Release Date: 2026
A key research achievement focused on high-density drilling fluid technology has been officially published in the domestic authoritative journalDrilling Engineering, solving the long-standing technical pain points of high solid content, poor rheological stability and difficult downhole parameter control during deep and ultra-deep well drilling. Conducted by a professional Sinopec technical team led by senior engineer Wang Xijiang, the systematic study innovatively optimizes the performance of weighting materials based on powder close-packing theory and proposes a reliable physical rheological regulation method, bringing significant technical upgrades to high-pressure and deep formation drilling operations.
With global oil and gas exploration continuously extending to ultra-deep formations, shale and tight oil reservoirs, high-density drilling fluid has become indispensable for balancing formation pressure, preventing well kick and collapse, and ensuring safe wellbore operation. However, conventional barite weighting materials commonly suffer from unreasonable particle size distribution. Excess fine particles (below 20 μm) greatly increase the specific surface area of powder materials, triggering a strong viscosity effect. This leads to excessively high plastic viscosity of drilling fluid, increased pump pressure and downhole drag, reduced drilling speed and severe tool wear. Relying solely on chemical additives for viscosity reduction will easily damage suspension performance, causing barite settlement, poor cuttings carrying capacity and other downhole complex risks.
To address these industry challenges, the research team carried out comprehensive performance tests on different weighting materials and analyzed the influences of material density, particle size and gradation on drilling fluid rheology. The test results verify that weighting materials with higher density require lower solid volume fraction to reach the same fluid density, delivering better rheological properties. Fine barite particles smaller than 20 μm are the main cause of sharp viscosity growth. Through scientific particle size grading and close-packing optimization, the team achieved remarkable performance improvements. For the drilling fluid with a density of 2.3 g/cm³, the plastic viscosity of graded barite fluid is reduced by 19% compared with the conventional fluid, while the yield point is appropriately improved. The optimized system realizes coordinated control of low circulation friction and excellent suspension & cuttings-carrying capacity, avoiding reservoir damage and high costs caused by excessive chemical treatment agents.
Different from traditional chemical modification methods, this innovative grading optimization technology realizes rheological regulation through physical powder structure improvement. It features simple field application, strong stability and wide adaptability, perfectly matching the harsh working conditions of high temperature, long horizontal sections and narrow density windows in ultra-deep well drilling, with high engineering promotion and application value.
As a professional global supplier of drilling equipment and full-set drilling auxiliary solutions, SINOCOREDRILL actively iterates its product system and technical services based on this cutting-edge research achievement. Centering on the optimized barite grading and rheological control theory, the brand has upgraded its supporting product matrix for high-density drilling scenarios.
SINOCOREDRILL launches customized graded barite weighting materials with precise fine particle proportion control, specially developed for 2.0–2.3 g/cm³ high-density drilling fluid systems, ensuring stable density, anti-settlement performance and low-viscosity advantages. Meanwhile, the company optimizes the wear resistance of high-strength drill pipes and supporting drilling tools, effectively adapting to the high-solid circulating environment and extending the service life of downhole tools. In addition, SINOCOREDRILL integrates graded weighting materials, core drilling tools, mud purification accessories and one-stop technical consulting services to provide customers with integrated ultra-deep well drilling solutions.
Targeting overseas deep oil and gas projects in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America, SINOCOREDRILL incorporates the advanced grading rheological control technology into its overseas service system. It effectively solves the common on-site problems of chaotic raw material particle size and unstable drilling fluid performance, helping global clients reduce downhole operation risks, lower comprehensive drilling costs and improve overall drilling efficiency.
In the future, SINOCOREDRILL will continue to track frontier drilling fluid and deep drilling technologies, deepen industry-university-research technical transformation, and continuously provide reliable, efficient and cost-effective full-chain drilling equipment and supporting material solutions for global geological exploration and oil & gas development projects.
