An efficient, cost-effective, and green natural extract in water-based drilling muds for clay swelling inhibition

Clay swelling is one of the major challenges of the oil and gas industry during the drilling operation. Water-based muds (WBM) are commonly used in drilling operations due to their low environmental footprint. The rheological properties, fluid loss control, and clay hydration play a crucial role in the selection of WBM. However, WBM can cause clay swelling in contact with clay material. For the first time, the present work reports the effect of Date palm leaves extract (DPLE) as a naturally occurring and environment-friendly green additive as a clay swelling inhibitor for water-based muds (WBM). The extensive evaluation including rheology, fluid loss, capillary suction timer (CST), zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and linear swelling tests were used to assess the clay swelling inhibition features of the DPLE. The outcomes revealed that the swelling control by DPLE was the function of its concentration. The 5% DPLE demonstrates the least linear swelling (62.3%) as compared to 2% DPLE (98.5%) Na₂SiO₃ (96.5%), and water (124.2%). The DPLE also influences and improves the rheology and deflocculation properties of the WBM. The proposed inhibition mechanism shows that the surface coating of DPLE resulted in the protection of bentonite clay and make it hydrophobic. Consequently, the affordability, environment friendliness, clay swelling control, and ease of access make the pertinency of DPLE in WBM extremely worthy.