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Results
Abstract The importance of tuning injection water chemistry for upstream is getting beyond formation damage control/water incompatibility to increase oil recovery from waterflooding and different improved oil recovery (IOR)/enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. The water chemistry requirements for IOR/EOR have been relatively addressed in the recent literature, but the key challenge for field implementation is to find an easy, practical, and optimum technology to tune water chemistry. The currently available technologies for tuning water chemistry are limited, and most of the existing ones are adopted from the desalination industry, which relies on membrane based separation. Even though these technologies yield a doable solution, they are not the optimum choice to alter injection water chemistry in terms of incorporating selective ions and providing effective water management for large scale applications. In this study, several of the current, emerging, and future desalination technologies are reviewed with an objective to develop potential water treatment solutions that can most efficiently alter injection water chemistry for SmartWater flooding in carbonate reservoirs. Standard chemical precipitation technologies, such as lime/soda ash, alkali, and lime/aluminum based reagent, are only applicable for removing certain ions from seawater. The lime/aluminum based reagent process looks interesting, as it can remove both sulfates and hardness ions to provide some tuning flexibility for key ions included in the SmartWater. There are some new technologies under development that use chemical solvents to extract salt ions from seawater, but their capabilities to selectively remove specific ions need further investigation. Forward osmosis and membrane distillation are the two emerging technologies, and these can provide good alternatives to reverse osmosis seawater desalination for the near-term. These technologies can offer a better cost-effective solution where there is availability of low grade waste heat or steam. The two new desalination technologies, based on dynamic vapor recovery and carrier gas extraction, are well suited to treat high salinity produced water for zero liquid discharge (ZLD). These technologies may not be able to provide an economical solution for seawater desalination. Carbon nanotube desalination, graphene sheet-based desalination, and capacitive deionization are the three potential future seawater desalination technologies identified for the long term. Among these, carbon nanotube based desalination is much attractive, although the technology is still largely under research and development. This review study results show that there is no commercial technology yet available to selectively remove specific ions from seawater in one step and optimally meet desired water chemistry requirements of SmartWater flooding. As a result, different novel schemes involving selected combinations of chemical precipitation, conventional/emerging desalination, and produced water treatment technologies are proposed. These schemes represent both approximate and improved solutions to selectively incorporate specific key ions in the SmartWater, besides presenting the key opportunities to treat produced water/membrane rejects and provide ZLD capabilities in SmartWater flooding applications. The developed novel schemes can provide an attractive solution to capitalize on existing huge produced water resources in Saudi reservoirs to generate SmartWater and minimize wastewater disposal during field-wide implementation.
- North America > United States (1.00)
- Europe (1.00)
- Asia > Middle East > Saudi Arabia (1.00)
- (5 more...)
- Research Report > New Finding (1.00)
- Overview (1.00)
- Water & Waste Management > Water Management > Water Supplies & Services (1.00)
- Water & Waste Management > Water Management > Lifecycle > Treatment (1.00)
- Energy > Oil & Gas > Upstream (1.00)
- North America > United States > West Virginia > Appalachian Basin > Marcellus Shale Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > Virginia > Appalachian Basin > Marcellus Shale Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > Texas > Permian Basin > Yeso Formation (0.99)
- (28 more...)
Abstract Fracturing fluids are commonly formulated with fresh water to ensure reliable rheology. However, fresh water is becoming more costly, and in some areas, it is difficult to obtain. Therefore, using produced water in hydraulic fracturing has received increased attention in the last few years. A major challenge, however, is its high total dissolved solids (TDS) content, which could cause formation damage and negatively affect fracturing fluid rheology. The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using produced water to formulate crosslinked-gel-based fracturing fluid. This paper focuses on the compatibility of water with the fracturing fluid system and the effect of salts on the fluid rheology. Produced water samples were analyzed to determine different ion concentrations. Solutions of synthetic water with different amounts of salts were prepared. The fracturing fluid system consisted of natural guar polymer, borate-based crosslinker, biocide, surfactant, clay controller, scale inhibitor, and pH buffer. Compatibility tests of the fluid system were conducted at different cation concentrations. Apparent viscosity of the fracturing fluid was measured using a high-pressure high-temperature rotational rheometer. All rheology tests were conducted at a temperature of 180°F and were conducted according to API 13m procedure with a three-hour test duration. Fluid breaking test was also performed to ensure high fracture and proppant pack conductivity. Produced water analysis showed a TDS content of 125,000 ppm, including Na, Ca, K, and Mg ion concentrations of 36,000, 10,500, 1,700, and 700 ppm, respectively. Results indicated the potential of produced water to cause formation damage. Therefore, produced water was diluted with fresh water and directly used to formulate the fracturing fluid. Divalent cations were found to be the main source of precipitation, and the reduced amounts of each ion were determined to prevent precipitation. The separate and combined effects of Na, K, Ca, and Mg ions on the viscosity of the fracturing fluid were also studied. Fluid viscosity was found to be significantly affected by the concentrations of divalent cations regardless of the concentrations of monovalent cations. Monovalent cations reduced the viscosity of fracturing fluid only in the absence of divalent cations, and showed no effect in the presence of Ca and Mg ions. Water with reduced concentrations of monovalent and divalent cations showed the most suitable environment for polymer hydration and crosslinking. This paper contributes to the understanding of the main factors that enable the use of produced water for hydraulic fracturing operations. Maximizing the use of produced water could reduce its disposal costs, mitigate environmental impacts, and solve fresh water acquisition challenges.
- Europe (1.00)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.47)
- North America > United States > Oklahoma (0.29)
- North America > United States > Louisiana (0.29)
- North America > United States > South Dakota > Williston Basin > Bakken Shale Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > North Dakota > Williston Basin > Bakken Shale Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > Montana > Williston Basin > Bakken Shale Formation (0.99)