Omniphobic emulsions for mitigating gas condensate banking and methods of making and using same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10975292-B2
Application number	US-201916439096-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 12, 2019
Priority date	Jun 12, 2019
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

An omniphobic emulsion comprising an aqueous continuous phase having dispersed therein a plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets; wherein the non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets are characterized by a droplet size of less than about 100 micrometers (μm); wherein each of the plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets comprises a plurality of surfactant molecules and an omniphobic agent, wherein each surfactant molecule has a hydrophilic head portion and a hydrophobic tail portion; wherein each of the plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets comprises the plurality surfactant molecules having the hydrophilic head portions disposed into a droplet outer layer with the hydrophobic tail portions extending inward from the droplet outer layer toward the omniphobic agent; and wherein the droplet outer layer encloses the omniphobic agent.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An omniphobic emulsion comprising: an aqueous continuous phase having dispersed therein a plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets;
wherein the non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets are characterized by a droplet size of less than about 100 micrometers (μm);
wherein each of the plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets comprises a plurality of surfactant molecules and an omniphobic agent, wherein each surfactant molecule has a hydrophilic head portion and a hydrophobic tail portion;
wherein each of the plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets comprises the plurality surfactant molecules having the hydrophilic head portions disposed into a droplet outer layer with the hydrophobic tail portions extending inward from the droplet outer layer toward the omniphobic agent;
wherein the droplet outer layer encloses the omniphobic agent; and
wherein the omniphobic agent is selected from the group consisting of solvated silicon dioxide, an organo-siloxane, a fluoropolymer, a fluorinated compound, a tetrafluoroethylene/(perfluoroalkyl) vinyl ether copolymer, a perfluoroalkyl phosphate, a perfluoroalkyl ethyl methacrylate, a fluorinated hydrocarbon, a polyfluoroalkylethyl methacrylate/alkylmethacrylate copolymer, perfluoroalcohol phosphate, a perfluoroalcohol phosphate/polysiloxane mixture, a perfluoroalcohol phosphate/acrylate silicone copolymer mixture, a tetrafluoroethylene/hexafluoropropylene copolymer, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyxylylene, a fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsequioxane, an alkoxysilane, a chlorosilane, a fluorosilane, a perfluoroalkylsilane, a fluorosilane having an urethane linkage, a fluorosilane having its silicone part partially modified with fluorine or fluoride, a fluorosiloxane, a fluoroalkylsilane, a fluorosilazane, and combinations thereof.

2. The omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant comprises an alkanolamide surfactant, an alcohol, an alkoxylated alcohol, an ethoxylated alcohol, a fatty acid ethoxylated surfactant, an alkyl glycoside surfactant, an amine-oxide surfactant, an olefin sulfonate, a betaine, a branched alcohol, a polyol, a polyamine, an anionic surfactant, a cationic surfactant, an amphoteric surfactant, or combinations thereof.

3. The omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 , wherein the omniphobic emulsion is a foamed omniphobic emulsion comprising the aqueous continuous phase having dispersed therein the plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets and a plurality of discontinuous gas phase pores; wherein the foamed omniphobic emulsion is characterized by a porosity equal to or greater than about 5 vol. %, based on the total volume of the foamed omniphobic emulsion; wherein the discontinuous gas phase pores are characterized by a pore size that is greater than the droplet size; wherein at least a portion of the non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets are disposed at a gas-liquid interface between the aqueous continuous phase and the plurality of discontinuous gas phase pores, thereby forming a plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase shells; and wherein each of the plurality of non-aqueous discontinuous phase shells encloses a discontinuous gas phase pore.

4. The omniphobic emulsion of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of discontinuous gas phase pores comprise nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, propane, natural gas, or combinations thereof.

5. The omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 , wherein the non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets are characterized by a droplet size of from equal to or greater than about 1 μm to less than about 100 μm.

6. The omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 , wherein the non-aqueous discontinuous phase droplets are characterized by a droplet size of from equal to or greater than about 10 nanometers (nm) to less than about 1 μm.

7. The omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 , wherein the omniphobic agent is present in the omniphobic emulsion in an amount of from about 0.05 wt. % to about 10 wt. %, based on the total weight of the omniphobic emulsion; and wherein the surfactant is present in the omniphobic emulsion in an amount of from about 0.05 wt. % to about 10 wt. %, based on the total weight of the omniphobic emulsion.

8. The omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 , wherein the omniphobic agent is present in the omniphobic emulsion in an amount of from about 0.01 wt. % to about 3 wt. %, based on the total weight of the omniphobic emulsion; and wherein the surfactant is present in the omniphobic emulsion in an amount of from about 0.01 wt. % to about 3 wt. %, based on the total weight of the omniphobic emulsion.

9. A wellbore servicing fluid (WSF) comprising the omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 .

10. The wellbore servicing fluid of claim 9 , wherein the WSF is selected from the group consisting of a fracturing fluid, a pad fluid, a gravel packing fluid, a completion fluid, a stimulation fluid, a spacer fluid, a workover fluid, a drill-in fluid, and a drilling fluid.

11. A method of making the omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 comprising contacting an aqueous fluid, a surfactant and an omniphobic agent under a shear rate of from about 10 s −1 to about 50,000 s −1 to form the omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 .

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising contacting a foam precursor with the aqueous fluid, the surfactant, the omniphobic agent, or combinations thereof; wherein the foam precursor is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, propane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and combinations thereof; and wherein the omniphobic emulsion comprises an omniphobic emulsion foam.

13. A method of servicing a wellbore in a subterranean formation comprising contacting the omniphobic emulsion of claim 1 with a downhole surface to form a treated downhole surface.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the downhole surface comprises a wellbore surface, a wellbore equipment surface, a near-wellbore region surface, a subterranean formation surface, a subterranean formation pore surface, a fracture surface, a natural fracture surface, an induced fracture face surface, a proppant surface, or combinations thereof.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the subterranean formation excludes a fracture.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the subterranean formation comprises one or more fractures, and wherein the downhole surface comprises a fracture face surface.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the one or more fractures comprises a proppant, and wherein the downhole surface further comprises a proppant surface.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the proppant surface is contacted with the omniphobic emulsion (1) prior to placing a proppant comprising the proppant surface in the wellbore and/or subterranean formation, (2) during placing a proppant comprising the proppant surface in the wellbore and/or subterranean formation, (3) subsequent to placing a proppant comprising the proppant surface in the wellbore and/or subterranean formation, or combinations of (1)-(3).

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein the treated downhole surface provides for preventing and/or reducing the formation of a condensate bank in the wellbore and/or subterranean formation.

20. The method of claim 13 , wherein the wellbore and/or subterranean formation comprise a condensate bank, wherein the condensate bank decreases a fluid conductivity of the wellbore and/or subterranean formation, and wherein the treated downhole surface provides for removing of at least a portion of the condensate bank from the wellbore and/or

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc
• Halliburton Energy Sendees Inc

Inventors

• Nguyen Philip D
• Khamatnurova Tatyana V

Classifications

• C09K8/602 Primary

  containing surfactants · CPC title

• C09K8/40

  Spacer compositions, e.g. compositions used to separate well-drilling from cementing masses · CPC title

• C09K8/703 Primary

  Foams · CPC title

• C09K8/80

  Compositions for reinforcing fractures, e.g. compositions of proppants used to keep the fractures open · CPC title

• C09K8/94

  Foams · CPC title