Low-viscosity treatment fluids for transporting proppant

摘要

A method of treating a subterranean formation using low-viscosity subterranean treatment fluids with proppants suspended in gel fragments, including providing a fracturing fluid comprising an aqueous base fluid, a proppant, and swellable micro-gel fragments, wherein the fracturing fluid has a low-viscosity in the range of about 0 to about 800 centipoise; allowing the micro-gel fragments to swell to form a matrix, wherein the proppant is suspended in the fracturing fluid; placing the fracturing fluid in a fracture within the subterranean formation; and allowing the matrix to at least partially degrade in the subterranean formation.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
forming swellable micro-gel fragments comprising a reaction product comprising acrylamide, polyethylene glycol diacrylate, ammonium persulfate, and tetramethyl ethylene diamine,
wherein the swellable micro-gel fragments are crosslinked by ester based bonds; forming a fracturing fluid comprising an aqueous base fluid, proppant, and the swellable micro-gel fragments,
wherein the fracturing fluid has a low-viscosity in the range of about 0 to about 800 centipoise, andwherein when the swellable micro-gel fragments are in a dry state, they are present in an amount of about 0.01% to about 50% by weight of the fracturing fluid, and wherein when the swellable micro-gel fragments are in a wet state, they are present in the fracturing fluid in an amount of about 1% to about 35% by weight of the fracturing fluid; swelling the swellable micro-gel fragments, thereby forming a matrix by suspending the proppant between surfaces of the swelled micro-gel fragments in the fracturing fluid,
wherein the fracturing fluid comprising the matrix retains the low-viscosity in the range of about 0 to about 800 centipoise; placing the fracturing fluid in a fracture within the subterranean formation; and at least partially degrading the matrix in the subterranean formation by degrading the ester based bonds of the swellable micro-gel fragments.