High temperature high pressure induced mineralization for sealing application
AssigneesCNPC USA Corporation, Beijing Huamei, Inc., China National Petroleium Corporation
InventorsLei Zhao, Jiaxiang Ren, Timothy Ryan Dunne, Yu Liu, Kwami Roberts, Peng Cheng
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Abstract
The patent application discloses an in-situ swellable composition suitable for use in subterranean wells. The swellable packer may comprise a swellable sealing element and a geopolymer. The swellable sealing element may comprise a metal, metal alloy, or a combination thereof. The swellable metal sealing element may be configured to react with a brine to form a metal hydroxide reaction product which forms a permanent seal with an adjacent surface.
Claims13
An in-situ swellable downhole tool useable for isolating sections of a wellbore, comprising:
- a cylindrical body having a backup piece at least at one end of the cylindrical body;
- and
- a tube extends through the cylindrical body and the backup piece;
- wherein the cylindrical body is made of a swellable material expandable vertical to the tube to form an in-situ packer at downhole, wherein the swellable material comprises a composite material comprising a metal selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, and their alloys, and an oxide comprising at least one of silicon oxide, Na2Si2O3, Al2SiO5, and Al2O3;
- and
- wherein the composite material is configured to react with water to form a metal hydroxide reaction product that mineralizes in situ to form a recrystallized seal at downhole conditions.
A method for forming a seal in a wellbore comprising:
- providing a cylindrical body having a backup piece, wherein the cylindrical body comprises a swellable metal sealing element having a first volume;
- wherein the cylindrical body is disposed on a conduit in the wellbore, and wherein the swellable metal sealing element comprises a composite material comprising a metal selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, and their alloys, and a reactive oxide selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide, Na2Si2O3, Al2SiO5, Al2O3, and combinations thereof,
- exposing the swellable metal sealing element to water to irreversibly react the swellable metal sealing element with the water to produce a metal hydroxide reaction product having a second volume greater than the first volume, and wherein the metal hydroxide reaction product further reacts with the reactive oxide to form a mineralized recrystallized product under high temperature high pressure downhole conditions, and contacting a surface adjacent to the swellable metal sealing element with the metal the mineralized recrystallized product to form a seal to form a seal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.