Patents Examined by Silvana Runyan
  • Patent number: 9359543
    Abstract: Methods of servicing a wellbore and/or a subterranean formation including introducing a wellbore servicing fluid into the wellbore and/or the subterranean formation to degrade a degradable polymer therein by contacting the degradable polymer with a liquid neutralized degradation accelerator. The wellbore servicing fluid comprises a particulate salt degradation accelerator and a neutralizer activator. The particulate salt degradation accelerator is formed by reacting a degradation accelerator solution with an acid, the neutralizer activator is capable of dissociating the acid by neutralization from the particulate salt degradation accelerator so as to form the liquid neutralized degradation accelerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: B. Raghava Reddy, Janette Cortez, Andrea Ontiveros
  • Patent number: 9359544
    Abstract: A composition and method for performing a treatment of a subterranean formation. The composition includes an emulsified acid and a sulfobetaine surfactant. The emulsified acid and the sulfobetaine surfactant may be mixed to form a treatment composition, which may be injected into a subterranean formation as part of an acid fracturing or hydraulic fracturing treatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Arthur William Milne, Emilio Miquilena, Syed A. Ali
  • Patent number: 9359883
    Abstract: A production logging tool (PLT) is conveyed within production tubing containing production fluid flow established by zonal fluid flow from formation zones. The PLT measures a flow rate of the production fluid flow at each of a plurality of depths associated with a corresponding one of the zones. A flow rate of the zonal fluid flow from each zone is determined based on the flow rates of the production fluid flow measured at each of the depths. The PLT measures proportions of compositional components of the production fluid flow at each of the depths. A flow rate of each compositional component of the zonal fluid flow from each zone is determined based on the determined flow rate of the zonal fluid flow from each zone and the proportions of compositional components of the production fluid flow measured at each of the depths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew Colin Whittaker, A. Ballard Andrews, Andrew Speck
  • Patent number: 9334720
    Abstract: Fracturing slurries are prepared on the fly using a solids pump to feed the solid such as a gel into a liquid stream of normally water for pumping downhole with a large capacity triplex pump. The solids pump is preferably a Posimetric® style which delivers the solid into the fluid pipeline in a manner that keeps fluid from backing into the solids hopper above the solids pump. A separate fluid tank is connected to a fluid pump to pressurize a suction line to a boost pump before reaching the triplex pump and pumping into the subterranean formation. The solids pump can deliver between the fluid and boost pumps in which case the solids go through the triplex pump or alternatively the solids can be delivered into the higher pressure discharge line of the triplex pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated
    Inventors: Blake C. Burnette, Ronnie D. Hughes, D. V. Satyanarayana Gupta, Gaurav Agrawal
  • Patent number: 9334716
    Abstract: Treatment fluids can mitigate the occurrence or effects of precipitation in a subterranean formation through complexation of a metal ion therein. Methods for treating a subterranean formation can comprise: providing a treatment fluid comprising a hydroxypyridinecarboxylic acid, a salt thereof, or a tautomer thereof; introducing the treatment fluid into a subterranean formation; and complexing a metal ion in the subterranean formation with the hydroxypyridinecarboxylic acid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Enrique Antonio Reyes, Alyssa Lynn Smith
  • Patent number: 9328594
    Abstract: A method for developing deposits and extracting oil and gas from formations is provided including pumping electrically conductive fluid under pressure into a first heating well and a second heating well, creating an electrically conductive zone between the first heating well and the second heating well, positioning at least one first electrical current source into the first well and at least one second electrical current source into the second well such that the first and second electrical current sources come into contact with the electrically conductive fluid, applying alternating current to the at least one first electrical current source and the at least one second electrical current source, and generating an electric arc in the electrically conductive zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Inventor: Alexander Petrovich Linetskiy
  • Patent number: 9322269
    Abstract: Non-halogenated molecules having from 10 to 30 carbon atoms selected from the group consisting of aliphatic, aromatic, saturated, unsaturated (and combinations thereof) alcohols, ketones, organic acids, organic acid salts, sulfonated derivatives of these compounds, and combinations thereof are used as tracers to measure oil and/or water fluid returns, such as from a hydraulic fracturing job. The non-halogenated molecules may be absorbed onto and/or adsorbed onto substrates and introduced into a subterranean location, desorbed and recovered from the subterranean location with a fluid, reacted with a reagent (e.g. pentafluoro benzyl chloride, and the like) to give a derivatized tracer. The presence of the derivatized tracer is then detected in at least a portion of the recovered fluid. A different non-halogenated tracer may be used for each hydraulic fracturing stage, thus, it can be determined from which fracturing stage water is produced and from which fracturing stage oil is produced, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Ronald M. Matherly, Grahame N. Taylor
  • Patent number: 9321954
    Abstract: Methods comprising providing a consolidation composition comprising the reaction product of a liquid curable resin and a liquid curing agent, wherein the liquid curable resin is an epoxy-functionalized alkoxysilane and wherein the liquid curing agent is selected from the group consisting of: a polyamine; a hydrophobically modified polyamine; a polyimine; a hydrophobically modified polyimine; a polyalcohol; hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide; a hydrophobically modified polyacrylate; and any combination thereof; coating proppant particulates with the consolidation composition, thereby creating coated proppant particulates; introducing the coated proppant particulates into a subterranean formation and placing the coated proppant particulates into a fracture therein; and curing the consolidation composition so as to consolidate the coated proppant particulates in the fracture and form a proppant pack therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Loan K. Vo, Philip D. Nguyen, James William Ogle, Feng Liang
  • Patent number: 9322246
    Abstract: A method that is usable with a well includes introducing solids into a pneumatic stream to produce a solids-containing pneumatic stream; communicating the solids-containing pneumatic stream to a blender assembly to mix the solids with at least one other material to produce a flow; and pumping the flow into the well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Timothy Lesko, Kim Hodgson, Edward Kent Leugemors, Rod Shampine
  • Patent number: 9303497
    Abstract: Non-halogenated molecules having 10-30 carbons including aliphatic, aromatic, saturated, unsaturated (and combinations thereof) alcohols, ketones, organic acids, organic acid salts, sulfonated derivatives, and/or other derivatives are used as tracers to measure oil and/or water fluid returns, such as from a hydraulic fracturing job. The non-halogenated molecules may be combined with substrates and introduced into a subterranean location, desorbed and recovered from the subterranean location with a fluid, reacted with a reagent (e.g. pentafluoro benzyl chloride) to give a derivatized tracer. Alternatively, the tracer molecule release can be delayed by use of an emulsion or a coating that allows slower diffusion of the tracer into the fluid. The presence of the derivatized tracer is then detected in the recovered fluid. A different non-halogenated tracer may be used for each hydraulic fracturing stage, e.g. to determine from which fracturing stage water is produced and from which oil is produced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Ronald M. Matherly, Grahame N. Taylor
  • Patent number: 9303202
    Abstract: Method of increasing the production rate of reservoir fluid from a reservoir including a wellbore pump for pumping wellbore fluid within the wellbore to a surface. The wellbore pump is associated with a production tube and within a casing, whereby an annulus is defined between the casing and the pump and the production tube, and includes reservoir fluid which is contacted with a treatment formulation containing active materials, including a first optionally crosslinked polymeric material having —O— moieties pendent from a polymeric backbone thereof. The wellbore pump is operated to recover liquid hydrocarbons from the wellbore at a rate which is greater after contact with the treatment formulation compared to the rate of recovery of liquid hydrocarbons before contact with the treatment formulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: OILFLOW SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventors: Michael John Crabtree, Philip Fletcher, Jeffrey Forsyth
  • Patent number: 9297252
    Abstract: Non-halogenated molecules including, but are not necessarily limited, to alkyl and aromatic amines having from 8 to 18 carbon atoms and salts of these amines, diols having the formula HO—(CH2)n—OH, diamines having the formula H2N—(CH2)n—NH2, dicarboxylic acids having the formula HO.CO—(CH2)n—CO.OH, diesters having the formula R?O.CO—(CH2)n—CO.OR?, where n is 4 to 18, and R? and R? are independently straight or branched alkyl or aromatic groups of 1-20 carbon atoms, and combinations thereof are used as tracers to measure oil and/or water fluid returns, e.g. from a hydraulic fracturing job. The non-halogenated molecules may be combined with substrates and introduced into a subterranean location, desorbed and recovered from the subterranean location with a fluid, reacted with a reagent to give a derivatized tracer. The presence of the derivatized tracer is then detected in the recovered fluid. Different non-halogenated tracers may be used for each hydraulic fracturing stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Ronald M. Matherly, Grahame N. Taylor
  • Patent number: 9290689
    Abstract: A process of making observations of a subterranean reservoir penetrated by a wellbore uses distinguishable sets of tracer particles and comprises steps of: (i) delivering a plurality of sets of tracer particles to respective subterranean locations via the wellbore, the particles in each set comprising a tracer substance which distinguishes that set form the other sets; (ii) causing or allowing the tracer substances to flow out from the tracer particles whilst the particles are at the respective subterranean locations; (iii) causing or allowing production of fluid out of said reservoir via the wellbore; and (iv) detecting the presence or absence of the tracer substances in the produced fluid. The tracer substances are sufficiently distinguishable from each other to enable a tracer substance detected in the produced fluid to identify the set of tracer particles from which it has come and hence identify the location from which it has come.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Valerie Lafitte, Trevor Hughes, Slaheddine Kefi, Matthew Miller, Gary Tustin, Shiyi Wang
  • Patent number: 9284827
    Abstract: A process for hydrocarbon recovery performs a steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operation by injecting steam in a steam injection well of a SAGD well pair and continuing to inject steam to establish fluid communication between the steam injection well and an oxidizing gas injection well that includes an oxidizing gas injection well segment that is spaced generally above the steam injection well segment, and producing hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon production well of the SAGD well pair, the hydrocarbon production well including a generally horizontal production well segment disposed generally parallel to and vertically below a generally horizontal steam injection well segment of the steam injection well such that the steam injection well segment is disposed generally vertically between the production well segment and the oxidizing gas injection well segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Cenovus Energy Inc.
    Inventors: Christian Canas, Simon Gittins, Subodh Gupta, Arun Sood, Xinjie Wu
  • Patent number: 9284478
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a treatment fluid for a well includes: (a) a water-soluble polymer, wherein the water-soluble polymer comprises a polymer of at least one non-acidic ethylenically unsaturated polar monomer; (b) an organic crosslinker comprising amine groups, wherein the organic crosslinker is capable of crosslinking the water-soluble polymer; (c) a salt of a weak Bronsted base and a Bronsted acid; and (d) water; wherein the treatment fluid is a crosslinkable polymer composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: B. Raghava Reddy, Larry S. Eoff, Julio Estuardo Vasquez, Eldon Dwyann Dalrymple
  • Patent number: 9279077
    Abstract: Methods of treating a subterranean formation comprising placing a treatment fluid comprising a base fluid, proppant particulates, a consolidating agent, a thermoplastic material, and a degradable polyester material into the subterranean formation; coating the proppant particulates and the consolidating agent with the thermoplastic material and the degradable polyester material together so as to form proppant pillars; and degrading the degradable polyester material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Feng Liang, Philip D. Nguyen, Christopher Parton, Jeff Fleming, Jimmie D. Weaver
  • Patent number: 9260955
    Abstract: Mineral oil is produced from underground mineral oil deposits by injecting one or more flooding media into an injection well and withdrawing mineral oil from a production well. Highly permeable zones are blocked in the region between the injection well and the production well by separately injecting, in succession, two different aqueous formulations, one having water and urotropin and the other having water and urea, through the injection well into the deposit. The two different aqueous formulations mix in the formation after injection to form viscous gels. Either or both formulations have at least one further metal or semimetal compound that can form gels when admixed with bases. The injection well temperature is not more than 60° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignees: Institute of Petroleum Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Wintershall Holding GmbH
    Inventors: Vladimir Stehle, Konrad Siemer, Liubov Altunina, Vladimir Kuvshinov, Ivan Kuvshinov
  • Patent number: 9175207
    Abstract: Compositions and methods for oil recovery using a surfactant-less alkaline-polymer system in hard water or hard brine is described in the instant invention. The formulation further includes a chelating agent, an alkaline agent (which can be the same as the chelating agent), and a co-solvent. The formulations as disclosed herein are capable of forming a surfactant in-situ resulting in Winsor Type III micro-emulsions of low interfacial tension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Board of Regents, The University of Texas System
    Inventors: Upali P. Weerasooriya, Gary A. Pope
  • Patent number: 9169433
    Abstract: Methods of treating a subterranean formation with a treatment fluid comprising a swellable organic polymer coated onto proppant particulates. The swellable organic polymer is water-swellable, having a swelled configuration when contacted with water and an unswelled configuration in the absence of water contact. The treatment fluid may be introduced into the subterranean formation, where the swellable organic polymer adopts the swelled configuration and is placed in a fracture. During hydrocarbon production, the swellable organic polymer adopts the unswelled configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Philip D. Nguyen, Jimmie D. Weaver
  • Patent number: 9163496
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a method of making a fracturing fluid and system of fracturing a formation penetrated by a well-bore. The method includes providing a fracturing fluid that is liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) and a co-solvent in a quantity of 1-19 wt %, and at least one friction-reducing polymer in a quantity of 0.001-1.0 wt % of the fracturing fluid composition, wherein the friction-reducing polymer is initially disposed in an emulsion, and is at least partially soluble in the co-solvent and LCO2 mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Inventors: Richard M. Kelly, Walter L. Renz