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T ypically not a newsmaker,drilling mud suddenly finds

itself a key to large scale time /costsavings during the global cutbacksin dril l ing activity and capitalbudgets. Field-proven in more than700 wells throughout NorthAmerica, the drilling mud additiveXPL+ (Xtreme Pressure Lubricant)virtually eliminates friction in allcomponents of a downhole drillingsystem.

In the laboratories of ProOne llc,jointly headquartered in Houston,TX and Orange County, CA (USA),R&D scientists developed a productattribute that sets XPL+ completelyapart from any other lubricant on themarket. Positively-charged instead ofnegatively-charged, this additiveprovides an extraordinary filmstrength fifty times that ofconventional lubricants and withoutexception bonds toany metal downholeunder the mostextreme heat andpressure.

Quite simply, thisdevelopment ischanging howcompanies drill wells worldwide as ProOne expands i ts d i s t r i b u t i o n

‘Downhole drilling friction virtuallyeliminated by innovative lubricant’

Don Barnes, Executive Vice President, ProOne, USA

Wide-ranging solutions Many operators have expressed their surprise after using XPL+ for the first time because their thinking had been the same as many other operators that “A lube is a lube is a lube.” After trying XPL+, however, their drilling crews discovered that not all lubes are the same because now they could solve more than a dozen major drilling challenges and beyond. They could also save as much as $1 million per well in overcoming all the drilling obstacles typically caused by the No. 1 downhole enemy: friction.

As ProOne’s international distribution ramps up, the product is already being used at drilling locations as wide-ranging as the

South American country ofColombia to China. At the majorChinese company, two particularlysignificant accomplishments thatdrilling crews observed were the bigreduction in torque and that thelubricant helped them reach TotalDepth (TD) better than ever. As aresult, in this sprawling oilfieldregion, operators are anxiouslyawaiting new opportunities todeploy this additive on multipleupcoming projects. In fact, it wouldnot be unrealist ic for them tomandate a complete changeover inlubricants at drill sites throughoutChina based on their f ieldexperiences. Drillers in the MiddleEast and Africa are also XPL+customers.

In a recent (mid-January 2015)torque example, an operator wascutting a curve at 14,000 ft lbs to

head into a horizontalwhen the crewintroduced one set ofthis lubricant into thehole and dropped thetorque to 7500 ft lbs.That approximately cutthe torque in half ,allowing the crew todril l both faster(typically 20-percentfaster) and cleaner in awater-based hole. Sincecrews often get a bonuswhen finishing a holequicker, this lubricantdirectly helps themreach that bonus.

Aside from torquesolutions, exactly what

ProOne llc scientists have developed aproduct attribute that sets XPL+completely apart from any other

lubricant on the market. Positively-charged instead of negatively-charged,this additive provides an extraordinary

film strength fifty times that ofconventional lubricants and without

exception bonds to any metal downholeunder the most extreme heat and

pressure. This development is changinghow companies drill wells worldwide

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April 2015 DEW JOURNAL 39

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The product isalready being

used at drillinglocations. Two

particularlysignificant

accomplishmentsthat drilling

crews observedwere the bigreduction in

torque and thatthe lubricanthelped themreach TotalDepth better

than ever

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April 2015 DEW JOURNAL 41

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are these operators, and othersworldwide, seeing in their downholedrilling operations by changing outto ProOne’s additive? Above all,crews are experiencing frictionreduction that has never beenpossible through any other methods,equipment, treatments or processes.Problem solving includes fewerexpensive trips, straighter verticalswith less corkscrewing, achievinghigher Rate of Penetration (ROP),ability to drill curve in 50-percent lesstime, greatly reducing hook load andsliding liner faster.

As expected by customers, thereis also considerably less corrosionand wear on all metal surfacesthroughout the entire downholedrilling system and this greaterlubricity increases the lifecycle ofthree very important components:mud pumps, mud motors and drillbits. Yet, the lubricant’s benefits donot stop there, but also extend tobetter results with deviated wells,long horizontals, spiraled andchopped holes, along with doglegsand micro doglegs.

Remarkable financial benefitsOf course, any way that operatorscan substantially reduce drill timeis a major benefit which makesdril l ing efficiencies a primaryobjective at drill sites. And costsavings which come from these newefficiencies are the ultimate bottomline where XPL+ has built i tsreputation fairly quickly, too.

Money saving examples arequite striking, in terms of how muchoperators can save withoutchanging their operations—methods, procedures or equipment— in any way other than switchingfrom their current drilling fluidlubricant to ProOne’s additive. Andthat includes what would ordinarilybe called a negative in that thislubricant actually costs more than

competitors’. However, this newadditive actually comes out aheadbecause its heavy concentrationmeans that operators use much lessthan with others. With XPL+, only1-3 percent to volume is necessarycompared to the typical 3-10 percentto volume.

From ensuring much less wearand tear on downhole dril l ingcomponents to solving major drillingchallenges, the numbers play outalong these lines. If operators onlysave money on having to use fewermud motors and drill bits, each wellwill cost up to $100,000 less to drill.Yet much larger savings are readilyavailable including up to ½-milliondollars through such benefits ashigher ROP and fewer trips. And toexceed practically any operator’sestimate on cost savings whendrilling, more companies are findingopportunities for extra windfalls ofup to $1 million by keeping twist-off risk to a minimum, avoiding holecollapse and freeing stuck pipe.

Unique attributes & newdevelopmentsRapidly becoming knownworldwide for its most newsworthyattributes of migrating towardintense heat and pressure, plus

bonding to any metal downhole, thisadditive has other uniquecharacteristics.

One is that it works equally wellin oil-based mud (OBM), water-based mud (WBM) and brine, ascompared to other lubricants whichmay work in one but not the otherbecause they are negativelycharged, unlike the ProOnelubricant’s positive charge. Also, inwhat could be considered anunexpected benefit, this lubricantcan be transferred to another well;it does not have to be discardedafter only one usage.

An attribute as unique as themoney-saving capabilities is thatthis product is completelyenvironmentally safe. Whether adrilling region conducts operationsin strict accordance with protectingthe environment, this earth-friendlytechnology is increasinglyimportant as people and placesbecome more at-risk. ProOne’sscientists recognized environmentalconcerns and engineered thislubricant to be 100-percentbiodegradable; on the 16th day italready degrades by 60-percent andby the 31st day it is more than 80-precent biodegraded.

Originally, being 100-percent

There is considerably less corrosion and wearon all metal surfaces throughout the entiredownhole drilling system and this greater

lubricity increases the lifecycle of three veryimportant components: mud pumps, mudmotors and drill bits. Yet, the lubricant’s

benefits do not stop there, but also extend tobetter results with deviated wells, long

horizontals, spiraled and chopped holes, alongwith doglegs and micro doglegs

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biodegradable got the industry’sattention primarily from an onshoredrilling perspective. Recently, beingnon-toxic to marine life is generatinginterest among offshore oil and gasdrillers. Toward the end of 2014,ProOne was approved by the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), which is widely known forstrict standards and regulations, fordrilling offshore California. As thatwas occurring, companies wereinquiring about taking the productoffshore in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Meanwhile, with the relativelynew coiled pipe drilling techniqueincreasing in popularity, ProOnedeveloped an XPL+ companiontechnology: CoilPro. Paralleling theoriginal technology, this newestcommercialized R&D also ispositively charged, bonds to anymetal, has fifty t imes otherlubricants’ fi lm strength and isactually attracted to extreme heatand pressure. Among its benefitsare better borehole stabili ty,inhibiting hydration of clay fractionin shale and overall greatly reducingfriction.

Yet, all those attributes may be

secondary to this newest fluid’sunprecedented ability to pull out flatplugs, a challenge on which coiledtubing service companies have bothhit and missed. Given that plugs aretypically inserted at approximatelythousand-foot intervals, and byconservative estimates are not ableto be pulled out 50-percent of thetime, a friction reducer makes a majordifference. The result of not leavingmultiple plugs in the hole, whichforces substantial crude to not beproduced, often quickly adds up tomillions of dollars per well.

As of early 2015, in every usageof CoilPro, all plugs in every wellhave been removed. Essentially thisis a market that came to ProOne afterword got around in the NorthAmerica oilfield about the XPL+product family. Consequently, afterstarting in the Bakken, productusage has spread to Eagle Ford andthe Permian Basin, all of whichbecome major U.S. drilling activitylocations.

Using the problem-solvingtechnologyOf all the drilling challenges that

ProOne’s newtechnology solves,two examples illustratethe using/dosing:For stuck drill string:• Set up four slug pits

for a ratio of 6% bypit volume(80 barrels= 3360 gal. x 0.06= 201 gal. /55gal.drums = 4 drums)

• Determine when pillwillreach bit and slowmud pumps down to50-percent for soaktime.

After third plugsurfaces, pull tomax.capacity. If no

results, send fourth pill down andrepeat. Typical recovery: betweenthird and fourth pill with tenbarrels of water.

For high torque:• Begin with one drum every two

hours until reaching TD orincrease to adjust required torquereduction. Anticipate 3,000-4,000ft/lbs torque reduction

• Introduce above suction pipe at5% of pump volume until reachingsurface to surface

• Reduce rate to one drum/hr tomaintain desired working torque(increase if necessary).

Anticipate as much as 50-percent torque reductionimmediately, then feather outdosage to working torque range formost cost-effective result.

Field-proven in more than 700wells, after being tested and certifiedby widely-respected laboratories andused by major oil industrycompanies, this game-changinglubricant technology is now makinga difference for operatorsinternationally after its U.S. successin reducing downhole drilling frictionas never before.

This earth-friendlytechnology is 100%

biodegradable

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