Tagged Propping Agents and Related Methods

• US 20080210421A1
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carbo Ceramics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Carbo Ceramics Incorporated
• Inventors: Wilson, Brett A., Palamara, Thomas C., Robert, Duenckel
• Granted Patent: US 7,921,910 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 166/254.1
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/80 Compositions for reinforcing fractures, e.g. compositions of proppants used to keep the fractures open
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 8/805 Coated proppants
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/267 reinforcing fractures by propping
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/11 using tracers; using radioactivity

Abstract

A proppant composition comprises a non-radioactive, detectable tracer at least partially embedded in a ceramic composition. The composition may be prepared by agglomerating granules of the ceramic material and granules of the non-radioactive, detectable material to produce the particle by compression. Backflow of proppants in a fractured subterranean formation into which a plurality of particles of the proppant composition have been introducted may be tracked by analyzing a sample of the backflow by detecting for presence of the tracer in the sample.

Claims

1. A proppant composition comprising a non-radioactive, detectable tracer at least partially embedded in a ceramic composition.

2. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 1 wherein the proppant composition is a particle.

3. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is detectable by chemical analysis.

4. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 3, wherein the tracer is detectable by X-ray fluorescence, inductively-coupled plasma or proton-induced X-ray emission.

5. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is selected from the group consisting of lanthanides, strontium, barium, gallium, germanium, tanalum, zirconium, ranadium, chromium, maganese and combinations thereof.

6. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 5 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is selected from the group consisting of lanthanum, cerium, strontium, barium, gallium, germanium, and combinations thereof.

7. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 6 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is selected from the group consisting of lanthanum, cerium, and combinations thereof.

8. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 that is substantially free of resin.

9. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 that consists essentially of the non-radioactive, detectable tracer at least partially embedded in the ceramic composition.

10. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is in contact with the ceramic composition.

11. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 1 comprising a particle at least partially coated with a coating material, the particle comprising the non-radioactive, detectable tracer at least partially embedded in the ceramic composition.

12. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 11 wherein the coating material is resin.

13. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 11 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is in contact with the ceramic composition.

14. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 11 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is selected from the group consisting of rare earth metals, strontium, barium, gallium, germanium, and combinations thereof.

15. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 11 wherein the particle is substantially free of resin.

16. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 11 wherein the particle consists essentially of a non-radioactive, detectable tracer at least partially embedded in a ceramic composition.

17. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the particle is from about 20 mesh to about 40 mesh in size.

18. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the particle is from about 16 mesh to about 20 mesh in size.

19. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the particle is from about 30 mesh to about 50 mesh in size.

20. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the particle is from about 30 mesh to about 60 mesh in size.

21. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the particle is from about 16 mesh to about 30 mesh in size.

22. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 2 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable material is a plurality of distinct tracer metals.

23. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 22 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is a combination of a plurality of tracer metals selected from the group consisting of lanthanides, strontium, barium, gallium and germanium, tantalum, zirconium, vanadium, chromium and manganese.

24. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 1 wherein the tracer makes up about 0.03 to about 0.2 percent by weight of the composition.

25. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 24 wherein the particle is from about 16 mesh to about 20 mesh in size.

26. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 24 wherein the particle is from about 30 mesh to about 50 mesh in size.

27. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 24 wherein the particle is from about 30 mesh to about 60 mesh in size.

28. A proppant composition as set forth in claim 24 wherein the particle is from about 16 mesh to about 30 mesh in size.

38. A method as set forth in claim 25 wherein the particle is substantially free of resin.

39. A method as set forth in claim 25 wherein the particle consists essentially of the non-radioactive, detectable material at least partially embedded in the ceramic material.

40. A method as set forth in claim 25 wherein the particle comprises the non-radioactive, detectable material in contact with the ceramic material.

42. A method as set forth in claim 40 wherein the agglomeration is carried out by continuous spray atomization, spray fluidization, spray drying, or compression.

43. A method as set forth in claim 40 wherein the coating material is resin.

44. A method as set forth in claim 40 wherein the particle comprises the non-radioactive, detectable material in contact with the ceramic material.

45. A method as set forth in claim 40 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable material is selected from the group consisting of lanthanides, strontium, barium, gallium, germanium, tantalum, zirconium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, and combinations thereof.

46. A method for tracking the backflow of proppants in a fractured subterranean formation into which a plurality of proppant composition particles as set forth in claim 2 have been introduced, comprising analyzing a sample of the backflow by detecting for presence of the tracer in the sample.

47. A method as set forth in claim 45 wherein the subterranean formation has a plurality of zones and the backflow is tracked by introducing a plurality of types of proppant composition particles as set forth in claim 24, each type of proppant composition particles being tagged with a tracer distinguishable from tracers of the other types of proppant composition particles, directing each of the types of proppant composition particles to a different zone, analyzing a sample of the flowback from at least one of the zones by detecting for presence of each of the tracers, and thereby identifying the type of proppant composition particles associated with the flowback.

48. A method as set forth in claim 46 wherein at least one of the tracers is a combination of types of tracers.

29. A method for producing a particle comprising a non-radioactive, detectable material and a ceramic material, the method comprising agglomeration of granules of the ceramic material and granules of the non-radioactive, detectable material to produce the particle.

30. A method as set forth in claim 29 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable material is not also present in the ceramic material or is present in the ceramic material in a concentration less than about 1,000 ppm based on weight.

31. A method as set forth in claim 29 wherein the agglomeration is carried out by continuous spray atomization, spray fluidization, spray drying, or compression.

32. A method as set forth in claim 29 wherein the particle is between about 20 mesh and about 40 mesh in size.

33. A method as set forth in claim 29 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable tracer is detectable by chemical analysis.

34. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein the tracer is detectable by X-ray fluorescence, inductively-coupled plasma or proton-induced X-ray emission.

35. A method as set forth in claim 29 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable material is selected from the group consisting of lanthanides, strontium, barium, gallium, germanium tantalum, zirconium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, and combinations thereof.

36. A method as set forth in claim 34 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable material is selected from the group consisting of lanthanum, cerium, strontium, barium, gallium, germanium, and combinations thereof.

37. A method as set forth in claim 35 wherein the non-radioactive, detectable material is selected from the group consisting of lanthanum, cerium, and combinations thereof.

41. A method for producing a substantially resin-free particle at least partially coated with a coating material, comprising agglomeration of granules of the ceramic material and granules of the non-radioactive, detectable material to produce the substantially resin-free particle comprising the non-radioactive, detectable material at least partially embedded in the ceramic material, and then at least partially coating the substantially resin-free particle with a coating material.