Assessment of formation damage from drilling fluids dynamic filtration in gas hydrate reservoirs of the North Slope of Alaska

Abstract

Gas hydrates in the Alaska North Slope, with a potential of 590 TCF gas-in-place near existing infrastructures of Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk River and Milne Point Units, have sparked interest among unconventional energy experts. Drilling through gas hydrates has always been critical as a source of heat into the formation, leading to dissociation of hydrates. Moreover, the recent drive toward open hole completions and highly deviated or horizontal wells have emphasized the need for evaluation of drilling or completion fluids suitability from a perspective of formation damage. A significant decrease in well productivity near the well-bore can occur due to the invasion of fine solids from drilling fluids, forming external and internal filter cake under dynamic conditions. An experimental setup for the evaluation of formation damage at in-situ conditions was designed. The dynamic filtration experiments were conducted with Berea sandstone cores. The absolute permeability was measured both before and after the drilling fluid circulation. The drilling fluid type, its flow rate, and shear rate, effective particle size, additive concentration, and amount of overbalance were found to influence drilling mud leak-off volume and the post mud circulation permeability.