Mohamed Khodja

Drilling Fluid Technology: Performances and Environmental Considerations

Mohamed Khodja1, Malika Khodja-Saber2, Jean Paul Canselier3, Nathalie Cohaut4 and Faiza Bergaya4 1Sonatrach/Division Technologies et Innovation, Avenue du 1er Novembre, Boumerdes, 2Sonatrach/Division Laboratoires, Avenue du 1er Novembre, Boumerdes, 35000 3Universite de Toulouse, INPT, UPS. Laboratoire de Genie Chimique UMR 5503 CNRS, 4 Allee Emile Monso, BP84234, F31432 Toulouse Cedex 4 4Centre de Recherche sur la Matiere Divisee (CRMD) UMR 6619 CNRS, 1b, Rue de la Ferollerie 45071 Orleans Cedex 02 1,2Algeria 3,4France

Characterization of natural sand proppant used in hydraulic fracturing fluids

Natural sand was the first material introduced as a proppant to hydraulic fracturing operations to keep induced rock fractures both open and conductive. It has remained the most commonly us...

Petroleum Sludge as gypsum replacement in cement plants: Its Impact on Cement Strength

Due to high cost of cement manufacturing and the huge amount of resources exhaustion, companies are trying to incorporate alternative raw materials or by-products into cement production so as to produce alternative sustainable cement. Petroleum sludge is a dangerous waste that poses serious imparts on soil and groundwater. Given that this sludge contains a high percentage of anhydrite (CaSO4), which is the main component of gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), it may play the same gypsum role in strength development. In this research, a total replacement of gypsum (100%) has been substituted by petroleum sludge in cement production and has led to an increase of 28.8% in UCS values after 28 curing days. Nevertheless, the burning of this waste has emitted a considerable amount of carbon monoxide (CO) gas that needs to be carefully considered prior to use petroleum sludge within cement plants.

DRX Wet-Cell and Static Displacement Tests to Understand Salt Deposition and Shale Inhibition Mechanisms

Salts scale is one of the most important problems found in the oil and gas industry. Precipitation of salts can occur near wellbore as well as in the wellbore. The resulting reduces drastically well performance and causes a significant decrease in production rate. In order to remove salt deposits as well as prevent the precipitation of salt, fresh water treatments are performed at regular intervals during production operations. In drilling activity, shale is the most common rock types encountered while drilling wells. The combination of KCl/Polymer in water base mud (WBM) reduced frequency and severity of shale instability problems. In the order, all polymers are not able to resolve problems and inhibition mechanism comprehension still complex. Chemical treatment is an alternative approach to inhibit salts formation and shale instability. Bad inhibitor selections or/and high concentration provide limited performance and will cause damage which mechanism still unclear. In addition, it is extremely difficult to test salts formation and shale inhibition in the laboratory under reel conditions. Research shows that variation on temperature and pressures affect seriously inhibition mechanisms. In this way, our work tends to follow salts crystallization and shale swelling by using two methods: X-ray diffraction wet-cells for the in situ monitoring of fine powder reactions and displacement tests to follow permeability reduction under reservoir conditions. The possible mechanisms of halite and shale inhibition are discussed. Some experiences combining with using fines minerals particles to simulate compacted rock are realized. The following conclusions have been drawn:- At ambient conditions, the contact between the water mixture and fines reservoir rock shows that crystallization was increased with time and affected by fines particles compaction and surface rugosity,- Technique of chemical inhibition restrain salt deposit (60% of crystallization reduction) and enhances shale stability,- A minimum polymer inhibitor concentration effectively was confirmed by X Ray Wet-Cell and Dynamic test under reservoir conditions.Copyright