Synergistic physical and chemical interactions of selected additives and base oil used in extended reach drilling applications

The present study focuses on the chemical and physical synergy between three base oil/additive mixture lubricants which are used in well drilling for oil and gas. Three additives namely, a polymer of cashew-nutshellliquid, a surface modified melamine cyanurate, and a diol alkane were mixed in a dearomatized commercial base oil and tribotested in the boundary lubrication regime. A specialized tribometer capable of simulating operating conditions encountered in high pressure, high temperature extended reach drilling was employed to conduct a comprehensive test protocol. The performance of the base oil/additive lubricants was explained by providing mechanical, physical and chemical analyses using various characterizing techniques. Observed deviations of the tribological performance of the additive/base oil lubricant compared to that of the base oil was correlated to the synergistic physical/chemical interactions between the additive and the base oil. It was found that diol alkane outperformed the other additives, as far as improvement in the COF, wear, and load bearing capacity.

Automated summary

The study focuses on the synergy between three additives and base oil used in well drilling, analyzing their performance through friction testing. It was found that the diol alkane additive outperformed others in improving friction coefficient, wear, and load bearing capacity.