Date palm seed-based lost circulation material (LCM)
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorMd Amanullah
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A date palm seed-based lost circulation material (LCM) is provided. A date palm seed LCM may be manufactured by drying date palm seeds and grinding the dried date palm seeds to create a plurality of particles. The particles may have sizes less than 4 mm, from 1 mm to 2 mm, or from 2 mm to 4 mm. The date palm seed LCM may have a volumetric swelling greater than an LCM formed from tree nuts and may have a volumetric swelling of at least 0.3 cubic centimeters per gram. The date palm seed LCM may have a D50 shift factor less than an LCM formed from calcium carbonate and may have a D50 shift factor of at least 0.38%. The date palm seed LCM may have a stability index of at least 0.95. Methods of lost circulation control and manufacture of a date palm seed LCM are also provided.
Claims23
A method of forming an altered drilling fluid, comprising:
- drying a plurality of date palm seeds;
- grinding the plurality of date palm seeds to produce a plurality of untreated particles consisting essentially of ground date palm seeds;
- blending the plurality of untreated particles and a viscosifier into a lost circulation material (LCM) composition;
- and
- blending the LCM composition into a drilling fluid to create an altered drilling fluid.
An altered drilling fluid, comprising:
- a drilling fluid;
- and
- a lost circulation material (LCM), wherein the LCM comprises a viscosifier and a plurality of untreated particles consisting essentially of ground date palm seeds.
A lost circulation material (LCM) composition, the composition comprising:
- a plurality of untreated particles consisting essentially of ground date palm seeds;
- a carrier fluid;
- and
- a viscosifier.
A method of forming a lost control material (LCM) composition, comprising:
- grinding a plurality of date palm seeds to form a plurality of date palm seed particles without treating the plurality of date palm seed particles;
- and
- mixing the plurality of date palm seed particles with a carrier fluid and viscosifier to form the LCM composition, wherein the LCM composition consists essentially of the carrier fluid, the viscosifier, and the plurality of date palm seed particles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.