Journal Pre-proof

Experimental investigation of cuttings transportation in deviated and horizontal

wellbores using polypropylene–nanosilica composite drilling mud

Jeffrey O. Oseh, M.N.A. Mohd Norddin, Issham Ismail, Afeez O. Gbadamosi,

Augustine Agi, Abdul R. Ismail

PII: S0920-4105(20)30056-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2020.106958
Reference: PETROL 106958

To appear in: Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

Received Date: 28 July 2019

Revised Date: 13 January 2020
Accepted Date: 14 January 2020

Please cite this article as: Oseh, J.O., Mohd Norddin, M.N.A., Ismail, I., Gbadamosi, A.O., Agi, A., Ismail,
A.R., Experimental investigation of cuttings transportation in deviated and horizontal wellbores using
polypropylene–nanosilica composite drilling mud, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering (2020),
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2020.106958.

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1 Experimental investigation of cuttings transportation in deviated and horizontal wellbores using
2 polypropylene–nanosilica composite drilling mud
1, 2, 3
3 Jeffrey O. Oseh , M. N. A. Mohd Norddin 1, *, Issham Ismail 1, 2, Afeez O. Gbadamosi 1, 3,
4 Augustine Agi 1, Abdul R. Ismail 1, 2
1
5 Department of Petroleum Engineering, School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti
6 Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
2
7 Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation Institute for Oil and Gas (MPRC–UTM), Universiti
8 Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
3
9 Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, College of Engineering, Afe Babalola
10 University, Ado–Ekiti, P.M.B. 5454, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
11 * Corresponding author: anam@utm.my

12 ABSTRACT

13 The experience acquired in the field showed that poor cuttings transportation results in several
14 drilling problems, such as pipe sticking, undue torque and drag, hole–pack off, or lower than
15 projected drilling performance. In this study, complex water–based mud (WBM) formulated with
16 polypropylene–nanosilica composite (PP–SiO2 NC) and partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide
17 (PHPA), a drag–reducing agent were used to examine cuttings transferring efficiencies (CTEs).
18 The examination focused on the impact of diameters of cuttings (between 0.50 and 4.00 mm),
19 hole angles (45, 60, 75, 90 °), mud velocities (between 0.457 and 1.80 m/s) and different
20 concentrations (0.4, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.2 ppb) of PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA. A field–oriented cuttings
21 transport flow loop of dimensions (69.85 mm × 26.67 mm, 6.07 m–long annulus) was
22 constructed to determine the CTEs of the drilling muds. Results showed that smallest cuttings
23 were easiest to remove when mud velocities of 0.457, 0.630, 0.823 and 0.960 m/s were used, but
24 when the velocity increased to 1.80 m/s, the transport of largest cuttings became the easiest.
25 Results also confirmed that PP–SiO2 NC muds are more capable of transferring cuttings than
26 PHPA mud samples with or without pipe rotation speed due to increased colloidal forces that
27 increase the interaction between cuttings and PP–SiO
NC particles. Rotation of drill pipe and
28 an increase in mud velocity will effectively increase the drag effects, which will lead to increased
29 CTE. Hole angle 45 ° was the most difficult inclination in the cuttings transport process due to
30 the higher settling tendency of cuttings on the low side of the hole. The application of complex
31 WBM with PP–SiO2 NC showed promising attributes in a cuttings transport process.
1
32 Keywords: Highly inclined; Horizontal wellbores; Cuttings transportation; Polypropylene–
33 nanosilica composite, Rheological properties; Drilling fluids

34 1. Introduction

35 With increasing energy demand from non–renewable sources, such as oil and gas, several
36 novel drilling fluid additives for water–based muds (WBMs) are explored within the petroleum
37 industry. They will not only circulate a higher proportion of rock cuttings to the surface, but are
38 also cost–effective and environmentally acceptable (Bizhani et al., 2016; Dhinesh and
39 Annamalai, 2018; Nanthagopal et al., 2019). In a rotary drilling operation, cuttings transport is
40 the ability of a drilling fluid to lift rock cuttings from the hole to the surface and to ensure that
41 cuttings are suspended when drilling operation is paused (Bilgesu et al., 2007). Since the history
42 of drilling operation, several studies have been performed on the transportation of cuttings in
43 deviated and horizontal wellbores. Most of these studies showed that cuttings lifting
44 approximately above hole angle 30 ° from vertical present more problems compared with those
45 experienced in a vertical well (0 °) or near vertical wells (less than 30 °) (Sayindla et al., 2017,
46 Gbadamosi et al., 2018a, b; Boyou et al., 2019).
47 Inadequate cuttings transport can result in several wellbore drilling problems and it adversely
48 affects drilling efficiency. It can results in lost circulation, stuck pipe, reduced drilling rate, poor
49 cementing jobs, high torque and drag, hole enlargement, mud cake formation, accumulation at
50 porous formation, and cuttings accumulation on the low side of the hole (Bilgesu et al., 2007;
51 Bizhani et al., 2016). It can also lead to increase in downtime and operating costs. These
52 phenomena are often aggravated in a deviated and horizontal wells due to the tendency of sand
53 cuttings to settle on the low side of the hole caused by the resultant gravity effects (Bilgesu et al.
54 2007). The axial velocity of drilling fluid will start to reduce when hole angle begins to deviate
55 from vertical due to increase in drag force, which is parallel to the direction of flow of drilling
56 fluid (Ismail et al., 2016; Hakim et al., 2019; Yeu et al., 2019). To solve these problems in the
57 field, various expensive operating methods, such as washing and back reaming, wiper trips or
58 pumping out of the hole are executed (Samsuri and Hamzah, 2016). The rheology of drilling
59 fluid circulating rock cuttings from the bit towards the surface determines the effectiveness of a
60 given drilling operation. Apart from drilling fluid rheology, the nature of the drilling fluid, fluid
61 flow rate, fluid density, annulus inclination, drill bit rate of penetration (ROP), drill pipe rotation
62 speed, pipe eccentricity (position of the pipe in the hole), cuttings size and size distribution
2
63 (geometry, concentration and orientation), and axially varying flow geometry are other important
64 factors that controls the cuttings transferring capacity of drilling muds (Bizhani et al., 2016;
65 Boyou et al., 2019, Yeu et al., 2019). Mud viscosity is an important property of drilling fluid.
66 The nature of base fluid (fresh water, oil or gas) and solids in it determines the viscosity of the
67 mud. Sand cuttings will settle at the bottom of the hole if the viscosity of the circulating mud is
68 too low (Sayindla et al., 2017; Yeu et al., 2019). Viscosity is usually higher for higher weighted
69 muds due to the weight of the material. Drilling fluids have higher viscosity at low shear rates
70 and a lower viscosity at high shear rates (Caenn et al., 2017).
71 Conventional WBMs formulated with polymers are extensively used to drill petroleum
72 reservoirs since they are good filtrate loss control agents and efficient wellbore stabilizers. They
73 efficiently lift rock cuttings to the surface and they have unique rheological properties (Caenn et
74 al., 2017; Ismail et al., 2019). They also have high operational efficiency, technical and
75 economic viabilities and lower mud costs. The most widely used polymeric drilling fluids during
76 oilfield application is partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PHPA) (Kadaster et al., 1992; Hale
77 and Mody, 1993). PHPA is a viscosity–increasing and fluid–reducing effect in WBM. It has
78 good water solubility. It belongs to polymer type treatment agent and is applied to end face of
79 hydrated clay adsorbed in WBM. It is also preferred in drilling field applications because it can
80 hold off high mechanical stresses present during production of oil and gas wells. However,
81 PHPA is very prone and sensitive to harsh downhole conditions and saline environments. Its
82 rheological properties are drastically reduced when faced with deeper drilling depths (Liao and
83 Siems, 1990; Lam et al., 2015).
84 More recently, applications of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) in WBMs are found to
85 increase the overall properties of drilling muds, which is due to the relatively high specific
86 surface areas and the formation of micro–nanosized particles of the PNCs (Mao et al., 2015;
87 Aftab et al., 2016; Abdollahi et al., 2018; Davoodi et al., 2019). Numerous laboratory works
88 conducted using PNC drilling fluids are focused on the use of silica nanoparticle or nanosilica
89 (SiO₂ NP) (Mao et al., 2015; Aftab et al., 2016; Boyou et al., 2019; Kök and Bal, 2019). This is
90 mainly due to its exceptionally strong bond network, good thermal stability, enough small size
91 and high average specific surface area (Gbadamosi et al., 2019; Boyou et al., 2019).
92 Nevertheless, the efficiency of SiO2 NP is eroded due to its aggregation tendency, which directly
93 hinders its efficiency (Kök and Bal 2019). Thus, combination of SiO2 NP and synthetic

3
 94 polypropylene (PP) to form hydrophobic polypropylene–nanosilica composite (PP–SiO2 NC) can
95 help to control the degree of particle aggregation and increase particle dispersion in drilling
96 muds. In a recent study conducted by the authors, a detailed investigation of the morphology,
97 structural information and particle size distribution of PP–SiO2 NC were carried out (Oseh et al.,
98 2019). Besides, the authors carried out a critical evaluation of rheological, lubricity, filtration
99 control properties and, salt tolerance investigation and reported that the properties of WBM
100 improved with the presence of PP–SiO2 NC particles due to their effective dispersion in the
101 WBM (Oseh et al., 2019).
102 Cuttings transportation in a wellbore, especially in a deviated and horizontal wellbores are
103 complex. It is being investigated by researchers using different types of drilling muds including
104 complex based muds systems. This is mostly caused by the limitation of the availability of field
105 data on transport patterns of cuttings with different sizes, mud velocities and hole angles with
106 and without pipe rotation. In these studies, cuttings transport process using nanosilica drilling
107 fluids is limited, and there is none conducted with PNC drilling fluids. Table 1 presents a
108 summary of available laboratory studies of application of nanosilica drilling fluids for hole
109 cleaning and the main concentration of this research. Therefore, this research is focus on how
110 different concentrations (0.4, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.2 ppb) of PP–SiO2 NC compared with those of the
111 PHPA in improving the rheology and filtration properties of complex based mud. It also
112 describes a study of cuttings transferring efficiency test for drilling under a fluid environment
113 where PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA exists. Thus, the PP–SiO2 NC studied in this article belong to the
114 organically combined inorganic material. Its main role in the drilling mud is to disperse in the
115 drilling mud, enhance the stability of the wellbore and improve the quality of the mud cake.
116 The main contribution of this article to lift cuttings towards the surface is that the PP–SiO2
117 NC particles are widely distributed and stable in the mud due to their fine–dispersion and narrow
118 particle size distribution. With the PP–SiO2 NC in the complex mud system, a stronger PP–SiO2
119 NC particle–sand cuttings interaction occurred, which makes it easier to lift cuttings to the
120 surface. Furthermore, by investigating the effect of mud rheological properties on cuttings
121 transport process, this research provides more laboratory data to the discussion of the parameters
122 controlling cuttings transport in wellbores compared to previous studies presented in Table 1.
123
124

4
125

126 2. Materials and methods

127 2.1. Materials

128 Polypropylene (PP) of melt index 12.3 g/10 min, xylene, ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH),
129 tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) of reagent grade, 98 %, polyethylene–block–poly(ethylene
130 glycol) (PE–b–PEG) of average Mn ~1400 of PE/PEG 1/1 by weight, ethanol (EtOH) and high
131 molecular weight PHPA were acquired from Sigma–Aldrich Chemical Co. (Saint Louis, USA).
132 All the chemicals were used as acquired.

133 2.2. Methods

134 2.2.1. Synthesis of PP–SiO2 NC

135 The PP–SiO2 NC used in the current study was synthesized by hot emulsion sol–gel process.
136 This process primarily consists of two stages: hydrolysis of the precursor, TEOS and
137 condensation/polymerization to form entire PP–SiO2 NC structure (Zu et al., 2013). During the
138 network formation process, a large amount of solvent are also impregnated in the network, and
139 thus, a gel is formed. Figure 1 presents the procedures for the synthesis of PP–SiO2 NC. As
140 Figure 1 shows, 24 g of PE–b–PEG and 6 g of PP were mixed at 160 °C and 300 rpm using a
141 plasti–corder Brabendar. The resulting mixture was dissolved using 20 ml of xylene and stirred
142 for 2 hours with a magnetic stirrer at 140 °C and 300 rpm. 20 ml of TEOS was introduced into
143 the solution and stirred untill a clear solution was observed (hydrophobic solution). The
144 hydrophobic solution was added slowly into a mixed solution of 100 ml EtOH/60 ml NH4OH
145 (hydrophilic solution). The mixture was magnetically stirred for another 30 minutes at 80 °C,
146 and was cooled for 24 hours at ambient temperature to allow the particles to form. The cooled
147 mixture was separated by centrifugation for 40 minutes at 6000 rpm and washed with EtOH once
148 to remove impurities. The synthesized product was dried in an oven for 24 hours at 60 °C to
149 obtain the formed PP–SiO2 NC.
150 Figure 2 shows the formation mechanism of PP–SiO2 NC. The formation mechanism
151 involves two processes, as presented in Figure 2. The first process is the formation of stable
152 suspension, in which the TEOS was mixed with the oil (hydrophobic) phase (PP and PE–b–PEG
153 dissolved by xylene) in advance. The hydrolysis of TEOS start immediately by adding

5
154 hydrophobic phase into water, EtOH and NH4OH (hydrophilic phase), and four hydrophobic Si–
155 OEt bond was partially converted to hydrophilic Si–OH bond. Thus, the TEOS could be
156 considered to have played the role of a surfactant in a way, and jointly with the nonionic
157 surfactant (PE–b–PEG) to form a stable suspension. The second process is the formation of the
158 interpenetrating structure of PP–SiO2 NC. The hydrolysis of TEOS and polycondensation
159 initially starts at the interface between the hydrophilic phase and the hydrophobic phase before
160 extending to the inner of the oil drops (Zu et al., 2013). As the SiO2 particle forms, the PP
161 becomes secluded by the restriction of the SiO2 layer. PP molecule chain was prevented from
162 movong in the SiO2 pores, thus, the interpenetrating structure of PP–SiO2 NC formed
163 correspondingly.

164 2.2.2. Formulation of drilling muds

165 Before the formulation of complex based mud using water as the base liquid, an unweighted
166 spud mud was formulated with 320 ml fresh water, 25 ppb bentonite and 2.5 ppb caustic soda
167 (NaOH) to test the effect of the synthesized PP–SiO
NC on the mud properties. 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5
168 ppb of the synthesized PP–SiO
NC were added to the spud mud. Mud properties, such as pH,
169 density, apparent viscosity (AV), plastic viscosity (PV), Yield point (YP), 10 seconds gel
170 strength (10–s gel), 10 minutes gel strength (10–min gel) and API filtrate loss volume (API FL)
171 were determined without aging the muds at at 25 °C. Thereafter, different complex based muds
172 were formulated with concntrations of PP–SiO
NC and PHPA. They were used in the cuttings
173 transport process. Table 2 contains the abbreviation of different complex based mud samples
174 used in this study.
175 Table 3 shows the summary of prepared various complex based muds used in the cuttings
176 transport process. The complex WBM system was prepared with a fixed density of 9.5 ppg.
177 Other complex based mud systems prepared with different concentrations of nanocomposite and
178 PHPA have similar densities to that of complex WBM. Mud density range between 9.0 and 10
179 ppg is the optimum drilling mud formulations for WBMs (Fattah and Lashin, 2016; Boyou et al.,
180 2019). American Petroleum Institute (API) recommended practices of indoor fluid test criteria
181 for water–based drilling fluids were followed to prepare the various mud systems (API RB 13B–
182 1., 2017). The desired concentrations of PHPA and PP–SiO2 NC were added to the complex
183 WBM and mixed thoroughly in Hamilton Beach stirrer at high speed. The mud properties were
184 measured before aging at 25 °C and after aging for 16 hours at 150 °C. These two temperatures
6
185 were selected because it is believed to contain the range of temperatures that can give a good
186 interpretation of the behaviour of the PP–SiO2 NC. A standard of 1.0 g of additive is added to a
187 350 ml laboratory barrel, to formulate the drilling mud samples, which is equivalent to adding
188 1.0 pounds of additive to 1.0 barrels of mud. As shown in Table 3, the drilling muds were
189 prepared in ascending order.

190 2.2.3. Density and pH measurements

191 The density of spud mud was measured using OFITE mud balance. The pH of spud mud was
192 measured by a digital pH meter. A typical pH for a drilling mud should be between the range of
193 8 and 10.

194 2.2.4. Rheological and filtration properties measurements before and after hot rolling tests

195 The rheology test of each sample of complex drilling mud was done by using a Brookfield 8–
196 speed Viscometer, Model BF45 (Middleboro, MA, USA), following API protocols (API RP
197 13B–1, 2017). Stabilized shear stress values were recorded against diferent shearing rates at
198 600 rpm, 300 rpm, 200 rpm, 100 rpm, 6 rpm and 3 rpm. AV, PV, YP, 10–s and 10–min gels
199 were measured at 25 °C before hot rolling tests. API FL was determined using a standard API
200 Fann filter press, series 300, (Fann instrument company, Houston, Texas, USA). The test was
201 conducted at ambient temperature and 100 psi differential pressure for 30 minutes, and the filter
202 cake formed (API FCT) was determined. The test was conducted twice and average readings
203 were taken. The thermal effects on the rheological and filtration properties of the complex based
204 muds were measured after exposing them to a Fann 4–roller oven treatment for 16 hours at 150
205 °C using Brookfield 8–speed Viscometer. The HPHT filtrate loss volume (HPHT FL) of the mud
206 samples was measured by using a Fann HPHT filter press, series 387 (Fann instrument company,
207 Houston, Texas, USA). The temperature in the heating jacket and the test pressure (differential
208 pressure) were 150 °C and 500 psi, respectively. For an accurate measurement of the HPHT FL
209 and HPHT filter cake thickness (HPHT FCT), two readings were taken and the average values
210 were recorded. The test procedures followed the API recommended standards (API RP 13B–1.,
211 2017).

212 2.2.5. Preparation of sand cuttings

7
213 The simulated natural quartz grains (sandstones) used in the cuttings transport process are
214 shown in Table 4. Cuttings were sieved into different range of diameters between 0.50 mm and
215 4.00 mm following an American Standard Testing Method (ASTM D4253–00., 2006). Sand
216 cuttings were washed and dried thoroughly before they were separated into different groups
217 using a sieve shaker. Sand cuttings with a mass of 200 g were injected into the flow loop through
218 cuttings inlet for each experiment.

219 2.2.6. Simulation of drilled cuttings in a field–oriented cuttings transport flow loop

220 Figure 3 shows the picture of a designed field–oriented cuttings transport flow loop used in
221 the cuttings transport process. It shows the cuttings transport experiments starting from the mud
222 preparation in a mud tank to the cuttings collection point. Figure 4 presents the experimental
223 flow procedures used during the cuttings transport experiment. It describes how the grains of
224 sand and muds were transported in a flow loop and the determination of CTE. Figure 5 presents
225 the schematics of the annular test sections used to determine the performance of drilling muds in
226 the cuttings transport process. These diagrams contain different test sections representing
227 deviated wells (45 °, 60 °, and 75 °) and a horizontal well (90 °) from the vertical. The reason for
228 selecting these hole angles is to target critical angles between the range of 45 ° and 60 °, as
229 reported in previous studies (Boyou et al., 2019; Yeu et al., 2019).
230 Ozbayoglu and Sorgun, (2010) used 3.66 m–long annular test sections to investigate cuttings
231 transferring efficiency (CTE), and concluded that the annular test section provides reasonable
232 precisions within 10% from the empirical correlations. In this study, the experimental parameters
233 on CTE were evaluated in a field–oriented cuttings transport flow loop that was purpose–built to
234 investigate cuttings lifting to the surface. The flow loop consists of an acrylic pipe, with an inner
235 diameter of 69.85 mm and a rotatable inner drill pipe of outer diameter 26.67 mm centered inside
236 the acrylic pipe to produce a concentric annulus model (0% eccentricity). These dimensions were
237 scaled–down by a factor of 0.8 from an actual drilled well, where a mud of 17.8 ppg with a flow
238 rate of 1438 L/min (litres per minute) was used to drill a 244.5 mm wellbore with an inner drill
239 pipe diameter of 139.7 mm (Ming et al., 2014).
240 CTE was used to determine the ability of the complex based muds to lift drilled cuttings to
241 the surface. Different concentrations of 0.4, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.2 ppb PP–SiO
NC and PHPA were
242 used to study the performance of the drilling muds in the cuttings transport process. The drilling

8
243 muds were evaluated with and without drill pipe rotation according to a previous study (Boyou et
244 al., 2019). Drill pipe rotation speed of 150 rpm was used for the cuttings transport investigations,
245 which is in agreement with the pipe rotation speed suggested for inclined wellbores (Sanchez et
246 al., 1999; Boyou et al., 2019).
247 According to Figures 3 and 4, weighted drilling muds of 9.5 ppg were prepared and mixed in
248 the mud tank, before they were circulated in the flow loop. A 2.0–HP centrifugal pump with the
249 capacity of 150 L (litres) mud tank attached to the mud pump was used to circulate the drilling
250 muds. 90 L (litres) of drilling mud, was prepared with the additives scaled–up by a factor of
251 257.1 (90,000 ml/350 ml). The pump capacity was between the range of 20 and 71 L/min. With
252 these pump capacities, the annular fluid flow regime with all the drilling muds was not fixed, but
253 was mainly annular laminar and transitional. The experiment was conducted using five different
254 mud velocities of 0.457 m/s, 0.630 m/s, 0.823 m/s, 0.960 m/s and 1.80 m/s. A 200 µm wire mesh
255 (0.2 mm) was used to separate the transported drilled cuttings from the circulating mud samples.
256 The drilled cuttings recovered were collected after every seven minutes of circulation and five
257 minutes of recirculation to flush out any remaining cuttings before performing a new experiment.
258 The experiment was conducted twice for each hole angle, mud velocity, and cuttings size. The
259 average readings of the CTEs were registered. The CTEs by the muds were evaluated using
260 Equation 1 below:
   
 
     
261 CTE = (1)
   
 
      


262 3. Results and discussions

263 3.1. Properties evaluation of spud mud

264 Spud mud is used to start the drilling of a well and continues to be used while drilling the
265 first few hundred feet of the hole. Spud mud is usually an unweighted WBM, made up of water
266 and natural solids from the formation being drilled. It may contain some commercial clay, such
267 as bentonite added to increase viscosity and improve wall-cake building properties. It is used to
268 drill a well from the surface to a shallow depth (Singh and Dutta, 2018). Table 5 presents the
269 rheological and filtrate loss control properties of unweighted spud mud measured at 25 °C. The
270 mud was prepared to examine the changes in the properties of drilling muds when different
271 concentrations of PP–SiO
NC were added.

9
272 pH analysis is fundamental to the control of drilling muds. The pH of the mud affects clay
273 dispersion, solubility, and the effectiveness of chemical additives. Additives of drilling fluids are
274 mixed with water to ensure a pH level from 8.5 to 10 for the needed chemical reaction to occur
275 and to provide a better mud yield (Singh and Dutta, 2018). Table 5 shows the pH levels of
276 unweighted spud mud with different concentrations of PP–SiO2 NC. According to Table 5, the
277 addition of PP–SiO2 NC to spud mud did not show much efect on pH and specifc gravity. The
278 pH level of the spud mud measured at 25 °C was 8.6. The pH levels of spud mud with PP–SiO2
279 NC remain unchanged up to a concentration of 1.0 ppb, but increased to 8.7 with 1.5 ppb
280 concentration of the nanocomposite. This behaviour is caused by increased –OH ions of NaOH
281 in the presence of nanocomposite, as higher concentrations can modify the pH of a liquid (Singh
282 and Dutta, 2018). Also, the dispersion stability of the nanocomposite in water may have
283 contributed to the change in the pH level at a higher concentration of 1.5 ppb (Mao et al., 2015).
284 Mud density controls the hydrostatic pressure in a well and prevents unwanted flow into the
285 well. Table 5 shows the results of the density of the spud mud with different concentrations of
286 PP–SiO2 NC. As Table 5 shows, there was no considerable variation in the density of the spud
287 mud with the addition of different concentrations of PP–SiO2 NC. The increase in density of
288 spud mud with concentrations of 1.0 ppb and 1.5 ppb of PP–SiO2 NC was caused by the higher
289 solids content in the spud mud with increasing concentration (Aftab et al., 2016).
290 AV, PV, YP, 10–s and 10–min gels, and API FL are other properties of the spud mud
291 investigated. These properties are shown in Table 5. The rheological parameters (AV, PV, YP,
292 10–s and 10–min gels) of the unweighted spud mud improved with increasing concentration of
293 PP–SiO2 NC. The addition of silica and copper oxide nanoparticles to both the drilling fuids did
294 not show much efect on pH and specifc gravity. This behaviour is due to the ability of PP–SiO2
295 NC particles to embed in dispersed pore structure on the surface of clay particles. They conferred
296 links with bentonite particles, which in turn promotes bentonite gelation and increase in particles
297 interaction (collision, vibration and movement) (Mao et al., 2015; Aftab et al., 2016). The API
298 FL of spud mud, was decreased from 12.7 ml to the range between 11.1 ml and 9.6 ml as the
299 concentration of PP–SiO2 NC increases. This behaviour is attributed to the efficient dispersion of
300 the PP–SiO2 NC particles on the surface of bentonite. Efficient dispersion of colloidal clays
301 (SiO2 NPs) gives a good overlap of particles, and hence, better control of leakage of liquid phase

10
302 of drilling fluid (Mao et al., 2015; Ismail et al., 2016; Aftab et al., 2016). From the data displayed
303 in Table 5, PP–SiO2 NC has the capacity to improve the properties of spud mud.

304 3.2. Rheological model of complex based muds

305 Drilling muds are non–Newtonian fluids, which implies the existence of a non–linear
306 relationship between shear stress and shear rate. Shear stress of drilling fluid describes the
307 pumping characteristics of the fluid. Shear stress plays an important role to distinguish between
308 Newtonian and non–Newtonian drilling fluids. Figures 6a and b show the plots of shear stress
309 versus shear rate of complex WBMs as a function of two temperatures (25 °C and 150 °C),
310 respectively. With an increase in concentration, the shear stresses of all the mud samples
311 increased with increasing shear rates from 5.11–1022 (1/s). This behaviour is caused by the
312 reduced volume of mud additives that hinders the movement of molecules of drilling muds (Mao
313 et al., 2015).
314 The trend lines or curves of the WBMs formulated with different concentrations of PHPA are
315 considerably higher than those of the WBMs related to PP–SiO2 NC both before and after heat
316 treatments. The pronounced increase in the rheological properties of PHPA mud samples was
317 caused by the interactions between PHPA molecules. This increases the viscosity of the drilling
318 muds proportionally to the molecular weight of the PHPA product (Kadaster et al., 1992; Hale
319 and Mody, 1993). With an increase in concentration of PHPA at a dial reading of 600 rpm from
320 0 to 1.2 ppb, the shear stress significantly increases. It increases between the range of 157% and
321 260% before hot rolling experiment (Figure 6a), and between the range of 118% and 179% after
322 hot rolling experiment (Figure 6b).
323 The presence of PP–SiO2 NC in the complex based mud also leads to an increase in shear
324 stress with increasing concentration. At the same temperature conditions, complex WBMs
325 containing PP–SiO2 NC increased the shear stress between the range of 24% and 38% before
326 heat treatment (Figure 6a). After heat treatment, the shear stress increased between the range of
327 34.8% and 51.1% (Figure 6b). This behaviour is caused by efficient dispersion and even
328 distribution of PP–SiO2 NC particles in the mud. This suggests that the presence of PP–SiO2 NC
329 in complex based mud requires less pump pressure to circulate the drilling muds during drilling
330 situations. When compared with PHPA drilling muds, PHPA mud requires a higher force to
331 circulate the mud and maintain the flow of the mud.

11
332 Figures 7a and b present the plots of apparent viscosities versus shear rates of all the drilling
333 mud samples before and after hot rolling experiments, respectively. Figures 8a and b show the
334 rotor speed of complex WBMs measured at dial readings between 3 rpm and 600 rpm. The
335 curves of both plots show a reduction in viscosity with an increase in shear rate from 5.11–1022
336 (1/s) (Figure 7). This behaviour suggests non–Newtonian pseudoplastic fluid, which is a
337 characteristic of shear–thinning fluid. This behaviour also implies that the complex WBMs has
338 less viscosity with increasing shear rates (Figure 8). As shear rate approaches zero, the drilling
339 muds became more viscous, indicating the capacity to suspend sand cuttings when circulation is
340 paused (Figure 7) (Boyou et al., 2019).
341 Most polymer solutions, such as PHPA behave as pseudoplastics. PHPA bearing mud
342 samples indicate higher viscosities with shear rates compared with PP–SiO2 NC samples, as can
343 be seen in Figures 6, 7 and 8. This behaviour is caused by high molecular weight of PHPA
344 product used. This product is a high molecular weight anionic polymer which stability and
345 efficiency in a drilling mud system depend on maintaining its concentration in the appropriate
346 range and controlling the clay content and solids to be within the desired range. If concentration
347 of PHPA is not kept within the appropriate range and the concentration of clays and solids is
348 cause to increase beyond the appropriate range, PHPA viscosity will increase the more. When
349 this behaviour occurs, anionic thinners (deflocculants) are required to stabilize the properties of
350 PHPA drilling muds.
351 As Figures 6b, 7b, and 8b show, the general trends of rheological properties of complex
352 based muds with PP–SiO2 NC at a temperature of 150 °C are similar to those of complex WBM
353 with PHPA. These rheological properties become lower when shear rate increases compared to
354 the mud samples before hot rolling tests, presented in Figures 6a, 7a, and 8a. This behaviour is
355 caused by the weakening of intermolecular attractive forces binding liquid molecules together.
356 As a result, increasing distance between molecules results, which reduces the mud’s molecule
357 interaction (Aftab et al., 2016; Ismail et al., 2016).

358 3.3. Rheological and filtration properties of complex based drilling muds

359 AV, PV, YP, YP/PV ratio and 10–s and 10–min gels before and after hot rolling experiments
360 were investigated to understand the rheological characteristics of formulated complex drilling
361 muds. These rheological data are shown in Figures 9 and 10. AV is the shear stress applied to
362 a fluid divided by shear rate. The AVs of BM with PHPA under temperatures of 25 °C and 150
12
363 °C significantly increased from 0.0 to 1.2 ppb. A lower increase of AVs occurred with PP–SiO2
364 NC mud samples compared to those of PHPA. However, the AV remained almost unchanged
365 between the concentrations of 0.8 and 1.2 ppb. According to Figures 9 and 10, PHPA mud
366 samples present a significantly higher value of AVs compared with those of PP–SiO2 NC drilling
367 muds. Before aging (Figure 9a), with an increase in the concentration of PHPA up to 1.2 ppb, the
368 AV of PHPA drilling mud, was 260% and 161% more than that of BM and PP–SiO2 NC,
369 respectively. The increase in the AV of PHPA mud sample is caused by the strong repelling
370 effect between the face or planar surface of bentonite and the negative surface carried by the
371 acrylate functions of the PHPA (Kadaster et al., 1992). Thus, there is a form of PHPA molecules
372 in complex WBM containing bentonite particles producing a maximum hydrodynamic volume
373 that leads to increase in viscosity of PHPA drilling muds (Borthakur et al., 1997). Another cause
374 of high AV of PHPA is that liquids having long–chain PHPA molecules, have a much higher
375 viscosity compared to liquids make up of small molecules (Gbadamosi et al., 2019). The AV
376 data of PHPA mud samples are much higher than those of PP–SiO2 NC at all concentrations,
377 which is caused by the high degree of entanglement between the long–chain PHPA molecules
378 (Gbadamosi et al., 2019).
379 PV of drilling mud is a measure of a fluid's resistance to flow. It describes the internal
380 friction of a moving fluid. A fluid with large viscosity resists motion because its molecular
381 makeup gives it a lot of internal friction. The greater is the resistance to the shear stress, the
382 greater is the viscosity (Caenn et al., 2017). Figures 9b and 10 contain the PV data of complex
383 WBMs. The shape of the bar of PV data is similar to that of AV data before and after hot rolling
384 experiments. Before hot rolling tests, the PVs of BM with PHPA considerably increases from a
385 concentration of 0.4 ppb. It reaches a maximum value of 39 mPa.s at a concentration of 0.8 ppb,
386 and then decreases by about 7.69% when a concentration of 1.2 ppb was used. This behaviour is
387 caused by the long–chain PHPA molecules, which increases the internal friction resulting from
388 the attraction between the molecules of the liquid. The observed PV data is in accordance with a
389 previous investigation (Borthakur et al., 1997). The authors reported that the addition of PHPA
390 into a bentonite–WBM system, caused a viscosity hump, demonstrating the encapsulating effect
391 of mud. The point at which the hump breaks vary with the molecular weight of PHPA, and with
392 the solids content in the mud.

13
393 The PVs of PP–SiO2 NC increases with an increase in concentration from 0.0 to 0.8 ppb, but
394 remained unchanged at 16 mPa.s for the concentration of 1.2 ppb at 25 °C. The unchanged PV
395 value of PP–SiO2 NC drilling muds can be attributed to the absence of particle agglomeration
396 caused by fine–dispersion of particles in complex WBM (Aftab et al., 2016). In addition, this
397 behaviour may have resulted due to defocculation of clay platelets. The increase in AVs and PVs
398 of BM with PP–SiO2 NC is caused by increase in linking of clay layers between the interparticle
399 interactions of PP–SiO2 NC. It is also caused by the linking of clay layers between PP–SiO2 NC
400 particles and bentonite particles (Mao et al., 2015; Aftab et al., 2016). The PV trend shown in
401 Figure 9b is comparable to that displayed in Figure 10.
402 After thermal aging experiments, the PV values of the mud samples decreased (Figure 9b).
403 With the increase in temperature up to 150 °C, the Brownian movement of fluid becomes
404 stronger, and consequently, the contact time and the time of interaction of the particles decreases,
405 resulting in less attraction between molecules. In addition, the adhesive forces between particles
406 and molecules as well as the interaction between NPs–molecules and molecules–molecules
407 decrease with an increase in temperature (Gbadamosi et al., 2019). According to Figure 9b, PV
408 values of BM with PP–SiO2 NC displays a lower thermal effect between the range of 13 and 15
409 mPa.s after aging, than those of PHPA mud samples, which reduces between the range of 19 and
410 30 mPa.s. This behaviour is because the high specific surface area of the micro‒nanosized
411 particles leads to more contributions to the specific heat given by the entropy of nanocomposite
412 than that of complex WBM and PHPA drilling muds systems (Mao et al., 2015). In drilling
413 environments, when drilling muds are circulated with the nanocomposite into the bottom of a
414 hole, more heat will be adsorbed than drilling with complex WBM and PHPA drilling muds.
415 This phenomenon will enhance the performance of drilling mud system of other additives to a
416 certain extent (Mao et al., 2015; Fattah and Lashin, 2016). From the preceding data, it can be
417 inferred that for the case of BM with PP–SiO2 NC, the impact of PP–SiO2 NC with the increase
418 in concentration on the viscosities (AV and PV) of BM was thickening. This observation can
419 again be explained due to the fact that PP–SiO2 NC tend to unite on the clay plates of bentonite
420 and increase the control of attractive forces between the clay plates.
421 YP is the resistance to the initial flow of fluid or the stress required to move the fluid. It can
422 be simply stated that YP is the attractive force between colloidal particles in drilling fluid (Luo et
423 al., 2017). Figures 9c and 10 present the data of YP of complex based muds before and after hot

14
424 rolling experiments. The BM was built to have a high YP and to achieve a YP/PV ratio greater
425 than 1.0 in order to drill the well rapidly and effectively. It is observed from these plots that there
426 is a significant variation in YP of BM containing PHPA and PP–SiO2 NC concentrations. The
427 YP values of PHPA drilling muds measured at 25 °C and 150 °C are significantly higher than
428 those of the nanocomposite mud samples. They are found between the range of 66 and 108 Pa
429 (Figure 9c) and between the range of 56 to 65 Pa (Figure 10). In both temperature conditions, YP
430 values of PHPA drilling muds are above the recommended operating limits, which is between
431 the range of 10 and 45 Pa (API RB 13B–1, 2017). This behaviour is caused by frictional pressure
432 loss, which is directly related to YP. So, a significantly higher pressure loss and increased ECD
433 were experienced in PHPA mud samples during the circulation of the drilling muds, compared
434 with that of complex WBM and those of PP–SiO2 NC drilling muds. The reason for this
435 behaviour is due to high viscous nature of PHPA drilling muds. The range of YPs of the PHPA
436 makes it difficult to pump the mud from the mud tank because more pressure was needed to
437 suppress the shear stress. In addition, the presence of NaOH, Na2CO3, xanthan gum, the
438 dissolution of the PHPA solids and perhaps some contaminants in the mud might have
439 contributed to increasing the YP of the PHPA drilling muds (Liao and Siems, 1990; Lam et al.,
440 2015).
441 As Figures 9c and 10 show, the YP data of BM with PP–SiO2 NC are found between 36 and
442 37 Pa before heat treatment. After heat treatment, YP of PP–SiO2 NC drilling muds reduced
443 between 32 and 35 Pa. In both temperature conditions, these YP values are within the
444 recommended operating limits (API RB 13B–1, 2017). The addition of PP–SiO2 NC into the
445 complex based mud increases the liquid attractive forces due to the relatively high average
446 specific surface area of the nanocomposite (Oseh et al., 2019). PP–SiO2 NC can maintain the
447 desired pump pressure by reducing ECD better than PHPA. The AV, PV, and YP data of PP–
448 SiO2 NC are consistent with previous studies (Mao et al., 2015; Aftab et al., 2016; Boyou et al.,
449 2019). The YP values of PHPA mud samples reduced after heating more than those of the PP–
450 SiO2 NC drilling muds, which is indicative of the more increased kinetic energy of liquid
451 molecules in PHPA mud samples. This is caused by weakening intermolecular attractive forces
452 (Kadaster et al., 1992; Hale and Mody, 1993).
453 Therefore, it is submitted that along with increase in the value of YP, PP–SiO2 NC showed
454 signifcant amount of temperature stability with increase in their concentration more than that of

15
455 PHPA. If this property persists for even higher values of temperature, it holds a lot of promise in
456 the HPHT environments. In most drilling operations, drilling fluids with lower PVs and higher
457 YPs are often desired to effectively circulate the mud without inducing undue frictional pressure
458 loss, provided that these parameters can drill the well as fast as possible at a low drilling cost
459 (Lashin and Fattah, 2016; Luo et al., 2017). The reason is that higher YP gives strong shear
460 thinning feature and increased transport of solid particles, and lower PV with high flow rate
461 provide turbulence at the drill bit to increase the transport of solid particles to the surface
462 (Ozbayoglu and Sorgun, 2010; Luo et al., 2017).
463 The YP/PV ratio (i.e., the slope of PV-versus-YP line) is a significant indicator of drilling
464 fluid conditions. The carrying capacity property (YP/PV ratio) can be used to determine the
465 stability of drilling fluids (Luo et al., 2017). The YP/PV ratios of complex based muds were
466 evaluated to describe the effect of PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA on mud's cuttings transport capacity
467 and suspendability. These ratios are presented in Figures 9d and 10. Typically, values of YP/PV
468 greater than 0.75 indicate a good transport capacity behaviour of drilling muds. It can provide a
469 better wellbore cleaning performance (Luo et al., 2017). The increase in YP/PV ratio will slowly
470 flatten flow profile to enhance fluid transport capacity. From these plots, the drilling muds show
471 good hole cleaning ability and cuttings suspendability. This is because they demonstrated high
472 values of YP/PV ratio greater than 0.75 both before and after hot rolling experiments.
473 The BM shows the best hole cleaning and suspension ability than the PP–SiO2 NC drilling
474 muds and the PHPA mud samples at 25 °C, except with that of 1.2 g PHPA concentration. This
475 illustrates that cuttings recovery at the surface will occur with or without nanocomposite and
476 PHPA in the mud. At the concentrations of 0.8 and 1.2 ppb, PHPA displayed better cuttings
477 transport capacity and suspendability than PP–SiO2 NC. Nevertheless, at concentrations of 0.4
478 ppb (Figure 9d) and 0.5 ppb (Figure 10), the wellbore cleaning ability and cuttings
479 suspendability of PP–SiO2 NC is better than that of PHPA. After hot rolling experiment, YP/PV
480 values of PP–SiO2 NC decreases with increasing concentration between 0.4 to 1.2 ppb, from 2.46
481 to 2.33, while that of BM reduced to 2.0, and those of PHPA drilling muds showed a higher
482 decrease from 2.94 to 2.0. This behaviour is caused by the higher effect of temperature on PHPA
483 molecules compared with the PP–SiO2 NC particles.
484 The gel strength (10–s and 10–min gels in the standard API procedure) is the shear stress
485 measured at a low shear rate after a mud has set quiescently for a while. It is one of the

16
486 important drilling fluid properties because it demonstrates the ability of the drilling mud to
487 suspend drilled solid and weighting material when circulation is paused. The more the mud
488 gels during shutdown periods, the more pump pressure will be required to initiate circulation
489 again (Luo et al., 2017). Figures 9e and 10 show the 10–s and 10–min gels of mud samples
490 before and after hot rolling experiments. The plots show that 10–s and 10–min gels of BM
491 increases with addition of PHPA and PP–SiO2 NC concentrations. 10–s and 10–min gels data
492 related to PHPA mud samples are significantly higher than those of PP–SiO2 NC before and after
493 hot rolling tests. This behaviour is caused by the anionic character of PHPA product used (Lam
494 et al., 2015). This suggests that attractive intermolecular forces (gelation phenomenon) are
495 higher in PHPA bearing mud samples compared to complex BM and PP–SiO2 NC drilling muds,
496 as AV, PV, and YP data show.
497 Before thermal aging tests, the PHPA mud sample at 0.4 ppb (Figure 9e) and 0.5 ppb (Figure
498 10) present a large difference in 10–s and 10–min gels compared to other mud samples. This
499 shows the potentials of high flat gel or progressive gel at PHPA concentrations of 0.4 and 0.5
500 ppb in the complex WBM. High flat gel or progressive gel is undesirable and can result in a pipe
501 sticking problems during drilling operations. It requires greater pumping to break the gels and
502 resume mud circulation (Luo et al., 2017). It can also make the mud to become static and block
503 drilled cuttings from flowing out of the wellbore. These types of gel occur when there is a high
504 gel strength development with time (Bizhani et al., 2016; Lashin and Fattah, 2016). A low gel
505 will lead to the cuttings dropping to the bottom of the annulus when the pump is switched off.
506 Therefore, low flat gels are desired for drilling operation than low gels or high flat gels or
507 progressive gels. Gel strength should not be much higher than required, but high enough to
508 suspend and keep drilled cuttings in suspension, especially at critical hole angles. According to
509 the data presented in Figures 9e and 10, BM with PP–SiO2 NC before and after hot rolling tests
510 are more capable of suspending cuttings in deviated and horizontal wells. This is because the
511 variation in the 10–s and 10–min gels are not too high compared with those of PHPA drilling
512 muds. Apart from noticing a low flat gel with concentration of PP–SiO2 NC, it also induced the
513 property of heat resistance, which helped to preserve the gels at bottom–hole conditions. This
514 characteristic will guarantee proper suspension of rock/sand cuttings and barite, thereby
515 preventing sagging issues (Lashin and Fattah, 2016).

17
516 Filtrate volume and filter cake thickness at both API and HPHT conditions are other
517 rheological properties measured. Figures 9f and 10 present the data of these properties.
518 According to the plots, there is no much variation in the API FL of PHPA and PP–SiO2 NC over
519 that of BM. The API FL of BM was 11.8 ml, and with PHPA concentrations in BM, it reduces to
520 the range of 8.5–6.5 ml with increasing concentration. The API FL of BM with PHPA was best
521 controlled by 1.2 ppb PHPA concentration, which allows 6.5 ml loss of drilling fluids. PHPA–
522 bentonite clay drilling muds tend to form a relatively thin filter cake on the wall of the wellbore,
523 a characteristic often cited as an advantage for using PHPA in bentonite–based drilling mud
524 system (Liao and Siems, 1990). The sealing behaviour of long–chain PHPA molecules is caused
525 by the degree of hydrolysis and the hydration group in the molecular chain of PHPA, which are
526 typical characteristics of its molecules. These characteristics make PHPA hydration better, which
527 change PHPA as a flocculant into filtrate loss reducing agent (Liao and Siems, 1990; Hale and
528 Mody, 1993). In general, adding different concentrations of PP–SiO2 NC into complex based
529 mud showed least degradation in rheological properties compared to other fuids (BM and PHPA
530 muds).
531 The API FL of PP–SiO2 NC in BM ranges between 8.0 and 6.4 ml. It is more capable to
532 control loss of drilling fluids than the PHPA drilling muds. This behaviour is caused by the
533 enhancement in viscosity of BM containing PP–SiO2 NC, which has a consistent rheological
534 trend. Furthermore, the rapid creation of low filter cake caused by low permeability of PP–SiO2
535 NC is another reason for the efficient sealing behaviour of the PP–SiO2 NC (Mao et al., 2015;
536 Boyou et al., 2019). Also, PP–SiO2 NC was well–dispersed in the drilling mud, which provides a
537 wider distribution and stability of particles in the mud. Efficient dispersion and stability of
538 colloidal clays in the mud gives a good overlap of particles; thus, providing good filtration
539 control property (Aftab et al., 2016). The BM with PHPA shows higher loss of drilling fluids
540 than PP–SiO2 NC mud samples, due to the high viscous nature (gelation phenomenon) of the
541 PHPA mud samples that leads to mud’s flocculation. A flocculated mud, such as PHPA which
542 has aggregates of particles, will allow fluid to pass through easily (Hale and Mody, 1993).
543 Overall, the filtrate loss is best controlled for A–1.2 by adding 1.2 ppb PP–SiO2 NC that reduced
544 it by 45.8%. This phenomenon takes place as the nanocomposite sealed the pore spaces and
545 prevents a clear passage for the mud to seep.

18
546 An increase in temperature has the effect of minimizing the viscosity of liquid phase, thereby
547 causing an increase in filtrate loss volume. As Figures 9f and 10 show, the HPHT FL of the
548 complex drilling mud samples increases after thermal aging experiments. Just like the trend of
549 API FL under API conditions, HPHT FL of BM with PP–SiO2 NC were lower than those of
550 PHPA drilling muds. This behaviour is because PP–SiO2 NC particles formed a tighter packing
551 structure through the filter cake, which effectively sealed the openings between the micron–sized
552 particles that would otherwise allow the fluid to flow (Mao et al., 2016). Furthermore, this
553 behaviour can be due to the fact that PP–SiO2 NC particles did not agglomerate with increasing
554 concentrations and due to overall less–viscosity reduction of the mud, as compared to PHPA
555 mud samples. The more filtrate loss into the formation, the more the filter cake thickness.
556 Figures 9f and 10 present the API and HPHT FCT of complex based muds. Based on these
557 figures, no significant variation exists in the API and HPHT FCT of both PHPA and PP–SiO2 NC
558 mud samples. These data inferred that BM when blended with PP–SiO2 NC presented a significantly
559 reducing trend of filtrate loss of drilling mud with increase in concentration of the nanocomposite
560 additive.

561 3.4. Flow dynamics of complex based muds without drill pipe rotation speed

562 3.4.1. Effect of different concentrations of PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA on CTEs

563 In terms of drilling muds performance in cuttings lifting process of different cuttings
564 diameters, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.2 ppb concentrations of PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA without pipe rotation
565 speed was used. 0.5 ppb concentration of both PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA in BM was used when the
566 rotation speed of drill pipe was set to 150 rpm. These data are represented in Figures 11, 12, 13,
567 and 14. According to these plots, when the PP‒SiO
NC concentrations were added into the
568 BM, the lifting of cuttings increases with increasing concentration. On the other hand, adding
569 PHPA into the BM decreases the percent cuttings recovery of the BM with increasing
570 concentration. The PHPA drilling mud at 0.4 ppb concentration demonstrates higher CTEs than
571 other PHPA concentrations (0.8 and 1.2 ppb). The PHPA drilling muds with compositions of B–
572 1.2 performed the least, while A–0.8 and A–1.2 of nanocomposite showed higher CTEs than
573 PHPA concentrations. This is because the presence of nanocomposite in BM was able to increase
574 the colloidal forces, which increases the interaction between drilled cuttings and nanocomposite
575 particles to keep upward movement of cuttings towards the surface (Samsuri and Hamzah, 2016;

19
576 Boyou et al., 2019). The plots confirmed 1.2 ppb concentration (A–1.2) of PP–SiO2 NC to
577 produce the largest CTE due to more decrease in the distance between the particles, linking of
578 clay layers and increase in Van der Waal forces with increasing concentration (Kök and Bal,
579 2019).
580 With 0.4 g PHPA concentration, the muds were effectively circulated with the mud velocity
581 between the range of 0.457 and 0.960 m/s; hence, better cuttings lifting than 0.4 ppb PP–SiO2
582 NC concentration and larger PHPA concentrations of 0.8 and 1.2 ppb. This suggests that 0.4 ppb
583 is the optimum concentration of PHPA drilling muds. The better CTEs of BM with 0.4 ppb
584 PHPA concentration is due to the ability of PHPA to improve the fluid drag by flocculating the
585 cuttings, and subsequently, causing a decrease in the resultant drag effects on cuttings (Hale and
586 Mody, 1993; Ercan and Ozbayoglu, 2009; Lam et al., 2015). Besides, several findings have
587 shown that PHPA as a drag–reducing agent is more effective at low concentration (Ercan and
588 Ozbayoglu, 2009; Lam et al., 2015). This is because of the low content of high molecular weight,
589 drag reducing polymers with enough flow rate, which reduces the turbulent spurts in the buffer
590 layer of pipes (Ercan and Ozbayoglu, 2009).
591 The nature of BM with 0.8 and 1.2 ppb PHPA concentrations during the experiments showed
592 a highly thick–jelly mud, which was very difficult to stir and circulate with mud velocities
593 between the range of 0.457 and 0.960 m/s. This phenomenon is due to the ability of long–chain
594 molecules of the polymer to increase entanglement according to its hydrodynamic size (Hale and
595 Mody, 1993). The pump was not able to effectively circulate and distribute muds in the flow
596 loop to cause turbidity of flow stream. Turbidity of flow stream promotes uniform distribution of
597 cuttings in wellbore because it minimizes cuttings concentration to one side of the hole (Yeu et
598 al., 2019). This behaviour drastically reduced the lifting capacity of PHPA mud samples at
599 higher concentrations of 0.8 and 1.2 ppb. The high viscosities of PHPA drilling muds will need
600 enough flow rate to circulate, in order to minimize frictional pressure loss, reduce ECD and
601 subsequently, prevent a pipe sticking incident. Furthermore, care should be taken in selecting the
602 additives that will be used together with PHPA in a complex WBM system. The addition of
603 anionic thinners (deflocculants) to complex WBM containing PHPA under the prevailing
604 conditions can contribute to controlling the mud flocculation, and subsequently, decrease the
605 rheological parameters of the PHPA drilling muds (Ismail et al., 2019).

20
606 Other important findings shown in Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14 is that the CTEs of 0.4 ppb
607 concentration of PP–SiO2 NC (i.e. between the range of 44.7 and 68.2%), at the lowest mud
608 velocity of 0.457 m/s are more than those of BM that lies within the range of 41.2 and 53.8%.
609 This shows the ability of the nanocomposite to enhance the lifting capacity of complex drilling
610 mud system. This enhancement can contribute to minimizing cuttings settling out of the mud
611 when the circulation velocity is not high enough to overcome gravitational force acting on sand
612 cuttings (Ramsey, 2019). Overall, increase in concentration of nanocomposite display better
613 enhancement in the properties of BM to lift cuttings, compared with BM and PHPA
614 concentrations. The reason for this behaviour is that PP–SiO2 NC particles are well–dispersed in
615 BM, which makes water to absorb into it and becomes agglomerated. These phenomena will
616 increase the viscosity of drilling muds (Samsuri and Hamzah, 2016). Furthermore, as reported in
617 a previous recent study by the authors, the designed PP–SiO2 NC particles are in a micro–
618 nanosized. The size of these particles are distributed between 80 and 390 nm. They have a
619 relatively high specific surface area of 13.7 m2/g. These characteristics enable the PP–SiO2 NC
620 particles to increase the drag and lift forces on the rock cuttings to overcome the effect of
621 gravitational and cohesive forces, that further increased cuttings lifting to surface (Oseh et al.,
622 2019).

623 3.4.2. Effect of hole angles on CTEs using complex based muds

624 The effect of hole angles on CTEs of the designed complex based muds is presented in
625 Figures 15, 16, 17 and 18. According to these figures, the shapes or trend lines of CTEs for all
626 the hole angles are almost similar. The CTEs increases with increasing hole angles. The plots
627 also demonstrate that the CTE decreases with increasing cuttings diameter, and increases with
628 increasing mud velocity. The highest CTEs occurred in a horizontal annulus (90 °). This is
629 attributed to the dominant force (the axial drag force) related to the flow of the mud, which was
630 not affected by the hole deviation. As a result, the cuttings were stable and does not avalanche
631 (slip downward) (Yeu et al., 2019). Next, the CTEs at 75 ° is the second–highest because of less
632 decreased in the resultant axial drag force against gravitational force (Ernesto et al., 2016;
633 Heshamudin et al., 2019). The second–lowest hole angle in the cuttings transport process was 60
634 ° inclinations, while the lowest observed CTEs occurred at 45 ° inclinations, and is the most
635 problematic inclination in the cuttings transport process. This hole angle (45 ° inclination) needs

21
636 attention while preparing drilling mud. Hole inclinations 45 ° and 60 ° are often referred to as
637 critical hole angles and they experienced the lowest CTEs. The reason for this behaviour is
638 because the lift forces which dominate cuttings lifting in a vertical annulus are significantly
639 decreased when hole angle increases. Thus, the resultant drag forces against gravitational forces
640 are lower; the cuttings then become unstable, and therefore, tend to avalanche (slip downward)
641 (Ernesto et al., 2016; Yeu et al., 2019). Furthermore, at these critical hole inclinations, cuttings
642 only have a few metres to cover before hitting the wall of wellbore compared to vertical portion
643 of the annulus, where cuttings have enough space to travel. This results in a reduction in the
644 vertical component of the fluid velocity, and consequently, increased cuttings slip velocity
645 (Ozbayoglu et al., 2008; Yeu et al., 2019).
646 About different diameters of cuttings, the trend lines demonstrated in Figures 15, 16, 17 and
647 18 showed that the CTEs decreases with an increasing cuttings diameter. This behaviour is
648 caused by the differences in the densities of these cuttings (Hakim et al., 2019). According to the
649 plots, transport of smallest cuttings is more simplified compared with largest cuttings. Smallest
650 cuttings of 0.50–0.99 mm (Sand A) were easier to clean out compared with intermediate‒size
651 cuttings. Intermediate‒size cuttings (Sand B and Sand C) were easier to lift than the largest
652 cuttings (Sand D). The transport of largest cuttings is dependent on its settling velocity (Wei et
653 al., 2013; Bizhani et al., 2016). The settling velocity of large cuttings is substantially high,
654 compared to those of small and intermediate–size cuttings (Wei et al., 2013). Consequently, it
655 has the greatest tendency to drop to the bottom of the hole. However, from the drag force
656 formula given in Equation 2, a larger particle suggests a higher drag force, and a larger particle
657 should have a larger weight effect compared to a smaller particle. Thus, a larger particle should
658 experience a higher drag force to balance the gravitational force. This effect helps to promote the
659 transport of larger cuttings (Wei et al., 2013). The transport of larger cuttings will increase with
660 an increasing flow rate (Heshamudin et al., 2019). These findings are similar to those reported by
661 Heshamudin et al., (2019) and Yeu et al., (2019). These authors concluded that in rock cuttings
662 transport, cuttings diameter has a very small effect on transport performance and cuttings build‒
663 up on the low side of the hole.
664 F = 6π uR (2)
665 F is drag force,  is the viscosity, u is average velocity and R is the particle diameter

666 3.4.3. Effect of mud velocities on CTEs of PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA drilling muds

22
667 Before determining the effect of pipe rotation on CTE conducted with complex WBM and
668 drilling muds compositions of A–0.5 and B–0.5, mud velocity was increased to 1.80 m/s, which
669 is about 87.5% higher than the optimum mud velocity of 0.960 m/s applied in the cuttings
670 transport process presented in Figures 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. The mud velocity of
671 1.80 m/s was applied to only the complex WBM and compared with other mud velocities
672 between the range of 0.457 and 0.960 m/s. The reason is to select the mud velocity that can
673 effectively circulate the drilling muds, in particular, the compositions of PHPA drilling muds.
674 The CTEs of complex WBM with different mud velocities with no pipe rotation are shown in
675 Figures 19a and b for Sand A and Sand D, respectively. At the highest mud velocity of 1.80 m/s,
676 the CTEs of both Sand A and Sand D gives the best transportation of drilled cuttings compared
677 with other mud velocities between the range of 0.457 and 0.960 m/s. The CTEs of drilling muds
678 increases as the mud velocity increases to 1.80 m/s. This behaviour is attributed to the formation
679 of turbulent eddies (Ramsey, 2019; Yeu et al., 2019). The CTEs of Sand D (Figure 19b) are
680 between the range of 31.5% and 60.1% when mud velocities in the range between 0.457 and
681 0.960 m/s were used. On the other hand, the CTEs of drilling muds improved to the range
682 between 68.8% and 81.2% when the mud velocity was maximum at 1.80 m/s.
683 According to both plots shown in Figures 19a and b, Sand D have better CTEs than Sand A.
684 This further confirmed the cuttings transport of larger cuttings size to largely depend on
685 increasing mud velocity, which is consistent with a previous study that indicated the transport
686 capacity of WBM of larger cuttings to mainly depend on mud velocity and density (Wei et al.,
687 2013). From the trend lines, the CTEs increases with increasing mud velocity at all hole angles.
688 The effect of mud velocity of 1.80 m/s is higher in the largest cuttings size (Sand D) compared
689 with the smallest cuttings (Sand A). However, Sand A showed better recovery of cuttings with
690 mud velocities between 0.457 and 0.960 m/s. At horizontal portion of the hole, the CTE of Sand
691 A with mud velocity of 1.80 m/s is 4.31% higher than that of mud velocity of 0.960 m/s, while
692 the CTE of Sand D with a mud velocity of 1.80 m/s shows 35.1% more than that calculated with
693 0.960 m/s at the horizontal annulus.

694 3.4.4. Effect of drill pipe rotation on CTE using complex based muds

695 Drill pipe rotation is one of the optimization tools for a higher CTE (Sanchez et al., 1999;
696 Ozbayoglu and Sorgun, 2010). With drill pipe movement, either in rotation/reciprocation or
697 centralization, cutting beds on the low side of the hole are mechanically disturbed and exposed to
23
698 the top portion of the annulus where the fluid circulation rate is higher (Boyou et al., 2019). The
699 drilling muds with the compositions of A–0.5 and B–0.5 and mud velocity of 1.80 m/s were used
700 to determine the effect of drill pipe rotation on CTE. The complex based mud with 0.5 ppb
701 concentration of PP–SiO
NC and PHPA was designed owing to the gelation of the PHPA (B‒
702 0.8 and B‒1.2) mud samples. The performance of 0.5 ppb concentration of PP–SiO
NC and
703 PHPA without pipe rotation was compared with that of drill pipe rotation speed of 150 rpm.
704 Sand A and Sand D were chosen because Sand A (0.50–0.99 mm) happens to be more easier in
705 the transport process, while Sand D (2.80–4.00 mm) is the most difficult in the cuttings transport
706 process. The data of these drilling parameters with and without drill pipe rotation are shown in
707 Figures 20 and 21, respectively.
708 According to Figure 20, BM with 0.5 ppb concentration of PP–SiO2 NC lifted the highest
709 cuttings to the surface with and without inner pipe rotation than those of BM and PHPA mud
710 samples. The CTEs of BM with 0.5 ppb concentration of PP–SiO
NC at critical hole angles 45
711 ° and 60 ° increased by 14.3% and 12.4%, respectively, while those of BM with 0.5 ppb
712 concentration of PHPA improved by 15.9% and 16.4%, respectively, with no pipe rotation. This
713 behaviour is because higher mud velocity was used to circulate the less–viscous PHPA mud
714 compared to those of B–0.8 and B–1.2. PHPA can enhance the transport of sand cuttings by
715 flocculating the sand cuttings and reducing the drag force acting on the sand cuttings if its
716 concentration and clay content are kept within the proper range (Hale and Mody, 1993). The
717 mud samples circulated with a drill pipe rotation speed were more capable of circulating drilled
718 cuttings than those circulated without pipe rotation. This is because drill pipe rotation induces
719 centrifugal force in the annulus that mechanically exposed sand cuttings to where there are
720 higher flow rates (Ozbayoglu and Sorgun, 2010).
721 In terms of cuttings diameter, complex WBM shows the lowest CTEs for the two diameters
722 of cuttings investigated. The larger cuttings diameter (2.80–4.00 mm) produced the highest CTEs
723 at all hole angles. This finding is contrary to the earlier data presented in Figures 11 to 18, where
724 CTEs of drilling muds reduces with increasing cuttings diameter. This indicates that the transport
725 of smallest cuttings (0.50–0.99 mm) are more dominated by mud viscosity than mud velocity, as
726 reported by Duan et al., (2008). About drill pipe rotation, this finding is contrary to the report by
727 Duan et al., (2008). They pointed out that the recovery of small cuttings with pipe rotation is up
728 to twice as large as those of recovered large cuttings. Nevertheless, the result obtained in this

24
729 section is in accordance with those reported by other previous authors (Sanchez et al., 1999;
730 Boyou et al., 2019). These authors reported that fluid flow rate with drill pipe rotation speed is a
731 key factor that controls the transport of large cuttings, unlike the transport of small cuttings that
732 are mainly dominated by fluid rheology. The diameters of cuttings used in this study are within
733 the range of cuttings used in these previous studies.
734 Figure 21 illustrates that drill pipe rotation speed will be more effective at deviated
735 wellbores. Nevertheless, it is more efficient in the horizontal portion of the annulus. Largest
736 cuttings (2.80–4.00 mm) shows higher cuttings recovery than smallest cuttings (0.50–0.99 mm).
737 This behaviour is caused by enough mud velocity that reduced the gravitational forces acting on
738 the largest cuttings (Boyou et al., 2019). At the most critical hole angle of 45 ° (as shown in this
739 study), drill pipe rotation speed increased the CTE of the BM by 2.7% (Sand A) and by 9.3%
740 (Sand D), confirming the higher effect of pipe rotation speed on largest cuttings size. According
741 to Figures 20 and 21, drill pipe rotation speed of 150 rpm can produce a CTE range between
742 68.4% and 79.4% (Sand A), and between the CTE range of 70.4% and 96.2% (Sand D). On the
743 other hand, CTEs conducted without pipe rotation speed are between the range of 66.4% and
744 77.4% (Sand A) and between the range of 68.8% and 86.3% (Sand D) circulated with a mud
745 velocity of 1.80 m/s. Therefore, in the design of cuttings transport process, drill pipe rotation
746 speed and enough mud velocity need to be considered for a higher CTE.
747 From the overall results obtained, mud velocity, rheological properties, and diameter of
748 cuttings have an impact on cuttings transport. The performance of these parameters depends on
749 the concentration at which pump circulation is more effective without inducing frictional
750 pressure losses. The concentrations of PP–SiO2 NC in complex WBMs were able to increase the
751 viscosity that enhanced the mud’s carrying capacity of drilled cuttings. It enhanced the heat
752 transfer and increased the stability of the complex WBM, which led to increased lift and drag
753 forces on the drilled cuttings. With these phenomena, surface forces can overcome gravitational
754 forces acting on drilled cuttings, which can easily move cuttings upward towards surface
755 (Samsuri and Hamzah, 2016).

756 3.5. Sand cuttings interaction with polypropylene–nanosilica drilling muds

757 In general, the mechanism that contributed to improving the cuttings lifting of PP–SiO
NC
758 drilling muds is elucidated further by using a simplified description of the mud–cuttings
759 interactions presented in Figure 22. The presence of PP–SiO
NC in complex WBM offers a
25
760 wider distribution of particles in the mud. Since the particles were well‒dispersed, they are
761 spaced evenly and scattered all through the mud. As the mud moves upward in the annulus either
762 by annular laminar, transitional or turbulent, the nanocomposite provides increased colloidal
763 forces and a stronger particle–sand cuttings interaction due to the adsorption between bentonite
764 particles and the nanocomposite (Omurlu et al., 2016; Al–Yasiri et al., 2019). The upward
765 movement of nanocomposite particles in the mud follows the flow stream of complex based
766 mud. As the flow of mud moves the cuttings and nanocomposite particles, the interparticle
767 interaction between the PP–SiO
NC and sand cuttings increased (Figure 22). This occurrence
768 was possible because nanocomposite particles have a characteristic of a relatively high average
769 specific surface area of 13.7 m²/g, and are small enough, as indicated by their size distributed
770 between 80 and 390 nm (Oseh et al., 2019). These factors contribute to increasing the drag and
771 lift forces on cuttings to overcome gravity and cohesive forces. This behaviour, promote an
772 increase in the cuttings transport process of nanocomposite drilling muds (Boyou et al., 2019).

773 4. Cost feasibility of drilling muds

774 Cost feasibility is an important factor in decision making for the oil and gas industry. Cost
775 feasibility is the simplest way of comparing options to ascertain whether to go ahead with a
776 project. The notion is to weigh up project costs against benefits, and identify the action that will
777 give the most benefit for a project (Sawsan et al., 2019). Table 6 shows the actual cost of
778 chemicals used in synthesizing PP–SiO2 NC product, while Table 7 represents the formulation
779 costs of the complex based mud (BM), BM + PHPA and BM + PP–SiO2 NC. The chemicals
780 acquired were scaled to the actual cost used in designing the drilling muds. According to Table 7,
781 the cost of designing the BM was 21.00 USD. When the concentrations of PHPA and PP–SiO2
782 NC were scaled to 2.9 ppb (sum of 0.4, 0.5, 0.8, 1.2 ppb) and added to the cost of preparing the
783 BM, the cost of preparation increased to 21.823 USD and 22.969 USD for PHPA and PP–SiO2
784 NC drilling muds, respectively. The increment in the cost of designing the BM with the PHPA
785 product was 3.92%, while that of the BM with the PP–SiO2 NC showed 9.38%. Based on this
786 data, cost comparison shows the more beneficial cost of designing the BM with PHPA than the
787 BM with PP–SiO2 NC with a cost difference of 1.146 USD.
788 The designed nanocomposite is under laboratory studies. If introduced into the market, it
789 might attract interest from industries, operators, and researchers, due to its sterling rheological

26
790 and filtration characteristics. These characteristics can usher in new and cost–saving methods of
791 its synthesis. For example, from the data that were shown in Table 6, about 230 g of chemicals
792 used in synthesizing the nanocomposite yielded 41.8 g of PP–SiO2 NC product and the synthesis
793 cost 20.091 USD, whereas procured 250 g commercial PHPA cost as much as 71.10 USD (Table
794 7). This implies that a more cost–saving and efficient method of synthesis can recover more yield
795 of PP–SiO2 NC at a reduced cost. In addition, under large scale productions, cost of chemicals
796 that might be needed to design the PP–SiO2 NC will be more cost–effective than the cost of
797 production under laboratory scale. The designed nanocomposite shows better performance in the
798 control of filtrate loss and modifying the rheological properties of complex drilling mud than the
799 PHPA. Based on these characteristics demonstrated by the designed nanocomposite, its
800 application for drilling operations might not erode drilling economics when used in a complex
801 based mud.

802

803

804 5. Conclusions

805 The article focuses on the improvement of the rheology and filtration properties of complex
806 based mud by PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA. It also describes a study of cuttings transferring
807 efficiency test for drilling under a fluid environment where PP–SiO2 NC and PHPA exists. Its
808 main focus was on how different concentrations (0.4, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.2 ppb) of PP–SiO2 NC and
809 PHPA performed in a field–oriented cuttings transport flow loop under different drilling
810 parameters, such as hole angles (45, 60, 75 and 90 °), mud velocities (0.457, 0.630, 0.823, 0.960
811 m/s and 1.80 m/s) and cuttings size range between 0.50 and 4.00 mm. A concentration of 0.5 ppb
812 at a maximum mud velocity of 1.80 m/s was used to determine the transport of Sand A (0.50–
813 0.99 mm) and Sand D (2.80–4.00 mm). The cuttings carrying capacity of PP–SiO
NC and
814 PHPA with and without pipe rotation speed of 150 rpm were evaluated and compared.
815 Before the complex drilling muds were prepared, a spud mud was formulated using fresh
816 water, bentonite, and NaOH. Different concentrations (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 ppb) of PP–SiO
NC
817 were added to the spud mud to determine the changes of spud mud properties with the designed
818 nanocomposite. The presence of PP–SiO
NC was able to enhance the AV, PV, YP, 10–s and
819 10–min gels and API FL of the spud mud due to its fine–dispersion in the mud. Thereafter,

27
820 complex drilling muds with nanocomposite were prepared. They improved the rheological and
821 filtration properties, which enhanced the transport capacity of BM to lift sand cuttings easily to
822 surface than PHPA drilling muds. The rheological properties of complex based mud with PHPA
823 under the investigated conditions needs attention, in order to avert stuck pipe incident, increase
824 frictional pressure loss and ECD, and high pump pressure requirement. This scenario will be
825 more serious when high concentration (up to 0.8 ppb) of PHPA is used.
826 The PP–SiO2 NC drilling muds are more capable of transferring cuttings to the surface with
827 or without pipe rotation speed than the PHPA. This behaviour is caused by increase in colloidal
828 interaction between particles of nanocomposite in the mud and sand particles. At a maximum
829 velocity of 1.80 m/s, the effects of PHPA muds on CTE were more pronounced, and CTEs were
830 higher than CTEs obtained with mud velocities between 0.457 and 0.960 m/s. This is because,
831 drilled cuttings and PHPA muds were uniformly distributed, which induced a higher fluid drag
832 and lift forces. The transport capacity of designed complex WBM will increase when mud
833 velocity increases with or without the presence of nanocomposite or PHPA due to the formation
834 of turbulent eddies.
835 The mud’s carrying capacity was most difficult at hole inclinations of 45 °, due to decreased
836 in axial annular velocity with increasing hole deviation. The CTEs were at the peak in the
837 horizontal portion of the wellbore because of enough axial mud velocity. The CTE significantly
838 depends on pump rate. The more the pump rate, the more the mud velocity, and the more the
839 CTE. This is because, higher mud velocity produces a larger axial force to lift cuttings. The
840 transport of small and intermediate–size cuttings is relatively simplified and requires less mud
841 velocity compared to largest cuttings with or without pipe rotation.

842 6. Recommendations

843 1. Highly weighted mud should be formulated with the designed nanocomposite to determine
844 its effect on ROP because the heavier mud weight will cause the weight of the drilling mud
845 to go higher above the pressure gradient of the formation, this, in turn, impacts penetration
846 rate.
847 2. Partially or fully eccentric drill pipe should be investigated with the designed PP–SiO
NC
848 drilling mud in order to determine their effect on the average fluid velocity in the annulus,
849 especially on the low side.

28
850 3. The shape factor has effects on the sagging of cuttings, and different shapes of cuttings have
851 different force distributions, resulting in different motion trajectories. Therefore, it is
852 suggested that the shape of cuttings with the designed nanocomposite should be studied.

853 Nomenclature

854 10–min gel 10 minutes of gel strength

855 10–s gel 10 seconds of gel strength
856 A–0.4 Base mud + 0.4 ppb PP–SiO
NC
857 A–0.5 Base mud + 0.5 ppb PP–SiO
NC
858 A–0.8 Base mud + 0.8 ppb PP–SiO
NC
859 A–1.2 Base mud + 1.2 ppb PP–SiO
NC
860 API American petroleum institute
861 ASTM American Standard Testing Method
862 AV Apparent viscosity
863 B–0.4 Base mud + 0.4 ppb PHPA
864 B–0.5 Base mud + 0.5 ppb PHPA
865 B–0.8 Base mud + 0.8 ppb PHPA
866 B–1.2 Base mud + 1.2 ppb PHPA
867 BM Base mud
868 CTE Cuttings transferring efficiency
869 ECD Equivalent circulating density
870 FCT Filter cake thickness
871 FL Filtrate loss volume
872 GS Gel strength
873 HPHT High pressure high temperature
874 ID Outer diameter of the inner drill pipe
875 NaOH Sodium hydroxides
876 OD Internal diameter of the outer pipe
877 PAC HV High viscosity polyanionic cellulose

29
878 PE–b–PEG Polyethylene–block poly(ethylene glycol)
879 PHPA Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide
880 PNCs Polymer nanocomposites
881 PP Polypropylene
882 PP–SiO
NC Polypropylene–nanosilica composite
883 PV Plastic viscosity
884 ROP Rate of penetration
885 Sand A 0.50–0.99 mm
886 Sand B 1.00–1.99 mm
887 Sand C 2.00–2.79 mm
888 Sand D 2.80–4.00 mm
889 SiO
NP Silica nanoparticle or nanosilica
890 SiO
Silica/silicon dioxide
891 TEOS Tetraethyl orthosilicate
892 WBMs Water-based muds
893 YP Yield point
894 YP/PV ratio Transport capacity ratio

895 Conflicts of interest

896 On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

897 Acknowledgments

898 The authors wish to thank the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) and Universiti
899 Teknologi Malaysia Research Management Centre for funding this project under the Fundamental
900 Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) with reference number FRGS/1/2019/TK05/UTM/02/20.

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1019 Cleaning. pp. 163–216. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-817088-5.00005-8.
1020 Samsuri, A., Hamzah, A., 2016. Water based mud lifting capacity improvement by multiwall
1021 carbon nanotubes additive. Journal of Petroleum and Gas Engineering. 5, 99–107.
1022 Sanchez, R.A., Azar, J.J., Bassal, A.A., Martins, A.L., 1999. Effect of drill pipe rotation on hole
1023 cleaning during directional-well drilling. 4,101–108. https://doi.org/10.2118/56406-PA
1024 Sawsan, R.M., Hafeth, I.N., Rouwaida, H.A., 2019. Impact of the Feasibility Study on the
1025 Construction Projects. 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Engineering Techniques
1026 (ICSET 2019). IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 518, 022074.
1027 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/518/2/022074.
1028 Sayindla, S., Lund, B., Ytrehus, J.D., Saasen A., 2017. Hole-cleaning performance comparison of

34
1029 oil-based and water-based drilling fluids. Journal of Petroleum Science Engineering 159, 49–
1030 57. https://doi.org/10.2118/90529-MS.
1031 Singh, R., Dutta, S., 2018. Synthesis and characterization of solar photoactive TiO2 nanoparticles
1032 with enhanced structural and optical properties. Adv. Powder Technol. 9(2), 211–219.
1033 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apt.2017.11.005.
1034 Wei, N., Meng, Y., Li, G., Wan, L., Xu, Z., Xu, X., Zhang, Y., 2013. Cuttings Transport Models
1035 and Experimental Visualization of Underbalanced Horizontal Drilling. Mathematical Problems
1036 in Engineering. pp. 1–6. doi:10.1155/2013/764782.
1037 Yeu, W.J., Katende, A., Sagala, F., Ismail, I., 2019. Improving Hole Cleaning using Low Density
1038 Polyethylene Beads at Different Mud Circulation Rates in Different Hole Angles. Journal of
1039 Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 61:333–343, 2019. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.
1040 2018.11.012.
1041 Zu, L., Li, R., Jin, L., Lian, H., Liu, Y., Cui, X., 2013. Preparation and characterization of
1042 polypropylene/silica composite particle with interpenetrating network via hot emulsion sol-gel
1043 approach. Progress in Natural Science: Materials International. 24, 42–49.

1044 Appendix A

1045 The physicochemical properties of some chemicals used in this study are shown in Table A.1.

1046 Determining the density of PP–SiO2 NC

1047 The density of the synthesized PP–SiO2 NC was determined in order to have an understanding
1048 of the range of densities of the synthesized nanocomposite particles. About 10 g, which is
1049 equivalent to 10 ml of the nanocomposite was used using water displacement method, as shown
1050 in Table A.2.

1051 The density of sands cuttings

1052 The sand replacement method was used to determine the density of sandstone (natural quartz,
1053 grains) according to a previous study (Yeu et al., 2019). Quartz grains were obtained from Desaru
1054 Beach, Johor Bahru, Malaysia and it has a water absorption capacity < 1.0%. The masses of both
1055 dry and wet grains of sand were measured in a container to calculate the density of the natural
1056 quartz grains, which was 20.43 ppg, as shown in Table A.3.
1057
1058

35
1059 List of Figures
1060 Figure 1. Synthesis process of PP–SiO2 NC particles using hot emulsion sol–gel method
1061 Figure 2. Formation mechanism of synthesized PP–SiO2 NC with PE–b–PEG acting as a surfactant
1062 Figure 3. Representation of field scale–down cuttings transport flow loop showing the various
1063 gadgets of the flow loop
1064 Figure 4. Representation of flow process used to simulate sand cuttings in a field scale–down
1065 cuttings transport flow loop from mud mixing to the determination of CTE
1066 Figure 5. Cuttings transport flow loop at different test settings (a) test setting 45 °, (b) test setting 60
1067 °, (c) test setting 75 ° and (d) test setting 90 ° (horizontal).
1068 Figure 6. Shear stress versus shear rate profile of complex based muds measured (a) before (25 °C)
1069 and (b) after (150 °C) hot rolling tests
1070 Figure 7. Viscosity versus shear rate of drilling muds measured (a) before (25 °C) and (b) after (150
1071 °C) hot rolling tests
1072 Figure 8. The consistency curves of drilling muds measured (a) before (25 °C) and (b) after (150
1073 °C) hot rolling tests
1074 Figure 9. Rheological properties measured before (25 °C) and after (150 °C) hot rolling
1075 experiments: (a) AV, (b) PV, (c), YP, (d) YP/PV ratio, (e) 10–s and 10–min gels, and (f) FL and
1076 FCT of drilling muds used to investigate the CTEs of mud samples at mud velocities between 0.457
1077 and 0.960 m/s without drill pipe rotation speed
1078 Figure 10. Mud properties of complex WBM with A–0.5 and B–0.5 used to investigate CTEs with
1079 or without pipe rotation speed of 150 rpm at a mud velocity of 1.80 m/s
1080 Figure 11. CTEs of complex drilling muds at hole angle 45 ° and different mud velocities for
1081 different cuttings size (Sand A: 0.50–0.99 mm; Sand B: 1.00–1.99 mm; Sand C: 2.00–2.79 mm;
1082 Sand D: 2.80–4.00 mm)
1083 Figure 12. CTEs of complex drilling muds at hole angle 60 ° and different mud velocities for
1084 different cuttings size (Sand A: 0.50–0.99 mm; Sand B: 1.00–1.99 mm; Sand C: 2.00–2.79 mm;
1085 Sand D: 2.80–4.00 mm)
1086 Figure 13. CTEs of complex drilling muds at hole angle 75 ° and different mud velocities for
1087 different cuttings size (Sand A: 0.50–0.99 mm; Sand B: 1.00–1.99 mm; Sand C: 2.00–2.79 mm;
1088 Sand D: 2.80–4.00 mm)
1089 Figure 14. CTEs of complex drilling muds at hole angle 90 ° and different mud velocities for

36
1090 different cuttings size (Sand A: 0.50–0.99 mm; Sand B: 1.00–1.99 mm; Sand C: 2.00–2.79 mm;
1091 Sand D: 2.80–4.00 mm)
1092 Figure 15. CTEs of different drilling muds at different hole angles and different mud velocities for
1093 cuttings diameter range of 0.50–0.99 mm (Sand A)
1094 Figure 16. CTEs of different drilling muds at different hole angles and different mud velocities for
1095 the cuttings diameter range of 1.00–1.99 mm (Sand B)
1096 Figure 17. CTEs of different drilling muds at different hole angles and different mud velocities for
1097 the cuttings diameter range of 2.00–2.79 mm (Sand C)
1098 Figure 18. CTEs of different drilling muds at different hole angles and different mud velocities for
1099 the cuttings diameter range of 2.80–4.00 mm (Sand D)
1100 Figure 19. CTEs of complex based mud at different mud velocities and cuttings diameter (Sand A:
1101 0.50–0.99 mm; Sand D: 2.80–4.00 mm) without drill pipe rotation
1102 Figure 20. CTEs of different drilling mud compositions at different hole angles with and without
1103 pipe rotation speed of 150 rpm for a mud velocity of 1.80 m/s (Sand A: 0.50–0.99 mm; Sand D:
1104 2.80–4.00 mm)
1105 Figure 21. CTEs of different diameters of cuttings conducted with different drilling muds with and
1106 without pipe rotation speed of 150 rpm for a mud velocity of 1.80 m/s (Sand A: 0.50–0.99 mm;
1107 Sand D: 2.80–4.00 mm)
1108 Figure 22. Distribution of particles in flowing mud (a) complex BM particles, and (b) PP–SiO2 NC
1109 particles
1110
1111 List of Tables
1112 Table 1. Comparison between nanosilica for cuttings transport and the current study
1113 Table 2. Reprentation of complex based mud samples with abbreviations
1114 Table 3. Representation of prepared complex based mud samples
1115 Table 4. Simulated sandstone cuttings
1116 Table 5. Unweighted spud mud properties measured at 25 °C
1117 Table 6. Total cost of products used to produce PP–SiO2 NC additive of 1 laboratory barrel,
1118 equivalent to 350 ml of WBM
1119 Table 7. Cost analysis of 1 laboratory barrel, equivalent to 350 ml of WBM used to formulate the
1120 drilling muds

37
1121 Table A.1. Physicochemical properties of PP, PE–b–PEG, TEOS, and PHPA
1122 Table A.2. The density calculation of PP–SiO2 NC
1123 Table A.3. The density calculations for sandstone cuttings

38
 Table 1.

Study items Gbadamosi et al., (2018) Boyou et al., (2019) Current study
The focus of The transport of drilled The performance of The effect of drilling mud
the study cuttings from the wellbore nanosilica in WBM for hole rheology using PP–SiO
NC and
to the surface using cleaning in directional PHPA in a drilling environment.
different weight percent of wellbores. Compared the properties
nanosilica in WBM. performance of PP–SiO
NC and
PHPA.
Used different mud velocities on
sandstone cuttings.
Specifically, target the critical
angles between 45 ° and 60 °.
Scope of the Investigated only the Investigated a complete Investigated a deviated and
study vertical (0 °) annulus annulus horizontal annulus
Rheological Rheological model and Rheological model, Rheological model, rheological
and properties at 25 °C and rheological and filtration properties and filtration
filtration API and HPHT filtration properties measured at 25 properties measured at both 25 °C
tests properties. °C only. and 150 °C.
Four different mud samples Unweighted spud mud was
of 9.0 ppg and 12.0 ppg evaluated. Nine different mud
densities were evaluated. samples of only 9.5 ppg density
were also evaluated.
Cuttings Three cuttings size range 0, 30, 60 and 90 ° annulus 45, 60, 75 and 90 ° annulus were
transport used are 1.0–1.4mm, 1.7– were examined. examined.
experiments 2.0 mm and 2.4–2.8mm. Used four cuttings diameter Used four cuttings diameter
Flow rates used are 0.4, between the range of 1.40 between the range of 0.50 and
0.6 and 1.0 L/s. and 4.0 mm. 4.00 mm.
Ten concentrations of Used three concentrations of Used four concentrations of PP–
nanosilica used are nanosilica (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 SiO
NC and PHPA (0.4, 0.5,
between 0.001 and ppb). 0.8 and 1.2 ppb).
 1.5%v/v. Investigated with and Investigated with and without
There was no pipe rotation without pipe rotation. Pipe pipe rotation. A constant pipe
rotation speeds of 0 and 150 rotation speed of 150 rpm was
rpm were used. used.
Used a constant flow Used different mud velocities
velocity of 4.71 ft/s. (0.457, 0.630, 0.823, 0.960 m/s
Used a constant cuttings and 1.80 m/s). Used also a
type constant mud velocity of 1.80 m/s
for comparison between PP–
SiO
NC and PHPA with and
without pipe rotation.
Used a constant type of cuttings
(sandstone cuttings).
Main The presence of nanosilica The addition of nanosilica The addition of PP–SiO2 NC in
conclusions enhanced the viscosity of in WBM reduced the WBM increased the rheological
WBM, which increases viscosities, especially for and filtration control properties
the cuttings lifting with the higher density mud and provides better cuttings
increasing nanosilica samples and provides a transport than the WBM with
concentration. The better cuttings recovery than PHPA. The enhanced cuttings
performance enhancement the lower density samples. lifting performance of WBM with
of the mud results from This is because nanosilica PP–SiO
NC is due to the
the increased drag force increased the range of increased colloidal interactions
because the surface force distribution of the particles between the hybrid dispersions
overcomes the in the mud and increased the (PP–SiO
NC) and cuttings,
gravitational force acting colloidal interactions with which increased their distribution
on cuttings. cuttings when the mud was and stability in the WBM
circulated. solution.
 Table 2.

Sample No. Sample concentration Sample abbreviation

1 Base mud BM
2 Base mud + 0.4 g PP–SiO
NC A–0.4
3 Base mud + 0.5 g PP–SiO
NC A–0.5
4 Base mud + 0.8 g PP–SiO
NC A–0.8
5 Base mud + 1.2 g PP–SiO
NC A–1.2
6 Base mud + 0.4 g PHPA B–0.4
7 Base mud + 0.5 g PHPA B–0.5
8 Base mud + 0.8 g PHPA B–0.8
9 Base mud + 1.2 g PHPA B–1.2
 Table 3.

Components WBM Concentration of PP–SiO2 NC Concentration of PHPA (ppb)

(ppb)
BM A–0.4 A–0.5 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.5 B–0.8 B–1.2
Fresh water (ml) 320.34 320.21 320.13 320.11 320.01 320.21 320.13 320.11 320.01
Bentonite (ppb) 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
Caustic soda (ppb) 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
Soda ash (ppb) 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
Xanthan gum (ppb) 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20
PAC HV (ppb) 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Barite (ppb) 34.22 33.95 33.93 33.65 33.35 33.95 33.93 33.65 33.35
PP–SiO2 NC (ppb) 0.0 0.4 0.5 0.8 1.2 ― ― ― ―
PHPA (ppb) 0.0 ― ― ― ― 0.4 0.5 0.8 1.2
Density (ppg) 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5
 Table 4.

Sand No. Sand A Sand B Sand C Sand D

Diameter (mm) 0.50–0.99 1.00–1.99 2.00–2.79 2.80–4.00
 Table 5.

Properties Units Spud Observed values of spud mud with PP–SiO
NC

mud 0.5 ppb PP–SiO
1.0 PP–SiO
NC 1.5 PP–SiO

NC + Spud mud + Spud mud NC + Spud mud
pH – 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.7
Density ppg 8.9 8.9 9.0 9.0
AV mPa.s 14 14.6 15.5 17.5
PV mPa.s 9.0 9.3 10 11.5
YP Pa 10 10.6 11 12.0
10–s gel Pa 3.0 3.5 3.8 4.5
10–min gel Pa 4.0 4.2 4.5 5.0
API FL ml 12.7 11.1 10.2 9.6
 Table 6.

No. Products Unit size Qty Cost/unit Cost/unit Content of Cost of

bought size (MYR) size products products
(USD) used used (USD)
1 PP 1000 g 1 280.0 67.32 6g 0.404
2 PE–b–PEG 250 g 1 600.0 144.27 24 g 13.85
3 TEOS 1L 1 580.0 139.46 20 ml 2.789
4 NH4OH 2.5 L 1 60.0 14.43 60 ml 0.346
5 Xylene 1L 1 381.7 91.78 20 ml 1.836
6 EtOH 2.5 L 1 90.0 21.64 100 ml 0.866
7 APTES 100 ml 1 620.0 148.25 1.6 ml 2.372
The Total yield of PP–SiO2 NC produced 41.8 g —
The Total cost of products (USD) used in producing 41.8 g of PP–SiO2 NC 20.091
from about 230 g of materials
MYR–Malaysian Ringgit; USD–United States Dollar; 1 MYR = 0.42 USD (20th May, 2019)
 Table 7.

Products Unit size Qty Cost/unit Cost/unit Content of Actual cost of

bought size size (USD) products products used
(MYR) used (USD/bbl)
Bentonite 500 g 1 201.60 48.47 15.0 ppb 1.4541
NaOH 500 g 1 528.70 127.12 0.25 ppb 0.0636
Na2CO3 500 g 1 402.20 96.17 0.25 ppb 0.0481
XG 100 g 1 359.65 86.0 0.20 ppb 0.0478
PAC HV 1000 g 1 7.53 1.80 2.0 ppb 0.0036
Barite 100 g 1 235.70 56.67 34.22 ppb 19.39
The Total cost of formulating 1 lab bbl of basic BM — 21.00
(USD/bbl)
PHPA 250 g 1 295.70 71.10 2.9 ppb 0.823
The Total cost of formulating BM + PHPA (USD/bbl) — 21.823 (3.92%
increase over BM)
Cost of PP–SiO2 NC concentration used 2.9 ppb 1.969
The Total cost of formulating BM + PP–SiO2 NC from 2.9 ppb 22.969 (9.38%
USD 22.463 (USD/bbl) increase over BM)
MYR–Malaysian Ringgit; USD–United States Dollar; 1 MYR = 0.42 USD (20th May, 2019)
 Table A.1.

Properties PP PE–b–PEG TEOS PHPA

CAS number 9003–07–0 251553–5–6 78–10–4 17194–82–0
Formula (C3H6)n C4H10O2 C8H20O4Si C8H9NO2
Appearance (form) Beads Beads Liquid Powder
Appearance (colour) White (crystal) Yellow Colourless Faint brown
Molecular weight (g/mol) 42.08 90.12 208.34 151.163
Density (g/cm3) 0.855 ― 0.933 1.244
Melting point °C 161.9 63.7 ― 175–178
Boiling point °C at 760 ― ― 168 403.9
mmHg
Vapour pressure at 25 °C 4.22 × 107 ― ― ―
Shape Spherical Spherical ― ―
Flash point °C ― ― ― 198.1
Hydrophile–Lipophile ― 10 ― ―
Balance (HLB) value
Solubility in water Insoluble Insoluble Soluble Soluble
Surface charge None Neutral Negative
Ionic character None Nonionic ― Anionic
Hydroxyl value (mg ― 33 ―
KOH/g)
Refractive index ― ― 1.542 1.594
 Table A.2.

Mass of cylinder + 350 ml water 154.6 g

Mass of cylinder + 350 ml water +10 ml PP–SiO2 NC 166.7 g
Mass of PP–SiO2 NC 12.1 g
Volume of PP–SiO2 NC 10 ml
Density of PP–SiO2 NC 1.21 g/ml
Density of PP–SiO2 NC 10.1 ppg
 Table A.3.

Mass of beaker (g) 3.53

Volume of beaker (cm³) 95.00
Mass of beaker + dry sand (g) 167.43
Mass of beaker + wet sand (g) 195.46
Mass of dry sand (g) = (167.43–3.53) 163.90

. .
 0.2951
Porosity of sand = .

Volume of dry sand (cm³) = 95.00 × (1–0.2951) 66.97


. 2.45
Density of sandstone
= .

Density of sandstone (ppg) = 2.45 × 8.34 20.43

Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
 (a) Rheological model before hot rolling (b) Rheological model after hot rolling
200 140
BM BM
180 A–0.4 A–0.4
A–0.8 120 A–0.8
160 A–1.2 A–1.2
B–0.4 B–0.4
140 B–0.8 100 B–0.8
Shear stress (Pa)

Shear stress (Pa)

B–1.2 B–1.2
120
80
100
60
80

60 40

40
20
20

0 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Shear rate (1/s) Shear rate (1/s)

Figure 6.
 (a) Viscosity before hot rolling (b) Viscosity after hot rolling
10000 10000
BM BM
A–0.4 A–0.4
A–0.8 A–0.8
Apparent viscosity (mPa.s)

A–1.2
Apparent viscosity (mPa.s)

1000 1000 A–1.2

B–0.4 B–0.4
B–0.8 B–0.8
B–1.2
B–1.2
100 100

10 10

1 1
0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Shear rate (1/s) Shear rate (1/s)

Figure 7.
 (a) Before hot rolling
140
BM A–0.5 B–0.5
120
Dial readings (Pa)

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 200 400 600
Rotor speed (rpm)

(b) After hot rolling

120
BM A–0.5 B–0.5
100
Dial readings (Pa)

80

60

40

20

0
0 200 400 600
Rotor speed (rpm)
 Figure 8.

(a) Apparent viscosity (b) Plastic viscosity

100 40
25 °C 150 °C 25 °C 150 °C
35
Plastic viscosity (mPa.s)
Apparent viscosity (mPa.s)

80
30

60 25
20
40
15

20 10
5
0 0
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration
 (c) Yield point (d) Transport capacity ratio
120 3.5
25 °C 150 °C 25 °C 150 °C
3
100

YP/PV ratio
2.5
Yield point (Pa)

80
2
60
1.5
40
1

20 0.5

0 0
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (ppb)
 (f) Filtrate volume and cake thickness
(e) 10–s and 10–min gels
35 18
10-s (25 °C) API FL
10-min (25 °C) 16 API FCT
30
10-s (150 °C) HPHT FL
14 HPHT FCT

Filtration properties
25 10-min (150 °C)
12
Gel strength (Pa)

20 10

15 8
6
10
4
5 2
0 0
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration

Figure 9.
 (a) Mud properties before hot rolling (b) Mud properties after hot rolling
70 60
BM A–0.5 B–0.5 BM A–0.5 B–0.5
60
50
Rheological values

Rheological values
50
40
40
30
30
20
20

10 10

0 0

Mud properties Mud properties

Figure 10.
 (a) Sand A (45 °) (b) Sand B (45 °)
90 80

80 70
70
60

CTE (%)
CTE (%)

60
50
50
0.457 m/s 40 0.457 m/s
40 0.640 m/s
0.640 m/s
0.823 m/s 30 0.823 m/s
30
0.960 m/s 0.960 m/s
20 20
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (g)

(c) Sand C (45 °) (d) Sand D (45 °)

80 80
0.457 m/s
0.640 m/s
70 70 0.823 m/s
0.960 m/s
60 60
CTE (%)

CTE (%)

50 50

40 0.457 m/s 40
0.640 m/s
30 0.823 m/s 30
0.960 m/s
20 20
BM A–0.4A–0.8A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (ppb)

Figure 11.
(a) Sand A (60 °) (b) Sand B (60 °)
90 80

80
70
70

CTE (%)
CTE (%)

60
60
50
50 0.457 m/s 0.457 m/s
0.640 m/s 0.640 m/s
0.823 m/s 40
40 0.823 m/s
0.960 m/s 0.960 m/s
30 30
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (ppb)

(d) Sand D (60 °) (c) Sand C (60 °)

80 80

70 70

60 60
CTE (%)

CTE (%)

50 50

40 0.457 m/s 40 0.457 m/s

0.640 m/s 0.640 m/s
30 0.823 m/s 30 0.823 m/s
0.960 m/s 0.960 m/s
20 20
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (ppb)

Figure 12.
(a) Sand A (75 °) (b) Sand B (75 °)
90 90

80 80

70 70
CTE (%)

CTE (%)
60 60
0.457 m/s 0.457 m/s
50 0.640 m/s 50
0.640 m/s
0.823 m/s 0.823 m/s
40 0.960 m/s 40
0.960 m/s
30 30
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (ppb)

(c) Sand C (75 °) (d) Sand D (75 °)

80 80

70 70
CTE (%)

CTE (%)

60 60

50 50
0.457 m/s
0.457 m/s
0.640 m/s 0.640 m/s
40 40
0.823 m/s 0.823 m/s
0.960 m/s 0.960 m/s
30 30
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (ppb)

Figure 13.
 (a) Sand A (90 °) (b) Sand B (90 °)
100 90

90 80

80

CTE (%)
CTE (%)

70
70
60
60
0.457 m/s 0.457 m/s
0.640 m/s 50 0.640 m/s
50
0.823 m/s 0.823 m/s
0.960 m/s 0.960 m/s
40 40
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (ppb)

(c) Sand C (90°) (d) Sand D (90 °)

90 90

80
80
70
CTE (%)
CTE (%)

70
60
60
0.457 m/s 50 0.457 m/s
0.640 m/s 0.640 m/s
50 0.823 m/s 0.823 m/s
40 0.960 m/s
0.960 m/s
40 30
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 B–1.2
Mud concentration (ppb) Mud concentration (ppb)

Figure 14.
(a) Sand A (0.457 m/s)
(b) Sand A (0.640 m/s)
80 100
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 BM A–0.4 A–0.8
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
90
70 B–1.2 B–1.2
80
60
CTE (%)

70

CTE (%)
50 60

50
40
40
30 30
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle (°)

(c) Sand A (0.823 m/s) (d) Sand A (0.960 m/s)

100 100
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 BM A–0.4 A–0.8
90 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
90
B–1.2 B–1.2
80
80
CTE (%)

CTE (%)

70
70
60
60
50

40 50

30 40
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle (°)

Figure 15.
 (a) Sand B (0.457 m/s) (b) Sand B (0.640 m/s)
80 80
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 BM A–0.4 A–0.8
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
70 B–1.2 70 B–1.2

CTE (%)
CTE (%)

60 60

50 50

40 40

30 30
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle (°)

(c) Sand B (0.823 m/s) (d) Sand B (0.960 m/s)

90 90
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 BM A–0.4 A–0.8
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
80 B–1.2 B–1.2
80
70
CTE (%)

CTE (%)

70
60
60
50
50
40

30 40
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle (°)

Figure 16.
(a) 70 Sand C (0.457 m/s) (b) Sand C (0.640 m/s)
80
BM A–0.4 A–0.8
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
60 70 B–1.2
CTE (%)

50

CTE (%)
60

40 50

30 BM A–0.4 A–0.8 40
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
20 B–1.2 30
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle (°)

(d) Sand C (0.960 m/s)

(c) Sand C (0.823 m/s)
90 90
BM A–0.4 A–0.8 BM A–0.4 A–0.8
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
80 80 B–1.2
B–1.2
70 70
CTE (%)
CTE (%)

60 60

50 50

40 40

30 30
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle( °)

Figure 17.
 (a) Sand D (0.457 m/s) (b) Sand D (0.640 m/s)
70 70 BM A–0.4 A–0.8
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
60 B–1.2
60
50

CTE (%)
CTE (%)

50
40
40
30

BM A–0.4 A–0.8 30
20
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
B–1.2 20
10
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle (°)

(c) Sand D (0.823 m/s)

90
BM A–0.4 A–0.8
80 A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
B–1.2
70
CTE (%)

60

50

40

30

20
45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°)

(d) Sand D (0.960 m/s)

90

80

70

60
CTE (%)

50

40
BM A–0.4 A–0.8
30
A–1.2 B–0.4 B–0.8
20 B–1.2
45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°)
 Figure 18.

(a) Sand A (BM) (b) Sand D (BM)

80 90
80
70
70
CTE (%)

60
CTE (%)

60

50 50
0.457 m/s
0.640 m/s 40
40 0.823 m/s 0.457 m/s 0.640 m/s
0.960 m/s 30 0.823 m/s 0.960 m/s
1.80 m/s 1.80 m/s
30 20
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle (°)

Figure 19.
 (a) Sand A (b) Sand D
100 100

90 90

80 80
CTE (%)

CTE (%)

70 70
BM with no pipe rotation BM with no pipe rotation
60 BM with pipe rotation 60 BM with pipe rotation
A–0.5 with no pipe rotation A–0.5 with no pipe rotation
50 A–0.5 with pipe rotation A–0.5 with pipe rotation
B–0.5 with no pipe rotation
50
B–0.5 with no pipe rotation
B–0.5 with pipe rotation B–0.5 with pipe rotation
40 40
45 60 75 90 45 60 75 90
Hole angle (°) Hole angle (°)

Figure 20.
 (a) BM (b) A–0.5
100 100
With no pipe rotation With pipe rotation With no pipe rotation With pipe rotation

80 80

60 60

CTE (%)
CTE (%)

40 40

20 20

0 0
45 ° 60 ° 75 ° 90 ° 45 ° 60 ° 75 ° 90 ° 45 ° 60 ° 75 ° 90 ° 45 ° 60 ° 75 ° 90 °
Sand A Sand D Sand A Sand D
Cuttings diameter (mm) Cuttings diameter (mm)

(c) B–0.5
100
With no pipe rotation With pipe rotation

80

60
CTE (%)

40

20

0
45 ° 60 ° 75 ° 90 ° 45 ° 60 ° 75 ° 90 °
Sand A Sand D
Cuttings diameter (mm)
Figure 21.

Figure 22.
Highlights

• A water–based mud (WBM) containing polypropylene–nanosilica composite (PP–SiO2 NC)

was formulated.

• The properties of WBM with PP–SiO2 NC was compared with those of partially hydrolyzed

polyacrylamide (PHPA).

• WBM with PP–SiO2 NC showed better performance in modifying rheology and controlling

filtration properties than PHPA muds.

• WBM with PP–SiO2 NC are more capable of transferring cuttings than the PHPA with or

without pipe rotation.

• The transport of smaller cuttings is relatively simplified and require less mud velocity

compared to larger cuttings.

Author Contribution statement
Article Title: Experimental investigation of cuttings transportation in deviated and horizontal
wellbores using polypropylene–nanosilica composite drilling mud
Oseh Jeffrey Onuoma and Dr. M.N.A. Noorul conceived the idea and designed the experimental
works. Oseh Jeffrey Onuoma and Dr. M.N.A. Noorul collected the data used in the research.
Oseh Jeffrey Onuoma, Gbadamosi O. Afeez and Agi Augustine performed the experimental
works (test of rheology, filtration properties and cuttings transport) using polypropylene-
nanosilica composite (PP-SiO NC) added into complex water-based mud (WBM). Dr. M.N.A
Noorul and Assoc. Prof. Issham Ismail encouraged Oseh Jeffrey Onuoma, Gbadamosi O. Afeez
and Agi Augustine to investigate the effect of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PHPA) in
the WBM and compare it with that of PP-SiO NC. Spud mud was formulated by Oseh Jeffrey
Onuoma, Gbadamosi O. Afeez and Agi Augustine. Cost feasibility study was written by Oseh
Jeffrey Onuoma, Dr. M.N.A. Noorul and Assoc. Prof. Issham Ismail. The Abstract was written
by Assoc. Prof. Abdul R. Ismail. Dr. M.N.A. Noorul, Assoc. Prof. Issham and Assoc. Prof.
Abdul R. Ismail helped supervised the findings of this work. The conclusion was written by Dr.
M.N.A. Noorul. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.
Conflicts of interest statement

On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.