandtheir applicationindrillingfluid.
Application of Nanotechnology in Drilling Fluid
Preventing Fluid Loss into Reservoir Formation: Researcher has been trying to use nanoparticles as a
mediumtopreventfluidlossinto formation.Inconventional methodof drilling,we relyonthe mudcake
formed at the wellbore’swall to prevent further loss of fluid into the formation. The thickness of the
mudcake depends on the amount of fluid loss into the formation. In early years, Dewan and Chenvert
(1993) state that in a low permeability shale, formation of mudcake will be slower as less fluid is going
into the formation. Later, Hoelscher, De Stefano, Riley, and Young (2012) state that impermeable
mudcake may notbe able to format all if formationhasnanosizedporeswhichmakethe permeabilityof
Nanoparticles Sizes (nm) Characteristics Applications in Drilling Fluid
Nanosilica Between 5 to 100 Small and tiny sized - Fluid loss control
- Wellbore stability
- Reduce pipe sticking
- Pipe sticking
Carbon-based Between 15 to 100 Low surface energy - Prevents bit balling
- Prevents corrosion
Nickel-based Below 100 Fine texture and structure - Reduce torque and drag
Zinc Oxide Between 14-25 Higher reactivity than
hydrogen sulphide
- Remove hydrogen sulphide
from crude oil
All Below 100 - Good heat transfer
coefficient
- High total surface area
- Transferheat fromreservoirto
surface efficiently
- Reduce solid content in mud

5. the formation extremely low. Fluid can still go through it without the formation of mudcake (Figure 3).
Thisfluidlossisuncontrollable.Inordertodeal withthisproblem, nanoparticlesmustbe pluggedintothe
nanosized pores so that no further fluid can go through the tiny pores.
Water that manage to invade the shale through nanosized pores which has the size of 3 to 100
nanometers can lead to fracturing which in turn interferes the wellbore stability. However the invasion
could be stopped by using nanosilica. Sensoy, Chenevert,and Sharma (2009) showed that the fluidflow
through an Atoka shale could be stopped by utilizing 29% by weight of a specific nanosilica (Figure 4).
Then according to Hoelscher et al. (2012), silica nanoparticles that have the size between 5 to 100
nanometer is plugged into the nanosized pores in the formation to reduce the pressure difference
betweenthe wellbore andthe reservoirformationthusshuttingoffthe fluidloss.Mudcake thatisformed
fromnanoparticlesisrelativelythinthanthe one formedbyconventional drillingfluid.Thisverythinlayer
of mudcake helpsinreducingthe fluidlossintothe formationwhile minimizingformationdamage while
drilling. In addition, not only choosing suitable size of the nanoparticles that matters in the effective
plugging, type of surface treatment is also an important parameters.
Later, Hoelscheretal.(2013) conduct an experimenttoshow the transmissionof pressure through
Mancos shale.The resultof the experimentshowedthata new drillingfluidsystemwith3% of
nanosilicacouldcompletelyshutoff the pressure transmissionacrossthe shale sample.These works
showedthattheoryof pluggingnanosizedporeswithnanoparticlesispossible and canpreventfluidloss
intothe formationwhile maintainingthe wellbore stability.
Figure 3: Filter cake’s thicknessdepends on Figure 4: Sealingperformanceof AtokaShale
amountof fluidloss. (Hoelscheret al., 2012) (Sensoyet al.,2009)
PreventingBit Balling:Bit ballingisaconditionwhere formation’s claysjoinandaccumulate atthe
drillingbitcontinuouslyand stickintothe toothof the drill bitformingasphericallysolidthatcoversthe
bit.Thisin turnreducesdrasticallythe rate of penetrationof the bitwhichwill waste bothtime and
operationcost.This occurs due to the stickycharacteristicsof the clay whenitisin contact withwater.
Therefore, the ultimate solution to this problem is to invent a film that can repel clay and water from
being in contact with the bit. At first, researchers found that hydrophobic coating can be formed either
by using nanochromates and nanotitanium dioxide ((Kendig & Buchheit, 2003);(Shen, Du, Chen, Lin, &
Scantlebury, 2005)).

6. Then,thisideawas usedin makinga drillingfluidthatcan reduce bitballingproblem.Ithas the abilityto
form a sheet like hydrophobic coating near the surface of the drill bit (Amanullah & Al-Tahini,2009).
Nanoparticleshave thiskindof abilitybecausetheycreate roughnessonthe surface of the drill bitwhich
thenproduce alowsurface energy matteronthe bit.Asthe surface energyislow,contactangle between
water and the surface will be high. Therefore,
hydrophobicfilmwill be formedonthe surface
of the bit. The higher the concentration of
nanoparticles, the higher the water contact
angle whichmeansthe morehydrophobicisthe
coating(Figure 5) (Basu& DineshKumar,2011).
Due to the hydrophobic layer formed by the
nanoparticles,wateraswell asclayare repelled
from the drill bitthus preventingthe formation
of bit balling.
Figure 5: Water contact angle increase with
concentration of nanoparticle (Basu & Dinesh
Kumar, 2011)
ReducingFriction and Drag: Frictionanddrag are one of the problemthatcan affectthe efficiencyof
drillingformationbecause itwastedenergyandcauseswearandtear to the equipmentwhich
consequentlyleadstothe damage of the bottomhole equipment.Inordertoreduce thisproblem,
appropriate type of drillingfluidisselectedforthe operation.The selecteddrillingfluidmusthave good
lubricitytoovercome the frictional forcesthatexistsdue tothe rotationorslidingof the drillingpipe
inside the wellborewitheitherformationwall orwithcasing.Drillingengineershasusedoil based
drillingfluidinordertoreduce frictionanddrag force inside wellbore.Howeverthistype of drillingfluid
isnot ecofriendly andtheirconsumption mustbe below the limitof usage.Therefore,researchersmust
finda wayto create drillingfluidwhichisenvironmentallyfriendlyandcanreduce frictionforce
efficiently.
Researchersbelievedthatnanoparticleshave highpotential tomeet these requirementbecause of their
tinysizeswithfine texture andstructure. Theyhave the abilitytoform a thin layerof lubricatingcoating
between the bottomhole equipment and the borehole wall.The ultra-thin layer of nanoparticles allows
easy slidingof the drill pipe whichis responsible forreducingthe torque and drags probleminborehole
(Amanullah & Al-Tahini, 2009). Their structure and size make them capable to enter the friction region
between two surfaces easily. Furthermore, according to Hareland, Wu, Lei, Husein, and Zakaria (2012),
nanoparticles can seal filter cake completely by producing crack-free and smooth surfaces which then
contribute to slippery film between formation and the drill string. In addition, because nanoparticles is
small insize,kineticenergyandabrasiveforce willbe reducedsignificantlywhichmakeswearandtearof
the bottomholetool becomesnegligible. Theyalsofound outthatfrictioncoefficientcanbe reducedmore
than 25% when nickel-based nanoparticles is added.

7. Figure 6: Illustration of lubricating coating at the surface of material (Beschichten, n.d)
Solid Content Reduction: During drilling operation, one of the most important things to take into
considerationis the operationtime.Longertime neededsignifieshuge amountof moneythat are going
to spend. In order to reduce the operation time needed during drilling, rate of penetration (ROP) of bit
needtobe increased.AccordingtoAmanullahandAl-Tahini (2009),ROPisdirectlyrelatedtosolidcontent
in drillingmud.Itcan be increasedif the amountof solidcontentin drillingfluidis reduced (Figure 7).In
nano-based mud, only a little amount of volume of nanoparticles are needed due to their large surface
areaperunitvolume.Inthatcase,nanoparticlecanreduce solidcontentof the mudandatthe same time
increase the rate of penetration of drilling bit which in turn saves the time and cost needed for the
operation.
Figure 7: Relationship between rate of penetration and mud solid content (Amanullah & Al-Tahini,
2009)
CorrosionReduction:Corrosionisone of the mainthingthatdrillingengineersare concernaboutbecause
drilling operation involved extreme erosive and friction force between tool and formation. However,
nanoparticle isbelievedtobe abletosolvethisproblem. Shenetal.(2005) state thatnanotitaniumdioxide
particlesare capable of forminghydrophobiccoating.Thisstatementissupportedby AmanullahandAl-
Tahini (2009) that said nanoparticle can form hydrophobic film on the surface of downhole tool.
Unfortunately, hydrophobic coating that has high wettability will be a poor corrosion resistance.

8. Hydrophobiccoatingonlyrepelwaterandclayfromdownholeequipment.Hydrogensulfide whichisone
of the mainfactor thatcan cause corrosionstill canreachthe equipment.Therefore,nanoparticlesuchas
zincoxide isusedtoremove hydrogensulfidefromthecrude oil(Sayyadnejad,Ghaffarian,&Saeidi,2008).
This will be explained more in removal of toxic gases section.
Later, Zhuk(2010) inventsa perfectcoatingthatcontain TungstenCarbide distributedinmetal Tungsten
matrix whichlevelupmetal’sstrengthanderosionresistance.Ithashightoughnessandimpactresistance
which reduce the probability of getting corrosion. Furthermore, this product has no temperature
limitation compared to organic coating or sealants.
Prevent Pipe Sticking: Pipe sticking problem occurs due to contact made by drill pipe and the wall of
formation containing mudcake. In order to resolve this problem, Baker (2006) has created a nanofluid
polymerwhichcouldgothroughporesandaccumulate atthe wallof wellboreformingthinlowpermeable
mudcake (Figure 8). Thisin turn reduce the differential pressure whichconsequentlyreducesprobability
of differential stickingproblem tooccur. In conclusion,microfracturesinshale or sandcould be plugged
in by the nanoparticles thus reducing pressure transmission which in turn prevent pipe sticking (Li, Xu,
Sun, Yuan, & Li, 2012).
Figure 8: Plugging effect of nanofluid polymer(Li et al., 2012)
Removal ofToxic Gases:Crude oil and natural gassesare the mixture of hydrocarboncontainedmostly
methane,butalsomightcontainsome otheralkane,hydrogensulphide,nitrogen,andoxygen.Mostof
these natural gassesare harmlessandgive noconcernto drillingengineer.However,hydrogensulphide
couldpose a seriousthreatduringdrillingprocess. Duringdrillingprocess,there isapossibility that
hydrogensulphide candiffuseintothe drillingfluidfromthe formation.Whenthishappen,engineers
shouldbe well preparedtohandle the situationashydrogensulphide containedhighlevelof toxicity
whichcan paralyzedthe olfactorynerve whenit isbreathinat highconcentration (Mickelsonetal.,
2013). In addition, Cocuzza,Pirri,Rocca,andVerga(2011), statedthatthe presentof toxicgassuch as
hydrogenchloride andhydrogensulphide couldinduce the corrosionindrillingpipeandother
equipment.Therefore itcouldaffectboththe drillingequipmentandthe worker’shealthapartfrom
raisingenvironmentalpollution.Itisimportanttohandle hydrogensulphidebefore itisvaporize to
atmosphere inordertoreduce riskand majorlossto the company.
Sayyadnejadetal.(2008), proposedthatby using14 to25 nmof zincoxide and44 to 56 m²/g specific
surface area,we can remove hydrogensulphide fromthe drillingfluidinasimple chemical reaction.This
type of chemical reactioniscalleddisplacementreaction.The equationof chemical reactionisas
followed:
(ZnO + H₂S → ZnS + H₂O)

9. By usingnanoparticle zincoxide,the processof removal of hydrogensulphide isfasterdue tothe
greatersurface area of nanoparticles.Whenthe surface areaof the particlesisgreater,the chemical
reactionbetweenzincoxide andhydrogensulphide takesplace atmuchshortertime.Thisfactis
supportedbyexperimentdone bySayyadnejadetal.,2008 where he comparedthe efficiencybetween
the bulkzincoxide andnanoparticle zincoxide inremovinghydrogen sulphide.The experimentshows
that nanoparticle zincoxide onlytakes15 minutestoremove hydrogensulphidetotallyfromthe drilling
fluidwhereasbulkzincoxide takesalmost1
and a half hour to remove just2.5% of
hydrogensulphide inthe same condition.
Figure 8: Time taken for bulkZnO andnano
ZnO to remove hydrogen sulphide
(Sayyadnejad,Ghaffarianetal.,2008)
The experimentdone by Sayyadnejadetal.(2008), was laterclarifiedfurtherbyAmanullahandAl-
Tahini in2009. Accordingto AmanullahandAl-Tahini (2009),customizednanofluidscontainshydroxyl
groupwhichcan act as a neutralizerandthe nanocompositethatis made of nanosizedsulphide
scavengerscanneutralize acidgassesbychemical reactiontoproduce metal sulphide precipitate.
Then, Cocuzzaet al.(2011), intheirarticle concludedthatnanofluidwillsoonbe furtheralteredto
manage the environmental,healthandsafetyriskissuesthatare causedby the presentof carbon
dioxide andhydrogensulphide inthe hydrocarbonproduced.
High Temperature and High Pressure (HTHP) Challenges:Nowadays,oursource of energyismostly
dependingoncrude oil.Asthe rate of oil consumptionexceedsthe rate of oil produced,the operators
start to explore newareatokeepsupplyingcrude oil (Bland,Mullen,Gonzalez,Harvey,&Pless,2006).
Most of these unexploredareasare highpressure and hightemperature (HPHT) areaswhere they
presentusa verycomplex challenge.WhendealingwithHPHTareas,our mainconcernliesonthe
drillingfluidasthe normal drillingfluidwouldneverbe able towithstandsuchharshcondition.Inthis
case,we have to findsuitable additive foreitherwater- basedornon-aqueous-basedfluids.However,
the optionsare limitedinHPHTconditionespeciallywhenthe temperatureexceeding400˚F (Friedheim
et al.,2012; Hoelscheretal.,2013). Therefore,the researchwasfurthermade andthe use of
nanotechnologywasconsidered.
One of the challengesinHPHTwell istoprovide ahigherdensityfluidfordrillingoperation.Itisnot
uncommonto use a higherdensitydrillingfluidinordertomaintainhighviscosityasone of the
requirementof drillingfluidinHPHTwell.Unfortunately,increasingthe densityof the fluidalsomeans
increasingthe solidloading.Thiswillleadtolow rate of penetrationof drillingbit,extendingtime on
locationandaddeddrillingcosts (Blandetal.,2006). The advancedstudyof nanotechnologyenablethe
highsurface to volume ratioof nanoparticle tointeract withthe surroundingenvironment,thus
reducingthe solidloadinginthe drillingfluid (Cocuzzaetal.,2011). Therefore,the use of

10. nanotechnologycansignificantlyimprove the rate of penetrationandeliminate the formationdamage
nearthe wellbore.
Some otherchallengesinHPHTwell istoovercome the poorheattransfercoefficientinthe drillingfluid.
The traditional drillingfluidsuchaswater- basedandnon- aqueous- basedfluidare notefficientenough
to withstandthe hightemperature of HPHTwell (Hoelscheretal.,2013). The traditional drillingfluid
that iscommonlyusedinoil andgas industriestodayisnotsuitable forHPHTwell due tolow cooling
efficiencyof the fluid.Inotherwords,the low rate of heatdissipationof the drillingfluidcanleadto
manyproblemsuchas equipmentfailure due tothe effectof hightemperature andreduce the rate of
penetrationandlifetime of the bit,thusincrease the total cost.Byusingnano- baseddrillingfluid,we
can overcome thisproblemasnanoparticlesinthe drillingfluidare more efficientinconductingheat
(Cocuzzaetal.,2011).
Thisideawas supportedbyAmanullah inhisresearch.Accordingto Amanullahetal.(2011),due to the
tinysize,nanoparticle hashuge surface area,high
heattolerance,highthermal conductivity,high
mobility,andcaninteractefficientlywiththe
surrounding.Therefore,he predictedthat
nanotechnologywill playanimportantrole in
solvingmanychallengesinHPHTdrillingcondition.
Figure 1.3: surface area increase with decreasing
size ("Biotoxicity," n.d)
El-DiastyandSalem(2013) explainedfurtherthatthe researchdone byAmanullahmightbe due tohigh
surface area to volume ratio.Whenthe surface areaincrease,more particlesare incontactto each
other,thusprovide abetterthermal conductivity.Therefore,byusingnanotechnologythe coolingof
drillingbitwillbe muchmore efficient,thusreduce the costof drillingprocess.
Figure 9: surface area to
volumeratio (Amanullahetal.,
2011)
Future Applicationof Nanotechnologyin DrillingFluid
Pilotstudy: Oil and gas industryisthe mostchallengingindustrywithalotof limitationsandobstaclesin
itseveryprocess.Therefore,itisone of the most expensiveindustriesinthe world.Whendealingwith
oil and gas industry,moneywouldbe the mainconcern.Itisimportantto maximize the profitapart

11. fromprovidingasafe workingenvironment.Thus,we shouldalwaysconsidertostudyandapplynew
technologyinordertoimprove oil productionandrecovery.Inthiscase,nanotechnologycouldbe one
of the suitable candidatesthatcanoffera bettersolutionthanourcurrentsystembyeliminating
problemsandlimitationthroughoutdrillingoperation.However,since nanotechnologyisstillunder
research,mostof oil and gas companyfearof the uncertaintiesthatmightstill notyetdiscovered.
Althoughthe experimentconductedinthe laboratoryshowspromisingapplicationindrillingfluid,
nanotechnologyisstillnotdomesticallytestedonthe field.Therefore,itisimportanttoencourage the
oil and gas companyto applythe use of nanotechnologyonthe field.
Mud as a whole:The experimentconductedinthe laboratoryshowsthatnanoparticle canimprove
drillingfluid,howeveritcannotimprove the drillingfluidasawhole.Itmeansthat,the improvementof
drillingfluidisonlyapplicabletoa certainextentdependingonthe type of nanoparticle used.For
example,silicananoparticle cancontrol fluidlossthusincreasewellbore stability,butitcannotact as
viscosifier.There are several componentof drillingfluidwhichare viscosifier,fluidlosscontrol,wetting
agentand emulsifier.We cansay that these componentsare the mainelementof the drillingfluid.
However,there isstill nonanoparticlethatcansatisfyall the componentof drillingfluid.Therefore,the
scientistsshouldkeepdoingthe researchinordertodiscovernew nanoparticle thatcansuitsall
componentof drillingfluid,thusmake aperfectfluidfordrillingoperation.
Cost Analysis:Up until now,there isstill nocompanydare to use nanoparticle intheirdrillingoperation
because itistoo expensive.Itslowavailabilityinthe marketmakesnanoparticleveryhardtoobtainand
veryexpensive tobuy.Soinorderto attract more companyto start utilizingnanoparticleintheir
operationistoanalyze the cost of nanoparticles.Analyze how canthe cost of nanoparticle be reduce.
One of a wayto do the cost analysisisto take intoaccount the overall costof drillingoperationusing
nanoparticle comparedtoconventional one.Nanoparticle hasmore total surface areaexposed
comparedto othermudadditive whichmakesthemmore reactive.Therefore,lessamountof
nanoparticlesneededtoachievesame efficiencyandperformance withthe conventional one thus
decreasinginthe overall cost.Thisaspectmustbe one of the waysto do cost analysisasmany
customersare confusedaboutthe overall costof theiroperationif nanoparticleisbeingused.
Ecofriendlyanalysis: Drillingfluidhasalwaysbeenconcernforthe environmentalist.Mostof the drilling
additives is not environmentally friendly. Therefore, research should be done for certain group of
nanoparticles used in drilling fluid whether it is ecofriendly or not.
Water Cut and Water Coning Prevention: As we know that nanoparticle has the ability to form a
hydrophobic film on the surface of matter. Therefore, instead of preventing water to reach surface of
drillingequipment,thiscoatingshouldentrapswaterpreventingit fromflowingoutof the wellbore thus
maintaining the reservoir pressure with water drives.
Immunity to Vibration: Indeviatedwell,vibrationcancauseddrill stringto damage.Therefore,research
shouldbe done so that nanoparticle couldbe addedin manufacturingthe drill stringto make it tougher
and stronger.
Better Data Transmission: Drilling mud is pumped through drill string to drillbit and up to the annulus.
Measured while drilling used pulse to transfer data of the wellbore to the surface. In order to enhance
this transmission, nanoparticle can be mixed with mud and additive to obtain higher quality of
transmission data.
Increase lifespan:The lifespanof drillingfluidcanbe extendedwhenusingnanoparticle asan additives.
Due toitstinysize,nanoparticlehashighernumberofparticleinacertainamountofvolume.Forexample,
the number of particle of Silver nanoparticle in 10m³ is much higher than in 10m³ of bulk Silver.

12. Therefore, the viscosity and density of nanofluid is much higher than when using bulk particle as an
additive.So,ittakesalongertime fornanofluidtoreducesitsviscositywhenoperatingindrillingprocess,
thus reduce the cost.
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