Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company

Other

Exxonmobil Technology and Engineering Company

Robert M Shirley

Pavlin B Entchev

Alan Anthony Galuska

William B Handy

Dragan Stojkovic

Charles S Yeh

Lee Jeremy Hall

Kendal K Decker

A proppant includes polyolefin-coke composite granules, and a hydrocarbon well uses such proppant. Methods employ the proppant in a hydrocarbon well. The hydrocarbon well includes a wellbore that extends within a subsurface region and a downhole tubular that extends within the wellbore and defines a tubular conduit. The hydrocarbon well also includes a number of perforations formed within the downhole tubular and a number of fractures formed within the subsurface region proximate to the perforations. The hydrocarbon well further includes the proppant positioned within at least a portion of the fractures. The proppant includes a number of polyolefin-coke composite granules, where a characteristic dimension of each polyolefin-coke composite granule is at least 50 micrometers (μm) and at most 3 millimeters (mm), and where each polyolefin-coke composite granule includes a number of polyolefin polymer chains and at least one petroleum coke granule.

Polyolefin-coke composite granules as a hydraulic fracturing proppant

A device for automatically launching hockey pucks includes a vertical holder, a throwing arm, a spring, and a base. The vertical holder is configured to hold a plurality of hockey pucks therein. The throwing arm is positioned underneath the vertical holder and configured to rotate. The spring is connected to the rotating throwing arm and configured to accelerate the rotation of the arm so as to launch a hockey puck of the plurality of hockey pucks off of the arm at a rate of 10-40 mph. The base is configured to support the vertical holder, the throwing arm, and the spring such that the hockey puck is launched substantially horizontally.

Auto feed hockey puck passing mechanism

Hydrocarbon wells including crosslinked polymer granules as a proppant, methods of forming the hydrocarbon wells, and methods of operating the hydrocarbon wells. The hydrocarbon wells include a wellbore that extends within a subsurface region and a downhole tubular that extends within the wellbore and defines a tubular conduit. The hydrocarbon wells also include a plurality of perforations formed within the downhole tubular and a plurality of fractures formed within the subsurface region. The hydrocarbon wells further include the proppant positioned within the plurality of fractures. The proppant includes a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules, and each crosslinked polymer granule has a characteristic dimension of at least 100 micrometers and at most 2 millimeters.

Granular crosslinked polyethylene as a hydraulic fracturing proppant

Hydrocarbon wells including crosslinked polymer granules as lost circulation material and methods of drilling the hydrocarbon wells. The hydrocarbon wells include a wellbore that extends within a subsurface region, a drilling rig, a drilling mud supply system, a lost circulation detection structure, and a lost circulation material supply system that includes a lost circulation material. The lost circulation material includes a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules, and a characteristic dimension of each crosslinked polymer granule is at least 20 micrometers and at most 1 millimeter. Each crosslinked polymer granule contains a highly crosslinked polymeric material that includes a plurality of polyethylene polymer chains. The methods include rotating a drill string to extend a length of a wellbore and, during the rotating, flowing a drilling mud stream. The methods also include detecting a lost circulation event and, responsive to the detecting, providing a lost circulation material to the wellbore.

Hydrocarbon wells including crosslinked polymer granules as lost circulation material and methods of drilling the hydrocarbon wells

Methods of manufacturing highly crosslinked polymer particulate. The methods include positioning a granular polymeric material within a crosslinking apparatus and crosslinking the granular polymeric material with the crosslinking apparatus to form a highly crosslinked polymeric material. The methods also include forming a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules from the highly crosslinked polymeric material.

Methods of manufacturing highly crosslinked polymer particulate

Hydrocarbon wells including crosslinked polymer granules in sand control structures and/or methods of completing the hydrocarbon wells. The hydrocarbon wells include a wellbore that extends within a subsurface region and a downhole tubular that extends within the wellbore, defines a tubular conduit, and includes a fluid-permeable segment. The hydrocarbon wells also include a sand control structure that is positioned within an annular space that extends between the wellbore and the fluid-permeable segment of the downhole tubular. The sand control structure is configured to restrict migration of formation sands from the subsurface region and into the tubular conduit via the fluid-permeable segment and includes a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules. The methods include positioning a downhole tubular within a wellbore and providing a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules to an annular space that extends between the wellbore and a fluid-permeable segment of the downhole tubular.

Growing community of inventors

The Woodlands, TX, United States of America

Robert M Shirley