Drill Cuttings Re-Injection

Abstract

Methods and compositions for re-injecting formation solids such as drillbit cuttings into a subsurface formation including: obtaining a volume of solid particles comprising a non-aqueous fluid; obtaining a slurry-forming fluid, the slurry-forming fluid comprising water, salt, a viscosifying water soluble polymer, and an oily solids aggregator; mixing the obtained solid particles and the slurry-forming fluid to create an injectable slurry; and introducing the injectable slurry into a wellbore for injection into a subsurface formation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for injecting solid particles recovered from a NAF drilling cuttings returns fluid stream into a subsurface formation, comprising:
 obtaining solid particles from a drilling returns stream comprising a NAF, the obtained solid particles comprising NAF;   obtaining a slurry-forming fluid, the slurry-forming fluid comprising water, a viscosifying water soluble polymer, and an oily solids aggregator;   mixing the obtained solid particles and the slurry-forming fluid to create an injectable slurry; and   introducing the injectable slurry into a wellbore for injection into a subsurface formation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising pumping the injectable slurry into the wellbore and into one or more fractures formed in the subsurface formation. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the oily solids aggregator comprises an ionic water soluble polymer. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the oily solids aggregator comprises at least one of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and sulfonated polystyrene. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the viscosifying water soluble polymer comprises at least one of a polysaccharide, guar gum, xanthan, alginate, pectin, cellulosic polymer, and a viscosifying hydrocolloid. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the viscosifying water soluble polymer comprises at least one of carboxyl-methylcellulose (CMC) and xanthan gum. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the water comprises at least 0.5 wt % (5 ppt) salt based upon the total weight of the water, wherein the salt comprises at least one of a dissolved chloride and bromide salt. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the slurry-forming fluid aggregates solids within a size range of 0.2 to 50 micron size solid particles. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising separating the obtained solid particles from at least a portion of the non-aqueous drilling fluid, wherein the separated obtained solid particles comprise a coating of non-aqueous drilling fluid. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising combining salt water, the water soluble polymer, the oily solids aggregator, and NAF-coated solid particles to form the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the water comprises a chloride or bromide salt of at least one of sodium, calcium, and magnesium. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 50 to 80 wt % of water, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 60 to 70 wt % of water, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 15 to 50 wt % of solid particles, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 20 to 30 wt % of solid particles, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 5 to 25 wt % of NAF, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 5 to 20 wt % of NAF, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises NAF at a concentration of from 1 wt % to 25 wt %, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising pumping a volume of a NAF filter cake remediation fluid into the disposal well prior to pumping the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising pumping a volume of the NAF into the disposal well prior to pumping the injectable slurry into the disposal well. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises the oily solids aggregator in the range of 0.01 to 5 wt % based on the total weight of the slurry composition. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises the oily solids aggregator in the range of 0.01 to 1.0 wt % based on the total weight of the slurry composition. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises the oily solids aggregator in the range of 0.05 to 0.5 wt % based on the total weight of the slurry composition. 
     
     
         24 . An injectable fluid for use in re-injecting solid particles recovered from a NAF drilling fluid into a subsurface formation, comprising:
 a slurry-forming fluid, the slurry-forming fluid comprising water, salt, a viscosifying water soluble polymer, an oily solids aggregator polymer, and a NAF.   
     
     
         25 . The fluid of  claim 24 , further comprising solid particles comprising drill cuttings and the NAF. 
     
     
         26 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the oily solids aggregator comprises an ionically responsive water soluble polymer. 
     
     
         27 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the oily solids aggregator comprises at least one of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and sulfonated polystyrene. 
     
     
         28 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the water soluble polymer comprises at least one of a polysaccharide, guar gum, alginate, pectin, cellulosic polymer, and another hydro-colloid. 
     
     
         29 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the water soluble polymer comprises at least one of carboxyl-methylcellulose (CMC) and Xanthan gum. 
     
     
         30 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the water comprises at least 0.5 wt % (5 ppt) salt, based upon the total weight of the water in the injectable slurry, wherein the salt comprises at least one of a dissolved chloride and bromide salt of at least one of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. 
     
     
         31 . The fluid of  claim 25 , further comprising NAF in addition to the NAF that is associated with the drill cuttings. 
     
     
         32 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the slurry-forming fluid further comprises a chloride or bromide salt of at least one of sodium, calcium, and magnesium. 
     
     
         33 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 50 to 80 wt % of water, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         34 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 60 to 70 wt % of water, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry 
     
     
         35 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 15 to 40 wt % of solid particles, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         36 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 20 to 30 wt % of solid particles, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         37 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises from 5 to 30 wt % of NAF, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         38 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises NAF at a concentration of from 1 wt % to 25 wt %, based upon the total weight of the injectable slurry. 
     
     
         39 . The fluid of  claim 28 , wherein the solid particles comprise at least 10 wt % of the solid particles having a mean diameter of from 0.2 to 50 microns, based upon the total weight of the solid particles. 
     
     
         40 . The fluid of  claim 24  wherein the injectable slurry comprises the oily solids aggregator in the range of 0.01 to 5 wt % based on the total weight of the slurry composition. 
     
     
         41 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises the oily solids aggregator in the range of 0.01 to 1.0 wt % based on the total weight of the slurry composition. 
     
     
         42 . The fluid of  claim 24 , wherein the injectable slurry comprises the oily solids aggregator in the range of 0.05 to 0.5 wt % based on the total weight of the slurry composition.