Foamed fluid additive for underbalance drilling
AssigneeClearwater International, LLC
InventorsFrank Zamora, Sarkis Kakadjian
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of drilling or gas-lifting is disclosed where the methods including the use of a foaming agent and a gas, where the foaming agent is a keratin and the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid in the well is for a portion of the drilling or gas-lift operation less than an hyrdrostatic pressure of the formation being drilled or under production.
Claims22
A method for drilling comprising the steps of drilling an oil andior gas well with a drilling fluid including an effective amount of a foaming composition and an effective amount of a gas, where the foaming composition comprises at least one hydrolyzed keratin and the amounts are sufficient to reduce an hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid to a value at or below an hydrostatic pressure of the formation being drilled.
A method for drilling comprising the steps of drilling an oil and/or gas well with a drilling fluid while changing an effective amount of a foaming composition and an effective amount of a gas so that an hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid is maintained at a desired level at or below an hydrostatic pressure of the formation being drilled, where the foaming composition comprises at least one hydrolyzed keratin.
A method for drilling comprising the steps of drilling a first section of an oil and/or gas well with a drilling fluid, where an hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid is maintained at a desired level above an hydrostatic pressure of the formation being drilled, and
- drilling a second section of the well with a drilling fluid including an effective amount of a foaming composition and an effective amount of a gas so that an hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid is maintained at a desired level at or below an hydrostatic pressure of the formation being drilled, where the foaming composition comprises at least one hydrolyzed keratin.
A method for foaming a fluid comprising the steps of:
- inserting at least one capillary coiled tubing into a well borehole to a desired depth below a fluid level in the borehole and
- injecting an effective amount of a foaming composition and an effective amount of a gas into the fluid to produce a foam,
- where the foaming composition comprises at least one hydrolyzed keratin and where the effective amounts are sufficient to decrease a fluid column weight increasing well fluids flow out of the well.
A method comprising the steps of:
- injecting into a downhole fluid an aqueous solution comprising a first effective amount of a foaming composition and an effective amount of a gas to produce a foam;
- bringing the foam to a surface of the well;
- adding a defoaming agent to the foam at the surface to break the foam and produce a two phase system;
- separating production or organic fluids from the two phase system;
- and
- optionally adding a supplemental effective amount of the foaming composition to reform a foam, and
- repeating the injecting, bringing and adding steps,
- where the foaming composition comprises at least one at least one hydrolyzed keratin and where the effective amounts are sufficient to decrease a fluid column weight increasing well fluids flow out of the well.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.