Directions for Improving the Compositions of Reverse Emulsions for Well Plugging

Abstract

Well killing is the most common technological process in oil production. Inverse emulsions are used as an effective fluid in the combined killing method. At present, some potential possibilities of inverse emulsions have not been analyzed both in terms of improving their compositions and technological methods of practical implementation. The paper considers a number of promising research areas for obtaining, improving the compositions of inverted emulsions and the method of their application with injection into the bottomhole formation zone before filling the wellbore with mineralized water. Natural oils of co-emulsifiers - ethoxylated oil-soluble surfactants, and filtration reducers - technical lignosulfonates, starch, latex were proposed as constituent components of hydrocarbon media. Attention was focused on the need for experimental evaluation of the rate of settling of reverse emulsions along the wellbore in formation water and oil, obtaining and studying stable reverse emulsions using high-density salts of CaBr2, ZnBr2, ZnCl2, polyhydric alcohols.