Smart Gel Sealants for Well Systems
AssigneesChevron U.S.A. Inc., Los Alamos National Laboratory, LC/IP
InventorsHarvey E. GOODMAN, Robert Clifford ROBACK, Robert D. GILBERTSON, Hakim BOUKHALFA, Scott W. IMBUS
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Abstract
Embodiments of the disclosure include swellable smart gel sealants. In certain embodiments, the smart gel sealants reversibly swell when exposed to a certain trigger, such as temperature or pH. In specific embodiments, the smart gel is disposed within voids in a well and triggered to swell in order to seal the voids. One application of the smart gel sealant is to seal the casing of a well against the leakage of gas, such as CO2.
Claims26
1-27. (canceled)
A method for sealing a void in a well comprising:
- injecting into the well a triggerable gel composition having an untriggered size and comprising a polymer, where the polymer comprises an inert monomer, a practical monomer, and less than 1.5% by weight of a cross-linker, wherein when the triggerable gel composition is exposed to CO2, the triggerable gel composition swells to at least ten times the untriggered size.
A method comprising:
- monitoring a well for a gas leak;
- upon detecting the gas leak, injecting into the well a triggerable gel composition having an untriggered size and comprising a polymer, where the polymer comprises an inert monomer, a practical monomer, and less than 1.5% by weight of a cross-linker, wherein when the triggerable gel composition is exposed to a trigger, the triggerable gel composition swells to at least ten times the untriggered size.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.