Investigation on the use of perlite as additives in water based drilling muds

The performance of the drilling fluid used is very important to perform a successful operation in drilling applications. Recently, developments in drilling mud technology have gained economic significance as well as developments in horizontal and deep-sea drilling, where expensive technologies are used. While seeking solutions to the new obligations brought by the legal regulations on environmental protection, the search for more effective solutions to existing problems continues. This situation is directly or indirectly related to the drilling fluid. The main tasks of the drilling fluid; transporting rock and debris to the surface, controlling underground pressure, providing stability and support of the borehole, cleaning the bottom of the well, cooling and lubricating the drill string, forming an impermeable paste to prevent collapse and cavities, controlling high pressure formations, array and protection pipes can be expressed as transportation and corrosion protection. In this study; It is aimed to use the drilling mud more effectively by adding raw perlite and expanded perlite separately to the drilling mud, which constitutes a significant cost burden for both oil and natural gas drilling operations. In this context, the drilling mud samples prepared by adding different rates of raw perlite (0,5-5% k/v) and expanded perlite (0,1-0,6 k/v) to the water-based drilling mud; In addition to rheological analyzes such as plastic viscosity, apparent viscosity, breaking (yield) point, gel strength (10 seconds, 10 minutes), filtration properties such as fluid loss and cake thickness were also investigated. When the results obtained from this study, which was carried out according to the American Petroleum Institute (API) standards, are examined; It has been determined that drilling mud with added raw perlite and expanded perlite has better rheological properties than spud (raw perlite and expanded perlite free) mud. Therefore, it was concluded that both raw perlite and expanded perlite can be used as drilling mud additives.