The South Akcakoca Subbasin gas field in the Black Sea offshore Turkey is one of the region's largest natural gas projects. The HydraGlyde Optima™ flexible high-performance water-based drilling fluid system achieved a low friction factor of 0.15 and completed a smooth drilling and casing landing.

Park Place Energy, a subsidiary of Trillion Energy International, expanded horizontal drilling in the South Akcakoca Subbasin gas field in the Black Sea offshore Turkey. The operator planned a reentry of a mature well at 308 ft [94 m] water depth in the shale and sandstone formation. The plan was to complete an 8½-in section.

A high 0.35 friction factor occurred in earlier vertical wells in the formation. If the friction factor goes higher, drilling must stop immediately. Oil-based drilling fluid would lower the friction factor, but oil-based fluid is not a viable solution due to the Black Sea's “zero-drop” policy and the high cost of drilling fluids, waste management, and storage that come with it.

SLB created the drilling fluids plan for HydraGlyde Optima system product concentrations and wellbore strengthening system to achieve the customer's targets. The engineers further optimized the HydraGlyde Optima system fluid concentrations on the rig site for the horizontal section that started at 574 ft [175 m] and progressed up to a 74° inclination. The inclination decreased 
to 7,053 ft [2,150 m] and reached 25° at 9,186 ft [2,800 m]

The HydraGlyde Optima system achieved a low friction factor of 0.15 and enabled a smooth drilling and casing landing. As a result, the Park Place drilling managers removed all the other synthetic-fluid alternatives and plan to continue drilling with the HydraGlyde Optima system on this project.