Development of a sulfonic gemini zwitterionic viscoelastic surfactant with high salt tolerance for seawater-based clean fracturing fluid

Self-Assembled Viscoelastic Surfactant Micelles with pH-Responsive Behavior: A New Fracturing-Displacement Integrated Working Fluid for Unconventional Reservoirs

The integrated fracturing and oil recovery strategy is a new paradigm for achieving sustainable and cost-effective development of unconventional reservoirs. However, a single type of working fluid cannot simultaneously meet the different needs of fracturing and oil displacement processes. Here, we develop a pH-responsive fracturing-displacement integrated working fluid based on the self-assembled micelles of N,N-dimethyl oleoamine propylamine (DOAPA) and succinic acid (SA). By adjusting the pH of the working fluid, the DOAPA and SA molecules can be switched repeatedly between highly viscoelastic wormlike micelles and aqueous low-viscosity spherical micelles. The zero-shear viscosity of the working fluid enriched the wormlike micelles can reach more than 93,100 mPa·s, showing excellent viscoelasticity and sand-carrying properties. The working fluid is easy to gel-break when it encounters oil, generating a low-viscosity liquid without residue. In addition, the system has strong interfacial activity, which can greatly reduce the oil-water interfacial tension to form emulsions and can achieve reversible demulsification and re-emulsification by adjusting pH. Through the designed and fabricated microfluidic chip, it can be visualized that under the synergistic effect of viscoelasticity and interfacial activity DOAPA/SA can effectively expand the swept volume of tight fractured formations, promote pore wetting reversal and crude oil emulsification, and improve the displacement efficiency. The DOAPA/SA meets the design requirements of the fracturing-displacement integrated working fluids and provides a novel method and idea for constructing the integrated working fluids suitable for fracturing and displacement in unconventional reservoirs.

Experimental Investigation of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Based on Pseudo Gemini Surfactant with Polysaccharide Addition

In the last decade, hydrogels for hydraulic fracturing based on viscoelastic surfactants have been actively studied. Interest in these systems is justified by their unique qualities: good viscoelasticity and the ability to form stable suspensions of proppant or sand, destruction without the formation of bridging agents, hydrophobization of the rock surface and metal of technological equipment, as well as oil-cleaning properties. These qualities are most often provided by a minimum set of components-a surfactant and an electrolyte. However, the absence of a polymer limits the use of these gels in formations where fluid leakoff is possible. In this article, a liquid was studied, based on a pseudo gemini surfactant (PGVES) with the addition of a water-soluble polysaccharide. The objects of study were selected based on the assumption of interactions between PGVES and the polymer; interactions which favorably influence the technological characteristics of the fracturing fluid. To confirm the hypothesis, rheological studies were carried out. These included rotational viscometry and oscillatory studies at various temperatures. The settling velocity of particles of various proppant fractions was studied and tests were carried out to assess fluid leakoff. The performed experiments show an improvement in the characteristics of the PGVES-based gel under the influence of the polysaccharide. In particular, the rheological properties increase significantly, the stability of proppant suspensions improves, and the fluid leakoff of systems decreases, all of which expands the possibility of using these fracturing fluids and makes this area of experimentation promising.

Seawater-Based Fracturing Fluid: A Review

Hydraulic fracturing uses a large amount of fresh water for its operation; conventional wells can consume up to 200 000 gallons of water, while unconventional wells could consume up to 16 million gallons. However, the world's fresh water supply is rapidly depleting, making this a critical and growing problem. Freshwater shortages during large-scale hydraulic fracturing in regions that lack water, such as the Arabian Peninsula and offshore operations, need to be addressed. One of the ways to address this problem is to substitute fresh water with seawater, which is a sustainable, cheap, and technically sufficient fluid that can be utilized as a fracturing fluid. However, its high salinity caused by the multitude of ions in it could induce several problems, such as scaling and precipitation. This, in turn, could potentially affect the viscosity and rheology of the fluid. There are a variety of additives that can be used to lessen the effects of the various ions found in seawater. This review explains the mechanisms of different additives (e.g., polymers, surfactants, chelating agents, cross-linkers, scale inhibitors, gel stabilizers, and foams), how they interact with seawater, and the related implications in order to address the above challenges and develop a sustainable and compatible seawater-based fracturing fluid. This review also describes several previous technologies and works that have treated seawater in order to produce a fluid that is stable at higher temperatures, that has a considerably reduced scaling propensity, and that has utilized a stable polymer network to efficiently carry proppant downhole. In addition, some of these previous works included field testing to evaluate the performance of the seawater-based fracturing fluid.

Performance Evaluation and Formation Mechanism of Viscoelastic Surfactant Fracturing Fluids with Moderate Interfacial Activity Enhanced by Janus-SiO2 Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit great potential to improve various properties of viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fracturing fluids in the development of low-permeability reservoirs. In the present study, the amphiphilic Janus NPs (JANPs) were fabricated via the Pickering emulsion method and employed to construct the novel JA12C (JANPs with dodecyl hydrophobic carbon chains)-assisted VES fracturing fluid (JAVES). The successful fabrication of JANPs was confirmed via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements and water contact angle tests. The rheology behavior of the VES fracturing fluid incorporating various SiO2 NPs including hydrophilic SiO2 NPs (HLNPs), JA8C (JANPs with octyl hydrophobic carbon chains), and JA12C was systematically investigated. It was revealed that the additional JA12C significantly improved the tolerance and proppant suspension properties. To explore the subsequent oil recovery performance of various gel breaking liquids, the formation wettability and the oil-water interfacial tension (IFT) were studied after the evaluation of breaking properties and formation damage properties of various fracturing fluids. The results suggested that the JAVES gel breaking liquid showed remarkable wettability alternation capability and moderate oil-water IFT reduction ability, which can partially reduce the impact on reservoir permeability. Moreover, the formation mechanism of the JAVES was proposed by molecular dynamics simulations at the molecular level, which was further visually verified via the cryo-TEM images. The improved viscoelasticity of developed the JAVES with moderate interfacial activity is advantageous to enhance subsequent oil recovery.

Application of Hydrogels and Hydrocarbon-Based Gels in Oil Production Processes and Well Drilling

The use of gels in oil production processes has become a regular practice in oilfield operations and is constantly developing in all oil-producing countries of the world, as evidenced by the growth of publications and patent activity on this topic. Many oil production processes, such as hydraulic fracturing, conformance control, water, and gas shutoff, cannot be imagined without the use of gel technologies. Inorganic, organic, and hybrid gels are used, as well as foams, gel-forming, and gel-dispersed systems. The possibility of a broad control of structural and mechanical properties, thermal stability, and shear resistance by introducing microscale and nanoscale additives made hydrogels and hydrocarbon-based gels indispensable tools for oil engineers.

Experimental Study on a Liquid-Solid Phase-Change Autogenous Proppant Fracturing Fluid System

In this paper, a liquid-solid phase-change autogenous proppant fracturing fluid system (LSPCAP) was proposed to solve the problems that was caused by "sand-carrying" in conventional fracturing technology in oil and gas fields. The characteristic of the new fluid system is that no solid particles will be injected in the whole process of fracturing construction except liquids. The fluid itself will transform into solid particles under the formation temperature to resist the closure stress in the fractures. There are two kinds of liquids that make up the new fracturing fluid system. One of the liquids is called phase-change liquid (PCL) which occurs in the liquid-solid phase change under the formation temperature to form solid particles. Another is called nonphase-change liquid (NPCL) which controls the dispersity and size of PCL in the two-phase fluid system. Based on the molecular interaction theory and organic chemistry, bisphenol-A epoxy resin was selected as the building unit of the PCL, and the NPCL consisted of deionized water + nonionic surfactant. The test results indicated that the new fracturing fluid shows the properties of non-Newtonian fluid and has no wall-building property. The new fluid system has good compatibility with the formation fluid, conventional fracturing fluid, and hydrochloric acid. Through the filtration test, the filtration coefficients of PCL, NPCL, and mixture are found to be 1.56 × 10^-4 m/s^1/2, 2.66 × 10^-4 m/s^1/2, and 1.7 × 10^-4 m/s^1/2, respectively, and the damage rate of mixture and NPCL is 18 and 17.7%. The friction test results show that the resistance reduction rate reaches 69% when the volume ratio of PCL and NPCL is 1:10. The shear rate and time only affect the size of the autogenous solid particles, and the sorting coefficient (S) of the particles is 1.04-1.73, indicating good sorting. Crushing resistance and conductivity test results show that the crush rate of autogenous solid particles is 3.56-8.42%. The conductivity of the autogenous solid particles is better than those of quartz sand and ceramsite under a pressure of 10-30 MPa.

Development of the Gemini Gel-Forming Surfactant with Ultra-High Temperature Resistance to 200 °C

In order to broaden the application of clean fracturing fluid in ultra-high temperature reservoirs, a surfactant gel for high-temperature-resistant clean fracturing fluid was developed with a gemini cationic surfactant as the main agent in this work. As the fracturing fluid, the rheological property, temperature resistance, gel-breaking property, filtration property, shear recovery performance and core damage property of surfactant gel were systematically studied and evaluated. Results showed the viscosity of the system remained at 25.2 mPa·s for 60 min under a shear rate of 170 s⁻¹ at 200 °C. The observed core permeability damage rate was only 6.23%, indicating low formation damage after fracturing. Due to micelle self-assembly properties in surfactant gel, the fluid has remarkable shear self-repairability. The filtration and core damage experimental results meet the national industry standard for fracturing fluids. The gel system had simple formulation and excellent properties, which was expected to enrich the application of clean fracturing fluid in ultra-high temperature reservoirs.

Development of CO2-Sensitive Viscoelastic Fracturing Fluid for Low Permeability Reservoirs: A Review

There are economic and technical challenges to overcome when increasing resource recovery from low permeability reservoirs. For such reservoirs, the hydraulic fracturing plan with the development of clean and less expensive fracturing fluid plays a vital aspect in meeting the energy supply chain. Numerous recent published studies have indicated that research on worm-like micelles (WLMs) based on viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fluid has progressed substantially. This study looks at the development of CO2-sensitive viscoelastic fracturing fluid (CO2-SVFF), its applications, benefits, limitations, and drawbacks of conventional fracturing fluids. The switchable viscoelasticity of CO2-SVFF system signifies how reusing of this fluid is attained. Compared to conventional surfactants, the CO2-SVFF system can be switched to high viscosity (to fracture formation and transporting proppants) and low viscosity (easy removal after causing fracture). The effect of pH, conductivity, temperature, and rheological behaviors of CO2-SVFFs are also highlighted. Further, the aid of Gemini surfactants and nanoparticles (NPs) with low concentrations in CO2-SVFF can improve viscoelasticity and extended stability to withstand high shear rates and temperatures during the fracturing process. These studies provide insight into future knowledge that might lead to a more environmentally friendly and successful CO2-SVFFs in low-permeability reservoirs. Despite the increased application of CO2-SVFFs, there are still several challenges (i.e., formation with high-temperature range, pressure, and salinity).

Performance Evaluation and Mechanism Study of Seawater-Based Circulatory Fracturing Fluid Based on pH-Regulated WormLike Micelles

In this article, a novel salt-resistant pH-sensitive surfactant N-carboxystearamido methanesulfonic acid (MSA) was designed and synthesized. The rheological properties of the MSA/CTAB mixed system prepared using seawater were evaluated, and the variation laws of the related rheological parameters were discussed. The relevant fracturing technical parameters of the MSA/CTAB mixed system were comprehensively evaluated. The wormlike micelles formed by the non-covalent binding of MSA and CTAB molecules can resist the electrostatic effect of inorganic salts in the seawater. Meanwhile, the MSA/CTAB mixed system has an excellent pH response and revealed that the change from wormlike micelles to spherical micelles leads to the decrease of the apparent viscosity and the transition from Maxwell fluid to Newton-type fluid. Furthermore, the MSA/CTAB mixed system has excellent cyclic fracturing performance, which can meet the dual requirements of fracturing fluid cost and performance of offshore oilfield, and has a good application prospect.

Gemini and Bicephalous Surfactants: A Review on Their Synthesis, Micelle Formation, and Uses

The use of surfactants in polymerization reactions is particularly important, mainly in emulsion polymerizations. Further, micelles from biocompatible surfactants find use in pharmaceutical dosage forms. This paper reviews recent developments in the synthesis of novel gemini and bicephalous surfactants, micelle formation, and their applications in polymer and nanoparticle synthesis, oil recovery, catalysis, corrosion, protein binding, and biomedical area, particularly in drug delivery.

Novel Trends in the Development of Surfactant-Based Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids: A Review

Viscoelastic surfactants (VES) are amphiphilic molecules which self-assemble into long polymer-like aggregates-wormlike micelles. Such micellar chains form an entangled network, imparting high viscosity and viscoelasticity to aqueous solutions. VES are currently attracting great attention as the main components of clean hydraulic fracturing fluids used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Fracturing fluids consist of proppant particles suspended in a viscoelastic medium. They are pumped into a wellbore under high pressure to create fractures, through which the oil can flow into the well. Polymer gels have been used most often for fracturing operations; however, VES solutions are advantageous as they usually require no breakers other than reservoir hydrocarbons to be cleaned from the well. Many attempts have recently been made to improve the viscoelastic properties, temperature, and salt resistance of VES fluids to make them a cost-effective alternative to polymer gels. This review aims at describing the novel concepts and advancements in the fundamental science of VES-based fracturing fluids reported in the last few years, which have not yet been widely industrially implemented, but are significant for prospective future applications. Recent achievements, reviewed in this paper, include the use of oligomeric surfactants, surfactant mixtures, hybrid nanoparticle/VES, or polymer/VES fluids. The advantages and limitations of the different VES fluids are discussed. The fundamental reasons for the different ways of improvement of VES performance for fracturing are described.

Synthesis and Characterization of Surfactant for Retarding Acid-Rock Reaction Rate in Acid Fracturing

Acid fracturing is an effective method to develop ultra-low permeability reservoirs. However, the fast reaction rate reduces the effect of the acid fracturing and increases the near-well collapse risk. Therefore, it is necessary to retard the acid–rock reaction rate. In this work, we synthesized an acid-resistant Gemini zwitterionic viscoelastic surfactant (named VES-c), which has good performances such as temperature resistance, salt resistance, and shear resistance. Besides, a low concentration of VES-c increases the viscosity of the acid solution. The CO₂ drainage method was used to measure the reaction rate between the dibasic acid and dolomite/broken core. We find that the dibasic acid containing 0.3% VES-c retards the dolomite reaction rate of 3.22 times compared with only dibasic acid. Furthermore, the dibasic acid containing 0.3% VES-c exhibits uniform distribution and is not easy to adhere to the solid surface. The VES-c also is favorable to reduce the formation of amorphous calcium carbonate. Retarding the rate of acid–rock reaction and enhancing the acidification are mainly attributed to VES-c's salt-tolerance, anti-adsorption, and the property of increasing the viscosity of the solution. Hopefully, this kind of surfactant retarding reaction rate is applied to other acid–rock reactions.

pH-responsive viscoelastic supramolecular viscosifiers based on dynamic complexation of zwitterionic octadecylamidopropyl betaine and triamine for hydraulic fracturing applications

Viscosity modifying agents are one of the most critical components of hydraulic fracturing fluids, ensuring the efficient transport and deposition of proppant into fissures. To improve the productivity index of hydraulic fracturing processes, better viscosifiers with a higher proppant carrying capacity and a lower potential of formation damage are needed. In this work, we report the development of a novel viscoelastic system relying on the complexation of zwitterionic octadecylamidopropyl betaine (OAPB) and diethylenetriamine (DTA) in water. At a concentration of 2 wt%, the zwitterionic complex fluid had a static viscosity of 9 to 200 poise, which could be reversibly adjusted by changing the suspension pH. The degree of pH-responsiveness ranged from 10 to 27 depending on the shear rate. At a given concentration and optimum pH value, the zwitterionic viscosifiers showed a two-orders-of-magnitude reduction in settling velocity of proppant compared to polyacrylamide solution (slickwater). By adjusting the pH between 4 and 8, the networked structure of the gel could be fully assembled and disassembled. The lack of macromolecular residues at the dissembled state can be beneficial for hydraulic fracturing application in avoiding the permeation damage issues encountered in polymer and linear-gel-based fracturing fluids. The reusability and the unnecessary permanent breakers are other important characteristics of these zwitterionic viscosifiers.

Viscosity modifying agents are one of the most critical components of hydraulic fracturing fluids, ensuring the efficient transport and deposition of proppant into fissures.

Synthesis and Evaluation of Zwitterionic Surfactants Bearing Benzene Ring in the Hydrophobic Tail

Surfactant tolerance in the presence of mono and divalent reservoir ions, as well as the solubility of surfactant in high salinity and low salinity brine, are the two major requirements for any surfactant that is subjected to oilfield application. Herein, six poly(ethylene oxide) zwitterionic surfactants having different ionic headgroups and hydrophobic tail were synthesized for oilfield applications. They were characterized by various instrumental techniques (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF-MS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)) and the combination of these techniques allowed for us to deduce the structure. All of the surfactants revealed prominent solubility in high salinity and low salinity brine due to the presence of ethoxy units between the aromatic ring and amide group. The surfactant samples were oven aged for 90 days at reservoir temperature and a clear solution implies their excellent aqueous stability. Rendering to thermal gravimetric results, decomposition of surfactants was found to occur around 300 °C, which is higher than the reservoir temperature (≥90 °C). It was observed that the hydrophilic headgroup has no significant impact on the critical micelle concentration and other surface properties. However, the hydrophobic tail bearing benzene ring significantly alters the critical micelle concentration and other surface properties.

Zwitterionic Cellulose Nanofibrils with High Salt Sensitivity and Tolerance

To improve the salt tolerance/sensitivity of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), zwitterionic cellulose nanofibrils (ZCNFs) were prepared from softwood bleached kraft pulp fibers via a sequential process of anionic modification with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylepiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation, cationic modification with (2,3-epoxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride (EPTMAC), and high-pressure homogenization. To produce ZCNFs with different contents of cation group, EPTMAC loadings of 0.15 to 1.15 g/g fiber were explored during cationization. The obtained ZCNFs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and rheological measurements. The salt tolerance of the ZCNFs was investigated by adding mixed salts into the ZCNF dispersions. The results demonstrated that the ZCNFs with both anionic and cationic charges were produced. Compared with the TEMPO-mediated oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNFs), the ZCNFs exhibited an excellent "salt-thickening" behavior under the studied salt concentrations (2-24% w/w). Moreover, increasing the content of the cation group increased the salt tolerance/sensitivity of ZCNFs. This work demonstrated that introducing cationic charges to the anionic charged TOCNFs imparts the produced ZCNFs with excellent salt sensitivity and tolerance, which could expand the application of nanocellulose in oil recovery or wastewater treatment.

Rheology of mixed solutions of sulfonated methyl esters and betaine in relation to the growth of giant micelles and shampoo applications

This is a review article on the rheological properties of mixed solutions of sulfonated methyl esters (SME) and cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB), which are related to the synergistic growth of giant micelles. Effects of additives, such as fatty alcohols, cocamide monoethanolamine (CMEA) and salt, which are expected to boost the growth of wormlike micelles, are studied. We report and systematize the most significant observed effects with an emphasis on the interpretation at molecular level and understanding the rheological behavior of these systems. The experiments show that the mixing of SME and CAPB produces a significant rise of viscosity, which is greater than in the mixed solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate and CAPB. The addition of fatty alcohols, CMEA and cationic polymer, leads to broadening of the synergistic peak in viscosity without any pronounced effect on its height. The addition of NaCl leads to a typical salt curve with high maximum, but in the presence of dodecanol this maximum is much lower. At lower salt concentrations, the fatty alcohol acts as a thickener, whereas at higher salt concentrations - as a thinning agent. Depending on the shape of the frequency dependences of the measured storage and loss moduli, G' and G", the investigated micellar solutions behave as systems of standard or nonstandard rheological behavior. The systems with standard behavior obey the Maxwell viscoelastic model (at least) up to the crossover point (G' = G") and can be analyzed in terms of the Cates reptation-reaction model. The systems with nonstandard rheological behavior obey the Maxwell model only in a restricted domain below the crossover frequency; they can be analyzed in the framework of an augmented version of the Maxwell model. The methodology for data analysis and interpretation could be applied to any other viscoelastic micellar system.

Application of a Zwitterionic Hydrophobic Associating Polymer with High Salt and Heat Tolerance in Brine-Based Fracturing Fluid

ZID₁₆PM, a zwitterionic hydrophobic associating polymer, has equivalent positive and negative charges and some hydrophobic monomers with twin-tailed long hydrophobic chains. It exhibits a great heat resistance and salt tolerance to the common salt in formation brine (MgCl₂, CaCl₂, NaCl, and KCl), which is attributed to its anti-polyelectrolyte effect and strong association force. High-salinity water (seawater or formation water) can be prepared as a fracturing fluid directly. In this paper, the formation water of the West Sichuan Gas Field is directly prepared into fracturing fluid with a concentration of 0.3% ZID₁₆PM (Fluid-1), and the seawater of the Gulf of Mexico is directly prepared into fracturing fluid with a concentration of 0.3% ZID₁₆PM (Fluid-2). Finally, rheological measurements, proppant suspension tests, and core matrix permeability damage rate tests for the Fluid-1 and Fluid-2 are conducted. Results show that after 120 min of shearing at 140 and 160 °C, respectively, the viscosity of Fluid-1 remains in the range of 50–85 mPa·s, and the viscosity of Fluid-2 remains in the range of 60–95 mPa·s. And the wastewater produced by an oilfield in Shaanxi, Xinjiang, and Jiangsu are also prepared into fracturing fluids with a concentration of 0.3% ZID₁₆PM, the viscosity of these fracturing fluids can remain 32, 42, and 45 mPa·s, respectively, after 120 min of shearing at 160 °C. All results demonstrate that the polymer ZID₁₆PM displays prominent performance in fracturing fluids.

Preparation of a Novel Fracturing Fluid System with Excellent Elasticity and Low Friction

The quaternary polymer was synthesized by radical polymerization and characterized by 1H NMR. The tests of critical associating concentration and SEM suggest that there is a multilayered and robust network structure in the polymer solution. An excellent elasticity in the polymer solution by the first normal stress difference, viscoelasticity, and thixotropy was observed. The critical crosslinker concentration of polymer with sodium dodecyl sulfate and its interaction mechanism were investigated. According to the reaction kinetics, the supramolecular structure had the lowest activation energy, stable network structure, and greater thermal stability. Then the polymer was employed in the fracturing fluid due to its excellent elasticity using the intermolecular forces, which showed superior sand suspension capacity by dynamic sand suspension measurement. Meanwhile, a theoretical analysis was proposed as to why polymer solution has excellent suspension and drag reduction properties. Therefore, this polymer could be an alternative in many fields, especially in fracking, which is significant for the development of oil and gas resources in deep wells.