Method of treating a well with a corrosion inhibitor

Abstract: A composition for treating a wells having a metal tubular therein, which composition comprises: (a) an aqueous acid solution; (b) at least one first metal ion which is Sb, Bi or Cu; (c) at least one second metal ion, which is Ca, Mg, Al, Zn, Zr or Sn, the mole ratio of the first metal ion(s) to the second metal ion(s) being from 1:10 to 10:1; (d) one or more quaternary aromatic ammonium compounds complexed with the first and second metal ions, the concentration of the quaternary ammonium compound and the metal ions complexed therewith being from 0.1 to 10 weight % of the aqueous acid solution; and (e) an effective amount of a surfactant to disperse the complexed metal ions in the acid solution.

Description: This invention relates generally to a method of treating a well having metal tubulars therein with a corrosion inhibitor containing metal salts in an acid solutions used in acid treatment of subterranean formations. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Acids and acid solutions have long been used in the stimulation of oil wells, gas wells, water wells, and similar boreholes. Acid stimulation is performed in wells completed in subterranean formations. Acidizing is used in conjunction with hydraulic fracturing techniques and matrix acidizing techniques. In both acid fracturing and matrix acidizing, the well treating acid solutions, usually HCl, HF, or mixtures thereof, are pumped through the well tubular goods and injected into the formation where the acid attacks formation materials increasing its permeability to oil and/or gas. In order to protect the equipment and tubular goods from the corrosive effects of the acid, the well treating acid almost always includes a corrosion inhibitor. Corrosion inhibitors of diverse description and composition have been proposed over the years for use with well treating acids. Corrosion inhibitors that have received wide spread use arc those containing metal/quaternary ammonium complexes. Some of these are described in the following U.S. Patents: 3,773,465 (cuprous iodide); 4,498,997; 4,522,658; and 4,552,672 (antimony compounds). EP-A-390317 discloses a corrosion inhibitor formulation comprising a highly polar aprotic solvent having dissolved therein (a) a complex of a metal compound and a quaternary ammonium compound and (b) a dispersed capable of dispersing the complex. In the past, the metal/quaternary complexes, have been used with an acetylenic compound which apparently contributes to the effectiveness of the complex, particularly at high temperatures. Corrosion inhibitors containing acetylenic compounds, quaternary ammonium compounds and metal salts such as antimony chloride or cuprous iodide present two serious problems: (1) the acetylenic compound is highly toxic and (2) the complex is difficult to disperse in the acid. The toxicity problem can be overcome by eliminating the acetylenic compound. The dispersion problem normally required the separate addition to the acid of the corrosion inhibitor formulation (with the acetylenic compound and the quaternary compound) and the antimony compound at the well site during, or immediately prior to, pumping operations. Efforts to solve these two problems have not beEn satisfactory. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The well treating method of the present invention employs a corrosion inhibitor comprising two separate metal ions (binary metals), each complexed with a quaternary ammonium compound. The improved corrosion inhibiting results of the binary metal systems (two complexed metal ions) are believed to be due to each type of complex contributing separately and differently to the total inhibition achieved, thereby increasing the utility of the corrosion inhibitor since it can be used in both HCl solutions and mud acid solutions and in the treatment of wells with carbon steel tubulars or chrome alloy steels. The present invention provides a method of treating a well having metal tubulars therein comprising preparing a well treating composition and pumping said composition down the tubulars, the composition comprising: (i) an aqueous acid solution; (ii) a first metal ion which is Sb, Cu (cuprous) or Bi; (iii) a second metal ion which is Ca, Mg, Al, Zn, Zr or Sn, the mole ratio of the first metal ion(s) to the second metal ion(s) being from 1:10 to 10:1; (iv) one or more aromatic quaternary ammonium compounds complexed with the first and second metal ions, the concentration of the quaternary ammonium compound and the metal ions complexed therewith being from 0.1 to 10 weight % in the aqueous acid solution; and (v) an effective amount of a surfactant to disperse the complexed metal ions in the acid solution; characterized in that the preparation of the well treating composition comprises adding a first metal salt to the acid solution to form the first metal ion, complexing the second metal ion with an excess quaternary ammonium compound in a concentrated formulation, and then adding the concentrated formulation with the excess quaternary ammonium compound to the acid solution whereby the first metal ion complexes with the excess quaternary ammonium compound. In preferred embodiment, the dispersant or surfactant is provided by a non-ionic surfactant (or surfactant blend) having an HLB no. of between 8 and 18 acts (a) as a dispersant to assist in dispersing the corrosion inhibitor and (b) as a wetting agent to render the well tubulars wettable by the well treating composition and corrosion inhibitors. In accordance with the present invention, the corrosion inhibitor, or components thereof, are introduced into the well treating acid solution at a concentration sufficient to coat the well tubulars and equipment. The concentration of the corrosion inhibitor in the acid solution should generally be sufficient to provide the acid solution with at least 0.08 wt% of the metal ions. The upper limit of the metal ions in the acid solution will be controlled by economics but levels of about 1.5, preferably 1.0 wt%, will be satisfactory for most cases. The mole ratio of the first and second metal ions ranges from 1:10 to 10:1 with 1:3 to 3:1 being preferred. The mole ratio of the combined amount for the first and second metal ions in relation to the auaternary compound ranges from 1.4:1 to 1:5 with 1:1 to 1:2 being preferred. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As indicated above the well treating composition comprises three principal compounds. Each of these compounds as well as the acid solution in which they are used are described below. Aqueous Acid Solution: Any of the known oil field acids may be used. These are referred to herein as "well treating acids" and include aqueous solutions of hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrofluoric acid (HF), mixtures of HCl and HF, acetic acid, formic acid, and other organic acids and anhydrides. The most common well treating acids are 3% HCl, 7½% HCl, 15% HCl, 28% HCl, and blends of HCl and HF (mud acid). Mud acid is normally a blend of 6 to 12% of HCl and 1 ½ to 6% HF, but may range from 3 to 20 HCl and 0.5 to 9HF. When the acid solution used is an aqueous solution of from 3 to 28% HCl, it is preferred that the first metal ion is selected from Sb and Cu (cuprous) and mixtures thereof. When the acid solution is a mud acid solution the first metal ion is preferably Sb. Metal Compounds : The function of the metal compounds is to produce ions in the aqueous acid to complex with the quaternary ammonium compound. The complex forms a protective deposit on the metal tubulars and equipment. [Although the metal or metal ion actually complexes with the quaternary compound, these terms (metal compound, metals, or metal ions) are sometimes used interchangeably.] As mentioned above, the well treating method of the present invention employs two metal compounds (or metal ions thereof): 1. a first metal ion selected from the group consisting of Bi, Sb, and Cu (cuprous), or mixtures thereof; and 2. a second metal ion selected from the group consisting of Ca, Mg, Al, Zn, Zr, Sn, and mixtures thereof, preferably from the group consisting of Ca, Mg, Al and mixtures thereof. It is preferred that these ion producing compounds be in the form of metal salts. Tests have shown that the ions of the above metal salts and mixtures thereof exhibit corrosion protection when complexed with a quaternary ammonium compound or compounds. The metal salts or mixtures must be soluble in the solvent and form a soluble complex with the quaternary ammonium compound. The term "complex" as used herein means a coordination or association of the metal ion with the quaternary compound. The metal salts are preferably metal halides, specifically metal chlorides. Some of the salts may be formed in situ. For example, antimony chloride is produced from Sb 2 O 3 and aqueous acid such as HCl. The insoluble Sb 2 O 3 is converted to a soluble salt. As indicated above antimony is among the most preferred ions. The antimony compound for producing the Sb ion may comprise, for example, antimony trichloride, antimony pentachloride, antimony trifluoride, alkali metal salts of antimony tartrate, antimony adducts of ethylene glycol, and antimony trioxide or any other trivalent or pentavalent antimony compound and the like. As mentioned above, the antimony oxides may be converted to halide salts in the presence of aqueous acid. The cuprous ion producing compound may be cuprous iodide as described in U.S. Patent 3,773,465, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The bismuth compound may be e.g. bismuth trichloride, bismuth triiodide, bismuth trioxide, alkali metal salts of bismuth tartrate, organic acid salts of bismuth such as bismuth subsalicylate or any other bismuth compound and the like. The bismuth trioxide may be converted to the halide salts in the presence of aqueous acid. The binary and ternary metal mixtures are preferred for particularly severe corrosive environments since they appear to combine synergistically to provide protection. The binary metal salts may be mixed to provide the two metal ions in a mole ratio of 1:10 to 10:1. Each metal ion of the ternary mixture preferably should be present at a weight ratio of at least one part (preferably 2 parts) of each of the other two compounds per 10 parts of the total ions. The preferred metal ion mixtures and the mixture ratios are listed below: MOLE RATIO Sb/Ca, Sb/Al, Sb/Mg 1:1 to 1:10 Cu+/Ca, Cu+/Al, Cu+/Mg 1:5 to 10:1 The use of antimony or a mixture of antimony and copper as the first metal ion and calcium as the second metal ion is also preferred. Quaternary Compounds : The quaternary aromatic compounds (referred to as "quaternary" or "quaternary compounds" herein) employed in the present invention must be capable of complexing with the ions of the selected metal salts. Preferably, mixtures of quaternary ammonium compounds are used. Moreover, it is preferred that the quaternary ammonium compound complexed with the first metal ion is different from the quaternary ammonium compound complexed with the second metal ion. The preferred quaternary comprise aromatic nitrogen compounds which may be illustrated by alkyl pyridine-N-methyl chloride quaternary, alkyl pyridine-N-benzyl chloride quaternary, quinoline-N-methyl chloride quaternary, quinoline-N-benzyl chloride quaternary, quinoline-N-(chlorobenzyl chloride) quaternary, isoquinoline quaternaries, benzoquinoline quaternaries, chloromethyl naphthalene quaternaries and admixtures of such compounds, and the like. The quaternary compound and metal ions may be used in molar ratios of 1:1 to 5:1. Generally, the quaternary compound, because of its higher molecular weight, will be present in the formulation at a higher concentration than the metal compound. The weight ratios of the metal ions and the quaternary compound preferably range from 2:1 to 1:10, preferably 1.7:1 to 1:7, and most preferably 1.4:1 to 1:5. Solvent: The solvent if used may be a highly polar aprotic solvent, such as dimethyl formamide (DMF), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylacetamide (DMA), 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone ("pyrrolidone"), tetramethylene sulfone ("sulfolane") and mixtures thereof. In these solvents, the ions of the metal salt are unencumbered permitting the complex to form, The aprotic solvent (e.g., DMF, DMSO, DMA, pyrrolidone, and sulfolane) may be blended with alcohol. The preferred solvent is DMF or blends of alcohol and dimethyl formamide. Examples of such solvents include dimethyl formamide (DMF), DMF/isopropyl alcohol, DMF/methyl alcohol, DMF/formamide, DMF/formamide isopropyl alcohol, and DMF/formamide/methyl alcohol. DMF preferably constitutes from 50 to 100 wt% of the above solvent blends. The solvent, in certain applications, may be used with the first metal ions. The Dispersant: In applications where a complex is formed prior to introduction into the acid solutions, it has been found desirable to employ a dispersant. For the first metal ions, an organic amine (including aromatic amines, aliphatic amines, and heterocyclic amines), may be used. The preferred dispersants are aminophenol, aniline, chloroaniline, toluidine, diphenyl amine, picoline, alkyl pyridine, or n-octylamine. It should be noted that the first metal compounds described above may be added to the acid as a formulation or directly to the acid. The dispersant and solvent need not be used in the direct addition process. For the second metal ions, the surfactant described below may serve as the dispersant. The Surfactant: The surfactant serves to wet the tubular goods to permit deposition of the quaternary/metal ion complex and also assists in dispersing the second metal ion complexes. The preferred surfactants are the nonionics having hydrophilic - lipophilic balance (HLB) numbers to 8 to 18, preferably 9 to 16 such as laurates, stearates, and oleates. Nonionic surfactants include the polyoxethylene surfactants, (such as ethoxylated alkyl phenols, ethoxylated aliphatic alcohols), polyethylene glycol esters of fatty, resin, and tall oil acids. Examples of such surfactants are polyoxyethylene alkyl phenol wherein the alkyl group is linear or branched C8 to C12 and contains above about 60 wt% poly oxyethylene. Octyl and nonyl phenols Containing 9 to 15 moles ethylene oxide per mole hydrophobe are the preferred ethoxylated alkyl phenol surfactants. The polyoxyethylene ester of fatty acids include the mono and dioleates and sesquioleates wherein the molecular wt of the esterified polyethylene glycol is between about 200 and 1000. Polyoxyethylene sorbitan oleates are also useable. In practice, the nonionics may be blended to provide the desired properties. A particularly useful surfactant is a blend of polyethylene glycol esters of fatty acids and ethoxylated alkylphenols. Preparation of the Well Treating Composition: The well treating composition is preferably prepared in a tank prior to pumping down the well. The procedure involves direct addition of the first metal compound and preparing a formulation for the second metal compound for addition to the tank. Separate Addition: The aqueous solution is introduced into a tank, typically 3,000 gallons in volume. The formulation for the second metal compound is prepared by adding the metal salt, an excess of quaternary compound, and surfactant to a solvent. The concentration of the compounds in the formulation for the second metal ion complexes may be as described in U.S. Patent 5,002,673. The concentrations are preferably as follows: Broad Range (wt %) Preferred Range (wt %) Most Preferred Range (wt %) Metal Compound 1 to 25 2 to 20 4 to 10 Quaternary Compound 3 to 50 12 to 50 16 to 25 Polar Solvent 20 to 90 20 to 70 40 to 60 Dispersant 1 to 15 1 to 10 2 to 5 Surfactant 0 to 25 1 to 10 3 to 6 The first metal compounds and the prepared formulations of the second metal ions complexed with the quaternary compound are then added to the aqueous acid in the tank and stirred to form a uniform solution or dispersion. The first metal compounds may be added directly to the acid solution to produce the first metal ions in the acid in the tank, while stirring the tank contents. The excess quaternary compound added in the formulation of the second metal complexes with the first metal ions. With the contents uniformly complexed and dispersed, the pumping operations for acid treating the well may proceed. The well treating composition is pumped down the well wherein the corrosion inhibitor enhanced by the surfactant wets the tubulars providing corrosion protection therefor. The corrosion inhibitor concentration in the acid solution will range from 0.1 to 10 wt%, preferably 0.2 to 5 wt%, and most preferably 0.5 to 2 wt%, based on the weight of the acid solution. EXPERIMENTS In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the corrosion inhibitors of the present invention, several samples were prepared using various components. The quaternary ammonium compounds used in the experiments were as follows: quaternary X - quinoline-N-benzyl chloride quaternary quaternary Y - alkyl pyridine-N-benzyl chloride quaternary quaternary Z - quinoline-N-chloromethylnapthyl chloride quaternary The surfactant blend was 3.0 wt parts nonylphenol (10 mols EO) 3.5 wt parts each of polyethylene glycol (400) dioleate polyethylene glycol (600) sesquioleate The well treating composition samples in all the experiments were prepared as follows: (a) One hundred milliliters of the desired strength acid is measured into a test bottle. The acids were as follows: 28% HCl; 15% HCl; and 12/3 - % HCl/% HF. (b) If surfactant in addition to that in the metal ion/quaternary complex formulation is required, it is measured and added to the acid. (c) (i) Metal ion/quaternary complex formulations are measured with a syringe and added to the acid. (ii) If the first metal ion is to be directly added to the acid, an approximate weight of the metal compound is weighed and added to the acid. An appropriate volume of the second metal formulation is measured with a syringe and added to the acid. Corrosion tests using N-80 tubing steel coupons (carbon steel) and CR 2205 (API Specification Grade Duplex containing 21.9 wt% chromium) coupons (chrome alloy steel) were run at conditions indicated on Table I. TEMP. ( F) PRES. (psi) TIME (hrs) DATA Series A 250 3000 4 Table II Series B 250 3000 2 Table III Series C 325 3000 2 Table IV The results of the Series A Tests are presented in Table II: The results of the Series B Tests are presented in Table III: The results of the Series C Tests are presented in Table IV: Table V summarizes the test results by acid type and metal treated (carbon steel or chrome alloy steel). The % improvement is calculated as follows: % improvement = CR2 - CR1 CR2 where CR1 is corrosion rate of mixed metal system; where CR2 is corrosion rate of single metal system. N-80 Cr-2205 ACID 1st METAL 2nd METAL TEST NO. AVG. COR. RATE % IMPROV. TEST NO. AVG. COR. RATE % IMPROV. 28% Sb/Cu Ca 2, 4 0.0147 44 1, 3 0.0476 32 28% Sb Ca 5, 6 0.0166 50 28% Cu Ca 7, 8 0.0108 26 28% Cu Mg 9 0.0135 7 15% Cu Mg 10 0.0331 - 19 0.0428 - 15% Sb Al 11 0.0374 2 20 0.0055 34 15% Cu Al 12 0.0346 - 21 0.0548 - 15% Sb Ca 13 0.0174 43 16 0.0057 32 15% Cu Ca 14 0.0311 - 17 0.0340 - 15% Sb Mg 15 0.0059 94 18 0.0210 - Mud Sb Ca 22 0.0051 - 28 0.0082 63 Mud Cu Ca 23 0.0755 8 29,30 0.0650 - Mud Sb Mg 24 0.0448 - 31 0.0094 59 Mud Cu Mg 25 0.0599 26 32 0.0761 - Mud Sb Al 26 0.0242 - 33,34 0.0076 67 Mud Cu Al 27 0.0660 19 35 0.1132 - The data on Table V demonstrates that the binary and ternary metal systems provide improved protection for both HCl and mud acid solutions. Note that the binary and ternary metal systems which included Sb gave good results, both in terms of corrosion rate and % improvement, for inhibiting N-80 steel in 15% HCl and mud acid environments and exceptional results in inhibiting corrosion of chrome alloy steels in all acid environments tested. According to a preferred embodiment, in the method of the invention the acid solution is selected from the group consisting of aqueous solutions of HCl and mud acid, and the concentration of the corrosion inhibitor is at least 0.1 weight % in the acid solution. When the acid solution is HCl and the well tubulars are steel the metal ion mixture is preferably selected from the group consisting of Sb/Ca, Cu+/Ca, Sb/Cu+/Ca, Sb/Al, Sb/Mg, Cu+/Mg, Cu+/Al, and mixtures thereof. When the acid solution is mud acid and the well tubulars are chrome, the metal ion mixture is preferably selected from the group consisting of Sb/Ca, Sb/Mg, Sb/Al, and mixtures thereof. Although, the well treating composition containing binary metals with Cu were not overall as impressive, they nevertheless offered adequate protection (particularly for carbon steels in 15% HCl and mud acid) and offer the advantage of being far less toxic than Sb compounds. The present invention has been described in connection with preparing a corrosion inhibitor in or for use in an acid well treating composition. The concepts embodied in the invention include the combining of certain components described herein with commercially available corrosion inhibitors to enhance or extend the effectiveness of commercial corrosion inhibitors. For example, a formulation containing a second metal ion (e.g. Ca, Mg) complex as described herein may be added to an acid solution containing a corrosion inhibitor which includes antimony complexed with a quaternary ammonium compound. The binary mixture of complexed ions significantly improves the effectiveness of the corrosion inhibitor.

Claims: A method of treating a well having metal tubulars therein comprising preparing a well treating composition and pumping said composition down the tubulars, the composition comprising: (i) an aqueous acid solution; (ii) a first metal ion which is Sb, Cu (cuprous) or Bi; (iii) a second metal ion which is Ca, Mg, Al, Zn, Zr or Sn, the mole ratio of the first metal ion(s) to the second metal ion(s) being from 1:10 to 10:1; (iv). one or more aromatic quaternary ammonium compounds complexed with said first and second metal ions, the concentration of the quaternary ammonium compound and the metal ions complexed therewith being from 0.1 to 10 weight % in the aqueous acid solution; and (v) an effective amount of a surfactant to disperse the complexed metal ions in the acid solution; characterized in that the preparation of the well treating composition comprises adding a first metal salt to the acid solution to form said first metal ion, complexing said second metal ion with an excess quaternary ammonium compound in a concentrated formulation, and then adding the concentrated formulation with the excess quaternary ammonium compound to the acid solution whereby said first metal ion complexes with the excess quaternary ammonium compound. The method of claim 1, wherein the first metal ion is Sb or Cu (cuprous) The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the second metal ion is Ca. The method of claim 1, wherein a separate quaternary ammonium compound is provided for said first metal ions and said second metal ions. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein the acid solution is selected from the group consisting of aqueous solutions of HCl and mud acid, and the concentration of the corrosion inhibitor is at least 0.1 weight % in the acid solution. The method of claim 1, wherein the acid is aqueous HCl, and the well tubulars are steel, and the combination of said first/second metal ions is selected from the group consisting of Sb/Ca, Cu+/Ca, Sb,Cu+/Ca, Sb/Al, Sb/Mg, Cu+/Mg, Cu+/Al, and mixtures thereof. The method of claim 1, wherein the acid is mud acid and well tubulars are chrome steel and the metal ion mixture is selected from the group consisting of Sb/Ca, Sb/Mg, Sb/Al, and mixtures thereof.

Inventors: HOLIFIELD PHYLLIS KAY, LOONEY JAMES ROBERT, MCDOUGALL LEE ALLEN, WILLIAMS DENNIS ALEXANDER, HOLIFIELD, PHYLLIS KAY, LOONEY, JAMES ROBERT, MCDOUGALL, LEE ALLEN, WILLIAMS, DENNIS ALEXANDER
Applicants: NALCO EXXON ENERGY CHEM LP, NALCO/EXXON ENERGY CHEMICALS L.P.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: E21B41
IPC codes: C09K8, C23F11