Experimental Investigation of a Novel Nanosilica for Blocking Unwanted Water Production

Alabdrabalnabi, Mohammed; Almohsin, Ayman; Huang, Jin; Sherief, Mohammed

doi:10.2118/205820-ms

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Gelation time (GT) is one of the essential parameters for designing successful water shutoff treatments. Most mathematical models for polymer gels fundamentally include one dependent variable, “GT,” and three independent variables, temperature, polymer concentration, and crosslinker concentration. , To study the gelation kinetics of water shutoff in-situ gels, steady shear rate measurements have been widely used. − …”

Section: Utilizing Nanomaterials For Enhancing Gel Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Review of Recent Developments in Nanomaterial Agents for Water Shutoff in Hydrocarbon Wells

Ali,

Alabdrabalnabi,

Ramadan

et al. 2024

ACS Omega

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Reducing water production from hydrocarbon wells is one of the major requirements to prolong the life span of production wells. Gel treatment is commonly regarded as one of the traditional cost-effective methods for water shut-off applications. Different gel systems have been developed to overcome the challenges of performing a successful water shutoff treatment. Each gel system has its advantages and disadvantages. A new proposed technology is to enhance the gel performance by utilizing nanomaterials in its composition. Nanomaterials such as nanosilica, nanoclay, and graphene can significantly modify gel properties to improve plugging efficiency. This paper provides a brief review of the added value of using nanomaterials in the structure of polymer in situ gel, preformed particle−gel, and nanosilica-based fluid. Nanomaterials such as nanoclay, nanosilica, and nanographene are capable of adjusting the properties of in situ gel, such as control of gelation time (9−10) hours and enhancing gel strength up to 4.5 times. Nanomaterials also improved the swelling ratio of the preformed particle−gel by up to 400%, accompanied by increased gel strength. Notably, nanosilica-based gels exhibit an exceptional plugging efficiency (100%). Additionally, the paper discusses how modeling can be used to overcome operational challenges in terms of placement and plugging performance.

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Section: Utilizing Nanomaterials For Enhancing Gel Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…142 , 143 To study the gelation kinetics of water shutoff in-situ gels, steady shear rate measurements have been widely used. 144 − 147 …”

Section: Utilizing Nanomaterials For Enhancing Gel Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Recent Developments in Nanomaterial Agents for Water Shutoff in Hydrocarbon Wells

Ali,

Alabdrabalnabi,

Ramadan

et al. 2024

ACS Omega

Self Cite

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Research and Successful Field Application of Nanosilica System for Gas Shutoff in Horizontal Well

Almohsin

Hashem

Sadah

et al. 2022

Day 4 Thu, November 03, 2022

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Innovative and cost-effective gas shutoff technologies are required to improve the oil recovery and avoid the problems associated with the unwanted gas production. A novel strong and stable material with controlled gelation time was developed to isolate gas production zones over a wide range of parameters including the temperature, pressure, injectivity duration, and flow rate. This paper details the nanosilica for gas shutoff from laboratory development to successful field treatment. The nanosilica technology is composed of modified nanosilica and an activator which is used to trigger the viscosity of the system. The gelation time and gel strength of the nanosilica in presence of different concentrations of the activator have been investigated. In addition, the impact of the temperature on the gelation time was examined. The gas shutoff field treatment was designed to prevent the gas production from horizontal oil well based on the results obtained in the laboratory at comparable conditions. Laboratory results revealed that the two-component system namely the modified nanosilica and the activator exhibits low viscosity i.e. 6 cp prior to the exposure to high temperature. Once the temperature is increased to certain values, the viscosity of the mixture will increase depending on the concentration of the activator such that the start point of colloid-gelling ranged from a few minutes to several hours at a given temperature. Thus, this fluid system can be placed as a single phase, low-viscosity solution into the targeted formation zones and subsequently gelled inside the formation resulting in complete plugging. For the job design, production logging tools were run on the E-coil string to detect the gas source and measure the bottomhole temperature required for the formulation of gas shutoff nanosilica, and also to measure the injection pressure to monitor the injectivity. The objective of this job is to isolate the 980 ft. of stand-alone screens. Results unveiled the great potential of nanosilica as a gas-shutoff approach to mitigate gas intrusion with a sustainable 65% gas reduction compared to pre-treatment results. The new trend of using eco-friendly and nanoscale particles in gas control applications is a breakthrough in the oil industry. Laboratory results and field data revealed that the nanosilica for gas shutoff was effective over a wide range of parameters including the temperature, pressure and permeability.

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An Experimental Approach of a Robust Polymer Gels for Water Shutoff Applications in Carbonate Formations

Alabdrabalnabi

Almohsin

Busaleh

et al. 2023

Day 2 Tue, March 14, 2023

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Controlling unwanted water production is the key for the oil and gas industry. Consequently, water shutoff (WSO) fluids were introduced to favorably plug high permeability water zones or fractures and thereby reducing the water cut. Polymer gels have been utilized extensively to minimize undesired water production, especially from oil producers. Herein we present the study of gelation kinetics of an organically crosslinked polymer (OCP) gel with an adsorption system from intermediate to high reservoir temperatures. In this study, we utilized a cost-effective and environmentally acceptable fluid system. The fluid consists of polymer gel and adsorption constituents for carbonate formations. The system can be pumped downhole to the targeted zones as a single-phase solution with low initial viscosity. A systematic evaluation of the polymer gel for WSO applications is conducted at varied reservoir conditions. This includes a thorough examination of fluid properties at surface conditions before gelation starts, at which the system is referred to as gellant. Furthermore, we studied the properties during and after gelation kicks off at a wide range of temperatures. The emphasis of the experimental investigation was on the kinetics of OCP gelation through performing several rheology experiments at various crosslinker concentrations. The analysis revealed that the viscosity of the gellant at standard conditions was less than 20 cP; thereby, this contributes positively to having smooth surface mixing and pumping requirements for field testing. Based on reservoir temperature and cooling effect, the gelation time can be optimized by altering crosslinker concentrations. At fixed temperatures and varied crosslinker ratios, the gelation time exhibited a linear relationship with crosslinker concentrations. Additionally, the gelation time against temperature experienced an exponential behavior with reversible proportionality. By plotting the acquired data from massive rheological tests, we managed to attain precise correlations of gelation time for each OCP formulation. The gel prevailed in a high thermal stability fluid system to be gelled at a temperature of more than 250°F. Based on the presented lab observations, we concluded that this polymer gel system is expected to be trial tested in the field as WSO fluid for carbonate rocks. The OCP gel is a promising technology to mitigate excess water production from oil producers. Since the system has a low initial viscosity, it can be injected naturally in porous media. The presented work offers an insightful polymer gel system as a WSO fluid designed for treating carbonate rocks.

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Experimental Investigation of a Novel Nanosilica for Blocking Unwanted Water Production

Cited by 4 publications

References 31 publications

A Review of Recent Developments in Nanomaterial Agents for Water Shutoff in Hydrocarbon Wells

A Review of Recent Developments in Nanomaterial Agents for Water Shutoff in Hydrocarbon Wells

Research and Successful Field Application of Nanosilica System for Gas Shutoff in Horizontal Well

An Experimental Approach of a Robust Polymer Gels for Water Shutoff Applications in Carbonate Formations

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