# US 11,028,312 B2 · Treating seawater for hydrocarbon production > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,028,312 B2 - Document ID: US11028312B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/657,644 - Filed: 2019-10-18 - Published: 2020-02-13 - Granted: 2021-06-08 - Earliest claimed: 2018-01-23 - Assignees: Saudi Arabian Oil Company - Applicants: Saudi Arabian Oil Company - Inventors: Leiming Li; Hejian Sun; Feng Liang; Mohammed A. Bataweel - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11028312B2 ## CPC - C09K 8/532: Sulfur - C09K 8/66: Compositions based on water or polar solvents (C09K8/64 takes precedence) - C09K 8/665: {containing inorganic compounds (proppants C09K8/80)} - E21B 43/26: by forming crevices or fractures - E21B 43/283: {in association with a fracturing process} - C09K 8/80: Compositions for reinforcing fractures, e.g. compositions of proppants used to keep the fractures open - C09K: MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE - E21B: EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS ## Abstract A system and method for hydraulic fracturing including mixing seawater with an additive to precipitate sulfate from the seawater and mixing a flocculating agent with the seawater to agglomerate the sulfate precipitates. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of hydraulic fracturing a geological formation, comprising: receiving seawater for the hydraulic fracturing, the seawater comprising a sulfate concentration of at least 3000 milligrams per liter (mg/L); mixing an additive with the seawater to precipitate sulfate in the seawater; mixing a flocculating agent with the seawater to agglomerate sulfate precipitate in the seawater; removing sulfate precipitate from the seawater to give treated seawater; and injecting fracturing fluid comprising the treated seawater through a wellbore into the geological formation to hydraulically fracture the geological formation. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising further adding the flocculating agent to the treated seawater. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising further adding the flocculating agent to the treated seawater to increase viscosity of the treated seawater, thereby increasing the viscosity of the treated seawater by adding the flocculating agent to the treated seawater. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising adding a viscoelastic surfactant (VES) and the flocculating agent to the treated seawater to increase viscosity of the treated seawater, wherein the viscosity of the treated seawater is greater with addition of the flocculating agent to the treated seawater than without addition of the flocculating agent to the treated seawater. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein receiving seawater comprises receiving the seawater at a well site comprising the wellbore, wherein mixing the additive with the seawater comprises mixing the additive with the seawater at the well site, and wherein the treated seawater comprises a sulfate concentration of less than 90 mg/L. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising further adding the flocculating agent to the treated seawater to increase viscosity of the treated seawater, wherein the flocculating agent increases the viscosity of the treated seawater, and wherein the treated seawater comprises a sulfate concentration less than 90 mg/L. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the flocculating agent increases viscosity of the treated seawater. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the seawater received does not comprise a scale inhibitor, wherein the additive comprises produced fluid from a well, wherein the additive comprises barium chloride (BaCl2), calcium chloride (CaCl2), barium chloride dihydrate (BaCl2.2H2O), or calcium chloride dihydrate (CaCl2.2H2O), or any combinations thereof, and wherein the sulfate precipitate comprises barium sulfate (BaSO4) or calcium sulfate (CaSO4), or a combination thereof. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the flocculating agent comprises viscosifier that increases viscosity of the treated seawater. ### Claim 10 A method of hydraulic fracturing a geological formation, comprising: forming a fracturing fluid from seawater, the seawater comprising a sulfate concentration of at least 3000 milligrams per liter (mg/L), and wherein the forming comprises: mixing the seawater with an additive to form a first mixture to precipitate sulfate from the seawater; mixing the first mixture with a flocculating agent to form a second mixture to agglomerate the sulfate precipitates; and separating the second mixture from sulfate precipitates; and delivering the fracturing fluid comprising the second mixture to a subterranean zone. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the forming further comprises dissolving a salt in the first mixture to increase potential of hydrogen (pH) of the first mixture to between 7 and 9, thereby increasing the pH of the first mixture to between 7 and 9 by dissolving the salt in the first mixture, wherein to precipitate sulfate comprises precipitating crystalline sulfates via the additive, wherein the additive comprises produced water, brine, or brackish water, or combinations thereof, and wherein the flocculating agent comprises a polymer, a copolymer, or aluminum sulfate hydrate (Al2(SO4)3.H2O), or any combinations thereof. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the flocculating agent increases viscosity of the treated seawater. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the seawater does not include a scale inhibitor, wherein the additive comprises a hydrate or a divalent cation, or a combination thereof, and wherein the hydrate is barium chloride dihydrate (BaCl2.2H2O) or calcium chloride dihydrate (CaCl2.2H2O), or a combination thereof. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, comprising further adding the flocculating agent to the second mixture to increase viscosity of the second mixture, thereby increasing viscosity of the second mixture by adding the flocculating agent to the second mixture. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, comprising further adding the flocculating agent to the second mixture. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the second mixture comprises a sulfate concentration less than 90 mg/L. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, comprising adding a viscoelastic surfactant (VES) to the second mixture to increase viscosity of the second mixture, wherein the VES increases the viscosity of the second mixture. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, comprising further adding the flocculating agent to the second mixture to further increase viscosity of the second mixture, wherein the flocculating agent increases the viscosity of the second mixture, wherein the viscosity of the second mixture with the VES and the flocculating agent is greater than the viscosity of the second mixture with the VES and without the flocculating agent. ### Claim 19 A hydraulic-fracturing system comprising: a seawater treatment system comprising a mixer to combine an additive with seawater to precipitate sulfate in the seawater and to combine a flocculating agent with the seawater to agglomerate sulfate precipitate, the seawater treatment system to separate sulfate precipitate from the seawater to give treated seawater and further to combine additional flocculating agent with the treated seawater; and a pump to inject fracturing fluid comprising the treated seawater through a wellbore into a geological formation to hydraulically fracture the geological formation. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The system of claim 19, wherein the seawater comprises untreated seawater, wherein the seawater comprises a sulfate concentration of at least 3000 milligrams per liter (mg/L), and wherein the additive comprises produced fluid from a well. ### Claim 21 (depends on 19) The system of claim 19, wherein the seawater does not comprise a scale inhibitor, and wherein the treated seawater comprises a sulfate concentration of less than 90 mg/L.