Open Access

ARTICLE

A Gel-Based Solidification Technology for Large Fracture Plugging

Kunjian Wang¹, Ruibin He¹, Qianhua Liao¹, Kun Xu¹, Wen Wang¹, Kan Chen^2,*

1 Tianjin Branch of CNOOC (China) Co., Ltd., Tianjin, 300450, China
2 Jingzhou Jiahua Technology Co., Ltd., Jingzhou, 434001, China

* Corresponding Author: Kan Chen. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2024, 20(3), 563-578. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2023.030152

Received 24 March 2023; Accepted 27 June 2023; Issue published 12 January 2024

Abstract

Fault fractures usually have large openings and considerable extension. Accordingly, cross-linked gel materials are generally considered more suitable plugging agents than water-based gels because the latter often undergo contamination via formation water, which prevents them from being effective over long times. Hence, in this study, a set of oil-based composite gels based on waste grease and epoxy resin has been developed. These materials have been observed to possess high compressive strength and resistance to the aforementioned contamination, thereby leading to notable increase in plugging success rate. The compressive strength, thickening time, and resistance to formation water pollution of these gels have been evaluated indoors. The results show that the compressive strength of the gel can reach 11 MPa; additionally, the related gelation time can be controlled to be more than 3 h, thereby providing a safe construction time; Invasion of formation water has a small effect on the gel strength and does not shorten the thickening time. All considered performance indicators of the oil-based gel confirm its suitability as a plugging agent for fault fractures.

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Keywords

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