The present invention provides a method for separating oily drill fluid from an oily drill cuttings slurry comprising oily drill fluid and drill cuttings. The method comprises destructively modifying at least a portion of the drill cuttings that are contacted by at least one cuttings-reactive chemical thereby disrupting attraction forces between the portion of the drill cuttings and the oily drill fluid and making it easier for mechanical cuttings treatment equipment to separate oily drill fluid from the oily drill cuttings slurry.

A method for operating a kerogen-rich unconventional gas reservoir characterized by there being multiple hydraulically-fractured wells drilled thereinto comprises: recovering a methane-containing gas from a first hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir, steam-methane reforming the recovered methane-containing gas to yield a hydrogen gas and an inorganic carbon-containing gas, injecting at least a portion of the hydrogen gas into a second hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir, and injecting at least a portion of the inorganic carbon-containing gas into a third hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir.

Methods are provided to inhibit scale formation in oil or gas production systems. In one embodiment, the scale inhibiting treatment comprises: A) an AAA terpolymer and B) a phosphonate. The treatment can be added to these systems in the well area itself, to the well annulus and its associated tubes, casings, etc., to the oil or gas bearing subterranean formation, to injection conduits for injecting steam or fracking fluid to the subterranean formation, to the produced water or to equipment in fluid flow contact with the produced water.

Macroparticulates may be formed through at least partial self-assembly by reacting an epoxide-containing (meth)acrylic polymer or copolymer with a compound bearing a nitrogen nucleophile. An internal cavity may be formed when functionalizing the (meth)acrylic polymer or copolymer in the presence of a hindered amine base. When appropriately functionalized, the macroparticulates may be used to sequester a contaminant from a substance in need of contaminant remediation, such as produced water or flowback water from a wellbore job site. Reclaimed water obtained from the macroparticulates may be utilized to form a treatment fluid. The macroparticulates may be located within a continuous flow line, particularly within a removable cartridge, to promote removal of at least one contaminant from a substance in need of contaminant remediation. The substance in need of contaminant remediation and/or the macroparticulates may be visually or spectroscopically interrogated to determine whether the macroparticulates have become saturated with contaminant.

Additives configured to temporarily reduce viscosity in oil-based fluids are provided. The additives may be a reaction product of at least one non-ionic additive and at least one acid anhydride of maleic, succinic and/or glutaric acid. The at least one non-ionic additive may be selected from linear or branched alcohols, alcohol ethoxylates, a combination thereof, and/or a derivative thereof.

Treatment fluids and associated methods and systems for demulsifying an emulsified well fluid. An example method includes contacting the emulsified well fluid with a treatment fluid comprising: an aqueous base fluid; an alcohol; a resin alkoxylated oligomer; a polyol; and a polyamine polyether. The emulsified well fluid is separated into an aqueous phase and an oleaginous phase after contact with the treatment fluid.

A method for operating a kerogen-rich unconventional gas reservoir characterized by there being multiple hydraulically-fractured wells drilled thereinto comprises: recovering a methane-containing gas from a first hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir, steam-methane reforming the recovered methane-containing gas to yield a hydrogen gas and an inorganic carbon-containing gas, injecting at least a portion of the hydrogen gas into a second hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir, and injecting at least a portion of the inorganic carbon-containing gas into a third hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir.

a method of treating aqueous wellbore fluids, comprising (a) converting one or more multivalent cations in a multivalent cation-containing aqueous fluid to form a mixture comprising one or more insoluble compounds and a treated aqueous fluid, (b) separating the treated aqueous fluid from the one or more insoluble compounds, and (c) contacting the treated aqueous fluid with a sulfide-containing aqueous fluid to form a compatibilized aqueous fluid, wherein the multivalent cation-containing aqueous fluid, the sulfide-containing aqueous fluid, or both were recovered from wellbores prior to (c).

A system and method for generating water concentrated in calcium bromide from produced water, to provide for drilling fluid having the calcium bromide. The technique includes flowing the produced water through a bed of ion-exchange resin to sorb bromide ions from the produced water onto the ion-exchange resin, and then regenerating the ion-exchange resin to desorb the bromide ions for combination with calcium ions to acquire an aqueous solution with calcium and bromide.

Embodiments of treating fluid comprising hydrocarbons, water, and polymer being produced from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation are provided. One embodiment comprises adding a concentration of a viscosity reducer to the fluid to degrade the polymer present in the fluid and adding a concentration of a neutralizer to the fluid to neutralize the viscosity reducer in the fluid. The addition of the concentration of the viscosity reducer is in a sufficient quantity to allow for complete chemical degradation of the polymer prior to the addition of the concentration of the neutralizer in the fluid such that excess viscosity reducer is present in the fluid. The addition of the concentration of the neutralizer is sufficiently upstream of any surface fluid processing equipment to allow for complete neutralization of the excess viscosity reducer such that excess neutralizer is present in the fluid prior to the fluid reaching any of the surface fluid processing equipment.