Triggerable Gel Sealant for Well Void Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Deep water subsalt oil and gas well operations face challenges in maintaining subsurface integrity due to high pressure conditions leading to gas leaks through microannuli, requiring effective methods to enhance, maintain, or repair well integrity efficiently and safely.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of triggerable swellable gel sealants, composed of inert and practical monomers with a cross-linker, that swell significantly upon exposure to specific triggers like CO2, H2S, pH, temperature, or other stimuli, to seal voids and mitigate gas leaks in well-heads and near wellbore regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional sealants are used to seal voids in wells, then sealing is achieved, but the sealants cannot provide effective sealing under high pressure conditions and cannot respond to gas leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The gel sealant transitions from a static sealing material to a dynamic system that responds to triggers. When CO2 or H2S gas leaks are detected, the gel swells to at least ten times its original size, actively expanding to seal voids and microannuli. This dynamic response enables the sealant to adapt to gas leak conditions and maintain effective sealing under high pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The gel sealant undergoes significant parameter changes upon trigger exposure, specifically swelling from its original volume to at least ten times that volume. This parameter change allows the sealant to effectively seal voids and microannuli in response to gas leaks, providing both sealing effectiveness and adaptability to changing well conditions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If triggerable gel sealants are injected into the well, then the sealants can respond to gas leaks by swelling, but the gel may not provide sufficient sealing strength under high pressure conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The gel sealant is formulated as a composite material containing inert monomers, practical monomers, and cross-linkers. This composite structure provides both the ability to respond to triggers (through the practical monomers) and sufficient sealing strength (through the cross-linking network). The cross-linkers create a three-dimensional network that maintains structural integrity under high pressure while allowing swelling response to triggers.
3Strength
If the gel composition contains cement particles, then the gel can provide structural support, but the gel cannot effectively seal microannuli and voids in the well system
Solution Approach 1:
The gel sealant formulation removes cement particles from the composition, focusing instead on using gel polymers with cross-linkers to provide both structural support and sealing capability. This extraction of cement allows the gel to effectively penetrate and seal microannuli and voids while maintaining structural integrity through its cross-linked polymer network.
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
The triggerable gel sealants effectively seal voids and microannuli, reducing gas leaks and maintaining well integrity by swelling up to ten times their original size, providing a reversible and pressure-resistant seal, thus enhancing the reliability and cost-effectiveness of well operations.
Implementation Method 1
when the triggerable gel composition is exposed to a trigger, the triggerable gel composition swells to at least ten times the size of the original polymer
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the disclosure include swellable smart gel sealants and methods of using smart gel sealants. In certain embodiments, the smart gel sealants reversibly swell when exposed to a certain trigger, such as temperature or pH. In specific embodiments, the smart gel is disposed within voids in a well and triggered to swell in order to seal the voids. One application of the smart gel sealant is to seal the casing of a well against the leakage of gas, such as H2S.