This technology employs a water-free hydraulic fracturing process where a CO2-in-oil foam is generated by mixing liquefied CO2 with an oil-surfactant solution. The process relies on silicone surfactants featuring dual hydrophobic segments that stabilize thin oil films between CO2 bubbles, creating a viscous and durable foam for effective proppant transport. It operates with defined surfactant concentrations and CO2-to-oil ratios, ensuring compatibility with a broad range of oils while preventing potential oil gelation. The method also supports viscosity enhancement via specific additives and allows foam breakdown through depressurization or temperature and pressure adjustments.
Description
What sets this technology apart is its innovative use of siloxane-based surfactants with distinct CO2-philic and oil-philic characteristics. This dual design not only provides robust foam stability for extended durations but also eliminates water-related formation damage, a common drawback in conventional techniques. By addressing water consumption challenges and reducing produced water handling, the approach delivers efficient fracturing performance in water-sensitive zones, offering a significant operational and environmental advantage over traditional fracturing methods.
Applications
- Waterless hydraulic fracturing
- Enhanced oil recovery
- CO2 foam proppant transport
- Water-sensitive formation extraction
Advantages
- Eliminates water usage to prevent formation damage and reduce produced water handling challenges.
- Creates a stable, highly viscous foam that improves proppant transport efficiency during fracturing operations.
- Offers compatibility with various oil types for versatile application across different formations.
- Enables customizable viscosity enhancement through additives to optimize fracturing performance.
- Simplifies post-fracturing procedures by allowing easy foam breakdown via depressurization or temperature/pressure changes.
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/US10457857B2
