This paper presents the strategy and execution that led to the industry's first successful deployment of a high-power laser in the field. The development encompassed various aspects: administration, technical, lab-to-field transformation, and intensive research. One of the primary success factors was identifying potential technologies and forecasting their evolution. High-power lasers were selected for the upstream applications because of their capabilities and successful use in almost every industry, ranging from medical to the military; it attracted the industry due to its unique features, such as precision, reliability, control, and accuracy. High-power lasers at the early stage (generation) were not applicable for downhole applications due to their relatively lower power levels. However, it has been utilized widely in several applications, such as sensing, measurements, and others. The objective of this program is to utilize the new generations of higher-power lasers in several upstream applications. The program is strategically designed to reduce the risk and increase success. In the initial stage, the work focused on the feasibility and characterization of intervening physics. The goal was to answer fundamental technical questions, such as "can lasers penetrate all types of rocks? What are the limitations? What is the effect of the laser on rocks?" The research spanned the last two decades, culminating in the development of the first field prototype of a high-power laser system. The work proved that near-infrared multi-kilowatt lasers (hereon high-power lasers or HPL) could perforate and process any rock type at different conditions, including in-situ testing and liquid environments. The experimental plan was designed systematically and divided into phases, starting from fundamentals to advance. Prototype tools were designed, tested, and upscale for field deployment. All applications can be performed with the same HPL source -only the optical head needs to be changed. High-power laser technology is an alternative to conventional methods of subsurface energy extraction, such as perforation, descaling, and drilling. It is cost-effective, compact, versatile, waterless, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly, thus enabling sustainable field operations.

This paper presents a novel/cost-effective hydrophobic material based 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene (POG) for oil/water separation. Graphene derived from graphite was modified with 9-octadecenoic acid to obtain 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene (OG). Then, emulsion polymerization of styrene was performed on OG to produce polystyrene branches on 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene (POG). Three different composites were prepared by varying the amount of 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene used as follows: POG25, POG50, and POG75. The three materials were characterized by using N2-physisorption and Fourier transform Infra-red (FTIR). The BET surface area of POG75 was 288 m2/g while POG50 was 225 m2/g and POG25 was 79 m2/g. These materials were evaluated for their oil/water separation efficiency using model mixture. The results showed that the higher the ratio of the 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene, the higher the oil removal efficiency of the material and the faster the rate of the adsorption. The materials showed not only high efficiency but also fast uptake of the certain quantity of the oil just within 1 minute. This can be explained by the high hydrophobicity nature of the materials which repel the water as confirmed by the contact angle of approximately 150°. POG75 showed promising results to be a good candidate adsorbent materials for oil removal from produced water where it displays the highest adsorption capability to organic compounds and the highest BET surface area. POG75 was regenerated and its performance was tested again. This material showed a slightly reduced adsorption rate in the first cycle compared to the fresh material. However, the adsorption rate was constant for the next several cycles. POG75 has the potential to be utilized to remove oil contaminants from produced water.

The objective of this work is to treat seawater and produced water by utilizing natural ceramic materials for different applications such as water injection, water disposal, hydraulic fracturing and steam generation. Research has discovered efficient low maintenance natural ceramic materials with unique properties like having a long life of 10 years and very low maintenance — once every 2 years. This paper presents several successful water treatments from different reservoirs with consistence in treatment percentage in all the reservoirs. Natural ceramic earth materials are used to treat seawater and produced water as these materials break down the compositions of the contaminations by adsorption. The lab setup and experimental work has demonstrated the efficiency of this technology by treating several samples. The principle is using treatment stages that the water will pass through. These stages have natural ceramic materials and when they interact with water, it break downs contaminates of produced water such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), radioactive, sulfate, dissolved solids and depressed oil in water. There are several issues associated with produced water such as H2S contaminations, including safety, formation damage, scaling and corrosion. That increases the operational cost and workover, increases downtime, and killing and coiled tubing intervention. The water treatment eliminates or reduces surface facility costs. The system treated different contaminations such as radioactive (79%), sulfate (89%), chloride (80%) total dissolved solids (TDS) (80%), and others. The success of the treatment is due to the unique ceramic materials' properties, which make them an excellent candidate for treatment, such as 80% continuity, a large surface area, adsorptivity and adsorption rate, heat resistance up to 1100 °C, chemically stable (will not react with acid and alkaline), lightweight (sp 0.4 to 0.45), 10 years life time and 2 years maintenance. Based on the result, the current plan is to treat 190,000 barrels per day (BPD).

The objective of this work is to present the utilization of high-power laser technology in different downhole flow enhancement applications. High power laser technology provides innovative non-damaging technology and is an alternative to several current downhole conventional technologies. Wide ranges of high power laser applications have been identified, evaluated and successfully tested in the laboratory, these applications are related to improve production. The precision of controlling the laser parameters enables the properties flow improvement in all rock types. Laser energy generated and transmitted from the laser source to the target via fiber optics cables. The laser beam is controlled by downhole tool and optical bottom hole assembly. Based on the identified applications, the laser tools are designed and built combining mechanical and optical components that are aligned and assembled accordingly, the tools released the final shaped beam to the target. The controlled beam generates thermal energy, this energy can melt, vaporize or spall the formation, depending on the application needed. High power laser technology has the potential to change the industry in several downhole applications including perforations, heating, fractures initiation, open hole notching, deep perforation, and drilling. The motivation for searching for alternative technologies is the cost effective and advancement of the laser technology and the need for none damaging environmentally friendly alternative technology. Laser provides unique advantages for downhole applications, such as accuracy, precision, and power, these parameters have been successfully tested in the lab and the optimized setting are configured in the tool. Several iterations of the tools have been done to optimize and finalize the successful design. The tools are designed to fit in slim holes as small as four inches. In addition, the tools are designed to operate in a fluid environment, the tools are equipped with purging capabilities to circulate gas or fluid, the functions of the purging are to clean the hole from the debris and carry the cuttings. The technology provides very small footprint and is environmentally friendly, it is a waterless technology when it is used for fracturing, and a non-explosive perforation base technology when it is used as a perforation gun. The unique futures of the technology are the precision is controlling and orienting the energy in any direction regardless of the reservoir stress orientation and magnitude. The precision in orienting the energy enables to focus the energy on the pay zones directly maximizing reservoir contact.

This study evaluates physical and chemical changes induced by high thermal gradients on the formation and their impact to the stability. The heat sources that effect the formation’s stability are varied, including drilling (due to drilling bit friction), perforation, electromagnetic heating (laser or microwave), and thermal recovery or stimulation (steam, resistive heating, combustion, microwave, etc.). This study uses an integrated approach to characterize rock heterogeneity and mapping heat propagation from different heat sources. The information obtained from the study is vital to accurately design and enhance well completion and stimulation This is an integrated analysis approach combining different advanced characterization and visualization techniques to map heat propagation in the formation. Advanced statistical analysis is also used to determine the key parameters and build fundamental prediction algorithms. Characterization on the samples was performed before, during, and after the exposure to thermal sources; it comprised thin-section, high speed infrared thermography (IR), differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analyzer (DTA/TGA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), uniaxial stress, and autoscan (provide hardness, composition, velocity, and spectral absorption). The results are integrated, and machine learning is used to derive a predictive algorithm of heat propagation and mapping in the formation with reference to the key formation variables and heterogeneity distribution. Rock heterogeneity affects the rate and patterns of heat propagation into the formation. Within the rock sample, minerals, laminations, and cementations lead to a heterogeneous, and sometimes anisotropic, distribution of thermal properties (thermal conductivity, heat capacity, diffusivity, etc.). These properties are also affected by the rock structure (porosity, micro-cracks, and fractures) and saturation distribution. The results showed the impact of heat on the mechanical properties of the rocks are due to clays dehydration, mineral dissociations, and micro cracks. High speed thermal imaging provides a unique visualization of heat propagation in heterogeneous rocks. Statistical analysis identified key parameters and their impact on thermal propagation; the output was used to build a machine learning algorithm to predict heat distributions in core samples and near-wellbore. Characterizing rock properties and understanding how heterogeneity modifies heat propagation in rocks enables the design of optimal completion and stimulation strategies. This paper discusses how advanced characterization and analysis, combined with novel algorithms, can improve this understanding, and unleash innovation and optimization. The data and information gathered are critical to develop numerical models for field-scale applications.