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Treatment fluids and methods of use in subterranean formations

a technology of subterranean formations and treatment fluids, which is applied in the direction of thin material processing, drilling compositions, chemistry apparatus and processes, etc., can solve the problems of affecting the ability of aqueous-based cleanup fluid to clean the filter cake, affecting the ability of aqueous-based cleanup fluid to remove the filter cake, and often being much more difficult to remov

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-03-17
HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES INC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to improved methods and compositions for use in subterranean treatment operations. Specifically, the invention provides improved bridging agents comprising degradable materials, which can be used in treatment fluids to reduce fluid loss and filter cake degradation. The technical effects of the invention include improved well bore drilling, reduced fluid loss, and improved wellbore cleanup.

Problems solved by technology

The removal of filter cakes established by oil-based treatment fluids, however, is often much more difficult.
However, attempts to remove the filter cake with an aqueous-based cleanup fluid generally have been unsuccessful, due at least in part to the fact that oil and water are immiscible, which may impair the aqueous-based cleanup fluid's ability to clean the filter cake off the well bore walls.
This method has been problematic, however, because such calcium carbonate bridging agents are generally well-mixed within the filter cake.
These conventional methods have been costly, laborious to perform, and generally have not produced the desired results, largely because the filter cake is not cleaned evenly-rather, the cleanup methods described above generally only achieve “pinpricks” in the filter cake itself.
These pinpricks may be problematic because the well bore is typically under hydrostatic pressure from the column of treatment fluid, which may be lost through these pinpricks where the filter cake has been penetrated.
Thus, any fluid that subsequently is placed within the well bore may be lost into the formation, as such fluid may follow the path of least resistance, possibly through the pinpricks.

Method used

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  • Treatment fluids and methods of use in subterranean formations
  • Treatment fluids and methods of use in subterranean formations
  • Treatment fluids and methods of use in subterranean formations

Examples

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example 1

[0045] A sample drilling fluid was prepared by adding 80 pounds of calcium carbonate to a barrel of a nonaqueous-based fluid commercially available under the trade name “ACCOLADE,” from Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., of Houston, Tex. The sample drilling fluid was tested using a Model 90B dynamic filtration system that is commercially available from Fann Instruments, Inc., of Houston, Tex. The. sample drilling fluid was circulated through a hollow cylindrical core within the Model 90B, at 100 psi differential pressure and agitated at a setting of 100 sec-1. Filtrate was permitted to leak outwards through the core, thereby building a filter cake on the inside of the core over a time period of 4.5 hours. Next, the sample drilling fluid was displaced from the core and replaced with a conventional breaker solution comprising from 1% to 3% acetic acid by weight. In one test run, the conventional breaker solution comprised 1% acetic acid; in another test run, the conventional breaker s...

example 2

[0047] A white, solid, degradable composite material of the present invention comprising npolylactic acid and sodium acetate trihydrate was placed in a test cell at 250° F. and covered in mineral oil. The material was maintained at 250° F. for about 24 hours, during which time a yellow liquid layer of the degraded composite formed at the base of the cell. This example demonstrates, inter alia, that the degradable materials used in exemplary embodiments of the bridging agents of the present invention may be degraded by heat alone, apart from contact with any external degrading agent.

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Abstract

The present invention relates to subterranean treatment operations, and more particularly to improved bridging agents comprising a degradable material, improved subterranean treatment fluids comprising such improved bridging agents, and methods of using such improved subterranean treatment fluids in subterranean formations. An example of a method of the present invention is a method of drilling a well bore in a subterranean formation. Another example of a method of the present invention is a method of forming a self-degrading filter cake in a subterranean formation. Another example of a method of the present invention is a method of degrading a filter cake in a subterranean formation. An example of a composition of the present invention is a treatment fluid including a viscosifier, a fluid loss control additive, and a bridging agent comprising a degradable material. Another example of a composition of the present invention is a bridging agent comprising a degradable material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 664,126 entitled “Improved Subterranean Treatment Fluids and Methods of Treating Subterranean Formations,” filed Sep. 17, 2003, incorporated by reference herein for all purposes, and from which priority is claimed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to subterranean treatment operations, and more particularly, to improved bridging agents comprising a degradable material, to improved subterranean treatment fluids comprising such improved bridging agents, and to methods of using such improved subterranean treatment fluids in subterranean formations. [0003] A subterranean treatment fluid used in connection with a subterranean formation may be any number of fluids (gaseous or liquid) or mixtures of fluids and solids (e.g., solid suspensions, mixtures and emulsions of liquids, gases and solids) used in subt...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): C09K8/03C09K8/06C09K8/504C09K8/508C09K8/52
CPCC09K8/03C09K8/06C09K8/5045Y10T428/2982C09K8/52C09K2208/18C09K8/508
Inventor MUNOZ, TRINIDAD JR.EOFF, LARRY S.
Owner HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES INC
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