Star macromolecules for wellbore applications

• US 10,640,693 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2015
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (Halliburton Company)
• Original Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (Halliburton Company)
• Inventors: Zha, Weibin, Zhou, Hui
• Primary Examiner(s): Figueroa, John J
• Application Number:
  US15/751,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20180230355A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,694 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 2208/18 Bridging agents, i.e. particles for temporarily filling the pores of a formation; Graded salts
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/035 Organic additives
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/12 containing synthetic organic macromolecular compounds or their precursors
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/508 macromolecular compounds C09K8/512 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/5083 obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/516 characterised by their form or by the form of their components, e.g. encapsulated material

Abstract

The present disclosure provides treatment fluids that comprise star macromolecules as a fluid loss additive or a viscosifier. An embodiment of the present disclosure is a method comprising: providing a treatment fluid that comprises: an aqueous base fluid; and a star macromolecule that comprises: a hydraulic polymeric core, a first group of polymeric arms attached to the core wherein each of the arms in the first group consists of hydrophilic monomers, and a second group of polymeric arms attached to the core wherein each of the arms in the second group comprises at least one hydrophilic homopolymeric segment and at least one hydrophobic homopolymeric segment; and introducing the treatment fluid into a wellbore penetrating at least a portion of a subterranean formation.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a treatment fluid that comprises;

a non-aqueous base fluid; and

a star macromolecule that comprises;

a polymeric core comprising styrene-methyl acrylate butadiene,

a first group of polymeric arms attached to the core wherein each of the arms in the first group consists of hydrophobic monomers, and

a second group of polymeric arms attached to the core wherein each of the arms in the second group comprises at least one hydrophobic homopolymeric segment and at least one hydrophilic homopolymeric segment; and

introducing the treatment fluid into a wellbore penetrating at least a portion of a subterranean formation.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the treatment fluid is a drilling fluid.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the treatment fluid further comprises a bridging agent.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the star macromolecule comprises at least five polymeric arms.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first group contains more polymeric arms than the second group.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein each polymeric arm in the second group consists of a single hydrophobic homopolymeric segment attached to the core and a single hydrophilic homopolymeric segment at the distal end of the arm.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymeric core is hydrophobic.