Baker Hughes Corporation

Bj Services Company

William Russell Wood

James B Crews

Jeffrey Carl Dawson

Tianping Huang

Hoang Van Le

John Robert Willingham

Allen Dale Gabrysch

James H Treadway

Patrick Arthur Kelly

Harold Dean Brannon

Martin Paul Coronado

Windal Scott Bray

Joseph Earl Thompson, Sr

Marshall G Ault

George Tso-Chih Woo

Water soluble uncrosslinked polysaccharides may be fluid loss control agents for viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fluids used for stimulation (e.g. fracturing) or well completion in hydrocarbon recovery operations. The VES fluid may further include proppant or gravel, if it is intended for use as a fracturing fluid or a gravel packing fluid, although such uses do not require that the fluid contain proppant or gravel. The water soluble uncrosslinked polysaccharide fluid loss control agents may include, but not be limited to guar gum and derivatives thereof; cellulose and derivatives thereof; propylene glycol alginate; salts (e.g. sodium, potassium, and calcium salts) of iota, kappa, and lambda carrageenan; agar-agar; xanthan gum; and the like; and/or mixtures thereof. The fluid loss control agent may be added to the aqueous viscoelastic treating fluid prior to VES addition, and/or at the same time and/or after the VES is added.

Fluid loss control in viscoelastic surfactant fracturing fluids using water soluble polymers

Viscoelastic surfactant (VES) gelled aqueous fluids containing water, a VES, an internal breaker, a VES stabilizer, a fluid loss control agent and a viscosity enhancer are useful as treating fluids and particularly as fracturing fluids for subterranean formations. These VES-based fluids have faster and more complete clean-up than polymer-based fracturing fluids. The use of an internal breaker permits ready removal of the unique VES micelle based pseudo-filter cake with several advantages including reducing the typical VES loading and total fluid volume since more VES fluid stays within the fracture, generating a more optimum fracture geometry for enhanced reservoir productivity, and treating reservoirs with permeability above the present VES limit of approximately 400 md to at least 2000 md.

Methods and compositions for fracturing subterranean formations

Adding relatively low molecular weight water-soluble friction loss reduction polymers to an aqueous fluid gelled with a viscoelastic surfactant (VES) increases the critical generalized Reynold's number at which the Fanning friction factor increases and friction pressure starts to increase rapidly. The water-soluble polymeric friction loss reduction additives lower surface pumping pressure in VES-gelled fracturing fluids for a given pump rate, thus lowering hydraulic horsepower (HHP) requirements for pumping fluids downhole, e.g. for hydraulic fracturing or frac packing treatments of subterranean formations.

Friction loss reduction in viscoelastic surfactant fracturing fluids using low molecular weight water-soluble polymers

It has been discovered that sticking caused by proppants used in a frac pack or gravel pack operation during hydrocarbon recovery efforts can be mitigated by placing a proppant anti-sticking fluid in a downhole space, such as an annulus adjacent a tool system or service tool. An operation is conducted that involves passing a carrier fluid including a proppant through the tool system. The carrier fluid is gelled and optionally crosslinked. The proppant anti-sticking fluid is flushed through the tool system to break the gel, contact the proppant and substantially clear the proppant from the tool system. Finally, the tool system is removed from downhole. The proppant anti-sticking fluid includes a diluent, such as an aqueous fluid, a brine, or a non-aqueous fluid, and an effective amount of a gel-breaking component to break the gel, and may, but does not necessarily include a surface tension-reducing compound, such as a surfactant.

Mitigation of proppant sticking in removing downhole tools

Solid surfactant suspension compositions are formed by combining solid surfactants, such as alpha-olefin sulfonates, with an organic base fluid, such as diesel. Solid surfactant suspensions may be combined with an aqueous carrier fluid to form surfactant-containing fluids suitable for, among other things, forming foams or for water wetting surfaces. Solid surfactant suspensions may also be combined with additive materials, such as polymer particles, to form a dispersion or emulsion. Polymer-containing solid surfactant suspensions may also be combined with aqueous carrier fluids to form, for example, viscosified, gelled, or foamed fluids. Concentration of solid surfactant materials contained in a solid surfactant suspension may be varied to affect the function the solid surfactant suspension. For example, the solid surfactant material may function as a polymer surface wetting agent, an emulsifier, a dispersant, a viscosifier, and/or a foamer in well completion and remedial and/or workover fluids.

Surfactant compositions and uses therefor

A method is shown for fracturing a subterranean formation in which a hydratable polymer, crosslinking agent and breaker are combined in an aqueous carrier to form a gelled fracturing fluid. The breaker is comprised of a substantially insoluble oxidant which is granulated and formed into a pellet or prill with a suitable binder. The pellet so formed can also contain a chelating agent and an activator in order to enhance the rate of breaking. The substantially insoluble oxidant is selected from the group consisting of alkaline earth and zinc salts of peroxide, perphosphate, perborate, and percarbonate.

Controlled degradation of polysaccharides

An oil and gas well cementing composition and method is shown utilizing hydraulic cement, water and an additive having pendant phosphonate groups on a polymeric backbone. The additive provides improved fluid loss and settling characteristics while maintaining desirable viscosity and setting time characteristics. Pendant phosphonate groups are added to the polymer by adding about 0.2% to about 10.0% by weight phosphonic acid either during or after polymerization.

Cementing composition and method using phosphonated polymers to improve

A method for increasing the stability of water-based fracturing fluids is shown in which a base fracturing fluid is formulated by mixing together a hard mix water containing multivalent cations, a water soluble polymer and a cross-linking agent for the water soluble polymer. A water softener is added to the base fracturing fluid which hinders the ability of the multivalent cations present in the hard mix water to compete with the water soluble polymer for borate based cross-linking agent, thereby stabilizing the resulting fracturing fluid.

Method for increasing the stability of water-based fracturing fluids

A fluid loss and dispersant intensifier and method are shown for use in cementing oil and gas well bores. The intensifier includes an ethoxylate and a sulfonated dispersant type material. The intensifier package provides effective fluid loss control without adversely affecting the viscosity of the cement slurry.

Growing community of inventors

Spring, TX, United States of America

William Russell Wood