Comprehensive evaluation of chemical breakers for multistage network ultra-high strength gel

Polymer gels have been accepted as a useful tool to address many sealing operations such as drilling and completion,well stimulation,wellbore integrity,water and gas shutoff,etc.Previously,we developed an ultra-high strength gel(USGel)for medium to ultra-low temperature reservoirs.However,the removal of USGel is a difficult problem for most temporary plugging operations.This paper first provides new insights into the mechanism of USGel,where multistage network structure and physical entanglement are the main reasons for USGel possessing ultra-high strength.Then the effects of acid breakers,encapsulated breakers,and oxidation breakers(including H_(2)O_(2),Na_(2)S_(2)O_(8),Ca(ClO)_(2),H_(2)O_(2)+NaOH,Na_(2)S_(2)O_(8)+NaOH,and Ca(ClO)_(2)+NaOH)were evaluated.The effects of component concentration and temperature on the breaking solution were studied,and the corrosion performance,physical simulation and formation damage tests of the breaking solution were carried out.The final formulation of 2%-4%NaOH+4.5%-6%H_(2)O_(2) breaking solution was determined,which can make USGel completely turn into water at 35e105C.The combinations of“acid t breaking solution”,“acid+encapsulated breaker”and“encapsulated breaker+breaking solution”were evaluated for breaking effect.The acid gradually reduced the volume of USGel,which increased the contact area between breaking solution and USGel,and the effect of“4%acid+breaking solution”was 23 times higher than that of breaking solution alone at 35C.However,the acid significantly reduced the strength of USGel.This paper provides new insights into the breaking of high-strength gels with complex network structures.

Fracturing-flooding technology for low permeability reservoirs:A review

The development of low-permeability oil and gas resources presents a significant challenge to traditional development methods.To address the problem of“no injection and no production”in low-permeability reservoirs,a novel fracture-injection-production integration technology named fracturing-flooding has been proposed by oilfield sites.This technology combines the advantages of conventional fracturing,water flooding,and chemical flooding,resulting in improved reservoir physical properties,increased injection,replenished energy,and increased oil displacement efficiency.The technology is especially suitable for low-permeability reservoirs that suffer from lack of energy,and strong heterogeneity.Fracturing-flooding technology has shown significant results and broad development prospects in some oilfields in China.This paper analyzes the development status of fracturing-flooding technology from its development history,technical mechanism,technical characteristics,process flow,types of fracturing and oil displacement fluids,and field applications.Physical and numerical simulations of fracturingflooding technology are also summarized.The results suggest that fracturing-flooding technology is more effective than conventional fracturing,water flooding,and chemical flooding in stimulating lowpermeability tight reservoirs and improving oil recovery.Moreover,it has a high input-output ratio and can be utilized for future reservoir stimulation and transformation.

Mechanisms of shale hydration and water block removal

Shale samples of Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the Changning area of the Sichuan Basin, SW China, were selected to carry out scanning electron microscopy, CT imaging, high-pressure mercury injection, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption and imbibition experiments to compare the hydration characteristics of montmorillonite and illite, analyze the main factors affecting the water block removal of shale, and reveal the mechanisms of pore structure evolution during shale hydration. The hydration characteristics of shale are closely related to the composition of clay minerals, the shale with high illite content is not susceptible to hydration and thus has limited room for pore structure improvement;the shale with high montmorillonite is susceptible to hydration expansion and thus has higher potential of pore structure improvement by stimulation;the shale with high illite content has stronger imbibition in the initial stage, but insufficient diffusion ability, and thus is likely to have water block;the shale with high montmorillonite content has weaker imbibition in the initial stage but better water diffusion, so water blocking in this kind of shale can be removed to some degree;the shale reservoir has an optimal hydration time, when it is best in physical properties, but hydration time too long would cause damage to the reservoir, and the shale with high illite content has a shorter optimal hydration time;inorganic cations can inhibit the hydration of clay minerals and have stronger inhibition to illite expansion, especially K^(+);for the reservoir with high content of montmorillonite, the cation content of fracturing fluid can be lowered to promote the shale hydration;fracturing fluid with high K^(+) content can be injected into reservoirs with high illite content to suppress hydration.

Discriminating between explosions and earthquakes

Earthquake, explosion, and a nuclear test data are compared with forward modeling and band-pass filtered surface wave amplitude data for exploring methodologies to improve earthquake–explosion discrimination. The proposed discrimination method is based on the solutions of a double integral transformation in the wavenumber and frequency domains. Recorded explosion data on June 26, 2001（39.212°N, 125.383°E） and October 30, 2001（38.748°N, 125.267°E）, a nuclear test on October 9, 2006（41.275°N, 129.095°E）, and two earthquakes on April 14, 2002（39.207°N, 125.686°E） and June 7, 2002（38.703°N, 125.638°E）, all in North Korea, are used to discriminate between explosions and earthquakes by seismic wave analysis and numerical modeling. The explosion signal is characterized by first P waves with higher energy than that of S waves. Rg waves are clearly dominant at 0.05–0.5 Hz in the explosion data but not in the earthquake data. This feature is attributed to the dominant P waves in the explosion and their coupling with the SH components.