Stabilizing Sensitive Shales With Inhibited,
Potassium-Based Drilling Fluids
Dennis E. O'Brien, SPE-AIME, Esso Production Research Co.
Martin E. Chenevert, SPE-AIME, Esso Production Research Co.
Introduction
Proper selection of the drilling fluids to be used on
a particular wellsite is an essential phase of any care-
fully planned drilling operation. When this drilling is
expected to encounter water-sensitive shale zones,
the selection of the fluid becomes even more impor-
tant. To maintain a stable borehole through such
zones, an inhibitive drilling mud will often be re-
quired. The design of successful fluids for this type
of application depends largely on a knowledge of
the physical and mineralogical characteristics of the
shale and its behavior when contacted by drilling
mud. We shall discuss here procedures and experi-
mental results of laboratory tests in which a wide
variety of fluids and shale types were used. The data
should aid in designing effective inhibitive muds.
Sensitive shale fornlations are encountered in most
major oil fields throughout the world. These forma-
tions, referred to by a variety of names, including
mud-making shale, caving shale, heaving shale, and
sloughing shale, frequently cause wellbore instabili-
ties. Drilling and completion problems associated
with such instabilities include the accumulation of
fill on the bottom after trips, tight holes, stuck drill
pipes, solids buildup in the mud, hole enlargement
and washouts, and poor primary cement jobs. Stable,
gauge boreholes, reduced rig time, and lower total
costs could be realized if efficient inhibitive systems
were employed. Presently the only way to insure
success in many problem formations is to use
balanced-activity oil muds. 1 Cost factors and handling
Laboratory and field studies have demonstrated that potassium cations at sufficien,t
concentrations in water-based drilling fluids can effectively reduce the swelling and
dispersive tendencies of clay-containing shales. Here is a unified classification method
for relating the amount of water-sensitive clay in a shale to the occurrence and severity
of wellbore problems.
SEPTEMBER, 1973
considerations, however, suggest that water- based
fluids be designed to perform the same function.
In recent years many new water-based mud sys-
tems have been ·devised. 2, 3 Most of these rely on
polymer or combinations of polymer and salt to
achieve a given level of inhibition. Low-solids drill-
ing, using total or selective polymeric flocculants to
achieve controlled clay yields, has been an important
step forward. The new directions that drilling fluids
in general and inhibitive fluids in particular are taking
promise still further advances.
Causes of Shale Problems
To investigate properly the nature of problems in
drilling shales one must first study the various related
physico-chemical processes. The general class of
shale problems presented in the introduction results
from the following interrelated factors: (1) shale
hydration and swelling, (2) dispersion of shale cut-
tings, and (3) abnormal pressure.
In addition, other processes and borehole condi-
tions tend to aggravate the instability. These include
(1) time spent in the open shale zone, (2) in-situ
stresses and formation characteristics, and (3) me-
chanical and erosive action.
Shale Hydration and Swelling
Shales are basically sedimentary rocks that have been
laid down over geologic time in marine basins. They
are usually composed of quartz, feldspar, calcite, and
1089
a number of clay fractions in varying proportions.
The most water-sensitive clays - montmorillonites,
illites, and interlayered varieties - may constitute as
much as 80 percent of the total weight of the shale,
and are responsible for a major part of the serious
wellbore problems encountered. These clays, when
contacted by water-based drilling fluids, adsorb water
by two accepted hydration mechanisms. 4 The first
represents a small uptake of water normally amount-
ing to a deposition of only four molecular layers.
Free water is forced from the shales during the com-
paction process. When their surfaces again contact
moisture a potential exists for crystalline adsorption
of water. Although the degree of adsorption is
small, and there is little or no visible swelling or
visible loss of strength, the hydration energies in-
volved are quite high.
The second phase of the hydration process repre-
sents much larger changes in the dimensions of the
clay particles. This hydration results from imbalances
between the concentration of ions held at the clay
surface and the solute content of the contacting
liquid. The degree of hydration, therefore, is de-
pendent on the electrolyte content of the drilling
fluid. This does not mean, however, that swelling
can be eliminated merely by increasing the ionic level
to saturation. Swelling can be eliminated only when
a semipermeable membrane is present - if, for ex-
ample, one were to use a balanced-activity oil mud
(which does not allow water or ion transfer) or if
one were to duplicate the exact concentrations of
the various cations and equalize water activities so
that no cationic exchange reactions could occur. The
first of these examples can be realized in practice;
the second cannot.
The uptake of water causes the shale to soften. A
loss of strength results and the borehole can become
unstable. Since hydration forces are large, the poten-
tial exists for large amounts of water uptake. The
shale is confined, however, by overburden stresses
and can find stress relief only by expansion into the
wellbore. The well known sloughing or heaving shale
condition results.
Dispersion of Shale Cuttings
A second important cause of shale problems is dis-
persion of shale cuttings. Although often included
with shale swelling as a single problem, this phe-
nomenon should be analyzed separately. Dispersion
refers to a continuous and often rapid disintegration
of the shale surface as the material is contacted by
a water-based fluid and swells. Some shales that swell
significantly may exhibit little dispersion, and the
reverse may also be true. In general, however, the
degree of dispersion tends to reflect the amount of
expandable clay present in the shale; therefore, there
is often an apparent link with water uptake by swell-
ing. Dispersion effects at the wellbore face are usually
overwhelmed by sloughing and heaving conditions
prompted by swelling. The effect on drilled cuttings
is a different matter. Uncontrolled dispersion may
lead to excessive buildups of finely divided, low-
gravity solids in the mud system. The surface
handling equipment may not be able to control
1090
the situation without sacrificing expensive weighting
barites. Watering back is often required and many
mud-control problems can re~ult. Such remedies to
control solids may in other ways jeopardize a well-
bore that is prone to instabilities. Fortunately, the
use of electrolytes in the mud helps to control dis-
persion as well as hydrational effects. The type and
quantity of ionic solute employed, however, is im-
portant in achieving maximum inhibition.
Abnormal Pressure
Overpressured shales are a third area of concern in
wellbore stability. As sediments are compacted over
geologic time, fluids are forced from the formation
into porous sand zones by the overburden pressure.
Frequently a shale section may be isolated through
such processes as faulting and form a closed fluid
reservoir. The fluid remains trapped in the shale and
as the zone is exposed to increasing overburden pres-
sures the pore pressure builds up above the usual
hydrostatic value. In certain cases the pore pressure
may approach the overburden pressure itself. \Vhen
a well is drilled through such a zone, the shale will
pressure-relieve into the borehole. Abnormally pres-
sured formations are best controlled by increasing
the mud weight until the fluid's hydrostatic head bal-
ances the shale pressura. Care should be exercised,
however, to ensure that lost circulation does not
result. While pressured zones are numerous and
quite often represent a significant contribution to
wellbore instabilities, the solutions to the resulting
problems are basically physical and mechanical and
do not relate directly to the subject of this paper.
Other Causes of Borehole Instability
A number of other factors tend to aggravate well-
bore problems caused by the phenomena just dis-
cussed. Since swelling and dispersion are rate-related
processes, the amount of time that fluid is in con-
tact with a sensitive formation is critical. Shale
problems can be reduced by drilling the affected
zone and insulating it behind protective casing as
quickly as possible.
Certain formation characteristics and the types of
stresses imposed on the shale section can also be
important. If a shale is hard and brittle and contains
numerous microfractures, fluid invasion along these
defects will often be increased and hydration will
accelerate. Weakening and splitting along the bed-
ding planes and subsequent sloughing can occur.
Steep dipping of a formation and exposure to tectonic
stresses are factors that may aggravate a problem
caused by swelling or excessive pore pressures, but of
themselves they are rarely to blame for the problem.
All difficulties cannot be eliminated by controlling
the fluid alone. The mechanical action of the drill-
string in the hole, including contact with weakened
sides of the borehole; fluid erosive action on the well-
bore face; and pressure surges and swabbing action
during tripping - all these contribute to the severity
of the wellbore problems. In general, however, a good
inhibitive drilling fluid should provide sufficient
stabilization to keep mechanical factors from appre-
ciably affecting the sensitive formation.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
 amount of hydration is sufficient to make the forma-
Classification of Problem Shales by tion unstable. Differential swelling pressures, which
Clay Content result when a small amount of clay is surrounded by
It is convenient to classify problem shales according a completely nonswelling quartz and feldspar matrix,
to the amounts of water-sensitive clays they contain. are often blamed for such instabilities. Classes 3 and
These clays include montmorillonite, which exhibits 4 include the majority of shales that are involved in
large amounts of dispersion and hydration; illite, the most serious hole problems.
which swells and disperses to a more limited degree; The final category includes the very hard, brittle
and interlayered clays. These last are composed of shales, some of which have matrices with numerous
random interstratifications of both illite and mont- microfractures. Very little or no dispersion occurs
morillonite. Dispersion tendencies are high for these upon water contact. The over-all illite content is
clays since the intermittent layering reduces the fairly high, and there is some chlorite present. Forma-
number of strong bonds between particles. Since one tions of this type are recognized as having caving
portion of the structure hydrates to a greater degree and heaving tendencies. Swelling is limited but
than another, no uniform swelling takes place as in may be accelerated by the invasion of water along
the case of pure montmorillonite or illite. Instead, microfractures. Typically, large fragments of such
swelling differences occur and hydrational stresses formations are pushed into the wellbore to relieve
build up and weaken the structure. In categorizing, the pressure.
it is also helpful to include chlorite fractions since This systematic division of shale types should help
these clays, while only slightly expanding and rela- in interpreting and categorizing the results of labo-
tively nondispersing, do alter the over-all behavior ratory tests on formation samples. Once the com-
of the shale. Such a classification scheme aids in dis- position and characteristics of the shale are deter-
cussing the best type of inhibitive fluid to employ mined, the effects of various inhibitive fluids on its
in a given case. swelling and dispersive tendencies can be explained
Certain classification schemes have been proposed on the basis of clay mineralogy.
in the past. 5 - 7 Most of them have served well, but
each has its failings. A more comprehensive sorting Laboratory Testing Program
that fits the vast majority of shales encountered in A number of important factors must be determined
ordinary drilling practice is presented in Table 1. The before one can properly classify a shale and thereby
five classes are based on a combination of individual gain information about potential instabilities in the
and total clay content, strength, matrix characteris- wellbore. These factors include the over-all composi-
tics, and hydration and dispersion tendencies. The tion of the shale, and, more specifically, the amounts
first category includes those soft shales having a high of problem clays present, the degree of hydration
montmorillonite content, with some illite included. and swelling, and the dispersive tendencies of the
Large swelling and dispersion effects are encountered. material. The utility of specific tests for measuring
An example of this shale type would be the Anahuac shale compositions and water contact behavior has
(Table 2). Most shales designated as "gumbo" shales, been recognized for some time. Certain of these ex-
especially those with high adhesive and cohesive periments can also be used to test the perform.ance
tendencies, fall into this class. The second class of potentially attractive inhibitive fluids.
includes other soft shales with both high montmoril- The four tests of this sort that appear to be the
lonite and high illite fractions. The total clay content
in such shales is extremely high and swelling is pro- TABLE l-eLASSIFICATION OF PROBLEM SHALES
nounced. Dispersion is somewhat less than for the Class Characteristics Clay Content
first class, owing to the presence of chlorite fractions.
1 Soft, high dispersion High in montmorillonite,
Vermilion shale from Louisiana is an example of this some illite
type. Drilling personnel often refer to the shales from 2 Soft, fairly high dispersion Fairly high in montmorillonite,
these first two classes as soft, mud-making shales. high in illite
Classes 3, 4, and 5 generally include those that are 3 Medium-hard, moderate disper- High in interlayered clays,
sion, sloughing tendencies high in illite, chlorite
referred to as hard shales.
4 Hard, little dispersion, Moderate illite,
The third class includes medium-hard shales such sloughing tendencies moderate chlorite
as the Atoka and Midway, which are noted for their 5 Very hard, brittle, no High in illite,
sloughing tendencies. These materials exhibit a large significant dispersion, moderate chlorite
caving tendencies
degree of swelling, but only a medium level of dis-
persion. Both illitic and interlayered clay fractions
TABLE 2--EXAMPLES OF PROBLEM SHALES
constitute a significant percentage of the shale's
weight. Appreciable amounts of chlorite are present, Clay Content (weight percent)
but discrete montmorillonite usually does not occur. Mont-
A fourth category is a hard shale prone to slough- Shale Class ,morillonite Illite Interlayered Chlorite
-
ing. Illite and chlorite normally compose the entire Anahuac 1 40.4 5.5
clay fraction and this fraction is only about 20 per- Vermilion 2 25.4 42.0 6.7
cent of the total weight of the shale. This variety Atoka 3 38.8 18.1 13.0
Midway 3 35.0 15.0 15.0
shows little dispersion in water. Although the clay
Wolfcamp 4 14.8 3.2
content is low (confined to illite and chlorite alone) Canadian
and the resulting over-all swelling is low, almost any Hard Shale 5 48.3 8.3

SEPTEMBER, 1973 1091

most useful are (1) X-ray diffraction analyses, (2)
adsorption isotherm studies, (3) swelling tests, and
(4) dispersion tests.
X-Ray Diffraction Analysis
An X-ray diffraction analysis determines the relative
amounts of various minerals in the shale, including
quartz, feldspar, calcite, and clay fractions. Although
the method is very useful for describing which clay
fractions are present, the quantitative figures it yields
for the proportions of the materials may be signifi-
cantly-in error. Estimates of total clay content are
somewhat better and can aid in deducing shale be-
havior. In general the method provides excellent
qualitative information. The data are sufficient in
most instances to help classify the shale as to hydra-
tion and dispersion tendencies, and from this one
can judge the severity of wellbore problems to ex-
pect during drilling.
swelling transducers are employed. 1
Shale test samples are cut from cores with a dia",
mond saw. These samples, usually ranging in length
from 0.8 to 1.4 in., have lh -in.-square cross-sections
and are cut so that swelling perpendicular to the bed-
ding planes will be measured. The sample is placed
in a small polyethylene bag and then properly ori-
ented in the clamp. The clamp is tightened until an
initial 1,500 !Lin. strain is placed in the transducer.
The indicator is then set at zero and the timer is
readied. The bag is filled with water or another test
fluid and the timer is started. As the shale swells,
the strain gauges record the deflection of the clamp,
and the strain in microinches per inch can be read
directly from the indicator. To convert these values
to a more appropriate unit, such as percent linear
swelling, the following formula is used:
e - Ki
- y X 0~ X 10- 4 , • (2)

Adsorption Isotherms where e is the percent swelling, K i is the gauge con-

Adsorption isotherm tests are useful for determining stant for the ith gauge, L is the sample length in
the amount of water a particular shale would con- inches, and 8 is the indicator reading.
tain under various equilibrium conditions. With this Values for the percent swelling can be recorded
information one can estimate how much swelling will at various times. The most useful for comparing
occur in the formation. The difference between the different shales are I-hour and 24-hour values. With
in-situ water content and the equilibrium value sufficient data, swelling-vs-time curves can also be
measured by the test represents a potential hydra- generated. At the end of the test period the speci-
tional swelling limit. men can be removed and the surface dispersion
The water content of the shale is measured as and relative strength can be compared with those
a function of water activity or relative humidity before exposure.
defined as The test provides additional insight into the actual
swelling behavior of shales, even though it is not
a == p/Po , (1) conducted under pressure. Of the tests we have dis-
where a is the water activity, p is the vapor pressure cussed, it is the first that allows evaluation of inhibi-
in contact with the shale, and Po is the vapor pres- tive fluids. The degree to which swelling can be
sure of pure water at the same temperature. A range reduced by substituting inhibitive fluids for water in
of water crtivities is achieved using a number of the experiment can be measured directly.
saturated s~lt solutions (Table 3) placed in desic-
cators. Water contents measured at various water Dispersion Tests
activities can be plotted vs P/ Po to yield an adsorp- The final test of the series measures the dispersive
tion isotherm. 1
Normally, the use of the adsorption isotherm in- TABLE 3-WATER ACTIVITIES OF VARIOUS
volves estimating the in-situ water content for non- SATURATED SALT SOLUTIONS
preserved cores. A method of determining this value Desiccator Salt
has been described previously.1 By entering the iso- Number Employed p/Po
therm at the in-situ estimate one can determine the 1 ZnCI 2 0.100
equilibrium water activity. In general, the lower this 2 CaCI 2 0.295
value the more prone to sloughing the shale will be. 3 Ca(N0 3 )2 0.505
The isotherm also gives indirect evidence of how 4 NaCI 0.755
5 (NH4)2S04 0.800
much expandable clay - particularly montmorillon-
6 Na2C4H406 • 2H20 0.920
ite-is present. Combining isotherm data with X-ray 7 KH 2 P0 4 0.960
diffraction results (Table 4) shows that the shales with 8 K2Cr207 0.980
higher montmorillonite content in the first and second
class adsorb the most water and that the adsorption TABLE 4-COMPARISON OF X-RAY ANALYSES WITH
decreases as the classification number increases. ADSORPTION ISOTHERM DATA
Class Range of
Swelling Tests Determined Percent Water
To determine the actual degree of swelling for a by X-Ray Content at
Shale Analysis p/Po = 0.50
given shale sample, one must use a different test.
This test allows for measuring swelling rates at vari-
Anahauc 1 > 4.0
Midway 3 2.4 to 2.8
ous times and also indicates the degree ·of swelling Wolfcamp 4 1.5 to 2.0
that can be tolerated before the sample disintegrates Canadian
or fractures. For this kind of study, strain-gauge Hard Shale 5 0.4 to 1.0

1092 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

tendencies of shales. It can yield a good forecast of
how serious a dispersion problem will be encountered
with a given formation. The test described below, it
should be noted, does not provide meaningful results
where oil muds are used or where the problem under
investigation is wellbore instability caused by swell-
ing; however, if cuttings are used that have substan-
tially the same water content as the natural water
content of the formation, the test will provide useful
information on the degree of dispersion that will
occur in the mud system as a result of the interaction
between the cuttings and drilling fluid. The experi-
ment is performed preferably with simulated shale
cuttings obtained from a core. If no core material is
available, cuttings from a previous well may be used.
However, these will have already been exposed to
dispersive forces and a large portion of the dispersible
material will be gone. Nonetheless, enough is usually
left to give an adequate description.
A 6-10 mesh cut of shale chips is used. These
cuttings (at 10 lb per barrel of fluid) are placed in
barrel equivalents (350 cc) of the various fluids to
be tested. (This experiment can be used to compare
inhibitive water-based fluids with the pure water in
the base case.) The jars of fluid are then hot-rolled
for 16 hours at the normal circulating temperature
of the fluid. If this temperature is not accurately
known, 150 0 P is normally used. Rolling rates are
such that typical annular shear rates may be simu-
lated. After they are removed and cooled at ambient
temperature, the materials from each jar are care-
fully wet-screened through 10-, 20-, 50-, and 80-mesh
sieves. The fines on each screen are oven-dried,
allowed to re-equilibrate with room temperature and
humidity, and then weighed. The percent recovery
for each mesh size is reported as well as the sum of
these, which is listed as the total recovery. Percent
recoveries are calculated by multiplying the weight
in grams by 10. All material less than 80 mesh is
considered irrecoverable in normal field applications
since the mesh on most rig shakers is larger than this.
Test results, in general, are highly reproducible.
The test temperature, rolling time, amount of shale
used, and other factors can be varied to fit the
particular application.
The four kinds of laboratory experiments we have
discussed are designed to obtain certain information
about shale behavior. The tests are relatively simple,
but they provide a great deal of valuable informa-
tion.· Swelling and dispersion tests, . in particular,
are extremely important in evaluating inhibitive
mud systems.
Results From Laboratory Testing
A laboratory testing program was instituted to in-
vestigate the effect of various materials on shale
stability. The recent successes of low-solids polymeric
systems suggest the following suitable categories:
(1) polymeric viscosifiers, (2) selective and total floc-
culants, (3) inorganic salts, and (4) combinations of
all these.
Polymer Tests
The use of nonbentonitic viscosifiers in an inhibitive
SEPTEMBER, 1973
system helps to eliminate some of the problems that
occur when shale-control materials, such as inorganic
salts, are added to clay. Polymers and various selec-
tive and total flocculants have been known to provide
somewhat more stability than bentonite. The long-
chain polymer structure and its interactions with the
surface of shale cuttings can often reduce the level
of dispersion dramatically if sufficient material is
in solution.
With regard to hydrational effects, however, poly-
mers have only a limited ability to reduce swelling.
Encapsulation theories for long-chain molecules pre-
dict that much greater reductions are possible-
greater, that is, than the 5 to 25 percent determined
by experimentation. Such large reductions have not
been found in our laboratory testing. Although the
degree of improvement obtained with polymers is too
low to consider the material as the main ingredient
in an inhibitive fluid, the results are better than for
bentonite alone or for bentonite in combination with
small amounts of additives. Swelling and dispersion
information indicates that polymers could be used
successfully as primary viscosifiers in an inhibitive
mud system and could, of themselves, measurably
improve shale stability.
A number of common polymeric additives, includ-
ing total and selective clay flocculants, were tested
to determine an optimal material for use in designing
the inhibitive fluid. Midway shale cores, properly cut
and screened, were employed for both the swelling
and dispersion experiments. Dispersion results appear
in Table 5. For all polymeric substances tested, both
the 10-mesh and the over-all recovery of shale chips
were greater than for pure water after hot-rolling for
16 hours at 150°F. More than half the additives pro-
duced total recoveries greater than 90 percent. The
clay flocculants as a group performed the best, which
is not unexpected.
Swelling-test results (Table 6) support the evidence
that a 25-percent reduction in hydration is about the
maximum achievable with polymers alone. Again the
flocculants generally performed well, but XC polymer
inhibited best.
Many factors favor the use of Xc polymer as the
basic viscosifier for the type of low-solids, inhibitive
system under consideration. 8 Rhelogical properties of
XC solutions remain constant over a wide range of
salt concentrations. Good dispersion reduction and
superior performance in limiting swelling also con-
tribute to its over-all desirability. Finally the mater-
ial's availability, viscosity building characteristics,
potential for crosslinking, and shear-thinning features
are better than those of other substances, such as
Polymeric Flocculants A and B, which performed sat-
isfactorily in both series of tests.
Polymer-Salt Tests
To gain more information on the interactions of XC
polymer with shales a number of additional tests were
performed. A series of dispersion experiments, again
using Midway shale, included simple XC solutions,
XC crosslinked with Chemical A (a chrome com-
pound), and the crosslinked polymer containing
added concentrations of KCl. KCI was used because
1093
a number of preliminary tests on other shales indi- reductions achieved with XC-KCI combinations is
cated significant improvements in dispersion and sufficient to provide a basic inhibitive mud system.
swelling reduction when the material was present. To see if another common salt could outperform
The crosslinking agent affected the Midway results KCI, we'ran another series of swelling tests on Mid-
to varying degrees. The addition of 3 percent by way shale samples contacted by various XC solutions.
weight KCI tended to increase total recoveries as Data from the tests (Table 10) indicate the over-
expected, but it also gave substantially better 10-mesh whelming superiority of potassium and ammonium
results (Table 7). The salt alone reduced dispersion salts. At equal concentrations, sodium, calcium, and
considerably. magnesium salts inhibit the shale only about 60 per-
Midway shale does not disperse much when poly- cent as well as the potassium and ammonium salts.
mers are present. Therefore, to judge the performance These differences can be explained in terms of clay
of KCI better, a readily dispersible shale (Anahuac) mineralogy, as we shall discuss later. Lower cost,
was used in a second series of trials (Table 8). In greater availability, and better thermal stability favor
water solution the shale disperses almost completely the use of potassium salts over ammonium salts. The
after 16 hours at 150oP. When KCI was present, the superior performance and low cost of KCI, therefore,
10-mesh and total recoveries were significantly above makes it by far the best common inorganic salt to
those for the polymer alone. Combinations of XC use in an inhibitive mud system.
and KCI gave the best results. A number of important features of KCI inhibition
Swelling tests on Midway shale samples (Table 9) are not pointed out by the data in Tables 9 and 10.
confirmed that KCI additions to XC solutions could Fig. I, in which Midway swelling-vs-time curves are
significantly reduce the swelling below the levels plotted for various fluids, confirms the extent of swell-
found with the polymer alone. Decreases as large as ing reduction. For exposure times greater than 24
79 percent were achieved. Performance at the maxi-
mum XC and A concentrations was less than ex-
TABLE 6-RESULTS OF POLYMER SWELLING
pected, supporting other observations that salts work TESTS ON MIDWAY SHALE
best in lightly treated systems. The range of swelling
Percent
Reduction
in 24·Hour
TABLE 5-RESULTS OF POLYMER DISPERSION Swelling
TESTS ON MIDWAY SHALE Below
Percent Recovery That of
Percent Linear Swelling Water
Solution > 10 Mesh > 80 Mesh (total) Solution 1 Hour 1 Day Alone
2 Ib/bbl Flocculant A~~ 83.0 96.9 21b/bblXC 0.73 1.97 25
21b/bbl Flocculant 8* 79.4 96.7 2 Ib/bbl Flocculant A 0.52 2.02 23
2 Ib/bbl Flocculant C~~ 74.3 96.4 2 Ib/bbl Polymer L 0.49 2.05 22
21b/bbl Polymer A~~ 82.1 95.8 11b/bblXC 0.62 2.06 21
21b/bbl Flocculant D~~ 83.9 95.6 2 Ib/bbl Flocculant B 0.55 2.18 17
2 Ib/bbl Polymer 8 76.4 95.0 2 Ib/bbl Polymer W 0.82 2.43 7
21b/bbl Polymer C 80.9 94.7 2 Ib I bbl Floccu lant G 0.95 2.45 6
21b/bbl Polymer D 72.0 94.5 1 Ib/bbl Polymer E 0.72 2.48 5
1 Ib/bbl Polymer E 74.3 93.7 2 Ib/bbl Polymer D 0.67 2.49 5
21b/bbl XC 78.5 93.4 2 Ib/bbl Flocculant E 0.75 2.51 4
2 Ib/bbl Flocculant E 77.4 92.7 2 Ib/bbl Polymer C 0.91 2.52 4
2 Ib/bbf Polymer F 73.9 92.5 2 Ib/bbl Flocculant C 0.94 2.53 3
2.5 Ib/bbl Polymer G 82.6 91.9 2 Ib/bbl Polymer Q 0.82 2.54 3
2 Ib/bbl Polymer H 76.2 91.5 2 Ib/bbl Polymer P 0.86 2.58 2
2 Ib/bbl Polymer I 76.5 91.1 21b/bbl Polyme'r I 1.15 2.62 o
21b/bbl Flocculant F 67.5 91.1 Water* 0.96 2.62
2 'Ib/bbl Flocculant G 77.1 90.3 • Averages of multi pre runs presented.
2.5 Ib/bbl Polymer J 68.4 90.1
2 Ib/bbl Polymer K 61.9 89.2 TABLE 7-EFFECTS OF ADDITIVE CONCE.NTRATIONS
2 Ib/bbl Polymer L 83.1 88.8 ON MIDWAY SHALE DISPERSION
2 Ib/bbl Polymer M 75.7 88.7
Percent Recovery
2 Ib/bbl Polymer N 70.1 87.4
2.5 Ib/bbl CMC 70.2 86.9 Solution > 10 Mesh > 80 Mesh
2 Ib/bbl Polymer 0 65.4 78.3 Water 18.3 34.8
2 Ib/bbl Polymer P 63.7 77.6 11b/bblXC 68.0 92.9
2 Ib/bbl Polymer Q 66.6 77.1 1 Ib/bblXC + 4 Ib/bbl A 70.4 93.8
2.5 Ib/bbl Polymer R 61.0 75.5 1 Ib/bblXC + 4lb/b~A
2.5 Ib/bbl Polymer S 56.4 73.9
+ 1 1h percent KCI 63.5 95.6
21b/bblXC 68.5 93.4
2 Ib/bbl Polymer T 57.1 72.8
21b/bblXC + 61b/bbiA 80.2 95.0
2.5 Ib/bbl Polymer U 53.8 70.0
2 Ib/bbl XC + 6 Ib/bbl A
2 Ib/bbl Polymer V 47.1 63.9 + 1 1h percent Kel 76.6 95.0
2 Ib/bbl Polymer W 34.0 50.4 2 Ib/bbl XC + 6 Ib/bbl A
2.5 Ib/bbl Polymer X 21.1 42.0 + 3 percent KCI 91.2 96.2
Water)l< 18.3 34.8 3 percent KCI 91.4 95.2
*Averages of multiple runs presented. 1 Ib/bbl XC +3 percent KCI 90.8 95.6
1094 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
hours, samples in contact with tap water will continue
to swell until they yield or fracture. Specimens in
contact with XC solutions or XC-NaCI solutions also
continue to swell but at a lower rate. After the first ~
<h 1ppb xc
day's swelling, however, the KCI samples. show no z 2.0 r------+------7L----::;~:...-.-~------J
tendency to hydrate further, and an equilibrium is :3 1ppb XC+3%NaCL
established. In fact, a slight shrinking occurs after ~
Con 1ppbXC+10%NaCL
~
about 36 hours (evidence that water penetrates into <
~ 1.0 r----~---f7L---~~------,~ 3%KCL
the sample faster than the ions can diffuse to the same 1ppbXC+3%KCL
point and that there is of necessity a lag time in 1ppbXC+SAT.KCL
reaching a final equilibrium). This feature has been
found only with potassium cations. The swelling o 1~0====::Z:::::::;:::::;~....L...L;"10:h0::----l----l--.....I--J-....L...L...:!1~00~0--....L-~~~
10,000
reductions reported after 24 hours, therefore, will ~ TIME-MINUTES
increase to 80 or85 percent after exposure for several Fig. I-Swelling-vs-time curves for Midway shale.
days. Samples removed from the KCI solutions are
firm and intact with little surface dispersion compared
with samples taken from NaCI solutions or tap water.
Additional shale types were tested to determine if A series of swelling and dispersion tests on an
KCI would significantly outperform NaCI as had been easily dispersible Class 2 shale from Canada conclu-
the case with Midway cores. In all instances (Table sively shows the superiority of KCI over CaCl 2 and
11) KCI solutions provided better inhibition. Swelling NaCI at equal concentrations (Table 12). Swelling
reductions were 2 to 4 times better than with NaCl. tests with tap water lasted only 1 hour before the
In concentrations of only 3 percent, the potassium sample broke. The specimen was completely disinte-
salt stabilized the Hoxbar and Wolfcamp shales quite grated when removed after 24 hours. Total recovery
well. Total reductions were lower for the Anahuac from a dispersion test was only 1.3 percent. CaCl 2
which had a high montmorillonite content. ' succeeded in inhibiting the shale somewhat, but the
swelling sample was partially disintegrated. Ten
percent NaCI was somewhat better, and the sample
TABLE 8-EFFECTS OF ADDITIVE CONCENTRATIONS
ON ANAHUAC SHALE DISPERSION
TABLE lo-SWELLING BEHAVIOR OF MIDWAY SHALE
Percent Recovery IN CONTACT WITH XC SALT S'OLUTIONS
Solution > 10 Mesh > 80 Mesh Percent
Water 0.9 Reduction
1lb/bblXC 0.6 12.5 Below
7.9 38.3 Percent Li nea r That of
1 Ib/bbIXC+ 4 Ib/bbl A Swelli ng After Water
1 Ib/bblXC + 4 Ib/bbl A Solution* * 24 Hours Alone
+ 1 112 percent KCI 30.2 47.4
Saturated KCI* 0.56
2lb/bblXC 8.2 12.7 79
10 percent NH 4Cp:c 0.74 72
2 Ib/bbl XC + 6lb/bblA 12.0 45.0
2lb/bblXC + 6Ib/b~A 5 percent KCI* 0.81 69
+ 1 112 pe'rcent KCI 32.7 54.8 3 percent KCI* 0.94 64
2 Ib/bbl XC + 6 Ib/bbl A 3 pe'rcent (NH4)2S04 1.01 61
+ 3 percent KCI 47.4 67.3 3 percent NH 4CI* 1.05 60
3 percent KCI 40.2 47.3 3 percent KBr 1.06 60
1 Ib/bbl XC + 3 percent KCI 33.6 58.5 3 percent KN0 3 1.06 60
3 percent KH 2P0 4 1.30 50
TABLE 9-SWELLING BEHAVIOR OF MIDWAY SHALE 10 percent NaCP''c 1.43 45
IN CO.NTACT WITH XC POLYMER SYSTEMS Saturated CaCI 2 1.57 40
Percent 3 percent NaCI* 1.68 36
Percent Reduction 3 percent MgCI 2 1.83 30
Linear Below *Averages of multiple runs presented.
Swelling That of * ·XCconcentration = 1 Ib/bbl.
After Water
Solution 24 Hours Alone
TABLE ll-SWELLING BEHAVIOR OF VARIOUS SHALES
Water 2.62 IN CONTACT WITH XC-KCI AND XC-NaCI SOLUTIONS
1lb/bblXC 2.06 21 Percent
1 Ib/bblXC + 4 Ib/bbl A 1.73 34 Reduction
Percent Below
1Ib/bbIXC+ 4 Ib/bbl A Fluid Swelling That of
+ 1 112 percent KCI 0.99 62 Shale Class Environment* at 24 Hours Water Alone
2 Ib/bbl XC 1.97 25 Anahuac -1- 3% KCI 1.31 ** 19
2 Ib/bbl XC + 6 Ib/bbl A 1.86 29 3% NaCI 1.48::0 :< 8
2 Ib/bbl XC + 6Ib/b~A Midway 3 5% t<CI 0.81 69
+ 1 112 percent KCI 1.59 39 3%
3%
KCI
NaCI
0.94
1.68
64
36
2lb/bblXC + 6lb/bblA
+ 3 percent KCI 1.44 45 Hoxbar 4 3% KCI 0.95 53
3 percent KCI 3% NaCI 1.75 12
0.97 63
Wolfcamp 4 3% KCI 0.55 57
1 Ib/bbl XC + 3 percent KCI 0.81 69 3% NaCI 1.02 21
1 Ib/bbl XC + 5 percent KCI 0.81 69 * All samples have 1 Ib/bbl XC concentration.
1 Ib/bbl XC + Saturated KCI 0.56 79 * *Percent swelling after 1 hour.

SEPTEMBER, 1973 1095

TABLE 12-RESULTS OF ·SWELLING AND DISPERSION remained intact but was easily crumbled. The use of
TESTS ON CANADIAN SHALE KCI, however, not only reduced swelling significantly
Total compared with the other two salts, but also greatly
Percent Linear Sample Appearance Percent increased the recovery of shale chips. Additions of
Swelling After Swelling Shale
Solution (24 Hours) Test Recovery 1 lb/bbl XC further increased total recoveries to
Water Sample, broken Totally disintegrated 1.3 more than 90 percent.
10°A> CaCI 2 2.18 Partially disintegrated 5.0 Additional dispersion-test results for a number of
100A> NaCI 2.00 Intact, easily crumbled 8.8 sha~es are presented in Table 13. Data from previous
100/0 KCI 1.49 Intact, firm, solid 46.0 Anahuac and Midway experiments are also included.
1 Ib/XC, 100/0 KCI 91.6 Going down the table, the shales become progres-
sively harder and less easily dispersed. In all cases
TABLE 13 - RESULTS OF DISPER£ION TESTS ON
SELECTED SHALES
XC-KCI solutions or KCI alone increases both the
10-mesh and the total recoveries. The percent
improvement obviously must decrease as the shale
>80 Mesh
Shale Class Solution > 10 Mesh (Total) becomes harder; but even for Sylvan shale 5 percent
Lake sand 2 H2 O 5.7 31.6
additional 10-mesh cuttings can be retrieved.
(16,180 ft) 1 Ib/bbl XC, 3% KCI 64.6 95.8
The How and Why. of Potassium Inhibition
Lake sand 2 H2 O 6.1 28.4
(16,390 ft) Ilb/bbl XC, 3% KCI 71.9 95.4 The data presented in the last few tables and figures
Lake sand 2 H2 O 9.4 33.7 all point to the XC-KCI system as an excellent candi-
(16,520 ft) 1 Ib/bbl XC, 30/0 KCI 79.8 96.1 date for a water-based inhibitive drilling fluid. Inter-
Lake sand 2 H2 O 13.9 41.8 actions of the polysaccharide chain with shale sur-
(16,650 ft) Ilb/bbl XC, 30/0 KCI 75.9 94.4 faces act to coat the material and reduce the swelling
Lake sand 2 H2 O 11.6 27.5 and dispersion in the case of XC. But why.do certain
(16,800 ft) 1 Ib/bbl XC, 30/0 KCI 82.0 94.8
cations perform so much better than others? In
Springer 3 H2 O 54.9 57.5
30/0 KCI 88.1 88.2 particular, why do potassium .and ammonium ions
Ilb/bbl XC, 3% KCI 93.9 94.1 perform better than sodium, calcium, or magnesium
Simpson 4 H2 O 83.1 89.1 ions?
3°A> KCI 95.5 97.7 These questions can best be answered by returning
Ilb/bbl XC, 3% KCI 97.4 98.6 to clay chemistry arguments. It has been observed
Sylvan 5 H2 O 88.6 91.2 that the cationic exchange of potassium .for sodium
30/0 KCI 96.6 97.0
or calcium ions on montmorillonite or irtterlayered
Woodford 5 H2 O 90.5 92.4
30/0 KCI 97.5 97.7 clays results in a clay that, ·while still exhibiting inter-
layer swelling, hydrates to a smaller degree. The
TABLE 14 - CLAY LATTICE SPACING AND
potassium montmorillonites tend to become nonex-
EXCHANGEABLE CATION DIAMETERS pandable after slight heating or after drying and wet-
(Hexagonal lattice spacing ting cycles. 9 The water uptake and extensive swelling
for a 3-layer silicate: 2.8 A.) of sodium montmorillonite is likewise decreased· as
the proportion of exchangeable ammonium ions
Exchangeable Cations Ionic Diameter (A)
increases. .
NH 4 + 2.86
K+ 2.66 When potassium is present in the original solutions
Ca+ + 2.1.2 from which montmorillonite clays are formed, it is
Na+ 1.96 held with a greater bonding energy than other ex-
Fe+ + 1.66 changeable cations. 10 In addition, there is a selective
Mg++ 1.56 sorption of potassium by clays in relation to other
Li + 1.56 specific cations. 11
These characteristics of potassium and ammonium
TABLE 15 - GENERAL APPLICABILITY OF POTASSIUM
SYSTEMS FOR DRILLING PROBLEM SHALES ion interactions with clay surfaces can. be traced to
two effects; namely, ionic size and hydrational energy.
Ability of KCl
To Provide Both ions are of the proper size (Table 14) to fit
SuffiCient snugly into the spaces between the two hexagonal tet-
Dispersion- Lim iting Hydration Is the Use of rahedral sheets that contact each other in the buildup
Shale Type Ability of KCI Reduction KCI Suggested?
of a three-layer clay packet. The ionic diameters of
Class 1 Good Fair Borderline; depends
on shale type. potassium and ammonium are 2.66 and 2.86 A, re-
Ctass 2 ExceHent Very good Yes. spectively - both very close to the available distance
Class 3 Excellent Very good Yes.
Class 4 Excellent Very good Yes. of 2.8 A. A cation slightly smaller than 2.8 A is
(Most) ,
desirable to allow for crystalline compaction.
Class 4 Excellent Good Borderline; depends
(Very hard) on shale type.
As a potassium system is dehydrated, the tetra-
Class 5 Excellent Very good Yes, in most cases. hedral sheets contact each. other and potassium loses
Class 5 Excellent Fair Borderline; depends its shell of oriented water and becomes slightly
on shale type. smaller. As the process continues, the contraction
(Highly
fractured effect may force the ion into the free space of the
matrix) exposed surface. Once in position it is held tightly
1096 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
and the following hold true:
1. The potassium is as close as possible to the
center of negative charge.
2. The closed structure prevents significant rehy-
dration upon exposure to water.
3. The potassium is less likely to be exchanged
for ,another cation since it is in a closed structure.
Slightly larger cations, like ammonium, do not
allow as close an approach of the layers. Smalle[
cations, such as the sodium or calcium ones normally
found in montmorillonite, would be able to enter the
lattice space, but are too small to effectively bind the
sheets together fully, and rehydration leads to the
entrapment of a water shell and the opportunity for
exchange. 12 ,13
The fixation tendency of potassium and ammon-
ium ions, which once was attributed solely to this
close fit within the hexagonal cavities of basal oxygen
planes, has a second important effect associated with
it. Low hydrational energies for exchangeable catio,ns
appear to be important in determining high selectivity
and fixation characteristics. Potassium and ammo-
nium have the lowest hydrational energies of the
species listed in Table 14. The low energies produce
interlayer dehydration and layer collapse; thus is
formed a compact, tightly held structure.
Stabilization of problem shales by potassium ions,
therefore, appears to take place in the following man-
ner. When montmorillonite is present, potassium
exchanges for sodium and calcium and gives a more
stable, less hydratable structure. Some hydration will
still take place since the mineral is not completely
nonexpanding. With illites the potassium replaces any
exchangeable cation impurities in the structure and
exposes the entire shale to,an environment composed
of the same cation as is binding the illite fractions
together. The amount of base exchange that occurs
is substantially reduced, especially where the illite
content is high, and the shale remains stable. In inter-
layered varieties potassium works both on the illite
and on the montmorillonite and reduces the amount
of differential swelling that occurs.
Potassium cations would be, expected to work best
on shales having a large percentage of illite or illite/
interlayered combinations in the clay fractions. The
previous data support this conclusion where KCI
solutions performed well on Class 3 and 4 shales like
the Midway, Wolfcamp, and Hoxbar.
Field Guidelines for Using Potassium Fluids
Several general statements can be made regarding
whether a potassium system should or should not be
used on a particular type of shale. These generaliza-
tions are in line with the results from laboratory test-
ing and field testing to date. F"urther field evaluations
may conclude that additional types receive sufficient
inhibitive action to remain stable.
As explained above, potassium cations perform
best on shales containing large quantities of illite or
interlayered clays in the total clay fraction. This is
true as long as the shale is not. an extremely hard,
brittle Class 5 shale with a matrix containing numer-
ous microfractures. In these cases a small percentage
of the total swelling potential may be sufficient to
SEPTEMBER. 1973
jeopardize thewellbore. Intrusion of fluid a~ong the
microfractures helps to accelerate swelling. Even 80
percent reductions may not be enough to stabilize
the formation. To drill a gauge hole through shales of
this type, it is often considered mandatory to use a
balanced-activity oil mud. Potassium muds can be
used in such instances, but the chances of success are
only moderate. Very hard shales in Class 4 may also
pose a borderline situation. These varieties also were
often considered drillable only with an oil mud, but
laboratory studies indicate that potassium systems
should successfully inhibit. them. Each shale of this
type should be pretested before a definite recommen-
dation is made, however.
At the opposite end of the scale, shales containing
large amounts of montmorillonite (Class 1) will still
swell to an appreciable extent with potassium pres-
ent. The degree of improvement afforded may not be
sufficient to justify the cost involved, especially since
most shales of this type are at shallow depths. Again,
tests of the particular shale should enable one to
decide whether this, degree of inhibition is justifiable.
If cuttings dispersion and not hole erosion is the main
concern, then the potassium system may reduce the
problerri significantly.
Table 15 reflects a combination of laboratory
evidence and general observations on the potential
utility of potassium-based fluids.
The desirability of laboratory testing before using
an inhibitive fluid in a problem shale zone cannot be
overemphasized. If even small amounts of core
material are available from an offset well, the entire
series of laboratory tests, including X-ray analysis,
adsorption isotherm, and swelling and dispersion
studies, should be performed. This can also be done
ifane can. obtain from another location shale samples
very similar to those one expects to encounter. If
cores are not available, then dispersion tests on cut-
tings from a previously drilled well in the area can
be used to obtain minimal information. Without
samples of any kind one must estimate the classifica-
tion by the depth of burial and any usable geologic
and logging data.
Laboratory testing on a number of shale types, has
shown that the greatest improvement in shale inhibi-
tion occurs as the KCI concentration is increased
from low values to about 3 to 5 percent and main-
tained there. Incremental gains by taking the concen-
tration all the way to saturation (about 25 percent)
are small. In general, therefore, the economical 3- to
5-percent level sacrifices little in performance.
Base exchange reactions, which occur with ex-
changeable cations in the shale an,d also with cations
on the surfaces of clay added to the drilling fluid,
effectively reduce the potassium level in the mud as
drilling proceeds. Since the concentration must at
all times be great enough to guarantee inhibition, a
5-percent level can be carried to allow for variations
due to base exchange. This is adequate when illitic
formations are being drilled. If montmorillonitic
zones are being drilled, with bentonite present in the
mu.d, the concentration should be increased to about
10 percent to insure inhibition. Base exchange reac-
tions will be rapid and numerous for the latter case.
1097
 A number of viscosifiers or viscosifier combina- used, and the results would be expected to be in-
tions can be elnployed in conjunction with KCl. These conclusive. The results have not been studied syste-
include bentonite, XC polymer, and bentonite-XC matically owing to a lack of sufficient data on most
mixtures. The added dispersion and swelling reduc- operations. Of the reported cases, however, the great
tion provided by the XC polymer favors its use, but majority have been successful and some have reflected
the particular type of system one. chooses will depend outstanding improvement. Service companies state
on a number of factors. Following are some general that the performance of polymer-salt muds, and XC-
guidelines for using these viscosifiers: KCI in particular, has been excellent.
1. Suitable prehydration procedures should be Some examples of significant improvements from
carried out when they are required with a particular potassium additions can be thoroughly documented,
potassium system. Dry bentonite should never be however. A series of wells in Wyoming was drilled
added to an existing KCI system. using various fluid systems. Four of the wells em-
2. At all times KCI levels should be maintained ployed either standard bentonitic or low-solids muds.
above the 3 percent minimum that has been estab- As the caliper logs indicated, there were senous wash-
lished. If the concentration drops too low, the outs in the boreholes. As a result, the primary cement
system's inhibitive and rheological properties (in the jobs were poor, which allowed communication be-
case of bentonite-KCI muds) can be affected greatly. tween zones and water production from the wells. In
3. A potassium-sensitive electrode or standard an attempt to get a better cement job by providing a
analytical test for potassium should be used to mon- more nearly gauge hole, three additional wells were
itor the fluid. A chloride test may not be sufficient drilled using KCI muds. The average KCI level was
to deduce actual KCI filtrate content since the chlo- maintained at less than 2.5 percent, which is below
ride ion is not selectively adsorbed by clays. that required for maximum inhibition. In general,
4. All additions of water to the circulating system wellbore gauge improved considerably, cement jobs
should be noted so that sufficient KCI may also be were good, and no major production problems were
added to keep the desired concentration. encountered later. (See Table 16.)
5. Foaming is a potential problem, especially Results from a Canadian well provide a definitive
when KCI concentrations exceed 5 percent by weight. example of the ability of KCI to inhibit a sensitive
With yield points above 10 Ib/100 ft 2 the foam may shale zone. Here a bentonite-XC-KCI mud was used
have difficulty breaking out of the, flu'id, and loss of to drill a troublesome shale section between 3,500
pump pressure may result if the situation is not and 4,500 ft. In Fig. 2 three caliper logs are presented,
corrected. A suitable defoamer, such as aluminum one for the test well and two for nearby offset wells
stearate in diesel oil, should be employed. At lower that employed bentonite systems without KCl. The
yield points the foam will break out easily and addi- log from the test well shows a noticeable improvement
tions of CMC or lignosulfonate will help to reduce at 3,087 ft when the KCI system was first introduced.
surface foam to a minimum. Similarly, the well shows superior gauge character
6. If necessary, flow properties can be increased in compared with the offsets over the entire range of
an XC-KCl system by adding more XC or by cross- the sensitive formation. The only washout zone
linking the existing polymer. (3,625 to 3~ 725 ft) reflected on the test caliper either
7. Rheological properties in a bentonite mud can is due to a particularly bad zone or may be linked
be built rapidly by adding more prehydrated benton- to an addition of 100 bbl of freshly mixed mud at
ite. The properties can be reduced by adding CMC 3,604 ft. This addition may have had a lower salt
or lignosulfonate. If very high carrying capacities are concentration than desired and thus may have affected
required, presheared asbestos may be added. Advan- the performance until the slug of fluid had been
tages may be derived from the synergistic effect of lined out.
the positive asbestos and the negative clay particles. The first of two field tests was performed recently
8. To help maintain potassium levels and mini- in South Texas using an unweighted 5 to 13 percent
mize cationic reactions, alkalinity should be con- KCI, 0 to ~ lb/bbl XC polymer mud.
trolled with KOH instead of NaOH. whenever Shale recovered across the shale shaker and a cal-
possible. This helps to develop an all-potassium iper log (see Fig. 3) showed that the KCI-XC mud
system. was more successful in minimizing shale dispersion
9. A thin, tough, impermeable filter cake can best
be achieved with a KCI mud by adding starch, CMC, TABLE 16 - COMPARISON OF FIELD PERFORMANCE
and some lignosulfonate. Total Time
to Drill to Qualitative
10. Maintaining pH levels in the 10 to 12 range Well Mud 8,500 ft Well bore Cement Problems
Number System ~ Gauge Job Production
and using suitable corrosion inhibitors will help to
reduce corrosion to an acceptable level. Standard 27 Fair to poor Poor Water
production
2 Standard 20 'Very poor Poor Water
Field Results With Potassium Muds production
A number of operators have employed potassium- 3 Standard 18 Poor Water
based drilling fluids in several wells throughout the production
world. In general these have represented individual 4 Low solids 27 Poer Poor Water
production
attempts to control problem shales by achieving some 5 Bentonite/KCI 18 Very good Good None
degree of inhibition. In many cases optimal concen- 6 Bentonite/KCI Good None
trations of potassium and other additives were not 7 Bentonite/KCI 21 Good to fair Good None

1098 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

and hole enlargement than was a gel-lignite mud used not necessary to add any XC polymer in the bottom
in another well in the same field. Although the hole half of the hole.
did experience an average washout of about lh in., A second South Texas field test yielded even more
that was considerably less than the average washout impressive results. This well was drilled from 2,100
of 1 ~ in. in the offset well. to 11,050 ft with a KCI mud (5 to 12 percent). A
In the drilling of the KCI-XC well, reaming was particularly troublesome shale zone between 6,000
required (in the new portion of the hole only) on and 10,000 ft had caused significant hole problems
several bit runs. No fill or logging problems were on earlier wells. On the basis of previous drilling
encountered. experience, one could expect that there would be
Solids did increase to as high as 8 percent, but 100 to 200 ft of fill on bottom after tripping and
that is not considered extreme, considering the low that 500 ft or more might have to be washed and
level of dilution used. Because of solids buildup it was reamed. High levels of torque and .drag had also

TEST WELL 7" 15" 6" 16" 7" 16"

WATER TO 3087'
15'8000 6"
6000 j
GEL X-C POLYMER-
KCL 3087'-5329'
OFFSET#l OFFSET#2 5" 7" 9" 11" 13" 15" )
j iii Iii iii i
6100 8100
-2800-
>

-3100- WATER TO 4423' WATER TO 3597' BIT SIZE 6200 8200

GELL-ACRYSOL GEL x-c POLY MER
4423'-5348' 3597' - 5310'
~
-3400-
7" 9" 11" 13" 15" 17"
i I Iii I ii, , i ~"i ~", ~", lr', It: 1,5" 6300 ~
8300

-3700-
6400 8400 >
CALIPER
-4000-

6500 8500
-4300-

6600 8600
-4600-
~

-4900-
6700 ~ 8700

6800 8800
-5300-

Fig. 2-Comparison of caliper logs from three

Canadian wells. 6900 8900

7000 9000
TEST WELL OFFSET WELL
KCl XC POLYMER MUD 1550'-7300' GEL-LIGNITE MUD 1600'-7000'

7" 8" 9" 10" n" 12" 7 11 8" 9" 10" n/l 12" 7100 9100
o >

7200 9200
1000

7300 9300
2000

7400 9400

3000
7500 9500

4000
7600 9600

5000
7700 9700

6000 7800 9800

7000 7900 9900

. . - . . _ - -..... 8000 10,(](::::XJ~:I-'---I"L--_--'

8000
Fig. 3-Comparison of caliper logs from two South Fig. 4--Comparison of caliper logs from two South Texas
Texas wells. wells; offset well on left, test well on right.

SEPTEMBER, 1973 1099

been experienced.
The troublesome zone included a section of
Midway shale that KCI inhibited well. The hole was
drilled without any torque or drag and no fill occurred
through the operation. Two caliper logs (Fig. 4), one
from the test well and one from the most recent
offset, point up the superior gauge character of the
KCI well. In the offset, a bentonitic water-based mud
was used to 8,450 ft and an oil mud was used for
the remaining interval. The primary reason for using
the oil mud was to control the shale.
Conclusions
The results of this research program, which was
designed to develop a superior water-based inhibitive
drilling fluid, may be summarized as follows:
1. A unified classification method for problem
shales has been devised to aid in determining the
anticipated down-hole stability features of shales and
in selecting inhibitive fluids.
2. A complete set of laboratory tests has been out-
lined to provide a thorough analysis method for
shales. Their dispersive, adsorptive, and hydrational
characteristics determined from these tests can be
used in classifying them.
3. Numerous laboratory tests have demonstrated
that cations perform in different ways as inhibitive
agents and that potassium and ammonium ions are
by far superior. Potassium is preferred for field use
because it is less expensive and more temperature
stable.
4. A number of inhibitive drilling fluids can be
devised employing potassium cations. Potassium
chloride is compatible with a wide variety of viscosi- .
fiers and viscosifier combinations. Proper levels of
potassium to maintain in the field and a number of
field mixing and treatment guidelines have been
established.
5'. Thus far, field data are encouraging, and indi-
cate that the system will perform well on many types
of shale.
Potassium muds are not to be considered cure-aIls
for every shale problem one may encounter. Labora-
tory and field experience to date, however, suggests
that the levels of inhibition achievable with such fluids
1100
should be sufficient to allow cheaper and faster drill-
ing and completion through certain sensitive shale
zones.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our appreciation to J. K.
Heilhecker, L. H. Robinson, J. F. Miller, and S. H.
Scott for their assistance during laboratory and field
testing.
References
1. Chenevert, M. E.: "Shale Control with Balanced Ac-
tivity Oil-Continuous Muds," J. Pet. Tech. (Oct. 1970)
1309-1319.
2. Lummus, J. L. and Field, L. J.: "Non-Dispersed Polymer
Mud: A New Drilling Concept," Pet. Eng. (March 1968)
59-65.
3. Shell, F. J.: "New Mud Improves Productivity," Drilling-
DCW (Nov. 1969) 47-50.
4. Darley, H. C. H.: "A Laboratory Investigation of Bore-
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Paper (SPE 4232) was presented at SPE-AIME Sixth Conference
on Drilling and Rock Mechanics, held in Austin, Tex., Jan. 22-23,
1973. © Copyright 1973 American Institute of Mining, Metallurgi-
cal, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.
This paper will be printed in Transactions volume 255, which
will cover 1973.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY