Chemicals are used extensively in the oil and gas industry, from the time the well is drilled, completed, stimulated, and produced. Drilling muds allow for solids removal and lubrication, while completion and stimulation chemicals prepare the well to produce the desired hydrocarbon. Once the well is in the production phase, chemicals are used to alleviate a number of persistent and damaging problems such as corrosion, complex fluids and emulsions, scale, paraffin/asphaltene deposits, gas hydrates, hydrogen sulfide and acid-producing/sulfate-reducing bacteria, Figure 1. In addition to these generalized issues, specialized chemical additives are now being included in fracturing fluids to increase fracturing efficiency. Due to the potentially hazardous nature of some of these chemicals, especially in light of recent media attention in hydraulic fracturing and the gulf oil spill, there is increasing pressure in developing and using safer, more environmentally friendly products.
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