Method for the use of nitrates and nitrate reducing bacteria in hydraulic fracturing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9683433-B2
Application number	US-201514755186-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2015
Priority date	Sep 21, 2010
Publication date	Jun 20, 2017
Grant date	Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

A slick water fracturing fluid including a brine, an inorganic nitrate, a nitrogen reducing bacteria, a scale inhibitor selected from the group consisting of a polyacrylate polymer, a polyacrylate copolymer, a polyacrylate terpolymer, and mixtures thereof, and a friction reducer, wherein the friction reducer is a polyacrylamide.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
providing a fracturing fluid comprising a brine and an inorganic nitrate;
injecting the fracturing fluid into the subterranean formation; and
allowing the inorganic nitrate to increase the growth rate of nitrogen-reducing bacteria in the formation so as to inhibit the growth rate of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the formation.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the fracturing fluid further comprises a nitrogen reducing bacteria.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the fracturing fluid further comprises a scale inhibitor.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the scale inhibitor comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of: a polyacrylate polymer, a polyacrylate copolymer, a polyacrylate terpolymer, and any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the fracturing fluid further comprises a friction reducer.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the friction reducer comprises a polyacrylamide.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the fracturing fluid further comprises a molybdate or molybdate salt.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein no effective amount of a biocide is introduced into the subterranean formation.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the fracturing fluid comprises a gel.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the subterranean formation comprises a low permeability subterranean formation.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the nitrogen reducing bacteria is selected from the group consisting of: Campylobacter sp. Nitrobacter sp., Nitrosomonas sp., Thiomicrospira sp., Sulfurospirillum sp., Thauera sp., Paracoccus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Rhodobacter sp., Desulfovibrio sp., and any mixture thereof.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein nitrogen reducing bacteria is selected from the group consisting of: Nitrobacter vulgaris, Nitrosomonas europea, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Paracoccus denitrificans, Sulfurospirillum deleyianum, Rhodobacter sphaeroides , and any mixture thereof.

Assignees

• Multi Chem Group Llc

Inventors

• Durham Danny K
• Harless Michael L

Classifications

• C09K8/68 Primary

  containing organic compounds · CPC title

• E21B43/26 Primary

  by forming crevices or fractures · CPC title

• E21B43/16

  Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons · CPC title

• C09K2208/28

  Friction or drag reducing additives · CPC title

• C09K8/62 Primary

  Compositions for forming crevices or fractures · CPC title