Viscosity Models for Polymer Free CO 2 Foam Fracturing Fluid with the Effect of Surfactant Concentration, Salinity and Shear Rate

Shehzad Ahmed, Khaled Abdalla Elraies, Muhammad Rehan Hashmet and Alvinda Sri Hanamertani
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Shehzad Ahmed: Department of Petroleum Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Khaled Abdalla Elraies: Department of Petroleum Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Muhammad Rehan Hashmet: Department of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum Institute, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 2533, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Alvinda Sri Hanamertani: Department of Petroleum Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: High quality polymer free CO 2 foam possesses unique properties that make it an ideal fluid for fracturing unconventional shales. In this paper, the viscosity of polymer free fracturing foam and its empirical correlations at high pressure high temperature (HPHT) as a function of surfactant concentration, salinity, and shear rate are presented. Foams were generated using a widely-used surfactant, i.e., alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) in the presence of brine and a stabilizer at HPHT. Pressurize foam rheometer was used to find out the viscosity of CO 2 foams at different surfactant concentration (0.25–1 wt %) and salinity (0.5–8 wt %) over a wide range of shear rate (10–500 s ?1 ) at 1500 psi and 80 °C. Experimental results concluded that foam apparent viscosity increases noticeably until the surfactant concentration of 0.5 wt %, whereas, the increment in salinity provided a continuous increase in foam apparent viscosity. Nonlinear regression was performed on experimental data and empirical correlations were developed. Power law model for foam viscosity was modified to accommodate for the effect of shear rate, surfactant concentration, and salinity. Power law indices ( K and n ) were found to be a strong function of surfactant concentration and salinity. The new correlations accurately predict the foam apparent viscosity under various stimulation scenarios and these can be used for fracture simulation modeling.

Keywords: CO 2 foam; foam apparent viscosity; viscosity correlation; salinity; surfactant concentration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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