Multicolor fluorescent silica nanoparticles as tracers for production and well monitoring

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10480313-B2
Application number	US-201715626389-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 19, 2017
Priority date	Jun 19, 2017
Publication date	Nov 19, 2019
Grant date	Nov 19, 2019

Abstract

A method of determining a property within a subterranean formation comprises introducing silica nanoparticles into a well; obtaining a sample of a fluid produced from the well; and analyzing the sample for presence of the silica nanoparticles, wherein the silica nanoparticles comprise a core, a donor chromophore, an acceptor chromophore, and an outer silica shell; the donor chromophore and the acceptor chromophore being selected such that an emission spectrum of the donor chromophore overlaps with an absorption spectrum of the acceptor chromophore.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of determining a property within a subterranean formation, the method comprising:
introducing silica nanoparticles into a well;
obtaining a sample of a fluid produced from the well; and
analyzing the sample for presence of the silica nanoparticles,
wherein the silica nanoparticles comprise a silica core, a donor chromophore, an acceptor chromophore, and an outer silica shell;
the donor chromophore and the acceptor chromophore being selected such that an emission spectrum of the donor chromophore overlaps with an absorption spectrum of the acceptor chromophore.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the silica core is doped with the donor chromophore via coating, adsorption, absorption, covalent bonding, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the silica nanoparticles further comprise an intermediate silica shell encapsulating the silica core and the donor chromophore.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the intermediate silica shell is doped with the acceptor chromophore via coating, adsorption, absorption, covalent bonding, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the donor chromophore is a fluorescent and the acceptor chromophore is a fluorescent or phosphorescent.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the outer silica shell is functionalized.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the silica nanoparticles are included in a fluid, and the method comprises injecting the fluid into the well.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid is injected into the well during a fracturing operation, a sand control operation, a flooding operation, an acidifying operation, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
introducing silica nanoparticles exhibiting a first optical property into a first zone of the well;
introducing silica nanoparticles exhibiting second optical property into a second zone of the well; and
analyzing the sample for presence of silica nanoparticles exhibiting the first optical property and the silica nanoparticles exhibiting the second optical property.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the donor chromophore is present in an amount of about 0.1 micro moles to about 10 milli moles, and the acceptor chromophore is present in an amount of about 0.001 micromoles to about 10 milli moles, each based on 1 gram of the silica core.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the donor chromophore is present in an amount of about 1 micro moles to about 10 milli moles, and the acceptor chromophore is present in an amount of about 0.01 micro moles to about 10 milli moles, each based on 1 gram of the silica core.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the donor chromophore comprises fluorescein isothiocyanate and the acceptor chromophore comprises tris(1,10-phenanathroline) ruthenium.

13. A method of fracturing multiple productive zones of a subterranean formation penetrated by a well, the method comprising:
injecting a fracturing fluid into the multiple production zones at a pressure sufficient to enlarge or create fractures in the multiple productive zones, wherein the fracturing fluid comprises silica nanoparticles;
recovering a fluid containing hydrocarbons from one or more of the multiple productive zones;
detecting the silica nanoparticles in the recovered fluid; and
identifying the zone from which the recovered fluid was produced or monitoring an amount of fluids produced from at least one of the multiple productive zones by identifying the silica nanoparticles in the recovered fluid,
wherein the silica nanoparticles comprise a silica core, a donor chromophore, an acceptor chromophore, and an outer silica shell;
the donor chromophore and the acceptor chromophore being selected such that an emission spectrum of the donor chromophore overlaps with an absorption spectrum of the acceptor chromophore.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising determining the presence of dispersed oil in produced water from the silica nanoparticles.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the silica nanoparticles injected into each of the multiple productive zones is qualitatively distinguishable, quantitatively distinguishable, or a combination thereof.

16. A method of enhancing the production of hydrocarbon from a production well penetration a hydrocarbon bearing formation, wherein one or more of the injection well are associated with the production well, the method comprising:
introducing into one or more of the injection wells a fluid comprising silica nanoparticles;
flowing at least a portion of the fluid comprising the silica nanoparticles from the injection well to the production well; and
recovering a production fluid from the production well,
wherein the silica nanoparticles comprise a silica core, a donor chromophore, an acceptor chromophore, and an outer silica shell;
the donor chromophore and the acceptor chromophore being selected such that an emission spectrum of the donor chromophore overlaps with an absorption spectrum of the acceptor chromophore.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the donor chromophore is a fluorescent and the acceptor chromophore is a fluorescent or phosphorescent.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the silica nanoparticles are functionalized.

19. A method of determining water breakthrough in a production well associated with one or more injection wells, the method comprising:
introducing a fluid comprising silica nanoparticles into an injection well;
flowing the fluid from the injection well into the production well;
producing a production fluid from the production well;
determining water breakthrough in the production well by qualitatively determining the presence or quantitatively measuring the amount of the silica nanoparticles in the production fluid,
wherein the silica nanoparticles comprise a silica core, a donor chromophore, an acceptor chromophore, and an outer silica shell;
the donor chromophore and the acceptor chromophore being selected such that an emission spectrum of the donor chromophore overlaps with an absorption spectrum of the acceptor chromophore.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising identifying, upon water breakthrough in the production well, the injection well into which the breakthrough water was injected by qualitatively determining the presence of silica nanoparticles in a fluid recovered from the production well.

21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising shutting off the identified injection well.

22. The method of claim 19 , wherein the donor chromophore is a fluorescent and the acceptor chromophore is a fluorescent or phosphorescent.

Assignees

• Murugesan Sankaran
• Suresh Radhika
• Kuznetsov Oleksandr
• Khabashesku Valery
• Darugar Qusai
• Baker Hughes A Ge Co Llc

Inventors

• Murugesan Sankaran
• Suresh Radhika
• Kuznetsov Oleksandr
• Khabashesku Valery
• Darugar Qusai

Classifications

• C09K8/035 Primary

  Organic additives · CPC title

• E21B47/11

  using tracers; using radioactivity · CPC title

• C09K8/665

  containing inorganic compounds (proppants C09K8/80) · CPC title

• C09K8/56

  Compositions for consolidating loose sand or the like around wells without excessively decreasing the permeability thereof (compositions for plastering borehole walls C09K8/50; {Soil-conditioning materials or soil-stabilising materials in general C09K17/00}) · CPC title

• C09K2208/10

  Nanoparticle-containing well treatment fluids · CPC title