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US-12624273-B2 - Repairing wellbore cement structures and related compositions

US12624273B2US 12624273 B2US12624273 B2US 12624273B2US-12624273-B2

Abstract

A self-healing cement structure may be used for repairing defects. An example method of using such a cement structure includes: providing a cement structure in a wellbore, wherein the cement structure includes: a cement and elastomer particles at 1% by weight of the cement (bwoc) to 25% bwoc; applying heat to the cement structure to heat at least a portion of the elastomer particles above a melting point of an elastomer of the elastomer particles to cause at least a portion of the elastomer to melt and infiltrate into a defect in the cement structure; and allowing the elastomer to cool below the melting point of the elastomer to yield a repaired cement structure.

Inventors

  • Ashok Santra
  • Arthur Hale

Assignees

  • SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20250318

Claims (15)

  1. 1 . A method comprising: pumping a cement slurry to a location within a wellbore, wherein the cement slurry comprises: a cement precursor material, water at 40% by weight of the cement (bwoc) to 200% bwoc, and 1% bwoc to 25% bwoc of elastomer particles, and wherein the location has a static temperature that is less than a melting point of an elastomer of the elastomer particles; and curing the cement slurry to form a cement structure at the location in the wellbore wherein the heat within the wellbore heats at least a portion of the elastomer particles above a melting point of an elastomer of the elastomer particles to cause at least a portion of the elastomer to melt and infiltrate into a defect in the cement structure.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the location is an annulus between a tubular and a wellbore.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cement slurry further comprises: 30% by weight of the cement (bwoc) to 70% bwoc of a crystalline silica, 1% bwoc to 100% bwoc of a weighting agent, 0.1% bwoc to 5% bwoc of a retarder, 0.1% bwoc to 5% bwoc of a viscosifier, and 0.1% bwoc to 10% bwoc of a fluid loss control agent.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cement structure has a compressive strength of 2000 pounds per square inch (psi) to 4000 psi.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the elastomer comprises one or more compositions selected from the group consisting of: poly(acrylonitrile), poly(6-aminocaproic acid), poly(trans-butadiene), poly(l-butene), poly(caprolactam), poly(decamethylene adipamide), poly(decamethylene sebacamide), poly(hexamethylene adipamide), poly(hexamethylene sebacamide), poly(hexamethylene suberamide), poly(w-undecanamide), poly(etheretherketone), poly(ethylene adipate), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene), poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(methylene oxide), poly(4-methylpentene), poly(propylene), poly(styrene), poly(tetramethylene oxide), poly(trans-1,4-butadiene), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinyl fluoride), poly(vinylidene chloride), poly(vinylidene fluoride), and any combination thereof.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the elastomer particles have a weight average diameter of 0.1 micron to 1 millimeter (mm).
  7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: applying heat to the cement structure to heat at least a portion of the elastomer particles above a melting point of an elastomer of the elastomer particles to cause at least a portion of the elastomer to melt and infiltrate into a defect in the cement structure; and allowing the elastomer to cool below the melting point of the elastomer to yield a repaired cement structure.
  8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the applying of the heat comprises: positioning a heater within the wellbore at or near the cement structure; and causing the heater to apply the heat.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the heater is a mineral insulated heater, a Currie heater, or a thermite heater.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the positioning of the heater uses a wireline.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the positioning of the heater uses a coiled tubing.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the applying of the heat comprises: moving a heater along the wellbore at or near the cement structure; and causing the heater to apply the heat while moving the heater.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the repaired cement structure has a compressive strength of 1500 pounds per square inch (psi) or greater.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the defect is a crack.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the defect is a microannulus.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/446,819, filed Aug. 9, 2023, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure generally relate to compositions and methods for repairing damage to wellbore cement structures. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Cement slurries are used in the oil and gas industries, such as for cementing in oil and gas wells. Primary, remedial, squeeze, and plug cementing techniques can be used, for instance, to place cement sheaths in an annulus between a tubular (e.g., a casing) and a wall of the wellbore, for well repairs, well stability, or for well abandonment (scaling an old well to eliminate safety hazards). These cement slurries should be able to consistently perform over a wide range of temperatures and conditions as cement set in an oil and gas well may be vulnerable to cyclic stresses imposed by pressure and temperature fluctuations. Wellbore cement sheaths may undergo mechanical failure due to various wellbore related stresses like fracturing, pressurizing, perforating, and the like. After mechanical failure, an expensive remedial operation like squeezing resin or micro-cement may be required to repair such cracks in the wellbore cement sheath. Inadequate sealing from the original cracks or inadequate remedial operations may cause a fire hazard, an environmental hazard, a lack of zonal isolation, a loss of pressure behind casing. Depending on the severity, these risks may lead to catastrophic accidents, failures, or well-abandonment. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE Various details of the present disclosure are hereinafter summarized to provide a basic understanding. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosure and is neither intended to identify certain elements of the disclosure, nor to delineate the scope thereof. Rather, the primary purpose of this summary is to present some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form prior to the more detailed description that is presented hereinafter. A first nonlimiting method of the present disclosure includes: providing a cement structure in a wellbore, wherein the cement structure comprises: a cement and elastomer particles at 1% by weight of the cement (bwoc) to 25% bwoc; applying heat to the cement structure to heat at least a portion of the elastomer particles above a melting point of an elastomer of the elastomer particles to cause at least a portion of the elastomer to melt and infiltrate into a defect in the cement structure; and allowing the elastomer to cool below the melting point of the elastomer to yield a repaired cement structure. A second nonlimiting method of the present disclosure includes: pumping a cement slurry to a location within a wellbore, wherein the cement slurry comprises: a cement precursor material, water at 40% by weight of the cement (bwoc) to 200% bwoc, and 1% bwoc to 25% bwoc of elastomer particles, and wherein the location has a static temperature that is less than a melting point of an elastomer of the elastomer particles; and curing the cement slurry to a cement structure at the location in the wellbore. Another embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cement slurry, the cement slurry comprising: a cement precursor material; water at 40% by weight of the cement (bwoc) to 200% bwoc; 1% bwoc to 25% bwoc of elastomer particles. Any combinations of the various embodiments and implementations disclosed herein can be used in a further embodiment, consistent with the disclosure. These and other aspects and features can be appreciated from the following description of certain embodiments presented herein in accordance with the disclosure and the accompanying drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The FIGURE illustrates diagram for a method for repairing a damaged cement structure is in an annulus between a wellbore and a tubular. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying FIGURE. Like elements in the accompanying FIGURE may be denoted by like reference numerals for consistency. Further, in the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description. Additionally, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the scale of the elements presented in the accompanying FIGURE may vary without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure generally relate to