IP Library › Granted Patent US 6,995,120
Granted Patent B2
US 6,995,120 · App. 11/211,269 · Granted Feb 7, 2006

Scale control composition for high scaling environments

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 6,995,120
App. No.
11/211,269
Granted
Feb 7, 2006
Kind
B2
Abstract

Barium sulfate and/or calcium carbonate scale inhibitor composition composed of a water-soluble polymer having incorporated phosphate functionality, the polymer being formed from at least one ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer, at least one ethylenically unsaturated vinyl sulfonate monomer, or a mixture thereof. The scale inhibitor composition can be used as a means of detecting inhibitor composition in downhole and topside oilfield treatments by means that are faster and more accurate than turbidometric measurement.

Claims (17)

1. A method for inhibiting the formation of barium sulfate scale in a subterranean oil-containing formation comprising:

forming an inhibitor composition having a phosphate functional water-soluble polymer, the water-soluble polymer formed form

at least 1 mole percent of at least one ethylenically unsaturated phosphate functional monomer,

at least 50 mole percent of at least one ethylenically unsaturated (di)carboxylic acid monomer, and

at least 2 mole percent of at least one ethylenically unsaturated vinyl sulfonate monomer, and

contacting said inhibitor composition with a subterranean oil-containing formation in contact with an aqueous solution containing barium and sulfate ions.

2. A method for detecting the concentration of an inhibitor solution in subterranean oil fields comprising:

forming an inhibitor composition having a phosphate functional water-soluble polymer, the water-soluble polymer formed from

at least one ethylenically unsaturated phosphate functional monomer,

at least one ethylenically unsaturated (di)carboxylic acid monomer, and

at least one ethylenically unsaturated vinyl sulfonate monomer;

injecting said inhibitor composition into a subterranean oil-containing formation;

bringing an aqueous solution containing the inhibitor composition from the subterranean oil-containing formation to a location above the oil-containing formation, and

analyzing for the phosphate moiety.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein analysis for phosphate moiety is used to calculate concentration of inhibitor composition.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said analyzing for phosphate moiety further comprises using either inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) or colorimetric complexation of free phosphate from UV degraded polymer solution.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein analysis for phosphate moiety is not by turbidometric method.