Formation Damage

Types of Damages and Origins, Skin Factor and

Productivity Index, Flow Efficiency
2
Origin of Formation Damage
Formation damage
Types
Origin
Location
Diagnosis
Removal and Prevention
Methods
Chemistry
3
Formation Damage Characterization
Fines Migration
Swelling Clays
Scale Deposits
Organic Deposits
Paraffins
Asphaltenes
Mixed Deposits
Bacteria
Induced Particles
Solids
LCM/Kill Fluids
Precipitates
Oil Based Mud
Emulsion Block
Wettability Changes
Water Block
4
Swelling Clays: Smectite
5
Migrating Clays: Kaolinite
FINES MIGRATION MECHANISM
fines
wetting phase
non wetting phase
non wetting phase
non wetting phase
Migrating Fines
Sources:
kaolinite -not really that likely!
Smectite -very likely, but clay is rare
zeolites -common in younger sands, GOM area
weathered feldspar -older sands
micas, silts, drilling additives
7
8
Scale
Inorganic mineral deposits.
Formed due to supersaturation at wellbore conditions or
commingling of incompatible fluids.
Form in the plumbing system of the well, in the
perforations/near wellbore formation.
Scales
calcium carbonate -upset driven
calcium sulfate -mixing waters, upset, CO2
barium sulfate -mixing waters, upset
iron scales -corrosion, H2S, low pH, O2
rarer scales -heavy brines
9
Scale Location
at pressure drops -perfs, profiles
water mixing points -leaks, flood breakthru
outgassing points -hydrostatic sensitive
shear points -pumps, perfs, chokes,
gravel pack -formation interface
10
Scales Prediction
Chemical models -require water analysis and
well conditions
Predictions are usually a worst case -this is
where the upset factor comes in.
added shear -increased drawdown, choke
changes, etc.
acidizing
venting pressure
11
12
Drilling Fluid Damage
Mud filtrate
invasion
13
RDF (STARDRILL) Filter Cake
Filter cake Formation
Drilling Damage
Filter cake should prevent extensive
damage to formation during drilling
Low permeability (~ 0.001md) filter cake
may be damaging during production
formation permeability may be impaired
potential plugging of screen/ gravel pack
Openhole completions do not have
perforations or fractures to bypass any
damage
Filter cake removal maybe a necessity!
14
Drilling Damage
Drilling Mud Solids
Particle Size vs. Pore
Size/Fissures
Filtration - 3 inches
Poor Mud Cake
Overbalance
Drilling Mud Filtrate
Formation Sensitivity (pH,
salinity, scale)
High Penetration Capillarity
Fines Dispersion
Additive Residues
Cooling
Oil Based Muds
High Solids Oil
Invasion/Relative Permeability
Cationic Emulsifiers
Perforation Damage
debris from perforating
sand in perf tunnel -mixing?
mud particles
particles in injected fluids
pressure drop induced deposits
scales
asphaltenes
paraffins
15
16
Perforations
Debris
Compacted Zone
R
a
d
i
a
l

D
i
s
t
a
n
c
e

(
m
m
)
17
Completion Fluids Damage
Suspended Solids
Polymer Residue
Fluid Loss Control
Formation Sensitivity
Clays
Wettability
Scales
A (2.5 ppm)
C (94 ppm)
D (436 ppm)
P
e
r
m
e
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
m
d
)
Volume Injected (gal/perf)
500
100
50
10
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10
(A) Bay Water Filtered
Through 2um Cotton Filer
(B) Bay Water
Through 5um Cotton Filter
(C) Produced Water Untreated
(D) Bay Water Untreated
B (26 ppm)
Relative Permeability Damage Mechanisms
Wetting surface wetting
Water blocks trapping water some effects of
capillary pressure in small pores in wells with
low differential pressures.
Condensate banking and retrograde
condensate a phase drop-out that decreases
perm to a single fluid.
18
19
Water Block Damage
A reduction in effective or
relative permeability to oil due to
increased water saturation in
the near wellbore region.
Favored by pore-lining clay
minerals (Illite)
Treatment Reduction of
interfacial tension using
surfactants/alcohol's in acid
carrier
1 1
K
ro
K
rw
0
0 1
S
wc
1-S
or
S
w
Water Wet
Oil Wet
K
ro
K
rw
Controlling Relative Permeability Mechanisms
Water blocks reduce the interfacial and surface
tension of the intruding fluid and re-establish the
connate fluid saturation.
Wetting can modify by cleaning, but the natural
surfactants ultimately will define the wetting of the
rock.
Condensate drop-out increase the flow area by
fracturing to negate the effects of lowing the
permeability of the formation.
20
21
Damage due to Production
In an oil reservoir, pressure near
well may be below bubblepoint,
allowing free gas which reduces
effective permeability to oil near
wellbore.
In a retrograde gas condensate
reservoir, pressure near well may
be below dewpoint, allowing an
immobile condensate ring to build
up, which reduces effective
permeability to gas near wellbore.
p < p
b
p > p
b
The main Production damage is due to Fines Migration
22
Damage Quantification
The Damage is quantified by the Skin Factor and the
Productivity Index
23
Reservoir Model of Skin Effect
Bulk
formation
h
r
w
k
a
r
a
Altered
zone
24
Reservoir Pressure Profile
Distance from center of wellbore, ft
500
1000
1500
2000
1 10 100 1000 10000
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,

p
s
i
Ap
s
25
Skin and Pressure Drawdown
k = Permeability, md
h = Height, ft
q = Production, STB/D
B = Oil Volume Factor, bbl/STB
Aps = Pressure drawdown, psi
= Oil Viscosity, cp
26
Radial Production and Skin
q = Production, STB/D
k = Permeability, milidarcy
h = Height, ft
P
r
= Reservoir Pressure, psi
P
wf
= Bottomhole Flowing
Pressure, psi
= Oil Viscosity, cp
B
O
= Oil Volume Factor, bbl/STB
ln = natural logaritm
r
e
= drainage radius, ft
r
w
= wellbore radius, ft
s = skin factor
(Darcys Law)
( )
(

+
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
s
r
r
ln B 141.2
P P h k
q
w
e
O
wf r

Example
27
K 200md
Pr 3200psi
Pwf 1500psi
h 20ft
Uo 2cp
Bo 1,18
re 1000ft
rw 0,5ft
Determine the productivity for skins of -1, 5, 10 and 50 in a well with a
undamaged (s=0).
28
Skin Factor and Properties of the Altered Zone
If ka < k (damage), skin is
positive.
If ka > k (stimulation), skin is
negative.
If ka = k, skin is 0.
29
Effective Wellbore Radius
Example
Calculate the skin factor resulting from the invasion of the drilling
fluid to a radius of 2 feet. The permeability of the skin zone is
estimated at 20 md as compared with the unaffected formation
permeability of 60 md. The wellbore radius is 0.25 ft.
30
31
Geometric Skin Converging Flow to
Perforations
When a cased wellbore is perforated, the fluid must converge to the
perforations to enter the wellbore. If the shot spacing is too large, this
converging flow results in a positive apparent skin factor. This effect
increases as the vertical permeability decreases, and decreases as the
shot density increases.
32
Geometric Skin - Partial Penetration
When a well is completed through only a portion of the net pay interval,
the fluid must converge to flow through a smaller completed interval. This
converging flow also results in a positive apparent skin factor. This effect
increases as the vertical permeability decreases and decreases as the
perforated interval as a fraction of the total interval increases.
h
h
p
33
Partial Penetration
h
p
h
t
h
1
Sd = Skin due to formation damage
Sp = Geometric Skin due to perforations
34
Geometric Skin - Deviated Wellbore
u sec h u
h
S
u
< 0
35
Geometric Skin - Well With Hydraulic Fracture
r
w
r
w
s
w w e r r

= '
For example,
r
w
= 0.4 ft
s = -3
r
w
= 8 ft
36
Completion Skin
r
dp
L
p
k
R
k
dp
k
d
r
p
r
d
r
w
After McLeod, JPT (Jan. 1983) p. 32.
s
p
- geometric skin due to converging flow to
perforations
s
d
- skin due to formation damage
s
dp
- perforation damage skin
k
d
- permeability of damaged zone around wellbore,
md
k
dp
- permeability of damaged zone around
perforation tunnels, md
k
R
- reservoir permeability, md
L
p
- length of perforation tunnel, ft
n - number of perforations
h - formation thickness, ft
r
d
- radius of damaged zone around wellbore, ft
r
dp
- radius of damaged zone around perforation
tunnel, ft
r
p
- radius of perforation tunnel, ft
r
w
- wellbore radius, ft
37
Gravel Pack Skin
L
g
Cement
Gravel
s
gp
- skin factor due to Darcy flow through gravel
pack
h - net pay thickness
k
gp
- permeability of gravel pack gravel, md
k
R
- reservoir permeability, md
L
g
- length of flow path through gravel pack, ft
n - number of perforations open
r
p
- radius of perforation tunnel, ft
Does not include effects of non-Darcy
flow (high-rate gas wells)
38
Productivity Index
The productivity index is often used to predict how changes
in average pressure or flowing bottomhole pressure p
wf
will
affect the flow rate q.
The productivity index is affected by
Reservoir quality (permeability)
Skin factor
39
Flow Efficiency
We can express the degree of damage on stimulation with the
flow efficiency.
For a well with neither damage nor stimulation, E
ff
= 1.
For a damaged well, E
ff
< 1
For a stimulated well, E
ff
> 1
wf
s wf
ideal
actual
ff
p p
p p p
J
J
E

=
Bacterial Problems
Aerobic -lives only w/ oxygen
Anerobic -lives w/o oxygen
Facultative -w/ or w/o, but better one way
Problems Caused
eats polymer
causes formation damage and corrosion
SRBs may sour reservoir
40
Bacterial Populations
Free Floating -easy to kill, not that plentiful
Sessile (attached colonies)
100,000 x free floating populations,
very difficult to kill,
Live in densly matter layers
protected by slime layer
highly accelerated corrosion underneath
41
Bacterial Sources
Some small populations dormant in reservoir? Probably.
drinking water < 1000 cells/ml
sea water -high populations of SRBs
brackish waters -very high populations
river/pond -moderate to high populations
concentrated brines -very low concentrations
acids -very low to almostnone
42
Bacterial Control
Acids -kills free floating, little effect on sessile colonies
Bactericides -(same as acid) kills free floating, little effect on
sessile colonies
Bleaches and Chlorine -(3% to 8%) strips slime layer,
dissolves cell wall, cant remove biomass. Watch corrosion!
Bleach, followed by acid -good removal history.
43