Water-Based Breaker Fluid for Invert Emulsion Filter Cake Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
The removal of invert emulsion filter cake from wellbores is challenging due to its strong adhesion to formation rocks and the environmental and economic concerns associated with oil-based drilling fluids, which can hinder hydrocarbon production and require complex clean-up processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a breaker fluid composed of an aqueous fluid, a water-soluble polar organic solvent, and a hydrolysable ester of a carboxylic acid is used to break the invert emulsion filter cake, allowing for efficient removal without damaging the formation, using a combination of hydrolysis and phase change to destabilize the emulsion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If oil-based drilling fluids are used to provide superior hole stability and lubrication, then drilling performance is improved, but environmental impact and disposal complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the drilling fluid from traditional oil-based to water-based formulations with specific polymer additives. This parameter change maintains the necessary rheological properties and hole stability while eliminating the environmental hazards associated with oil-based fluids, allowing for easier disposal and reduced environmental impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs water-based drilling fluids that can be more easily disposed of compared to oil-based fluids. The water-based formulation with specific polymer additives provides sufficient performance during drilling and can be abandoned or disposed of more readily, reducing the complexity of disposal operations and environmental cleanup requirements.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If water-based drilling fluids are used to reduce environmental impact, then disposal simplicity is improved, but hole stability and lubrication performance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite water-based drilling fluid formulation by combining water with specific polymer additives and other components. This composite formulation provides the necessary rheological properties, hole stability, and lubrication performance that were traditionally only achievable with oil-based fluids, while maintaining the disposal simplicity and environmental benefits of water-based systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the physical and chemical parameters of water-based drilling fluids by adding specific polymer additives and adjusting composition ratios. These parameter changes enable the water-based fluid to achieve the necessary viscosity, filtration control, and lubrication properties to maintain hole stability during drilling operations.
3Reliability
If filter cake is formed to prevent fluid loss to formation, then fluid loss control is improved, but filter cake removal difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates preliminary actions by including specific polymer additives and chemical agents in the drilling fluid formulation that are designed to break down or degrade the filter cake structure. These preliminary incorporated actions make the filter cake more susceptible to removal after drilling, reducing the complexity of subsequent cleanout operations while maintaining effective fluid loss control during drilling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes by incorporating chemical agents and polymer additives that alter the physical and chemical properties of the filter cake over time. These changes make the filter cake more vulnerable to breakdown and removal, reducing the complexity of cleanout operations while maintaining the necessary fluid loss control properties during the drilling operation.
4Quantity of substance
If polymeric additives are added to increase rheological properties, then fluid carrying capacity is improved, but fluid loss control worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using different polymer additives with specific functions in different regions or phases of the drilling fluid system. Some polymers are optimized for providing rheological properties and carrying capacity, while others are specifically designed for fluid loss control and filter cake management. This localized functional differentiation allows the system to achieve both high carrying capacity and effective fluid loss control simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite drilling fluid system by combining multiple polymeric additives with different functional properties. This composite formulation allows the fluid to exhibit both high rheological properties for carrying capacity and controlled fluid loss prevention, as the different polymers work synergistically to provide both functions without interfering with each other negatively.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively breaks and removes invert emulsion filter cakes, facilitating well clean-up and hydrocarbon production while minimizing environmental impact and operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
a hydrolysable ester of a carboxylic acid, wherein the hydrolysable ester is selected so that upon hydrolysis an organic acid is released and the invert emulsion of the filter cake breaks
Implementation Method 2
using a combination of hydrolysis and phase change to destabilize the emulsion
Data Source
AI summary
A method of cleaning a wellbore prior to the production of oil or gas is disclosed, wherein the wellbore has been drilled with an invert emulsion drilling mud that forms an invert emulsion filter cake. The method may include the steps of circulating a breaker fluid into the wellbore, where the breaker fluid includes an aqueous fluid, a water soluble polar organic solvent, a hydrolysable ester of a carboxylic acid, and a weighting age, and where the hydrolysable ester is selected so that upon hydrolysis an organic acid is released and the invert emulsion of the filter cake breaks.