Effectiveness of Copolymer of Polymethylmethacrylate and Styrene as a Plugging Agent in Water-Based Drilling Fluids

In the development of shale gas, it is important to ensure the stability of the borehole wall. The stability of the borehole wall depends on the plugging ability of the drilling fluid, while the stabilizing ability of the drilling fluid is provided by adding the plugging agent to the fluid. Conventional plugging agents are characterized by a relatively high volume and do not allow one to effectively plug micropores and microcracks in shale rock. In this work, the PMMA-St copolymer was synthesized by emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate and styrene. The characteristics of the PMMA-St copolymer were studied by FT-IR, TGA, and phase analysis optical scanning methods. The results show that the size of PMMA-St nanoparticles ranges from 34 to 58 nm, and the average diameter is about 40.6 nm. The decomposition temperature of PMMA-St nanoparticles is 374.8°C, which indicates the good thermal stability of the copolymer. The PMMA-St nanoparticles have little affect on the rheological properties of water-based drilling fluids. The mud cake simulation method was used to evaluate the plugging performance of PMMA-St nanoparticles. The permeability of mud cake is 2.24 × 10-5 m2, which is close to the permeability of shale formation. When 0.5 wt % of the PMMA-St copolymer is added to the solution, the blocking rate is 70.27%. With increase in PMMA-St concentration, the blocking rate of the mud cake increases. The best stabilizing effect is achieved when the PMMA-St copolymer concentration is 1.0%. The results of the core experiments are consistent with the mud cake simulation, which indicates the excellent sealing ability of the PMMA-St copolymer. Therefore, PMMA-St nanoparticles can be effectively used as a plugging agent to ensure borehole stability in the shale formation.