Advancements in horizontal drilling technologies are utilized to develop unconventional resources, where reservoir temperatures and pressures are very high. However, the flocculation of bentonite in traditional fluids at high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) environments can lower cuttings transportation efficiency and even result in problems such as stuck pipe, decreased rate of penetration (ROP), accelerated bit wear, high torque, and drag on the drill string, and formation damage. The major purpose of the present research is to investigate the performance of low bentonite content water-based fluids for the hole cleaning operation in horizontal drilling processes. Low bentonite content water-based drilling fluids were formulated by replacing a specified quantity of bentonite with a small fraction of cellulose nanoparticles (CNPs), including cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). The concentration of CNPs was changed from 0.15 wt% up to 0.60 wt% and the bentonite content was reduced from 6 to 0 wt%, which leads to a reduction of solid contents from 13.34 to 6.71 wt%. The flow-loop experiments were accomplished on a sophisticated purpose-built flow rig by circulating the tested fluid samples into the test section in a horizontal position, considering the influence of drill pipe rotation, flow rates, cuttings sizes, and drill pipe eccentricity. The results show that the low solid fluids displayed a considerable enhancement in cuttings removal efficiency, especially with 0.15 wt% of the concentration CNPs and 4.5 wt% of the bentonite contents. The morphology of CNPs played a vital role in improving the rheological properties of the water-based drilling fluids.
