Nano-sized particle-coated proppants for formation fines fixation in proppant packs

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9617463-B2
Application number	US-201313771634-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2013
Priority date	Oct 31, 2007
Publication date	Apr 11, 2017
Grant date	Apr 11, 2017

Abstract

A fracturing fluid, gravel pack fluid and/or frac pack fluid containing particles such as proppants, gravel and/.or sand, may contain an effective amount of a nano-sized particulate additive to fixate or reduce fines migration, where the particulate additive is an alkaline earth metal oxide, alkaline earth metal hydroxide, alkali metal oxides, alkali metal hydroxides transition metal oxides, transition metal hydroxides, post-transition metal oxides, post-transition metal hydroxides piezoelectric crystals and pyroelectric crystals. The nano-sized particulate additive is optionally bound to the particles with a coating agent such as an oil, alcohol, glycol, glycol ethers, ketones, terpenes, etc. The particle size of the magnesium oxide or other agent may be nanometer scale but may be a larger scale than nanometer but still relatively small, which scale may provide unique particle charges that help fixate the formation fines. The carrier fluid used in the treating fluid may be aqueous, brine, alcoholic or hydrocarbon-based.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aqueous treating fluid comprising:
an aqueous base fluid,
particles selected from the group consisting of sand, gravel, ceramic beads, glass beads, and combinations thereof;
formation fines, and
from about 20 to about 500 pptg (about 2.4 to about 60 kg/1000 liters) based on the aqueous brine base fluid of a particulate additive to reduce fines migration, and being selected from the group consisting of alkaline earth metal oxides, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, alkali metal oxides, alkali metal hydroxides, transition metal oxides, transition metal hydroxides, post-transition metal oxides, post-transition metal hydroxides, piezoelectric crystals, pyroelectric crystals, and mixtures thereof; and being coated on the particles, where the particulate additive is configured to fixate fines to reduce fines migration by
the particulate additive having a mean particle size of 2000 nm or less and
where:
the alkaline earth metal is selected from the group consisting of magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium,
the alkali metal is selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, potassium,
the transition metal is selected from the group consisting of titanium and zinc,
the post-transition metal is aluminum, and
mixtures thereof.

2. The aqueous treating fluid of claim 1 further comprising a coating agent where the particulate additive is coated on the particles with the coating agent, where the coating agent is selected from the group consisting of water, brines, glycols, glycol ethers, alcohols, ketones, terpenes, aromatic compounds, oils and combinations thereof.

3. The aqueous treating fluid of claim 1 where the formation fines are more flocculated as compared with an identical fluid absent the particulate additive.

4. The aqueous treating fluid of claim 1 where the mean particle size of the additive is 100 nm or less.

5. Particulate additive coated particles comprising:
particles selected from the group consisting of sand, gravel, ceramic beads, glass beads, and combinations thereof;
particulate additives coated on the particles, and being selected from the group consisting of alkaline earth metal oxides, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, alkali metal oxides, alkali metal hydroxides, transition metal oxides, transition metal hydroxides, post-transition metal oxides, post-transition metal hydroxides, piezoelectric crystals, pyroelectric crystals, and mixtures thereof, where the particulate additives are configured to fixate fines to reduce fines migration by
the particulate additive having a mean particle size of 2000 nm or less, and
where:
the alkaline earth metal is selected from the group consisting of magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium,
the alkali metal is selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, potassium,
the transition metal is selected from the group consisting of titanium and zinc, and
the post-transition metal is aluminum, and mixtures thereof.

6. The particulate additive coated particles of claim 5 further comprising a coating agent at least partially coating the particles, where the coating agent is selected from the group consisting of water, brines, glycols, glycol ethers, alcohols, ketones, terpenes, aromatic compounds, oils and combinations thereof.

7. The particulate additive coated particles of claim 5 where the mean particle size of the additive is 100 nm or less.

8. An aqueous treating fluid comprising:
an aqueous base fluid,
particles selected from the group consisting of sand, gravel, ceramic beads, glass beads, and combinations thereof;
formation fines, and
from about 20 to about 500 pptg (about 2.4 to about 60 kg/1000 liters) based on the aqueous brine base fluid of a particulate additive to reduce fines migration, and being selected from the group consisting of alkaline earth metal oxides, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, alkali metal oxides, alkali metal hydroxides, transition metal oxides, transition metal hydroxides, piezoelectric crystals, pyroelectric crystals, and mixtures thereof; and being coated on the particles, where the particulate additive has
a mean particle size of 100 nm or less,
where:
the alkaline earth metal is selected from the group consisting of magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium,
the alkali metal is selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, potassium,
the transition metal is selected from the group consisting of titanium and zinc, and
mixtures thereof; and

where the particulate additive is coated on the particles with a coating agent, where the coating agent is selected from the group consisting of water, brines, glycols, glycol ethers, alcohols, ketones, terpenes, aromatic compounds, oils and combinations thereof,
to fixate fines to reduce fines migration.

9. The aqueous treating fluid of claim 8 where the formation fines are more flocculated as compared with an identical fluid absent the particulate additive.

Assignees

• Baker Hughes Inc

Inventors

• Huang Tianping
• Crews James B
• Willingham John R
• Pace James R
• Belcher Christopher K

Classifications

• C09K8/572

  containing inorganic compounds · CPC title

• C09K8/68

  containing organic compounds · CPC title

• C09K8/516 Primary

  characterised by their form or by the form of their components, e.g. encapsulated material · CPC title

• C09K8/665

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

• C09K8/805

  Coated proppants · CPC title