A robust viscoelastic surfactant tolerating 20% HCl up to 150℃ for oil well stimulation

Viscoelastic surfactants(VES)are often used as viscous diverters in acidizing stimulation to prolong the acid consumption time and maximize zonal coverage of the acid for improving well productivity.However,the ceiling temperature of commercial VES cannot exceed 120℃in practical use because of the poor thermal stability and fragile molecular structure,hindering their implementation in hightemperature oil reservoirs,i.e.,≥150℃.Here we synthesized a novel C22-tailed diamine,N-erucaminopropyl-N,N-dimethylamine(EDPA),and examined comparatively its rheological behavior,assemblies morphology and molecular stability in 20 wt%HCl with a commercial VES,erucyl dimethyl amidopropyl betaine(EDAB).The feasibility of EDPA for acidizing stimulation was assessed by acid etching of carbonate rock with its HCl solution at 150℃.Rheological results showed that the 2.5 wt%EDPA—20 wt%HCl solution maintains stable viscosity of 90 m Pa s at 150℃for 60 min,while that of 2.0 wt%EDAB HCl solution is just 1 m Pa s under identical conditions.1H NMR spectra and cryo-TEM observations revealed that the chemical structure and self-assembled architectures of EDPA remained intact in such context,but the EDAB suffered from degradation due to the hydrolysis of the amide group,accounting for the poor heat-resistance and acid-tolerance.The reaction rate of 2.5 wt%EDPA HCl solution with carbonate rock was one order of magnitude lower than that of 20 wt%HCl solution at 150℃,underpinning the potential of EDPA to be used in the high-temperature reservoirs acidizing.This work improved the thermal tolerance of VES in highly concentrated HCl solution,paving a feasible way for the acidization of high-temperature reservoir environments(~150℃).

A critical review of self-diverting acid treatments applied to carbonate oil and gas reservoirs

Carbonate reservoirs generally achieved relatively low primary resource recovery rates.It is therefore often necessary to clean those reservoirs up and/or stimulate them post drilling and later in their production life.A common and basic carbonate reservoir cleanup technique to remove contaminating material from the wellbore is acidizing.The efficiency of acid treatments is determined by many factors,including:the type and quantity of the acid used;the number of repeated treatments performed,heterogeneity of the reservoir,water cut of the reservoir fluids,and presence of idle zones and interlayers.Post-treatment production performance of such reservoirs frequently does not meet design expectations.There is therefore much scope to improve acidizing technologies and treatment designs to make them more reliable and effective.This review considers acid treatment technologies applied to carbonate reservoirs at the laboratory scale and in field-scale applications.The range of acid treatment techniques commonly applied are compared.Differences between specific acid treatments,such as foamed acids,acid emulsions,gelled and thickened acid systems,targeted acid treatments,and acid hydraulic fracturing are described in terms of the positive and negative influences they have on carbonate oil production rates and recovery.Opportunities to improve acid treatment techniques are identified,particularly those involving the deployment of nanoparticles(NPs).Due consideration is also given to the potential environmental impacts associated with carbonate reservoir acid treatment.Recommendations are made regarding the future research required to overcome the remaining challenges pertaining to acid treatment applications.