Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090023614 | Polymer Delivery in Well Treatment Applications - This invention relates to compositions and methods for treating subterranean formations, in particular, oilfield stimulation compositions and methods using water-in-water polymer emulsions to uniformly dissolve a rheologically active polymer, such as a thickener or friction reducer, in the treatment fluid. The emulsions have a low viscosity and are easily pumped for mixing into a treatment fluid, where upon dilution with an aqueous medium, the polymer is easily hydrated without forming fish-eyes. The partitioning agent in the water-in-water emulsion does not generally affect the rheology of the treatment fluid. The invention also relates to further processing of the emulsion by wet grinding, high shear mixing and/or heating to enhance the hydration rate in the preparation of the well treatment fluid. | 01-22-2009 |
20090025932 | System and Method for Low Damage Gravel Packing - A method is disclosed for low damage gravel packing. The method includes combining a carrier fluid, a first amount of particulates, and a second amount of particulates into a slurry. The first amount of particulates have a first average size distribution and the second amount of particulates have a second average size distribution, and the first average size distribution is at least three times larger than the second average size distribution. The slurry includes particles which are at least partially degradable material, and with reactive solid constituents. The reactive solid reacts with the degradable material and/or a hydrolysis product of the degradable material. The method further includes positioning a screen in a wellbore, and circulating the slurry through the wellbore such that the first amount of particulates and the second amount of particulates are deposited on an outer surface of the screen. | 01-29-2009 |
20090025934 | System and Method for Low Damage Fracturing - A system includes a wellbore in fluid communication with a formation of interest and a fracturing slurry include a carrier fluid with a low amount of a viscosifier, an amount of proppant including a first average particle size between about 200 and 2000 μm, an amount particulates including a second average particle size between about three and ten times smaller than the first average particle size, and a third amount of particulates having a third average particle size smaller than the second average particle size. A sum of all of the particulates in the fracturing slurry exceed about 16 pounds per gallon of the carrier fluid. They system further includes a pumping device that creates a propped fracture in the formation of interest with the fracturing slurry, and a removal agent that removes the second amount of particulates and/or the third amount of particulates from the propped fracture. | 01-29-2009 |
20090156436 | Spacer Fluid Additive - A spacer fluid comprises a fluid and a viscosity agent. The viscosity agent is a mixture of at least two polyvinylalcohol compositions. A first polyvinylalcohol composition comprises polyvinylalcohols having a first degree of hydrolysis and a second polyvinylalcohol composition comprises polyvinylalcohols having a second degree of hydrolysis. The first and second degrees of hydrolysis are substantially different such that the rheology of the spacer fluid is stable during temperatures changes. | 06-18-2009 |
20100004146 | Leak-Off Control Agent - A method of controlling leak-off and reducing the concentration of polymers (and/or other materials) in filter cakes formed when oilfield treatment fluids flow through subterranean formation faces involves adding large plate-like degradable and/or non-degradable, particles to polymer or VES-viscosified oilfield treatment fluids, at concentrations of such particles that are less than that required to cover the contacted formation face with a monolayer of such particles. When these large plate-like degradable and/or non-degradable particles are included in the fluid, polymer concentrates to form filter cake only in regions on the formation face (for example fracture faces) not shielded by the large plate-like particles, and the remaining formation face is not covered by concentrated polymer. As a result, the damage due to concentration of polymer and/or other materials in the filter cake during leak-off is reduced, and subsequent clean-up of the filter cake is easier. | 01-07-2010 |
20100065272 | Low Permeability Cement Systems for Steam Injection Application - A cement slurry composition comprising a plugging agent polymer with a low Tg point. | 03-18-2010 |
20100243250 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LOW DAMAGE GRAVEL PACKING - A gravel packing system, method and slurry. The system comprises a blending device to prepare a slurry comprising a carrier fluid suspending first, second and third particulates, wherein the carrier fluid comprises a brine and less than about 2.4 g/L (20 lb per 1000 gallons) of a viscosifier, and wherein the sum of the mass of the particulates is greater than about 2.4 kg/L (20 pounds per gallon), wherein the first average particle volume is between 27 and 3375 times larger than the second average particle volume, which in turn is between 27 and 3375 times larger than the third average particle volume. The system can also include tubing to position a screen in the wellbore and a slurry pump to circulate the slurry from the blending device in the wellbore in any order such that the particulates are deposited in the screen annulus to form a gravel pack. | 09-30-2010 |
20110053813 | METHODS TO REDUCE SETTLING RATE OF SOLIDS IN A TREATMENT FLUID - The invention discloses a method of treating a subterranean formation of a well bore: providing a treatment fluid made of: a fluid; a particulate material, and a viscosifier material; wherein the viscosifier material is inactive in a first state and is able to increase viscosity of the treatment fluid when in a second state; introducing the treatment fluid into the wellbore; and providing a trigger able to activate the viscosifier material from first state to second state. | 03-03-2011 |
20110265985 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LOW DAMAGE GRAVEL PACKING - A method is disclosed for low damage gravel packing. The method includes combining a carrier fluid, a first amount of particulates, and a second amount of particulates into a slurry. The first amount of particulates have a first average size distribution and the second amount of particulates have a second average size distribution, and the first average size distribution is at least three times larger than the second average size distribution. The slurry includes particles which are at least partially degradable material, and with reactive solid constituents. The reactive solid reacts with the degradable material and/or a hydrolysis product of the degradable material. The method further includes positioning a screen in a wellbore, and circulating the slurry through the wellbore such that the first amount of particulates and the second amount of particulates are deposited on an outer surface of the screen. | 11-03-2011 |
20110319301 | Polymer Delivery in Well Treatment Applications - This invention relates to compositions and methods for treating subterranean formations, in particular, oilfield stimulation compositions and methods using water-in-water polymer emulsions to uniformly dissolve a rheologically active polymer, such as a thickener or friction reducer, in the treatment fluid. The emulsions have a low viscosity and are easily pumped for mixing into a treatment fluid, where upon dilution with an aqueous medium, the polymer is easily hydrated without forming fish-eyes. The partitioning agent in the water-in-water emulsion does not generally affect the rheology of the treatment fluid. The invention also relates to further processing of the emulsion by wet grinding, high shear mixing and/or heating to enhance the hydration rate in the preparation of the well treatment fluid. | 12-29-2011 |
20130237461 | DELIVERY OF PARTICULATE MATERIAL BELOW GROUND - A wellbore fluid comprises an aqueous carrier liquid, hydrophobic fibers suspended therein, hydrophobic particulate material also suspended in the carrier liquid, and a gas to wet the surfaces of the particles and fibers and bind them together as agglomerates. The wellbore fluid may be a slickwater fracturing fluid and may be used for fracturing a tight gas reservoir. Using a combination of hydrophobic particulate material, hydrophobic fibers and gas inhibits settling out of the particulate material from an aqueous liquid. Because the gas acts to wet the surfaces of both materials and agglomerates them, the particulate material is made to adhere to the fibers; the fibers form a network which hinders settling of the particulate material adhering to them, and the agglomerates contain gas and so have a bulk density which is less than the specific gravity of the solids contained in the agglomerates. | 09-12-2013 |
20130244912 | Delivery of Particulate Material Below Ground - A wellbore fluid is an aqueous carrier liquid with first and second hydrophobic particulate materials suspended therein. The first hydrophobic particles have a higher specific gravity than the second hydrophobic particles and the fluid also comprises a gas to wet the surface of the particles and bind them together as agglomerates. The fluid may be a fracturing fluid or gravel packing fluid and the first particulate material may be proppant or gravel. The lighter second particulate material and the gas both reduce the density of the agglomerates which form so that they settle more slowly from the fluid, or are buoyant and do not settle. This facilitates transport and placement in a hydraulic fracture or gravel pack. One application of this is when fracturing a gas-shale with slickwater. The benefit of reduced settling is better placement of proppant so that a greater amount of the fracture is propped open. | 09-19-2013 |
20130264055 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LOW DAMAGE FRACTURING - A method of fracturing a subterranean formation comprising at least in part shale formation, comprises providing a carrier fluid; providing a particulate blend including a first amount of particulates having a first average particle size between about 100 and 2000 microns and a second amount of particulates having a second average particle size between about three and twenty times smaller than the first average particle size, such that a packed volume fraction of the particulate blend exceeds 0.75; combining the carrier fluid and the particulate blend into a fracturing slurry; fracturing the formation with the fracturing slurry to create at least a fracture; and removing the second amount of particulates from the fracture. | 10-10-2013 |
20130281330 | HIGH SOLIDS CONTENT METHODS AND SLURRIES - A composition and method are disclosed. The composition includes a carrier fluid and a solids mixture combined to form a slurry, wherein the solids mixture comprises a plurality of volume-averaged particle size distribution (PSD) modes, wherein a first PSD mode comprises solids having a volume-average median size at least three times larger than the volume-average median size of a second PSD mode such that a packed volume fraction of the solids mixture exceeds 0.75, and wherein the solids mixture comprises a degradable material and includes a reactive solid. The method includes circulating the slurry through a wellbore to form a pack in a fracture and/or a screen-wellbore annulus; degrading the degradable material to increase porosity and permeability of the pack; and producing a reservoir fluid through the permeable pack. | 10-24-2013 |
20130312970 | THICKENING OF FLUIDS - An aqueous fluid contains an aqueous solution or dispersion of a polymer to thicken the fluid together with a cross linking agent to enhance the viscosity of the fluid by crosslinking the polymer, wherein the crosslinking agent comprises supporting structures bearing functional groups to react with the polymer molecules and has a mean particle size of 2 nanometer or more. The supporting structures may be nanoparticles and the functional groups may be boronic acid groups. The concentration of boron in a thickened fluid may be low and in some instances there is resistance to applied pressure. The fluid may be a hydraulic fracturing fluid. | 11-28-2013 |
20140069645 | METHODS TO DELIVER FLUIDS ON A WELL SITE WITH VARIABLE SOLIDS CONCENTRATION FROM SOLID SLURRIES - The application discloses a storable composition for oilfield application including a slurry of a carrier fluid and a particulate blend made of proppant; the particulate blend comprising at least a first amount of particulates having a first average particle size between about 100 and 5000 μm and at least a second amount of particulates having a second average particle size between about three and twenty times smaller than the first average particle size; such that a packed volume fraction of the particulate blend exceeds 0.74 and the particulate blend volume is sufficient to substantially avoid settling of the particulate in the carrier fluid. | 03-13-2014 |
20140076563 | Methods for Plug Cementing - Compositions comprise polyacrylamide, a non-metallic crosslinker and a pH-adjustment material. Such compositions have utility in the context of remedial cementing, plug cementing in particular. The compositions may be pumped into a subterranean well, where they polymerize and form a support on which a cement plug may sit. The support may maintain the position of the cement plug in the wellbore and minimize cement-plug contamination. | 03-20-2014 |
20140090848 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR TREATING A WELL PENETRATING A SUBTERRANEAN FORMATION - A method for treating a well penetrating subterranean formations comprising injecting into the well a composition comprising a high temperature stabilizer composition which comprises at least one mineral-reactive compound; wherein at least a part of the well is at a temperature of at least 120° C. is provided. Also provided is a composition for treating a well comprising a mineral-reactive compound. | 04-03-2014 |
20140157877 | Downhole Determination Of Asphaltene Content - A system and method for determining the asphaltene content of a downhole oil sample are provided. In one example, the method includes obtaining a hydrocarbon sample from a hydrocarbon formation of a reservoir at a given depth using a downhole tool. A liquid phase of the hydrocarbon sample is isolated within the downhole tool and the liquid phase is subjected to downhole analysis within the downhole tool to create a chromatography sample. The downhole analysis is based at least partially on size exclusion chromatography. A first property of the chromatography sample is measured to obtain a measured value, and a second property of the chromatography sample is estimated based on the measured value and known calibration curves. | 06-12-2014 |