SECURE recently developed a novel & unique flowback treatment chemistry to specifically target polymer & solids stabilized emulsion complexes which are commonly present during the initial flowback stages of Montney wells.
A top-tier Montney producer operating in Northeast B.C was experiencing severe emulsion issues during the initial flowback stages of their Montney wells, causing major operational issues including:
- Erratic guided wave radar performance issues on inlet vessel causing difficulty reading interface and major operational issues with fluid handling. This caused frequent shut-ins of new pads due to lack of plant stability.
- Reduced heat transfer efficiency inside treater vessels due to fouling of the interior heating tubes. Treater needed to be shut in, and heating tubes mechanically cleaned.
- Emulsion carry-over throughout the condensate stabilization process, causing frequent fouling of re-boiler tubes
- Condensate carryover to water tanks and water ponds
- Filter changes
The root cause of the stabilized emulsion was multifaceted, with residual polyacrylamide fractions still present in the fluids during flowback that would bind with precipitated iron sulphide scale particles & paraffin to form a tight, stabilized emulsion.
Traditional emulsion breaker & dispersant chemistries were ineffective, leaving SECURE to explore other unconventional surface-active agents. Through on-site testing using live flowback fluids, SECURE developed two novel flowback chemistries to effectively break apart the polymer / iron sulphide / paraffin stabilized emulsion matrix:
- FX 4002 – High activity surfactant / EB blend designed for continuous treatment of flowback emulsions containing elevated levels of polyacrylamide fractions, iron sulphides, solids, and paraffin. Designed for injection directly upstream of well testing operations during flowback stages. Also effective in batch application for slop tanks.
- EB-2588 – EB blend with lower concentration of surfactant specifically designed for interface control inside of inlet vessels & treaters.
Implementation of these two flowback emulsion treatment chemistries allowed operations to bring new wells online faster and push maximum fluids through their facility without any major operation upsets. Within 24 hours of starting the flowback products, a drastic improvement of their guided wave radar operation in the inlet vessel, along with a significant uptick in treater heat medium efficiency was noted. Condensate clarity also improved, with the bulk of the polymer / iron sulphide complex pushed down into the water phase and dumped into the water tanks.
Throughout the flowback period for each pad/well, SECURE personnel closely monitored emulsion trends and chemical demand and worked closely with the producer’s operations and engineering staff to adjust the chemical program as required.
SECURE continues to utilize these flowback emulsion breaker chemistries on an as-needed basis for this producer’s fields. Treatment rates range from 100ppm to 500ppm depending on the severity of the emulsion observed. SECURE has also successfully used the FX 4002 for regular slop tank batch treatments with other Montney producers to effectively break polymer and iron sulfide stabilized emulsions and allow recycling of clean condensate back through the plant process.
“SECURE’s FX-4002 flowback treatment chemistry delivered immediate and measurable improvements to our operations. Within 24 hours, we saw significantly improved vessel interface control, prevented emulsions from fouling the treater bundle, and proper condensate quality, allowing us to bring wells online faster and operate without the frequent upsets we had previously experienced. SECURE’s hands-on support and ability to tailor the program to our field conditions made a meaningful difference in our facility reliability and overall performance.”
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