Performance of EDAB-HCl Acid Blended System as Fracturing Fluids in Oil Fields

Due to the high price and formation damage of the guargum fracturing fluid, many oilfields are more and more interested in surfactant based fracturing fluids. The rheological properties of erucicamide dimethyl amidopropyl betaine (EDAB)-HCl acid blended system and its suitability as fracturing fluid were investigated in this work. The effects of pH, concentration of EDAB, and temperature on the rheological properties of the blended system were studied. The results show that addition of EDAB improved the viscosity of the system from less than 10 mPa·s to about 400 mPa·s, which could retard the acid-rock reaction to about one half at 60 °C and one quarter at 90 °C comparing to straight HCl acid, suggesting that there is sufficient time for the blended fluid to react with formation rock when it is used as fracturing fluid in an oil field. Core flow tests demonstrated that the EDAB-acid blended fluid could divert itself from high permeability formation core to low permeability one, thus ensuring proper acid placement in the target reservoirs.