Impact of Nitrogen Foamed Stimulation Fluids Stabilized by Nanoadditives on Reservoir Rocks of Hydrocarbon Deposits.

Klaudia Wilk,Piotr Kasza,Krzysztof Labus

doi:10.3390/nano9050766

Abstract

The first objective of this experiment was to improve the stabilization of N2 based foam with nanoparticles as an alternative to typical fracturing fluid, which consists of a gelling agent (HPG—hydroxypropyl guar). The second objective of the project was to investigate the damage caused by nanoparticle–based nitrogen foamed fracturing fluids (F.F) on a reference sandstone, using permeability and porosity tests, optical microscope with a Profilometer, and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The properties of F.F with two types of SiO2 nanoparticles (hydrophilic fumed silica Areosil 300 and silica sol U-2 obtained by the sol-gel method), such as rheology and core damage, were investigated. The discussion of this research results is based on the stability tests carried out with the use of rheology and the foam half-life, formation damage ratio, and observation of exposed samples using SEM and the Profilometer. The permeability and porosity damage ratios of the damaged core samples were found to decrease when nitrogen foamed fluids were used. These results were confirmed with the Profilometer and SEM images. The experimental data showed that the foam stability increased when silica (SiO2) nanoparticles were added. SiO2 nanoparticle-surfactant-stabilized foam for fracturing is superior to traditional water-based fracturing fluids and causes lower core permeability damage than a traditional F.F.

Highlights

One of problems facing the oil industry lies in achieving the production of maximum amounts of oil remaining in reservoirs after natural energy conditions have been used
Attention has been drawn to the possibility of the application of fluids energized with gases with the addition of nanoparticles, thereby reducing the water content in the injection fluid and increasing the stabilization of the process fluid during stimulation treatments [19,20,21,22,23]
It ensures good control of the fluid filtration to the rock matrix and to natural fractures during fracturing. Their application allows the amount of water necessary for treatments to be significantly reduced [16,30,31], limiting the possibility of clay minerals swelling in the deposit, causing reduced permeability [32,33]. In this case, when the fracturing fluids are water-based, so-called permeability damage can occur, caused by the swelling of clay minerals or the action of other physical and chemical mechanisms proceeding in the fractured formation [34]

Summary

Introduction

One of problems facing the oil industry lies in achieving the production of maximum amounts of oil remaining in reservoirs after natural energy conditions have been used. It ensures good control of the fluid filtration to the rock matrix and to natural fractures during fracturing Their application allows the amount of water necessary for treatments to be significantly reduced [16,30,31], limiting the possibility of clay minerals swelling in the deposit, causing reduced permeability [32,33]. In this case, when the fracturing fluids are water-based, so-called permeability damage can occur, caused by the swelling of clay minerals or the action of other physical and chemical mechanisms proceeding in the fractured formation [34]. This reduces the reservoir rocks’ permeability at the stage of drilling, hydraulic fracturing, production, and other reservoir operations, resulting in decreased reservoir productivity [35], which translates directly into economic effectiveness

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion