Methods of consolidating proppant and controlling fines in wells
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsPhilip D. Nguyen, Jim Weaver, Ray Loghry
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Improved methods of coating dry proppant particles with a hardenable resin composition, suspending the coated proppant particles in a fracturing fluid and consolidating the proppant particles after being placed in fractures into high strength permeable masses are provided. As the fractures are formed, a liquid hardenable resin component is mixed with a liquid hardening agent component to form a hardenable resin composition. The hardenable resin composition is coated onto dry proppant particles conveyed from a source thereof to form resin composition coated proppant particles, and the resin composition coated proppant particles are suspended in the fracturing fluid.
Claims41
A method of consolidating proppant and controlling fines in one or more fractures formed in a subterranean formation comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a liquid hardenable resin component comprised of a hardenable resin;
- (b) providing a liquid hardening agent component comprised of a hardening agent;
- (c) providing a source of dry proppant particles;
- (d) providing a gelled liquid fracturing fluid;
- (e) pumping said gelled liquid fracturing fluid into said subterranean formation to form said one or more fractures therein and to place proppant particles in said fractures;
- (f) mixing said liquid hardenable resin component with said liquid hardening agent component in amounts that form a liquid hardenable resin composition that remains tacky after hardening;
- (g) coating said liquid hardenable resin composition formed in step (f) onto said dry proppant particles conveyed from said source thereof to form hardenable resin composition coated proppant particles;
- (h) mixing said hardenable resin composition coated proppant particles produced in step (g) with said fracturing fluid pumped in accordance with step (e) whereby said hardenable resin composition coated proppant particles are suspended therein;
- (i) terminating steps (e), (f), (g) and (h) when said resin composition coated proppant particles have been placed in said one or more fractures;
- and
- (j) allowing said hardenable resin composition on said resin composition coated proppant particles to harden and weakly consolidate said proppant particles into one or more permeable proppant packs while remaining tacky so that fine solid formation particles carried to said permeable proppant packs by produced formation fluids stick to said permeable proppant packs.
A method of consolidating proppant and controlling fines in one or more fractures formed in a subterranean formation comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a liquid hardenable resin component comprised of a hardenable resin;
- (b) providing a liquid hardening agent component comprised of a hardening agent, a silane coupling agent, a hydrolyzable ester for breaking fracturing fluid films on said proppant particles, a surfactant for facilitating the coating of said resin on said proppant particles and for causing said hardenable resin to flow to the contact points between adjacent resin coated proppant particles and a liquid carrier fluid;
- and
- (c) providing a source of dry proppant particles;
- (d) providing a gelled liquid fracturing fluid;
- (e) pumping said gelled liquid fracturing fluid into said subterranean formation to form said one or more fractures therein and to place proppant particles in said fractures;
- (f) mixing said liquid hardenable resin component with said liquid hardening agent component in amounts that form a liquid hardenable resin composition that remains tacky after hardening;
- (g) coating said liquid hardenable resin composition formed in step (f) onto dry proppant particles conveyed from said source thereof to form hardenable resin composition coated proppant particles;
- (h) mixing said hardenable resin composition coated proppant particles produced in step (g) with said fracturing fluid pumped in accordance with step (e) whereby said resin composition coated proppant particles are suspended therein;
- (i) terminating steps (e), (f), (g) and (h) when said resin composition coated proppant particles have been placed in said one or more fractures;
- and
- (j) allowing said hardenable resin composition on said resin composition coated proppant particles to harden and weakly consolidate said proppant particles into one or more permeable proppant packs while remaining tacky so that fine solid formation particles carried to said permeable proppant packs by produced formation fluids stick to said permeable proppant packs.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.