ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,767,878, issued on Oct. 20, was assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia).
"Downhole sludge removal" was invented by Luai A. Alhamad (Dammam, Saudi Arabia), Basil M. Alfakher (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia), Sajjad Aldarweesh (Safwa, Saudi Arabia) and Eiman Hassan Al Munif (Saihat, Saudi Arabia).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A composition can be used for downhole dissolution of a hydrocarbon sludge in a subterranean formation. The composition includes an organic solvent, a surfactant, an organic acid, and a mutual solvent. The organic solvent is configured to dissolve at least a first portion of an organic phase of the hydrocarbo...