Breaker fluids and methods of use thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10214677-B2
Application number	US-201715400354-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2017
Priority date	Jan 7, 2016
Publication date	Feb 26, 2019
Grant date	Feb 26, 2019

Abstract

A method may include circulating a breaker fluid into a wellbore having a filtercake on the walls thereon, the filter cake including copolymer formed from at least one acrylamide monomer and at least one sulfonated anionic monomer, the breaker fluid comprising: a base fluid; and a mixture of hydrolysable esters of dicarboxylic acids.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A method of breaking a filtercake in a wellbore, comprising:
circulating a breaker fluid into the wellbore having a filtercake on the walls thereon, the filtercake including copolymer formed from at least one acrylamide monomer and at least one sulfonated anionic monomer, the breaker fluid comprising:
a base fluid; and
a mixture of hydrolysable esters of dicarboxylic acids comprising about 27-67 wt. % dimethyl glutarate, about 9-28 wt. % dimethyl succinate, and about 4-22 wt. % dimethyl adipate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acrylamide monomer is at least one selected from unsubstituted acrylamide, alkylacrylamides, N-methylol acrylamide, N-isopropyl acrylamide, diacetone-acrylamide, N-alkyl acrylamide, where alkyl is C 1 to C 14 , NN-dialkyl acrylamides, where alkyl is C 1 to C 14 , N-cycloalkane acrylamides.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sulfonated anionic monomer is selected from 2-acrylamide-2-methyl-propanesulfonic acid, vinyl sulfonate, and styrene sulfonic acid.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the copolymer is branched and contains covalent intermolecular crosslinking.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a solubility modifier selected from polyols, glycols, glycol ethers, or polyglycols.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixture further comprising at least one chelant.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the mixture comprises about 27-34 wt. % dimethyl glutarate, about 9-14 wt. % dimethyl succinate, and about 4-11 wt. % dimethyl adipate and further wherein the at least one chelant is present at about 5-20% by volume of the breaker fluid.

8. A method of performing a wellbore operation, comprising:
pumping a wellbore fluid into a wellbore through an earthen formation, the wellbore fluid comprising:
a base fluid; and
a crosslinked polymeric fluid loss control agent formed from at least an acrylamide monomer and a sulfonated anionic monomer having a percentage of crosslinking from 0.25% to 10%;

operating a drilling tool in the wellbore during the pumping;
circulating a breaker fluid into the wellbore having a filtercake on the walls thereon, the filtercake including the polymeric fluid loss control agent, the breaker fluid comprising:
a base fluid; and
a mixture of hydrolysable esters of dicarboxylic acids.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the wellbore fluid is pumped into the wellbore during the drilling through a reservoir section of the wellbore.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
initiating production of hydrocarbons from the reservoir.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the acrylamide monomer is at least one selected from unsubstituted acrylamide, alkylacrylamides, N-methylol acrylamide, N-isopropyl acrylamide, diacetone-acrylamide, N-alkyl acrylamide, where alkyl is C 1 to C 14 , N,N-dialkyl acrylamides, where alkyl is C 1 to C 14 , N-cycloalkane acrylamides.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the sulfonated anionic monomer is selected from 2-acrylamide-2-methyl-propanesulfonic acid, vinyl sulfonate, and styrene sulfonic acid.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the crosslinking of the fluid loss control agent is covalent intermolecular crosslinking, and further wherein the fluid loss control agent is a branched copolymer.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the fluid loss control agent has an extent of crosslinking that is selected so that the fluid loss control agent has a viscosity that is within a peak viscosity response of the viscosity response curve.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the peak viscosity response is defined as having an amount of crosslinker that correlates to the peak viscosity amount plus or minus the amount of crosslinker that correlates to up to 75% of the area under the viscosity response curve.

16. The method of claim 8 , wherein the wellbore fluid exhibits low end rheology that does not deviate by more than 30 percent under a temperature up to 300° F. when compared to low end rheology of the fluid at temperatures below about 250° F.

17. The method of claim 8 , wherein after aging the wellbore fluid for at least 5 days at a temperature of at least 300° F., the rheology of the wellbore fluid at 3 rpm, when tested at 120° F., is at least 5.

18. The method of claim 8 , further comprising a solubility modifier selected from polyols, glycols, glycol ethers, or polyglycols.

19. The method of claim 8 , wherein the breaker fluid further comprises formic acid or acetic acid.

Assignees

• Mi Llc

Inventors

• Panamarathupalayam Balakrishnan
• Alvarez Daniel
• Welton Thomas Donovan

Classifications

• C09K8/5083

  obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds · CPC title

• G01V3/34

  Transmitting data to recording or processing apparatus; Recording data · CPC title

• E21B37/08

  cleaning in situ of down-hole filters, screens, {e.g. casing perforations,} or gravel packs (E21B37/06 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C09K8/035

  Organic additives · CPC title

• C09K8/52 Primary

  Compositions for preventing, limiting or eliminating depositions, e.g. for cleaning · CPC title