Hydrocarbon Gels Of Alumino Alkyl Acid Orthophosphates

McKenzie, Lee F.; Hughes, Barry

doi:10.2118/9007-ms

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Aluminum and iron alkyl orthophosphate soaps are the most promising hydrocarbon gels for hydraulic fracturing in terms of the stability of structural, mechanical, and rheological properties at high temperatures. Associated complexes of significant molecular weight are formed, coordinated by intermolecular hydrogen bonds produced when these forms of thickeners are dissolved in hydrocarbons (Figure 15) [12,13]. Dry inorganic compounds of an alkaline nature (for example, sodium carbonates and bicarbonates) are used as a destructor of these gels.…”

Section: Hydrocarbon Gelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Guar and hydroxypropyl guar gels have become the most widespread, while xanthan and polyacrylamide gels are less commonly used in hydraulic fracturing [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Hydrocarbon-based gels are used for this as well [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Recently, gels based on viscoelastic surfactants have been used [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of Hydrogels and Hydrocarbon-Based Gels in Oil Production Processes and Well Drilling

Telin,

Lenchenkova,

Yakubov

et al. 2023

Gels

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The use of gels in oil production processes has become a regular practice in oilfield operations and is constantly developing in all oil-producing countries of the world, as evidenced by the growth of publications and patent activity on this topic. Many oil production processes, such as hydraulic fracturing, conformance control, water, and gas shutoff, cannot be imagined without the use of gel technologies. Inorganic, organic, and hybrid gels are used, as well as foams, gel-forming, and gel-dispersed systems. The possibility of a broad control of structural and mechanical properties, thermal stability, and shear resistance by introducing microscale and nanoscale additives made hydrogels and hydrocarbon-based gels indispensable tools for oil engineers.

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Section: Hydrocarbon Gelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Hydrogels and Hydrocarbon-Based Gels in Oil Production Processes and Well Drilling

Telin,

Lenchenkova,

Yakubov

et al. 2023

Gels

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Concepts in Cleanup of Fracturing Fluids Used in Conventional Reservoirs: A Literature Review

Al-Muntasheri

Liang

et al. 2017

SPE Production &Amp; Operations

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Summary Fracturing fluids are used for transport and placement of proppants in hydraulic-fracturing operations. In the case of conventional reservoirs, sufficient fluid viscosity is needed to transport proppant. An ideal fracturing fluid should possess enough viscosity to suspend and carry proppant. After the proppant placement, the fluid viscosity should drop to facilitate an efficient and quick fracture cleanup. This ensures adequate fracture conductivity. Most of the fracturing fluids used in these operations are dependent on crosslinking reactions between polymers and crosslinkers. Breaker technologies such as oxidizers, enzymes, fluoride compounds, oxides, vitamins, and decrosslinking agents are used to break the crosslinked polymer-based gels. These materials are added as components of the initial fracturing-fluids recipe. This paper will focus on the available breaker technologies used for degrading and cleaning up fracturing fluids used for conventional reservoirs. Each breaker has its own operating mechanism and window of application in terms of temperature and pH. The design and selection of a breaker package will first require an understanding of how the fracturing fluid forms. The current review reveals the crosslinking mechanisms of various fracturing fluids. These include the crosslinking of biopolymers with borates, the crosslinking of synthetic and biopolymers with metals, and the crosslinking of phosphate esters with metals. In the acidizing of carbonate reservoirs, the use of viscous fluids is needed to allow diversion of acid to lower-permeability paths. Moreover, the high viscosity retards the reaction between the acid and the rock, and this ensures deep penetration of the stimulation fluid. In this application, the viscosity develops as a response to the change in pH. Hydrocarbon fluids are used for hydraulically fracturing water-sensitive formations. Each of the aforementioned fracturing fluids has its own suitable breaker technology. For borate-crosslinked biopolymer gels, breakers such as oxidative and enzyme breakers can be used to reduce fluid viscosity by degrading polymer chains. An alternative approach to reduce viscosity of this type of fluid is the use of acids that lower the pH and decrosslink the fluid. A third route to reduce this fluid viscosity is by use of chelating agents and complexing agents. Lowering fluid viscosity alone may not sufficiently guarantee adequate proppant-pack and formation cleanup. It has been proved that low-viscosity fluids may still contain high-molecular-weight (MW) polymers that could severely damage formation and proppant pack. These high-MW polymers should be further broken into low-MW fragments with oxidizers or enzymes to achieve better production numbers. When metals are used to crosslink biopolymers and synthetic polymers, breakers such as oxidative breakers can still be effective. Acid fracturing fluids use fluoride-based breakers that can complex with the zirconium (Zr) and hence decrosslink the gel. When fracturing high-temperature wells, breakers can prematurely degrade the gel viscosity. This leads to less proppant placement and possibly screens out the proppant. As a result, the propped fracture becomes shorter and the well productivity will be less. To avoid this, breakers are encapsulated with materials that act as barriers between the breaker and fluid. The dissolution of the encapsulating material gives additional time for the gel to place the proppant. This paper reviews more than 100 papers and patents to summarize the experience and available knowledge in the area of using breakers for cleaning up fracturing fluids.

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Nanomaterials-Enhanced Hydrocarbon-Based Well Treatment Fluids

Özden

Al-Muntasheri

et al. 2018

Day 2 Thu, February 08, 2018

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The introduction of water-based fracturing fluids to water-sensitive formations may cause formation damages and thereafter lower the production numbers. Due to the advantages such as low formation damage, good proppant suspending and carrying ability, good compatibility with water-sensitive formations, etc., the waterless, hydrocarbon-based fluids are routinely used in fracturing, sand control, coiled tubing cleanout, and other oilfield operations. To better generate fractures and place proppant, the phosphate esters-based gelled oil fluids have been preferred since they are more robust and cost-effective compared to other types of hydrocarbon-based fluids. Phosphate esters are commonly used with metal crosslinkers such as iron or aluminum compounds to form gelled oil fluids. Since phosphate esters may cause fouling in refinery equipment, the dosage should be reduced to the minimum but without compromising the fluid performance. A number of novel additives have been identified that could maintain or even enhance the rheological properties of the gelled hydrocarbon fluids with reduced usage of the phosphate esters. When doped with the novel functional nanomaterials, the rheological properties of the gelled hydrocarbon-based fluids were enhanced from room temperature to 250°F or above. The selected nanomaterials could have van der Waals-like forces, thus strengthening the three-dimensional network of the metal-crosslinked phosphate esters in the gelled hydrocarbon fluid. This way, the overall viscosity of the hydrocarbon-based fluid could increase with lower amount of phosphate esters. For example, the addition of 30ppt (pounds per thousand gallons) of additive-A synergistically improved the viscosity of the gelled oil fluid by about 73% compared to the baseline gelled fluid that did not contain the additive. With additive-A at 30ppt, the amount of the phosphate esters in the fluid could be reduced by 25% without affecting the fluid performance. Besides additive-A, other types of functional nanomaterials including additive-B, additive-C, and additive-D were all found to enhance the rheological properties of the gelled hydrocarbon fluids by as much as about 45%. The novel gelled hydrocarbon fluid formulas were successfully applied with the crude oil from the field, resulting in viscosity boosts up to about six times. Further discussions about the enhancing behaviors and mechanisms of the selected novel additives in the gelled hydrocarbon fluids and the laboratory test results will be presented in detail.

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Hydrocarbon Gels Of Alumino Alkyl Acid Orthophosphates

Cited by 5 publications

References 1 publication

Application of Hydrogels and Hydrocarbon-Based Gels in Oil Production Processes and Well Drilling

Application of Hydrogels and Hydrocarbon-Based Gels in Oil Production Processes and Well Drilling

Concepts in Cleanup of Fracturing Fluids Used in Conventional Reservoirs: A Literature Review

Nanomaterials-Enhanced Hydrocarbon-Based Well Treatment Fluids

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