Method of hydraulic fracturing utilizing a hydraulic fracturing fluid with a single phase liquid proppant

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12351758-B2
Application number	US-202418415045-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 17, 2024
Priority date	Oct 25, 2018
Publication date	Jul 8, 2025
Grant date	Jul 8, 2025

Abstract

A hydraulic fracture fluid is provided. The fluid can include a liquid solvent, one or more surfactants, a proppant-forming compound, and one or more curing agents. The liquid reacts to form proppant in-situ under downhole conditions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of hydraulic fracturing, comprising:
formulating a hydraulic fracturing fluid comprising:
a liquid solvent;
at least one surfactant;
a liquid phase proppant-forming compound, wherein the liquid phase proppant-forming compound is selected from the group consisting of aliphatic epoxides, anhydrides, glycidyl amine epoxide, cycloaliphatic epoxides, epoxy functional resins, polyurethane resins, phenol-formaldehyde resin, bis-phenol A diglycidyl ether, poly glycidyl ethers, acrylic resin, glycidyl ethers, bis-phenol F diglycidyl ethernovalac resins, and combinations thereof;
at least one curing agent; and

injecting the hydraulic fracturing fluid into a wellbore;
generating a product of agglomerated individual solid beads from the hydraulic fracturing fluid in-situ under down hole conditions, wherein a ratio of an alkoxylate based surfactant and an ethoxylated isotridecanol based surfactant is changed to adjust a Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance and a coalescence rate of the agglomerated individual solid beads; and
forming pillars from the product of agglomerated individual solid beads in a two-dimensional structure capable of maintaining conductive fractures in a downhole environment.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid solvent is selected from the group consisting of water, seawater, brine containing monovalent, divalent, and multivalent salts, ethanol, propanol, butanol, or combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants and combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pillars formed from the product of agglomerated individual solid beads further comprises channels with high fracture conductivity than proppant clusters.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the curing agent is selected from the group consisting of isophorone diamine, boron tri-fluoride derivatives, imidazolines, mercaptans, hydrazides, polyamides, functional resins, mono ethanol amine, benzyl dimethylamine, Lewis acids, tertiary amines, cycloaliphatic amines, amidoamines, aliphatic amines, aromatic amines, isophorone, imidazoles, sulfide, amides and their derivatives.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
a pH control agent selected from the group consisting of mineral acids, fluoroboric acid, sulfonic acids, carboxylic acids and combinations thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
a viscosity modifier selected from the group consisting of nanoparticles and water-soluble polymers.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
a strength enhancing additive selected from the group consisting of silicon particles, graphene particles, carbon black, ceramic particles, and combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid solvent is from 30 wt. % to 65 wt. %.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one surfactant is from 2.2 wt. % to 10 wt. %.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid phase proppant-forming compound is from 17 wt. % to 31 wt. %.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the curing agent is from 13 wt. % to 31 wt. %.

Assignees

• Cnpc Usa Corp
• Beijing Huamei Inc
• China Nat Petroleum Corp

Inventors

• Lin Lijun
• Huang Jiangshui
• Bai Litao
• Yu Stephanie
• Liu Fuchen
• Yin Congbin
• Gong Wei

Classifications

• C09K8/68

  containing organic compounds · CPC title

• C09K8/665

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

• E21B43/267 Primary

  reinforcing fractures by propping · CPC title

• C09K2208/10

  Nanoparticle-containing well treatment fluids · CPC title

• C09K8/80 Primary

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