Wellbore treatment compositions
AssigneeBP Corporation North America Inc.
InventorsPhilip S. Smith, Dale L. Handlin, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The disclosed compositions and methods utilize hydrophilic polymers modified by the incorporation of one or more hydrophilic side groups. The polymers may exhibit physical association in solution at a specific temperature so as to provide a significant increase in viscosity at the specific temperature. The viscosity of such systems is substantially increased by the further inclusion of one or more hydrophilic components that may exhibit physical association in solution at one or more temperature trigger points and also associate with the one or more hydrophilic polymers modified by the incorporation of one or more hydrophilic side groups.
Claims28
A wellbore treatment composition comprising:
- a hydrophilically modified polymer, wherein said hydrophilically modified polymer comprises a hydrophilic polymer backbone having one or more nonionic hydrophilic side chains;
- and
- a nonionic surfactant, wherein said nonionic surfactant exhibits a thermally triggered physical association with said hydrophilically modified polymer at a temperature trigger point.
A method of making a wellbore treatment composition comprising:
- a) providing a hydrophilic polysaccharide;
- b) mixing the hydrophilic polysaccharide with a hydrophilic monomer;
- and
- c) reacting the hydrophilic polysaccharide to the monomer to modify the hydrophilic polysaccharide with a plurality of hydrophilic side chains.
The method of making a wellbore treatment composition comprising:
- a) providing a hydrophilic polysaccharide;
- b) mixing the hydrophilic polysaccharide and a first hydrophilic monomer;
- and
- c) reacting the hydrophilic polysaccharide to the first monomer to modify the hydrophilic polysaccharide with a plurality of hydrophilic side chains and form an intermediate
- d) terminating the reaction in (c) and removing any unreacted hydrophilic monomer from the intermediate;
- and
- e) reacting a second hydrophilic monomer with the intermediate so as to modify the plurality of hydrophilic side chains and form hydrophilic block copolymeric side chains.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.