Viscoelastic surfactants and methods of making and using same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9315712-B2
Application number	US-41989309-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 7, 2009
Priority date	Apr 7, 2009
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

A method of servicing a wellbore comprising placing downhole a composition comprising a surfactant package comprising a cationic surfactant and anionic surfactant, wherein the surfactant package when contacted with an aqueous solution forms a viscosified composition in the presence of less than about 30 wt. % of a hydrotrope.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of servicing a wellbore comprising:
placing within the wellbore a composition comprising a surfactant package the surfactant package comprising a cationic surfactant and a non-hydrotropic anionic surfactant, wherein the non-hydrotropic anionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of sodium oleate, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sodium decanoate, sodium octyl sulfate, sodium caprylate, sodium stearate, sodium myristate, sodium laurate, sodium cetyl sulfate, sodium myristyl sulfate, sodium laurel sulfate, and sodium decyl sulfate,
pumping the composition down to a lost circulation zone within the wellbore,
contacting the composition with an aqueous solution in the lost circulation zone in the substantial absence of hydrotropes at an elevated temperature of from about 10° C. to about 200° C., wherein the substantial absence comprises a presence of less than about 0.1 wt. % of hydrotropes based on a total weight of the surfactant package, and
forming a viscosified composition in the lost circulation zone that substantially seals the lost circulation zone.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the cationic surfactant has a carbon chain length of from about 8 to about 24.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the cationic surfactant comprises quaternary ammonium salt, ethoxylated quaternary ammonium salts, amine oxides, or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the cationic surfactant comprises stearyltrimethylammonium chloride, cetyltrimethylammonium tosylate, octyltrimethylammonium chloride, erucyl bis-(hydroxyethyl)methylammonium chloride, erucyl trimethylammonium chloride cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, myristyltrimethylammonium chloride, myristyltrimethylammonium bromide, dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride, dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, decyltrimethylammonium chloride, decyltrimethylammonium bromide, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the cationic surfactant is present in the surfactant package in an amount of from about 0.01 wt. % to about 99.99 wt. % based on the total weight of the surfactant package.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the non-hydrotropic anionic surfactant has a carbon chain length of from about 8 to about 24.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the non-hydrotopic anionic surfactant is present in the surfactant package in an amount of from about 0.01 wt. % to about 99.99 wt. % based on the total weight of the surfactant package.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the surfactant package has a cationic surfactant:non-hydrotopic anionic surfactant ratio of from 1:100 to 100:1.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the surfactant package is contacted with the aqueous solution in an amount of from about 0.01 grams to about 20 grams per 80 grams of the aqueous solution.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the aqueous solution comprises water, brine, a wellbore servicing fluid, or a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the brine comprises ammonium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, zinc bromide, calcium chloride, calcium bromide, sodium bromide, potassium formate, sodium formate, cesium formate or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the wellbore servicing fluid comprises cement slurries, drilling fluids, spacer fluids, fracturing fluids, gravel pack fluids, workover fluids, completion fluids, or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the viscosified composition is solids free.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the viscosified composition has a viscosity of from about 0.001 Pa*s to about 100,000 Pa*s at the elevated temperature.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the viscosified composition has a zero shear viscosity of from about 0.001 Pa*s to about 100,000 Pa*s at the elevated temperature.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the viscosified composition has a complex viscosity of from about 10 Pa*s to about 10,000 Pa*s at a frequency range of from about 0.00001 Hz to about 1000 Hz.

17. The method of claim 9 wherein the viscosified composition has a storage modulus of from about 0.001 Pa to about 1,000 Pa at a frequency range of from about 0.00001 Hz to about 1000 Hz.

18. The method of claim 9 wherein the viscosified composition has a loss modulus of from about 0.001 Pa to about 1,000 Pa at a frequency range of from about 0.00001 Hz to about 1000 Hz.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising contacting the viscosified composition with a viscosity breaker.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the viscosity breaker comprises a hydrocarbon fluid, an internal breaker, or a combination thereof.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the viscosified composition comprises a solids free post perforation pill or a gravel pack fluid loss pill.

22. A method of servicing a wellbore comprising:
forming a composition comprising a surfactant package, the surfactant package comprising a cationic surfactant and an anionic surfactant, wherein the cationic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of stearyltrimethylammonium chloride, cetyltrimethylammonium tosylate, octyltrimethylammonium chloride, erucyl bis-(hydroxyethyl)methylammonium chloride, erucyl trimethylammonium chloride cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, myristyltrimethylammonium chloride, myristyltrimethylammonium bromide, dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride, dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, decyltrimethylammonium chloride, and decyltrimethylammonium bromide, and wherein the anionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of sodium oleate, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sodium decanoate, sodium octyl sulfate, sodium caprylate, sodium stearate, sodium myristate, sodium laurate, sodium cetyl sulfate, sodium myristyl sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium decyl sulfate,
placing the composition within the wellbore,
pumping the composition to a lost circulation zone within the wellbore,
contacting the composition with an aqueous solution in the lost circulation zone in the substantial absence of hydrotropes at an elevated temperature of from about 10° C. to about 200° C.,
wherein the substantial absence comprises a presence of less than about 0.1 wt. % of hydrotropes based on a total weight of the surfactant package, and
forming a viscosified composition in the lost circulation zone that substantially seals the lost circulation zone.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the cationic surfactant has a carbon chain length of from about 8 to about 24.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the anionic surfactant has a carbon chain length of from about 8 to about 24.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein the cationic surfactant is present in the surfactant package in an amount of from about 0.01 wt. % to about 99.99 wt. % based on the total weight of the surfactant package and wherein the anionic surfactant is present in the surfactant package in an amount of from about 0.01 wt. % to about 99.99 wt. % based on the total weight of the surfactant package.

Assignees

• Van Zanten Ryan
• Harrison Douglas J
• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Van Zanten Ryan
• Harrison Douglas J

Classifications

• C09K8/035 Primary

  Organic additives · CPC title

• C04B40/0039

  Premixtures of ingredients · CPC title

• C09K8/68

  containing organic compounds · CPC title

• C09K8/42

  Compositions for cementing, e.g. for cementing casings into boreholes; Compositions for plugging, e.g. for killing wells (compositions for plastering C09K8/50) · CPC title

• C09K2208/30

  Viscoelastic surfactants [VES] · CPC title