IKPONMWOSA OHENHEN

Drilling mud, also known as drilling fluid, is a vital component in the oil and gas industry. As the primary medium for drilling oil and gas wells, its importance cannot be overstated. However, in Nigeria, the procurement of drilling mud is often costly, as the required materials for its formulation are largely imported. This project investigates the suitability of a locally sourced clay, Iyi−Ogene, obtained from one of Nigeria’s numerous clay deposits, as a potential substitute to imported bentonite in drilling
mud formulation. The study aims to promote local material utilization, reduce import dependency, and minimize overall operational costs. Guided by API specifications, rheological properties of the local clay were determined upon preparation using standard procedures. Additionally, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was incorporated to some samples to enhance performance toward API standards. The results indicate that the local clay possesses promising potential for drilling mud formulation, provided adequate beneficiation and optimization of activation conditions are applied. The findings also emphasize the importance of maintaining optimal base concentration during chemical activation, as excessive amounts may yield adverse effects. Overall, this laboratory−based study demonstrates that certain local clays, when properly treated and modified with suitable additives, can perform comparably to imported bentonite. It further underscores the need for field−scale evaluation to validate laboratory results and support the wider adoption of local materials in drilling fluid formulation.

The extraction of crude oil in the Niger Delta generates vast quantities of produced water (PW), a complex, highly saline wastewater containing hazardous heavy metals. Conventional treatment
methods are often prohibitively expensive and inefficient, necessitating the development of lowcost, sustainable alternatives. This research investigates the efficacy of two locally abundant waste
materials, thermally-chemically activated sawdust and thermally activated eggshell, as bioadsorbents for removing iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) from real produced water sourced from an oil field within the Niger Delta. The study involved preparation and activation of adsorbents, followed by batch adsorption experiments under varying contact times. The produced water was characterized, and experimental data were analyzed using kinetic and isotherm models. Results demonstrated that both adsorbents effectively removed metals. Activated sawdust achieved removal efficiencies of 70.6% for Fe and 95.5% for Zn, while thermally activated eggshell removed 61.4% of Fe and 79.8% of Zn. Kinetic studies revealed that iron adsorption onto sawdust followed a physisorption-driven Pseudo-First-Order model, whereas adsorption onto eggshell followed a chemisorption-driven Pseudo-Second-Order model, indicative of ion exchange with calcium carbonate. Equilibrium isotherm analysis showed that the Freundlich model provided a better fit than Langmuir for both adsorbents, suggesting multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces. However, anomalous parameters in both models underscored the influence of the complex, multi-component nature of real produced water, causing deviation from ideal model behavior. The study concludes that both sawdust and eggshell are viable, low-cost, and sustainable materials for remediating heavy metals from produced water in the Niger Delta, validating a circular economy approach that transforms local waste into valuable resources for environmental cleanup.