Patent attributes
Viscoelastic surfactant (VES) gelled aqueous fluids containing water, a VES, an internal breaker, a VES stabilizer, a fluid loss control agent and a viscosity enhancer are useful as treating fluids and particularly as fracturing fluids for subterranean formations. These VES-based fluids have faster and more complete clean-up than polymer-based fracturing fluids. The use of an internal breaker permits ready removal of the unique VES micelle based pseudo-filter cake with several advantages including reducing the typical VES loading and total fluid volume since more VES fluid stays within the fracture, generating a more optimum fracture geometry for enhanced reservoir productivity, and treating reservoirs with permeability above the present VES limit of approximately 400 md to at least 2000 md.
