Revolutionizing Drilling Technology: Recent Advancement in Ester‐Based Fluids, Nanotechnology, and Environmental Stewardship

ABSTRACT Globally, the ever‐rising energy demand has altered the techniques for producing oil, especially in the upstream processing, such as horizontal hydraulic fracturing and targeted drilling. Drilling deep oil and gas wells necessitates specialized drilling fluid formulations to ensure safe and efficient operations, as the conventional drilling fluids, such as the water‐based drilling fluids (WBDF), can cause shale swelling, and the oil‐based drilling fluids (OBDF) can cause other environmental concerns because of the presence of aromatic compounds. Synthetic‐based drilling fluids (SBDF) address these issues by combining superior performance with reduced environmental impact. Esters have shown the highest biodegradability and good performance as compared to other synthetic bases in drilling fluids. The present review article highlights the potential advantages of ester‐based drilling fluid (EBDF) under high‐pressure and high‐temperature (HPHT) environments. Moreover, the review articles show the advancement in the ester synthesis by using different carboxylic acids and oil feedstocks and provide beneficial insights on the recent advances in EBDF formulations. Furthermore, the review demonstrates EBDF cost efficiency over OBDF by comparison of formulation and disposal cost. This review also comprehends the studies that examined the utilization of various nanoparticles as a Pickering emulsion stabilizer in OBDF and SBDF formulations to enhance their properties and emulsion stabilities. Lastly, the review has proposed a futuristic formulation of drilling fluids via incorporating the nanoparticles that can improve the thermal stability of EBDF.