Source: https://www.borax.

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supply

BORON IN OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION

ADDRESSING TECHNICAL CHALLENGES

Oil has been a dominant energy source for more than five decades and is likely to
remain so for several more as alternative primary energy sources are fully developed. As
oil and gas exploration and production projects increasingly operate in challenging
environments, at greater depths, and in more remote regions, the industry demands
more sophisticated engineering solutions. Challenges include the drilling of longer and
deeper (i.e., hotter) deviated wells, better-performing oil-well fluids and fluid additives,
and increased yields via stimulation and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques.
From initial reservoir prospecting to end-of-life production, the oil and gas industry
increasingly relies on bulk and specialty chemicals to ensure continued, affordable
supply. Borates’ unique properties and behaviors make them ideal options for multiple
oilfield applications:
 Retarder in concrete
 Drilling fluids
 Lost circulation treatments and profile control
 Alkaline surfactant
 Hydrogen sulfide scavenger
 Pulsed neutron well logging
 Hydraulic fracturing fluids
Fact: Borates are considered more environmentally friendly than competing transition
metal cross-linkers used in oil and gas stimulation.

A unique range of capabilities

Polymer cross-linking via borate ester formation is controllable and reversible—
impossible with other cross-linkers. Borates for oil and gas production range from highly
soluble, rapidly dissolving products to low-solubility, slowly dissolving products. Solubility
curves of borates are strongly dependent on temperature.
At low concentrations, borates form soluble ion-pair complexes with alkaline earth metal
cations that are present in sea and formation water. Perborate releases hydrogen
peroxide when dissolved in water. And the 10B nucleus is exceptionally effective at
neutron absorption.
Borates are anodic inhibitors, promoting the formation of passivating oxide layers on
various metal surfaces to inhibit corrosion. And borates are considered to pose a low
risk.
Drilling and exploration
Oil well cement set retardant
Borates, in combination with other materials, are added to cement reinforcements that
stabilize drilled well bore walls. The set rate of the cement must be carefully controlled to
ensure that it remains fluid enough to be pumped into the well and into place before
setting—particularly challenging when temperatures at the bottom of a well can easily
reach 300°F (149°C). Borates adsorb into the surfaces of cement grains, reacting with
the available calcium ions to form calcium borate coatings that are a barrier to grain
hydration and cement setting.

Production and oil recovery

The rate of production of oil and gas can be increased by enhancing the permeability of
the reservoir—a practice known as stimulation. One type of stimulation is hydraulic
fracturing, which creates open fractures in the reservoir rock, thus increasing the
permeability and improving the fluid flow through the reservoir. Borates can be used in
hydraulic fracturing, both for fluid gelation and fluid breakdown.
In fluid gelation, boron’s cross-linking capabilities help to prevent gels from being
irreversibly degraded under extremely high shear conditions. And because borates are
water soluble, the gels that they form are easier to clean up than those containing other
cross-linkers, such as zirconates or titanates. Borates have been used in this application
for 40 years.
At the end of the fracturing operation, cleanup and removal of gelled-polymer solution
residues is required. The high-molecular-weight polymer chains can be broken down
with enzymes or chemical oxidants. Perborate, which has a favorable environmental
profile, is an oxidizing breaker that supplies hydrogen peroxide. The breaker particles
can be coated to delay release of the perborate, which can be made more water soluble
by blending with polyols. Borate cross-linked fluids clean up better than those that
employ other cross-linkers, regardless of the breaker system that is used.

Water-flooding profile control

Borates can be used to improve the overall efficiency of water-flooding processes in
recovering oil from reservoirs by helping to block off high-permeability “thief zones.”
Slow-release systems that are based on borate glasses and borate esters are used to
control viscosity via cross-linking and viscosity-delay mechanisms and improve
performance. And a “thermal precipitation” process—in which a hot, nearly saturated
borate solution is pumped into the reservoir, migrating into high-permeability zones and
precipitating borate compounds on cooling—can help to block pores.

Alkaline-flooding agents
Borates are also being developed as an alkaline agent in several EOR processes, such
as alkali-polymer and alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding. Laboratory data shows
that when used to substitute or partially replace existing alkalis, borates can extend the
use of this technology to many reservoirs containing water with very high salinities and
levels of hardness ions. Neobor® and 20 Mule Team borax decahydrate promote
excellent oil recovery despite a lower pH, an effect attributed to a strong pH buffering
capacity and pH maintenance over a wide concentration range. In combination with
conventional EOR surfactants and polymers, borates can help to obtain the necessary
ultra-low oil/water interfacial tensions. Tertiary oil recovery from borate-based ASP core
floods is comparable to that obtained with similar formulations that contain conventional
alkalis and exhibit no injectivity problems in core flood trials. And flooding compositions
that contain borates benefit from a substantial reduction in alkali consumption on certain
rock types, notably those rich in anhydrite (calcium sulphate) and dolomite (calcium
magnesium carbonate), having a significant positive impact on the economics of the
tertiary flooding process.

Borates in Oil Production Energize a Steady Supply

Oil production in the United States is booming. As reported by BLOOMBERG , U.S. crude
oil output in 2018 increased by 2.2 million barrels a day, the largest amount ever by a
single country in year. Supported by improved efficiencies in drilling and production
methods such as hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the U.S. is leading a global expansion in
oil production.
 
Those improvements are supported by a prudent application of technologies and the
strategic use of supporting materials such as borates in oilfield chemical applications.
In OIL DRILLING AND FRACKING , borates provide a variety of benefits throughout the
process, from initial drilling to oil recovery and even tracing leaks.
 
This production supports myriad aspects of modern life beyond fuel. Oil is used in a
variety of the products we use every day, including plastics and other POLYMERS ,
clothing, synthetic rubbers, and COSMETICS . Petroleum is even used in additive forms in
many foods.
 
And of course, oil is a primary energy source for many of the activities of modern life,
from transportation to heating to the production of electricity. Borates help oil producers
reach and extract oil deposits that were previously unreachable—and keep up with
consumer demand.
 

Borates in hydraulic fracturing: A proven approach

Borates provide many benefits in oil exploration, drilling, and production. They help
producers control pH, prevent corrosion, and improve viscosity of drilling fluids. For more
than 40 years, borates have been used in fracking operations, particularly to improve the
performance and cleanup of fracking fluids.
 
Hydraulic fracturing is accomplished by forcing large amounts of gelled fluid into oil-
bearing formations, expanding the reservoir rock. The fracking fluid is combined
with proppants—small particles of ceramic or sand—that help hold open the openings
and free the flow of oil. Borates support this operation in several ways.
 

Cross-linking for fluid gelation

In fracking fluids, borates act as a cross-linking agent with guar gum-based polymers,
forming a chemical bond that turns the liquid into a viscous gel. This gelation is
necessary to support the proppants so that they can be distributed throughout the
reservoir without clumping or sinking.
 

Stable support during drilling

Borates help ensure that drilling operations go smoothly because gels formed with boron
are not irreversibly degraded by the extreme conditions caused by pumping. They are
also stable at high temperatures—up to 300°F.
 

Easy cleanup
Considered more environmentally friendly than metal cross-linking agents such as
zirconates and titanates, water-soluble borates aid cleanup because they make it easy
to control the viscosity of the liquid by adjusting the pH. (To create the gel, add a base;
to collapse the gel, add an acid.) This enables producers to maintain the gelation and
prevent the loss of fracking fluid while drilling though unconsolidated or porous rock
zones, then release the gelation to make the fluid easier to dispose of.

These beneficial qualities of borates make borate cross-linked fluids a welcome

alternative to uncrosslinked “slickwater” fluids, which lack the ability to support and
transport proppants.
 
Borate cross-linked fluids have proven to be highly effective in both low and high
permeability formulation for oilfield fracking. Typically, the concentration used for
effective crosslinking is 0.1 lbs to 2 lbs of B 2O3 per 10 lbs of polymer. For this use
of borates in oil production, 20 Mule Team® Borax BORIC ACID , BORAX DECAHYDRATE ,
or POLYBOR ® are the preferred products.
  

Operational efficiency and cost containment through U.S.

Borax
For U.S. oil producers working with local distributors, there are distinct advantages to
sourcing borates from a U.S.-based producer. Through U.S. Borax’s well-
established BULK DELIVERY NETWORK , distributors can offer expedited delivery—even
same-day delivery in some cases—and they are able to supply our products in large or
less-than-truckload (LTL) quantities.
 
With established transport via rail, trucks, and containers and numerous local-level
stocking points, U.S. Borax’s domestic distributors can offer a lower cost and a reliable
supply chain.
 
In addition, our convenient bulk packaging helps reduce caking and makes the products
easier to handle and use while ensuring full solubility in fracking liquids.
 

Support in the oilfield and the lab with a knowledgeable

partner
Throughout its long history, U.S. Borax has invested in building extensive knowledge
around the products it offers—and sharing that knowledge through research and
practical applications.
 
Oilfield research and development chemists can request product samples to support
their efforts further improve production efficiencies. We offer the largest portfolio of
borates in the industry, and our in-house R&D and regulatory experts are ready to help
chemists compare the benefits of different borates in oil production.

Resources
 OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION

 TECHNICAL BULLETIN: BORATES IN OILFIELD CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS (PDF)