Venturi Wellbore Fluid Blending Reduces Pumping Power
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wellbore treatment fluids, particularly those using diesel as the continuous phase, require greater pumping power due to high viscosity, leading to friction losses and inefficiencies in delivering acids and other treatment fluids downhole.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a venturi system to create a treatment emulsion by dispersing treatment fluids, such as acids or surfactants, into a continuous fluid like water or diesel, reducing friction and enhancing delivery efficiency by forming droplets that contact the subterranean formation effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If diesel is used as the continuous phase to disperse acid, then exposure of acid to piping and fluid-handling hardware is limited, but pumping power requirements increase due to high viscosity and friction losses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of the continuous phase by using water or water-based fluids instead of diesel. This parameter change maintains acid dispersion capabilities while dramatically reducing viscosity and pumping power requirements, resolving the contradiction between protection and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces surfactants as intermediary substances that enable acid dispersion in water-based continuous phases. The surfactant acts as a mediator between the acid and water, providing the protective dispersion function previously only achievable with diesel, while avoiding diesel's high viscosity problems.
2Reliability
If diesel is used as the continuous phase, then acid dispersion is achieved, but friction losses increase due to relatively large viscosity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the viscosity parameter of the continuous phase by substituting diesel with water or water-based fluids. This parameter change reduces friction losses and energy consumption while maintaining effective acid dispersion through the use of surfactant-based dispersion mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Surfactants serve as intermediary substances that enable effective acid dispersion in low-viscosity water-based continuous phases. These intermediaries provide the necessary interfacial activity to achieve reliable dispersion without relying on the high viscosity and friction characteristics of diesel.
3Reliability
If treatment fluid is dispersed in diesel, then handling equipment exposure is reduced, but pumping efficiency decreases due to high viscosity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the viscosity and flow characteristics parameters of the continuous phase by using water-based fluids instead of diesel. This parameter change restores pumping efficiency and productivity while maintaining equipment protection through alternative dispersion mechanisms using surfactants.
Solution Approach 2:
Surfactants act as intermediary substances that enable treatment fluid dispersion in water-based continuous phases, providing the same equipment protection function as diesel but without the viscosity-related pumping efficiency problems. The surfactant intermediary allows efficient handling and delivery.
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 method reduces pumping power requirements and enhances the delivery of treatment fluids by creating a more efficient emulsion that minimizes interaction with handling equipment, improving hydrocarbon production and reducing energy costs.
Implementation Method 1
introducing a flow of a treatment fluid to a portion of the venturi having a reduced cross-sectional flow area such that droplets of the treatment fluid found in and dispersed into the continuous fluid form a treatment emulsion
Implementation Method 2
introducing a flow of a treatment fluid to a portion of the venturi having a reduced cross-sectional flow area such that droplets of the treatment fluid found in and dispersed into the continuous fluid form a treatment emulsion
Implementation Method 3
Greater pumping power is required due to the friction losses resulting from the relatively large viscosity of diesel as compared to that of water
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for delivering a treatment fluid to a wellbore by emulsifying the treatment fluid with a continuous fluid in a flowline. The treatment and continuous fluids are combined in a mixer that is separate from containers that retain the fluids. In an example where the mixer is a venturi, the continuous fluid flows into an inlet on an entrance end of the venturi, and the treatment fluid flows into an inlet that is at a flow restriction in the venturi. The continuous fluid experiences a localized decrease in pressure at the restriction, which is due to a localized increase in flow rate at the restriction. The pressure decrease induces the treatment fluid into the venturi, where the treatment fluid is dispersed into droplets within the continuous fluid, and that forms a treatment emulsion. The treatment fluid escapes from within the treatment emulsion when in the wellbore.