A drilling fluid and method for drilling in a coal containing formation. The method includes: providing a mixed metal-viscosified drilling fluid including at least 1% potassium salt; circulating the drilling fluid through the well; and drilling into a coal seam.

Described herein are methods of treating fluid comprising hydrocarbons, water, and polymer being produced from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation are provided. The method can include 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 viscosity reducer is buffered at a pH of 7 or less (e.g., at a pH of from 2 to 7, such as at a pH of from 3.5 to 7, or at a pH of from 5 to 7). 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.

A method of treating a contaminated oil comprising preparing a brine solution, adding ozone to the brine solution to produce ozonated brine solution, adding a volume of ozonated brine solution to a volume of the contaminated oil, mixing the volumes of contaminated oil and ozonated brine solution with coagulant and surfactant at a shear rate sufficiently high so as to cause formation of an emulsion of the contaminated oil and the brine solution, stopping the mixing, thereby causing the emulsion to separate into an aqueous brine liquid phase and an oil liquid phase, separating the brine liquid phase from the oil liquid phase, and separating at least one contaminant from the oil liquid phase to produce a volume of purified oil.

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of oilfield chemistry. A flocculating agent for removing oil-based drilling fluid rock cuttings and a preparation method and a use thereof.

Various embodiments provide methods and systems for providing fluid lighteners for use in downhole wells. The fluid lighteners may include one or more viscosifiers, one or more aphron generators, and a location-specific non-emulsifying surfactant.

Waste water is remanufactured with ozone in a series of mixing vessels. The ozone is dispersed to both a top and a bottom portion of each mixing vessel, but in different amounts. This creates an electrical potential difference across the height of each mixing vessel which significantly improves the oxidation of organic carbon-based impurities and eliminates H.sub.2S and bacteria. Sludge and solids floating to the top of each mixing vessels are removed, as well as sludge and solids settling to the bottom of the mixing vessels. When oil and gas well waste water is treated in this manner, the resulting treated water is purified and has a high salt content suitable for oil or gas well injection.

A system and method for generating base water and precipitate, including combining produced water with seawater to precipitate barium sulfate from barium in the produced water and from sulfate in the seawater, and separating the precipitate to give the base water and the precipitate. The base water may have less than a specified amount of sulfate and be utilized for hydraulic fracturing fluid. The precipitate may give a weighting agent for drilling.

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.

A water treatment apparatus, system and method including introducing an aqueous fluid into a chamber, the aqueous fluid having a pH below 7 and having an oxidizing agent. Contacting, within the chamber, the aqueous fluid with a corrodible sacrificial material which oxidizes in the presence of the oxidizing agent also reducing the oxidizing agent. Thereafter, adjusting, subsequent contacting the corroding particulate, the pH of the aqueous fluid to above 7.