Water control agent for oilfield application

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10815414-B2
Application number	US-201615575397-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 19, 2016
Priority date	May 20, 2015
Publication date	Oct 27, 2020
Grant date	Oct 27, 2020

Abstract

Methods for treating subterranean wells involve treating fluids that contain water and a plurality of water dispersible nanoparticles. The nanoparticles may be nanocellulose, rod-like nanoparticles, nanotubes or halloysite or combinations thereof. The water dispersible nanoparticles form one or more aggregates that plug formation pores and may control fluid flow into the formation as well as fluid flow from the formation into a wellbore.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for treating a subterranean well having one or more permeable formations, comprising:
preparing a treatment fluid that comprises nanoparticles suspended in a polyacrylamide gel;
placing the treatment fluid in the subterranean formation such that the nanoparticles form one or more aggregates that plug formation pores and block further fluid flow in the formation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles comprise nanocellulose, rod-like nanoparticles, nanotubes, or halloysite or combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the nanocellulose comprises nanocrystalline cellulose, microfibrillated cellulose or bacterial cellulose or combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the rod-like nanoparticles comprise one or more metals, or one or more metal composites, or combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles have lengths between about 50 nm and 500 μm, and diameters between about 2 nm and 500 nm.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles are present in the treatment fluid at a concentration between about 0.1 wt % and 5.0 wt %.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more permeable formations have fracturing pressures, and the treatment fluid is placed at a pressure that is lower than the fracturing pressures.

8. A method for controlling water production from a subterranean well having a wellbore and one or more permeable formations, comprising:
preparing a treatment fluid that comprises nanoparticles suspended in a polyacrylamide gel;
placing the treatment fluid in the one or more permeable formations such that the nanoparticles form one or more aggregates that plug formation pores and block water flow from the one or more permeable formations into the wellbore.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the nanoparticles comprise nanocellulose, rod-like nanoparticles, nanotubes, or halloysite or combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the nanocellulose comprises nanocrystalline cellulose, microfibrillated cellulose or bacterial cellulose or combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the rod-like nanoparticles comprise one or more metals, or one or more metal composites, or combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the nanoparticles have lengths between about 50 nm and 500 μm, and diameters between about 2 nm and 500 nm.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the nanoparticles are present in the treatment fluid at a concentration between about 0.1 wt % and 5.0 wt %.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more permeable formations have fracturing pressures, and the treatment fluid is placed at a pressure that is lower than the fracturing pressures.

15. A method for providing enhanced oil recovery, comprising:
(i) preparing a treatment fluid that comprises nanoparticles suspended in a polyacrylamide gel;
(ii) placing the treatment fluid in an injection well having a wellbore and one or more formations whose permeabilities vary, such that the nanoparticles form one or more aggregates that plug pores in higher permeability regions of the one or more permeable formations, thereby inhibiting flow of a waterflooding fluid from the wellbore into the higher permeability regions of the one or more permeable formations;
(iii) pumping the waterflooding fluid into the injection well such that the waterflooding fluid flows toward one or more recovery wells, thereby displacing oil or gas or both in the one or more permeable formations; and
(iv) producing the oil or gas or both from the one or more recovery wells.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the nanoparticles comprise nanocellulose, rod-like nanoparticles, nanotubes, or halloysite or combinations thereof.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the nanocellulose comprises nanocrystalline cellulose, microfibrillated cellulose or bacterial cellulose or combinations thereof.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the rod-like nanoparticles comprise one or more metals, or one or more metal composites, or combinations thereof.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the nanoparticles have lengths between about 50 nm and 500 μm, and diameters between about 2 nm and 500 nm.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the one or more permeable formations have fracturing pressures, and the treatment fluid is placed at a pressure that is lower than the fracturing pressures.

Assignees

• Schlumberger Technology Corp

Inventors

• Panga Mohan Kanaka Raju
• Lafitte Valerie Gisele Helene
• Hutchins Richard Donald
• Enkababian Philippe

Classifications

• C09K8/58 Primary

  Compositions for enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons, i.e. for improving the mobility of the oil, e.g. displacing fluids · CPC title

• C09K8/92

  characterised by their form or by the form of their components, e.g. encapsulated material (C09K8/70 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C09K8/84

  Compositions based on water or polar solvents (C09K8/66, C09K8/82 take precedence) · CPC title

• B82Y99/00

  Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass · CPC title

• E21B43/20 Primary

  Displacing by water · CPC title