Baker Hughes Corporation

Perry Douglas Baycroft

Elmer R Peterson

Christian F Bayne

James B Crews

Steve Rosenblatt

Benn A Voll

Allen Dale Gabrysch

Paul M McElfresh

Bobby E Hall

Robert D Morton

Todd Broome

Rudolphus Johannes Cornelis De Grood

An aqueous, viscoelastic fluid gelled with a viscoelastic surfactant (VES) is inhibited against hydrate formation with an effective amount of an additive that could be one or more halide salts of alkali metals and alkali earth metals, formate salts, alcohols, glycols, glycol amines, sugars, sugar alcohols, amidoamine oxides, polymers such as polyamines, polyvinylpyrrolidones and derivatives thereof, polyvinyl alcohols and derivatives thereof, polycaprolactams and derivatives thereof, hydroxyethylcellulose, and mixtures thereof. These fluids are inhibited against hydrate formation and may have increased viscosity as well. The additives may increase viscosity to the point where less VES is required to maintain a given viscosity. These inhibited, aqueous, viscoelastic fluids may be used as treatment fluids for subterranean hydrocarbon formations, such as in stimulation treatments, e.g. hydraulic fracturing fluids.

Additives for hydrate inhibition in fluids gelled with viscoelastic surfactants

Methods for reducing wear in pumping components during fracturing operations. A coated proppant is used that causes less wear on the pumping components as the proppant is pumped into the wellbore. The proppant coating consists of a substrate having a coating thereupon which eliminates sharp edges on the substrate and functions as a lubricant to materially reduce mechanical erosion of the pumping components. The proppant substrate may consist of any of a number of materials, including sand, ceramic, resin coated sand, or resin coated ceramic particle. The coating preferably comprises one or more layers of one or more of the following materials (or the coating having low friction coefficients is part of a mixture of the coating): antimony trioxide, bismuth, boric acid, calcium barium fluoride, copper, graphite, indium, fluoropolymers (FTFE), lead oxide, lead sulfide, molybdenum disulfide, niobium dielenide, polytetrafluoroethylene, silver, tin, or tungsten disulfideor zinc oxide. The coating material may be applied to the substrate in a number of ways known in the art.

Use of coated proppant to minimize abrasive erosion in high rate fracturing operations

Casing or other well tubulars that have failed are repaired in a manner that doesn't reduce the final inside diameter and doesn't further propagate the failure. The tubular needing repair is first expanded on at least one zone above and below the damaged area. This expansion in an undamaged area arrests failure propagation when the damaged area is then expanded. After the damaged area is expanded, the patch coupled preferably with exterior seals is positioned in the expanded zone of the damaged tubular and expanded. The procedure can also be accomplished in a single trip into the well.

Flush mounted tubular patch

A method is disclosed that allows for sequential treatment of two zones in a single trip while isolating the zones. A fluid loss valve prevents the column of fluid in the tubing from flowing into the lower formation until activated. Zone isolation is accomplished by manipulation of a port on a wash pipe attached to the crossover assembly.

Method for selectively treating two producing intervals in a single trip

A system for preferable use in gravel packing is disclosed which includes a plurality of transport tubes which are mounted outside of gravel pack screens. The multiplicity of shunt tubes cover a particular zone so that the tubes have a varying length to deposit gravel at different portions of the zone. The tops of the tubes are preferably sealed until ready for use and activated by applied pressure. In the preferred embodiment, rupture discs are found at the tops of each of the tubes, set for different pressures so as to open up the transport tubes to the lower most portion of a particular zone and later in sequence to the higher-most portion. The transport tubes are affixed to each section of pipe and are made up when two sections of pipe are made up to alignment marks. When the marks are aligned, the transport tube segments from each pipe section are in an aligned and sealed relation while the tool joint is properly torqued.

Downhole screen with tubular bypass

A completion assembly facilitates gravel-packing and fracturestimulation of closely spaced zones. The assembly includes a pair of spaced screens with a production packer in between. The production packer has a short bypass flowpath therethrough to allow fluids carrying the gravel to pass the production packer so that the upper and lower zones can be gravel-packed simultaneously, as well as fracture-stimulated simultaneously. Thereafter, the presence of the gravel in the bypass tube in the packer between the zones provides some limited isolation based on the permeability of the gravel found in the bypass passage and the pressure drop across that passage. Production then can follow from the lower zone, the upper zone, or both zones depending on the completion configuration.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Perry Douglas Baycroft