US007585819B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 7,585,819 B2 Morgan et al. (45) Date of Patent: Sep. 8, 2009 (54) METHODS FOR PRODUCING A GUAR GUM 3,455,899 A 7, 1969 Keen .......................... 260,209 COMPRISING UNDEHUSKED GUAR AND 3,543,823 A * 12/1970 Keen ................ ... 800,298 FORUSING THE GUAR GUMINTREATING 4,031,306 A 6, 1977 DeMartino et al. .......... 536,114 A SUBTERRANEAN FORMATION 4.269,975 A * 5/1981 Rutenberg et al. .......... 536/114 5,489,674. A 2/1996 Yeh ..................... ... 356,114 6,048,563 A 4/2000 Swartz et al. ............... 426,573 (75) Inventors: Ronnie G. Morgan, Waurika, OK (US); 6,737,386 B1 5/2004 Moorhouse et al. ......... 507,211 RIckey s L.NR, VIOrgan, Luncan,an 25, 2002/0052298 A1 5/2002 Chowdhary et al. ......... 507,209 OTHER PUBLICATIONS (73) Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., International Search Report and Written Opinion for Application No. Duncan, OK (US) PCT/GB2007/003813, Oct. 5, 2007. (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this * cited by examiner patent is extended or adjusted under 35 Primary Examiner—Randy Gulakowski U.S.C. 154(b) by 586 days. Assistant Examiner—Alicia M Toscano (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm Robert A. Kent; Booth, (21) Appl. No.: 11/544,488 Albanesi, Schroeder LLC (22) Filed: Oct. 5, 2006 (57) ABSTRACT (65) Prior Publication Data A method is provided for producing a guar gum powder, the US 2008/OO85842 A1 Apr. 10, 2008 method comprising the steps of: (a) flaking undehusked guar s splits; and (b) grinding the flaked, undehusked guar splits to (51) Int. Cl. obtain guar gum powder. According to another aspect of the C09K 8/66 (2006.01) invention, a method is provided for treating a Subterranean C8B 37/00 (2006.01) formation penetrated by a wellbore, the method comprises the (52) U.S. Cl. ....................... 507,211,507/209,536/114; steps of: (a) forming a treatment fluid, wherein the treatment 426/629 fluid comprises: (i) an aqueous fluid; and (ii) a guar gum (58) Field of Classification Search ................. 507,200 powder comprising at least 70% by weight gum material and 507/211 : 536/114: 426,629 at least 15% by weight husk material; and (b) introducing the See application file for complete search hi story treatment fluid into the subterranean formation through the wellbore. According to yet another aspect of the invention, 56 Refeferences CitedCite thehe prodorOduct Offth the methodhod forOr producing a guar gum powdOWCler U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS is used in the method for treating a Subterranean formation. 2,891,050 A * 6/1959 Elverum et al. ............. 536,114 20 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets Urgleiussed guarspies (approx. 50–65%gua) Separation of Husks Hot Air Grinding (approx. 75-95%gun) U.S. Patent Sep. 8, 2009 Sheet 1 of 5 US 7,585,819 B2 Gern 30% of original Guar Seed Undehusked guar split 70% of original Guar Husk 37% of original Guar Seed (approx. 25-40%. gun residue) Dehusked Guar Splits 29% of original Guar Seed (approx. 90%, gun with husk residue). Hot Air Grinding Guar Gunn Powder (approx. 90% gum) Particle Size Classification Classified Guar Gunn PoW cers, (approx. 90%, gum) FIGURE 1 (PRIOR ART) U.S. Patent Sep. 8, 2009 Sheet 2 of 5 US 7,585,819 B2 70% of Goriginal Guar Seed (approx. 50–65%gun) Hot Air Grinding Guar (Guja) Powder (approx. gun) FIGURE 2 U.S. Patent Sep. 8, 2009 Sheet 3 of 5 US 7,585,819 B2 70% of original Guar Seed (approx. 50-65% gun) Drying Hot Air Grinding FIGURE 3 U.S. Patent Sep. 8, 2009 Sheet 4 of 5 US 7,585,819 B2 Guar Gum, Powder (approx. 50-65%, gum) Particle Size Classification FIGURE 4 Classified Guar Guy Powders (approx. 50-65%, gum) Cellulose FIGURE 5 U.S. Patent Sep. 8, 2009 Sheet 5 of 5 US 7,585,819 B2 Separation of Husks Hot Air Grinding FIGURE 6 US 7,585,819 B2 1. 2 METHODS FOR PRODUCING A GUAR GUM eral, hydraulic fracturing involves injecting a fracturing fluid COMPRISING UNDEHUSKED GUAR AND through the wellbore and into an oil and gas bearing Subter FOR USING THE GUAR GUMINTREATING ranean formationata sufficiently high rate of fluid flow and at A SUBTERRANEAN FORMATION a sufficiently high pressure to initiate and extend one or more fractures in the formation. To conduct hydraulic pressure CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED through the wellbore, the fracturing fluid must be substan APPLICATIONS tially incompressible. In addition, because of the large quan tities of fracturing fluid required, the fracturing fluid is pref Not applicable erably based on readily-available and plentiful fluid. Thus, 10 the typical fracturing fluid is based on water. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY The fracturing fluid is injected through the wellbore at such SPONSORED RESEARCH ORDEVELOPMENT a high flow rate and under Such high pressure that the rock of the subterranean formation that is subjected to the hydraulic Not applicable treatment cracks apart or fractures under the strain. When the 15 formation fractures, the pressure is relieved as the fracturing REFERENCE TO MICROFICHEAPPENDIX fluid starts to move quickly through the fracture and out into the formation. The theoretical objective of forming such a Not applicable fracture in the rock of the formation is to create a large Surface area of the faces of the fracture. The large surface area allows FIELD OF THE INVENTION oil and gas to flow from the rock of the subterranean forma tion into the facture, which provides an easy path for the oil The invention generally relates to methods for producing and gas to easily flow into the well. guar gum and to methods for using guar gum in treating a However, once the high pressure is relieved suddenly by Subterranean formation. the escape of the fracturing fluid through the created fracture 25 and out further into the subterranean formation, the fracture BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION has a tendency to be squeezed closed by the natural pressures on the rock within the deep subterranean formation. To keep Guar gum is widely used in the oil and gas industry in the fracture open, Some kind of material must be placed in the various well treatment procedures to increase production of fracture to prop the faces of the fracture apart. oil and gas from a well. The general objective is, of course, to 30 The desirable material for the purpose of propping the obtain oil and gas as a valuable commodity. Oil and gas is fracture apart must meet several criteria. For example, the used in the production of products such as refined fuels and material must have a sufficient strength not to be entirely oils, and it is used also as the raw material for many types of crushed by the natural forces tending to push the fracture plastics and chemicals. closed. The material must be capable of being fluidized so that Typically, oil and gas is found accumulated and trapped in 35 it can flow with or immediately following the fracturing fluid. various Subterranean formations. The formations are consid Additionally, the material also must itselfnot block or seal the ered to be subterranean regardless of whether they are under fracture. Thus, a typical material used for the purpose of land or under water. For example, an oil and gas bearing propping open a fracture is sand. Sand, in the aggregate, has subterranean formation may be offshore under a sea floor. To a Sufficiently high mechanical strength to prop open a fracture reach an oil and gas bearing Subterranean formation, it is 40 in a Subterranean formation at typical depths and natural almost always necessary to drilla well many thousands offeet Subterranean pressures; it can behave as a fluid in that it can be into the earth. poured and flow; and the particles, even when tightly com Drilling a well to reach one or more oil and gas bearing pacted, have a network of Void spaces between them that can Subterranean formations is merely one of the many chal provide high porosity to fluid flow. lenges to bringing the oil and gas up to the Surface. Another 45 While sand is the most commonly used material for the challenge is extracting the oil and gas from the Subterranean purpose of propping the fracture open, many other materials formation. For example, the oil and gas may be trapped in the of the appropriate size range and mechanical strength can be tiny pores in the rock of the Subterranean formation, and the used. In the oil and gas industry, any suitable particulate interconnections between the pores may be so few or poorly material that is used for the purpose of propping open a interconnected that it is difficult for the oil and gas to flow 50 fracture produced by hydraulic fracturing is called a “prop through the rock and into the well. Sometimes the formation pant.” is damaged by water being introduced into the formation by To be able to carry and place a proppant into a newly the mere drilling of the well into the formation, or by the water created fracture, a fluid must have a sufficient viscosity to present in the drilling fluid used to drill the wellbore. Some Suspend and carry the proppant. In a low viscosity fluid, for times the formation is damaged by the migration of certain 55 example, the proppant would have a tendency to simply fall types of hydrocarbon, such as waxes. Sometimes the forma undergravity toward the bottom of the well instead of being tion is damaged by the movement of tiny particles called carried with the fracturing fluid out into the newly-created “fines' that plug the interconnections between the pores in the fracture.