Outlook for Drilling Minerals & API Specifications. William Miles, Ph.D. Miles Industrial Mineral Research 1244 N Columbine Street Denver, CO 80206

Transcription

1 Outlook for Drilling Minerals & API Specifications William Miles, Ph.D. Miles Industrial Mineral Research 1244 N Columbine Street Denver, CO 80206

2 Industrial Minerals for Drilling Industrial minerals provide desired functions Barite weighting agent Bentonite viscosity and suspension Frac sand proppant increases permeability of producing formation

3 Barite Physical Properties Barite chemistry = BaSO4 Specific Gravity = 4.50 g/ml pure BaSO4 Hardness = Inert and insoluble in water and organic solvents Solubility Product = 0.87 x 10-10

4 Beneficiation of Barite Ore Simple methods - jigging - tabling - washing More complex methods - flotation - heavy media - magnetic separation

5 Barite Industrial Markets Filler, extender, weighting agent in paints, plastics and rubber Special application in brake and clutch pads Cement jacket for under water petrol lines High atomic weight blocks x-rays & gamma rays hospitals, nuclear power plants. research Source of barium for other chemicals In 21 st Century, estimated 78,000 metric tons/year

6 Barite for Drilling 1926 patent for oil well drilling Used in drilling mud for oil, gas Now major end use In 1970, USA became leading petroleum well drilling country, driving demand for barite and other industrial minerals Drilling rigs increased dramatically after 2009 recession

7 Barite Functional Properties Weights drilling fluid to increase pressure/force at drill bit as it rotates Low hardness and fine grind minimizes drill string abrasion Insolubility in water protects formation

8 Barite Ore Beneficiation Simple beneficiation -Jigging, tabling, washing Complex beneficiation -flotation -heavy media separation -magnetic separation

9 USA Barite Mining & Processing Nevada has 4 mines near Battle Mountain for gas drilling market All USA mined barite used in western states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming Georgia has 1 mine for industrial markets

10 World Barite Production 1000 ton units Year World , , , , , ,800

11 USA Imported Barite for Drilling Year USA Production Total Imports China ,550 2, ,600 2, ,620 2, , ,110 1, ,200 NA

12 Other Import Countries China provides ~95% of USA imports India provides 44 to 83 thousand tons/year Morocco, Mexico, Canada, other import countries

13 API 13A Barite Specifications Specific Gravity, g/ml Water Soluble Alkaline Earth metals, mg/kg max >75um residue, maximum 3% 3% <8um fines, maximum 30% 30% Cadmium, max 3ppm 3ppm Mercury, max 1ppm 1ppm

14 Bentonite for Oil/Gas Drilling Bentonite = montmorillonite clay mineral 3 layer sheet silicate structure Has negative charges within octahedral layer structure and positive edge charges Requires cations outside structure to neutralize Sodium bentonite disperses rapidly in water

15 Drilling Bentonite Properties 1000 metric ton units Na bentonite swells ~20 times dry volume Na bentonite slurry viscosity thins under flow At rest, bentonite sheets form house-of-cards structure that suspends drill solids Sheet structure seals well and protects formation permeability Ca bentonite = nonswelling poor dispersion no suspension properties useless for drilling

16 Bentonite Beneficiation Add Na2CO3 to increase Na/Ca ratio Extrusion delamination Polymers to improve viscosity and reduce fluid loss Grit removal Mill type with or without flash drying and air classification

17 USA Drilling Bentonite 1000 ton units Year Production Exports Average $/ton $ , $ $ $ $ (~750) 160 $ ~ $60

18 API 13A Bentonite Specifications Section 9 Section 10 Section 11 bentonite untreated OCMA 600rpm, min YP/PV ratio, max Dispersed PV, max 10 Filtrate Vol, max 15ml 12.5ml 16ml >75um Residue, max 4% 2.5%

19 Hydraulic Fracturing Sand Frac sands injected into pressure induced fractures within producing formation Pressure reduced Carrier fluids removed Remaining frac sand maintains fracture gaps and increases permeability of formation for gas/oil Gas/oil recovery begins

20 Frac Sand Characteristics Rounded quartz grain formed from abrasive action Source = Glacial sands and river sands Structural strength of grain maintained Other bauxite and ceramic beads used at greater depths, and pressures

21 Frac Sand Processing Shaker tables Sieve/screen separation to size range Acid treatment to remove carbonates Magnetic separation

22 Frac Sand Technology New application for release of natural gas from shale In 2009, USA natural gas resources increased to 284 trillion ft3 Demand for frac sand increasing since 2006

23 Industrial Sand & Gravel Consumption Frac sand is 41% of total production Other drilling uses: - Well packing - Cementing Proppant competition Bauxite Ceramic beads

24 USA Frac Sand Consumption, million ton units Year Fracturing $/ton $ $ $ $ $

25 Major Frac Sand Producers Unimin Arkansas deposit and plant US Silica Illinois Preferred Rocks of Genoa (entered in 2010) LaFarge not in this market Several smaller operations

26 API Frac Sand Specifications Sphericity >0.6 Roundness >0.6 Solubility in Acid 2% and 3% maximum Silt Test clear of turbidity Xray diffraction mineral composition Crush Resistance:

27 Frac Sand Crush Resistance 6/12 mesh 2000psi 20% fines, max 8/16 mesh 3000psi 18% fines, max 12/20 mesh 3000psi 16% fines, max 16/30 mesh 3000psi 14% fines max 20/40 mesh 4000psi 14% fines max 30/50 mesh 4000psi 10% fines max 40/70 mesh 5000psi 8% fines max 70/140 mesh 5000PSI 6% fines max

28 Thanks to Sources T. Dolley at USGS for industrial sand M. M. Miller at USGS for barite R. Virta at USGS for bentonite and clays USGS Annual Minerals Yearbooks USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries