Internal Oil Flooding for Zero Outflow Well Flowback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current well flowback processes are costly and pose environmental and health risks due to the need for surface handling and flaring of flowback effluent, which includes hazardous materials like proppant and hydrocarbons, while also not efficiently managing reservoir fluid recovery.
Innovation Solution
The internal oil flooding technique directs flowback effluent into a separate underground disposal zone, using reservoir pressure, gravity, or artificial pressure to inject it deeper than the producing formation, eliminating surface outflow and flaring, and maintaining health, environment, and safety standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flowback effluent is handled using portable separators and smokeless flares at the surface, then health, environment and safety standards are upheld, but the cost of the operation is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the flowback effluent handling process from the surface level and relocates it to an underground disposal zone. By drilling a disposal well into a sealed formation below the target reservoir, the effluent is directly injected underground, eliminating the need for surface separators and flares, thereby reducing operational costs while maintaining safety and environmental standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a sealed underground formation as an intermediary disposal zone between the target reservoir and the environment. This sealed formation acts as a mediator that contains the flowback effluent, preventing it from reaching the surface and eliminating the need for surface handling equipment, thus reducing costs while ensuring environmental protection.
2Reliability
If proppant is separated out of flowback effluent during flowback operations, then production equipment is protected from damage, but the cost of such operations is typically high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary separation of proppant from flowback effluent by allowing it to settle in the disposal zone before injection. The effluent is directed to the disposal zone where proppant settles to the bottom, and only the clarified fluid is injected into the sealed formation. This preliminary action protects production equipment from proppant damage while reducing operational costs.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If flowback effluent is directed to an underground disposal zone, then surface outflow and flaring are eliminated, but the complexity of well completion operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the well system into two distinct parts: a target reservoir well for production and a disposal well for effluent disposal. The disposal well is drilled separately into a sealed formation below the target reservoir, creating a physically separated disposal zone. This segmentation eliminates surface outflow and flaring while managing the complexity through modular well design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the disposal operation from the horizontal surface dimension to the vertical subsurface dimension by drilling a disposal well into a sealed formation below the target reservoir. This dimensional change from surface-level handling to underground injection eliminates harmful surface emissions while managing operational complexity through vertical spatial separation.
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 method minimizes costs and environmental impact by containing flowback effluent underground, preventing hydrocarbon loss and ensuring safe disposal, while allowing for effective well cleanup and reservoir fluid recovery without compromising health and safety standards.
Implementation Method 1
using reservoir pressure, gravity, or artificial pressure to inject it deeper than the producing formation
Implementation Method 2
using reservoir pressure, gravity, or artificial pressure to inject it deeper than the producing formation
Data Source
AI summary
A method for recovering reservoir fluids from a target reservoir through a well includes analyzing formation properties of the target reservoir and of formation layers surrounding the target reservoir. A disposal zone is then selected within the target reservoir or the formation layers surrounding the target reservoir that is segregated from the reservoir fluids in the target reservoir. A well completion operation accesses the reservoir fluids in the target reservoir and directs flowback effluent from the well completion operation to the disposal zone using internal oil flooding equipment.