Browsing by Author "Uwaezuoke, N."
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Item Open Access An economic evaluation of investment in Mucuna solannie production(2016) Uwaezuoke, N.; Obah, Boniface; Onwukwe, Stanley I.; Igwilo, Kevin C.Mucuna solannie, a perennial crop, is a Fabaceae found in the South East of Nigeria and in some African and Asian countries. It exhibits interesting properties as a food additive, where it serves as viscosifier. It has, hence, been tested and used to formulate a drilling mud. The drilling mud formulated from it compares quite fine with other muds; with excellent rheological properties. It is suitable for top hole sections. The purpose of Mucuna solannie farming, as a cash crop, is to maintain adequate supply for continued application in the drilling industry; hence, it is a business venture. Also, a comprehensive list of processing equipment has been provided. The study gives the first pass assessments of the requirements for production and processing, necessary for sustained supply. A suitable farm location has been found in South-East Nigeria. Square planting pattern, on 10 hectares area of land, based on one plant per hill, with no filler crops, has been shown to yield 63.9 metric tonnes per year. An initial minimum investment of about $820,920 is required for seeds, land rent, equipment costs and other contingencies; with projected minimum revenue of $283,500 per year, at 22% DCF ROR, if the venture must remain profitable.Item Open Access Benefciation of Nigerian bentonite using local materials(Original Paper-Production Engineering, 2020-07-15) Igwilo, Kevin C.; Uwaezuoke, N.; Okoli, N.; Obasi, Franklin T.; Okoro, Emeka E.In previous studies, it has been found that the Nigerian bentonite is defcient in terms of its fuid loss and rheological properties which includes yield point. Also, due to its high calcium content and low sodium content as opposed to foreign bentonite, it does not meet the API standard of drilling. This research was carried out to benefciate the Nigerian bentonite as regards its fuid loss properties, rheological properties and wellbore stability. Snail shell is seen as waste substance in Nigeria, and Mucuna solannie on the other hand is a local major food supplement in Nigeria and is found in large quantities. The elemental and oxide compositions of the snail shell and Mucuna solannie were determined through scanning electron microscope and X-ray difraction measurements, respectively. The additives were used to benefciate the Nigerian bentonite, and the test result proved that at considerable concentrations of the additives, the Nigerian bentonite was able to compete with foreign bentonite and also met API specifcations. Both additives contain high concentrations of nanoparticles and inhibitive calcium and potassium for wellbore stability. Benefciated Nigerian bentonite also proved to be viable economically when compared with foreign bentonite.Item Open Access Biopolymer substitution and impact on cuttings transport of a lightweight water-based drilling fluid(STM Journals, 2017) Uwaezuoke, N.; Onwukwe, S. I.; Igwilo, K. C.; Obah, B.The challenges associated with natural gas Pipeline flow assurance is an increasingly important issue as the world supply for natural gas expands, and is expected to rise more strongly to match the global demand for a cleaner energy. Flow assurance challenges in pipelines include hydrate formation, paraffin wax deposition, asphaltene deposition, sand deposits, black powder, and on the wall of pipelines, all of which obstruct the flow of well fluids and associated produced hydrocarbons. This study addressed these flow assurance concerns from a technical view by quantifying the threats and establishing appropriate mitigation schemes, leading to designed solutions and operational procedures. Modeling and simulation approach was adopted to achieve the overall aim. The simulation software tools PVTsim and OLGA were used for both steady state and dynamic states. The phase envelope investigation indicates that the cricondentherm within the constraint of the delivery temperature. The slugging analysis, indicates that hydrodynamic slugging will not be predominant for the pipeline operations at the design flow rate of 30MMscfd along Alakiri – Obigbo, and at 70MMscfd along the Obigbo Tie-in - Intermediate scrap station; as the flow regimes are mainly stratified for both pipeline systems. From the hydrate analysis investigated, after a shutdown period (no-touch time); hydrate threat is envisaged during the shutdown period of the Intermediate scraper trap – ALSCON along pipeline system, since the temperature drops to the hydrate formation temperature.Item Open Access Performance evaluation of a biomaterial in an aqueous based drilling mud at high pressure high temperature(Canadian Research & Development Center of Sciences and Cultures, 2019) Duru, U. I.; Onyejekwe, I. M.; Uwaezuoke, N.; Isu, D. O.Oil reserves are found in deep formations where the conditions of temperature and pressure are always high. These conditions have direct effects on the rheological properties of drilling fluid as they vary with increasing temperatures and pressures. Two sets of experiment were carried out on weighted and unweighted mud samples at a temperature of 250o F and 500psi pressure. The presence of locally sourced additives helped the mud to remain pseudoplastic at these conditions and also retained essential properties of the mud need for drilling operations. The plastic viscosities of the weighted and unweighted mud were 36cP and 27cP respectively. The yield stresses were 149lb/1002 ft and 110lb/1002 ft for the weighted and unweighted samples while the fluid loss volumes were approximately equal. The thickness of the cake for the weighted sample is 3.7mm and 4mm for the unweighted sample. The weighted sample with a reasonably higher PV has a better hole cleaning ability than the unweighted sample. Mucunna Solannie performed excellently to retain the essential properties of these formulations at 250o F and is therefore recommended as a HPHT drilling mud additive.Item Open Access Performance evaluation of Mucuna solannie as a drilling fluid additive in water-base mud at cold temperature(Academic journals, 2020) Duru, U. I.; Onyejekwe, I. M.; Isu, D. O.; Uwaezuoke, N.; Arinkoola, A. O.Weighted and unweighted aqueous mud formulations from a biomaterial, at cold temperature of 5°C, were tested for their rheological characteristics. Based on API guidelines and recommended equipment for drilling fluid tests, the rheological properties of the formulations were determined. The muds exhibited pseudoplastic behaviour. The fluid loss volumes of the weighted and unweighted muds are 14 and 21 ml, respectively, while the filter cake thicknesses are 2.5 and 3 mm, respectively. The yield stresses of the weighted and unweighted muds are 209 and 159 lb/100 ft2 , respectively. Plastic viscosity of 42 cP for the weighted mud against 23 cP for the unweighted mud showed that the weighted mud has a better cutting lifting capacity if PV is used as an indicator. Mucuna solannie additive can also perform in cold temperature, and has the potential to be used in cold temperature drilling.