WO 2014/154806 Al 2 October 2014 (02.10.2014) P O P C T
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) (19) World Intellectual Property Organization International Bureau (10) International Publication Number (43) International Publication Date WO 2014/154806 Al 2 October 2014 (02.10.2014) P O P C T (51) International Patent Classification: (74) Agent: JACOBI, Markus; Isenbruck Bosl Horschler LLP, C12N 5/00 (2006.01) C09K 8/035 (2006.01) Patentanwalte, Eastsite One, Seckenheimer LandstraBe 4, 68163 Mannheim (DE). (21) International Application Number: PCT/EP2014/056163 (81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM, (22) Date: International Filing AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BN, BR, BW, BY, 27 March 2014 (27.03.2014) BZ, CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, (25) Filing Language: English DO, DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IR, IS, JP, KE, KG, KN, KP, KR, (26) Publication Language: English KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD, ME, (30) Priority Data: MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, NO, NZ, 13 16 1745.8 28 March 2013 (28.03.2013) OM, PA, PE, PG, PH, PL, PT, QA, RO, RS, RU, RW, SA, 13 168889.7 23 May 2013 (23.05.2013) SC, SD, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TH, TJ, TM, TN, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, ZA, ZM, (71) Applicant: BASF SE [DE/DE]; 67056 Ludwigshafen ZW. (DE). (84) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every (72) Inventors: WANG, Li-Wen; Rathausstr. 21, 68199 Man kind of regional protection available): ARIPO (BW, GH, nheim (DE). NAVICKAS, Vaidotas; August-Bebel-Str. GM, KE, LR, LS, MW, MZ, NA, RW, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, 101, 68199 Mannheim (DE). RANFT, Meik; Gronauer UG, ZM, ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, RU, TJ, StraBe 155, 64625 Bensheim (DE). BOYKO, Volodymyr; TM), European (AL, AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, H 7, 3, 68159 Mannheim (DE). WENZKE, Benjamin; EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, ΓΓ, LT, LU, LV, Breitenfelder Str. 6, 2025 1 Hamburg (DE). ASSMANN, MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, SM, Andrea; Traunhofen 4, 83567 Unterreit (DE). BALDENI- TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, GW, US, Kai-Uwe; Hausserstr. 49, 691 15 Heidelberg (DE). KM, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG). KRENNRICH, Gerhard; Gotthilf-Salzmann-Strasse 62, Published: 67227 Frankenthal (DE). SIGGEL, Lorenz; Max-Reger- StraBe 30, 69121 Heidelberg (DE). — with international search report (Art. 21(3)) © 00 (54) Title: PROCESS FOR PREPARING PARTIALLY DEGALACTOSYLATED XYLOGLUCAN AND ITS USE FOR OIL FIELD APPLICATIONS (57) Abstract: A method for treating an oil and/or natural gas bearing subterranean formation penetrated by at least one well o bore,comprising the steps of (a) providing an aqueous treating formulation which comprises a treating composition,comprising par tially degalactosylated xyloglucan having a galactose removal ratio of at least 0.40,based on the total number of β-D-galactopyrano - syl residues of xyloglucan;and (b) injecting said aqueous treating formulation into at least one well bore penetrating the oil and/orgas o bearing subterranean formation; thereby blocking highly permeable zones in the oil and/or natural gas bearing subterranean forma tion. Process for preparing partially degalactosylated xyloglucan and its use for oilfield appli cations Description The present invention relates to a method for treating a subterranean formation pene trated by at least one well bore using partially degalactosylated xyloglucan. The inven tion also relates to compositions and aqueous formulations comprising said partially degalactosylated xyloglucan as well as their use in oilfield applications. The invention further relates to a process for preparing partially degalactosylated xyloglucan using an enzyme preparation comprising β-galactosidase. Oil and/or natural gas accumulated within subterranean formations is recovered or pro- duced therefrom through wells, called production wells, penetrating the oil and gas bearing subterranean formation. However, a large amount of the oil and/or natural gas is left in the subterranean formations if produced only by primary depletion, i.e., where only formation energy is used to recover the oil. Where the initial formation energy is inadequate or has become depleted, supplemental operations, often referred to as secondary, tertiary, or enhanced oil recovery, are employed. In the widely used secondary oil recovery operations, a fluid is injected into the for mation by pumping it through one or more injection wells penetrating the subterranean formation. The fluid, generally water or a miscible gas, is primarily employed to main- tain the pressure of the reservoir and secondarily to displace additional oil from the reservoir. Thereby, oil is displaced and moved through the subterranean formation, and is produced from one or more production wells penetrating the subterranean formation. In a particular recovery operation of this sort, field water or field brine is employed as the injection fluid and the operation is referred to as water flooding. Although water is the most common fluid, injection fluids can include gaseous or supercritical fluids such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and the like. Conventional water flooding is effective in obtaining additional oil and/or natural gas from oil and/or natural gas-bearing subterranean formations, but the technique does exhibit a number of shortcomings. One shortcoming is the tendency of flooding water to finger through an oil-bearing formation and thus bypass substantial portions thereof. By fingering is meant the development of unstable waterfronts which advance toward the production wells more rapidly than the remainder of the flooding water. For example, the injection fluid generally flows along a low resistance route from the injection well to the production well. Accordingly the injection fluid often sweeps through geological zones of higher permeability and bypasses lower permeability zones of the subterrane an formation resulting in a non-uniform displacement of oil. Such higher permeability geological zones of the subterranean formation are commonly called thief zones or high permeability streaks. To increase the recovery or the production of oil and/or natural gas in secondary and tertiary oil recovery operations, a substantially uniform permeability throughout the whole subterranean formation is desired. If the formation permeability is heterogeneous, the injection fluids will seek areas of high water permeability, producing channeling and the passage of injection fluid to the producing well. As the more water-permeable zones of the subterranean formation are depleted of oil, the injection fluid has a tendency to follow such channels and increase water production, reflected in a higher water/oil ratio at the producing well. Improved diversion of water through oil bearing rock can be obtained in subterranean formations of non-uniform permeability by permeability corrections of the more water-permeable zones of the subterranean formation. There are several strategies that can be used to reduce the water permeability of these more permeable zones of the subterranean formation. These involve mechanical block ing devices or chemicals that at least partially plug the more water-permeable zones and achieve reduced water permeability in said zones. One approach of reducing water permeability in said zones and thus increasing the recovery or the production of oil is to use a comparatively low-viscosity formulation whose viscosity rises only under for- mation conditions, thereby plugging a highly water-permeable zones (regions) of the subterranean formation. Such formulations are commonly known as "thermogel" or "delayed gelling system". Said formulation is hereinafter referred to as "delayed gelling formulation". For plugging highly water-permeable zones of the subterranean formations, the delayed gelling for mulation is injected readily into a well bore penetrating the oil and/or natural gas bear ing subterranean formation, and its viscosity rises significantly after injection into the subterranean formation. Two families of delayed gelling formulations are typically used, delayed inorganic ge l ling formulations and delayed (organic) polymer gelling formulations. Delayed inorganic gelling formulations typically contain a metallic or silicate salt and an activator. The transformation to a gel occurs when the pH of the formulation is modified by reaction of the activator. This process is also triggered by time and temperature and can also be delayed to allow sufficient time for placement into the target zone of the subterranean formation. Delayed polymer gelling formulations typically contain an acrylamide poly mer and a cross linker. The transformation to a gel occurs when the polymer is cross- linked. This process is triggered by time and temperature and can be delayed to allow sufficient time for placement into the target zone of the subterranean formation. In one approach of reducing water permeability and thus increasing recovery or pro duction of oil, a delayed gelling formulation is injected under pressure into at least one injection well of the oil-bearing subterranean formation. The delayed gelling formulation injected through an injection well tends to sweep through higher permeability zones of the subterranean formation and does not uniformly flow through the lower permeability zones as said formulation naturally follows lower resistance paths to the production well(s). Therefore, the delayed gelling