PAMFC15- 109

Selective Stimulation using Self-Degrading Diverter in

Completion Stage: Iride Field Case Study
Katya Campos, Halliburton; Romel Cuadras, Pemex; Guillermo Guillot, Pemex; Gildardo Ramirez, Pemex;
Ricardo Rodriguez, Halliburton

This paper has been selected for presentation and/or publication in the proceedings for the 2015 Pan American Mature
Fields Congress. The authors of this material have been cleared by all interested companies/employers/clients to authorize
dmg: events (Canada) inc., the congress producer, to make this material available to the attendees of PAMFC 2015 and
other relevant industry personnel.

ABSTRACT
The Iride is a mature oil field located in the southern region of
Mexico in Tabasco, included within the area of the Samaria
Luna project.
The well of study, Well A, was a development well drilled to a
depth of 4350 m, with a maximum inclination of 67. The
targeted formations, Upper (KM) and (KS), have a Cretaceous
Middle. Because of difficulty drilling during the final stage, a
side track was performed and the Cretaceous Lower (KI) was
the final formation to be evaluated after losing more than
5,032 bbl of inverse emulsion mud to this naturally fractured
carbonate reservoir. The well was completed using combined
5-in. casing (slotted liner from 4337 to 4262 m and free casing
to 3625 m) and later perforated in the free casing section in
two intervals3960 to 3990 m and 4115 to 4145 m.
Initially, a non-reactive treatment was performed, pumping
500 bbl of solvent through the slotted liner section. A noncommercial production rate was obtained after the evaluation
of the lower section (75 m in slotted liner section), and then
two new perforated intervals were added. The challenge to the
operator was to effectively treat the upper intervals while
isolating the lower zone.

It was recommended to temporarily isolate the lower zone

with a self-degrading diverting agent deployed with 1 1/2-in.
coiled tubing (CT), and immediately stimulate the upper
perforated intervals using an organic-inorganic gelled acid
blend system and a relative permeability modifier (RPM) as a
diverter pumped during the stimulation phase.
Previous to the acid stimulation treatment, the well did not
produce. After treatment, the well produced in natural flow
890 bbl per day (B/D) of oil with 3.8 % water cut, through a
1.45-in. choke. The outcome was excellent productivity from
a problem well with a complex completion in a naturally
fractured carbonate reservoir. This paper describes the
procedures followed to help achieve the outstanding results.

KEY WORDS
Self-degrading
Diverter
Selective stimulation
Naturally fractured
Carbonate

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INTRODUCTION
The Iride is an oil producing field from a dolomitized
limestone naturally fractured formation. Reservoir properties
include porosity ranging from 3 to 5 %, permeability between
10 and 250 md, and the total height of 1850 m with a net pay
of 400 to 650 m. Well A has bottomhole temperature (BHT)
of 260F at the producing zone and reservoir pressure of 1,850
psi.
The reservoir structure is highly divided by normal faults split
into primary and secondary blocks. The structure is strongly
influenced by salt tectonic events impacting the stratigraphic
column, resulting in a complex reservoir (Fig. 1).
Considering the complex scenario of the reservoir structure
and petrophysical contrasts between the production formation
units, the drilling phase was critical in Well A with a final
complex completion. Additionally, information gathering was
compromised at the point of not being able to determine the
production zone with openhole logs, relying on the correlation
data to design the stimulation treatment.
Another challenge was the large amount of control fluid lost
during drilling the target zone. More than 5,000 bbl of inverse
emulsion fluid were lost in the lower zone of interest between
3940 and 4337 m; (Fig. 2) shows the lost fluid profile along
the well.
The primary objective was to incorporate oil production from
the middle and Upper Cretaceous formation. Because of the
difficult drilling phase, three sidetracks had to be executed to
finally reach the zone of interest. The well was finally
completed in the Lower Cretaceous (KI), running a combined
5-in., 18 lbf/ft slotted-plain liner with five inflatable packers
into the 6 1/2-in. open hole to a final depth of 4337 m and 3
1/2-in. production tubing at 3625 m (Fig. 3).
Because the final zones to evaluate were 75 m exposed in the
slotted liner and two upper perforations added in the free
casing, selectively stimulating the upper zones after a
nonproductive result of the lower section was considered. The
solution to perform a selective stimulation in this condition
involved the use of a self-degrading diverter to isolate the
open zone in the slotted liner. The system would be deployed
through 1 1/2-in. CT, followed by directing the acid treatment
to the two upper perforations.

STATEMENT OF THEORY AND DEFINITIONS

Acid diversion alters the natural flow profile of a formation
during injection, causing acid flow to be diverted from
undamaged or high permeability intervals to damaged or
lower permeability intervals.

The diversion methods used to alter the original flow profile

might attempt to achieve complete shutoff of flow into
specific intervals or to equalize flow across the entire interval
being treated, regardless of permeability or damage severity.
These types of diverting methods fall into four general
categories (Halliburton Manual 2008):

Ball sealers
Degradable particulate-diverting agents
Viscous fluids
Foam

Degradable particulate-diverting agents come in a variety of

chemical compositions and sizes. Selecting the best type for a
particular formation depends on the formation permeability,
type of completion, type of produced fluid, and type of acid
used for the treatment.
All types of particulate-diverting agents function in the same
general manner. When fluids containing the particulate
material are pumped, they can enter high-permeability or
undamaged zones, causing the buildup of a low-permeability
filter cake within the perforation tunnel, on the outside of the
perforation, or on the formation face. The added pressure drop
caused by this filter cake increases flow resistance in the areas
where the diverting agent has been deposited, causing
diversion of flow to other parts of the interval where little or
no diverting agent has been placed.
In naturally fractured reservoirs, achieving effective diversion
can be challenging and, oftentimes, the particulate diverting
agents are the most effective methods for achieving acid
diversion. Where the completion can be additionally
challenging involves the method for deploying the diverter;
properly placing the treatment within the wellbore could be
the differentiating factor in terms of obtaining a good result.
CT offers many advantages compared conventional jointed
tubing, including time savings, pumping flexibility, fluid
placement, reduced formation damage, and safety.
CT offers the following advantages (Halliburton 1996):
Efficiency

Self-contained unit, requires no rig

Saves time and money; killing the well is not
necessary for implementation
Can continuously pump fluids into well while
moving pipe
Land or offshore system designs
No workover rig necessary when using CT

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Reduced Potential Damage to the Formation

Can be and is typically used on live wells (no kill

fluids introduced into the well)
Acts as a tool transport medium for deviated and
horizontal wells

Performance

Computer prepares to optimize job design

Fast
Tubing management
Advanced data acquisition system to monitor key job
parameters on tubing management

Because of the need for temporarily isolating the lower section

of Well A, a 1 1/2-in. CT unit was necessary to effectively
position the diverter and to help prevent injecting the same
into the two upper intervals. Fig. 3 shows the well schematic
illustrating the slotted section requiring isolation (75 m) to
stimulate the two intervals at 3960 to 3990 m and 4115 to
4145 m and Fig. 4 presents the treating chart for the diverter
placement.
During the stimulation design phase, many options were
considered; the diverter type and the placement technique
were the two primary aspects analyzed. A RPM was
considered to temporarily divert the acid to the lower section;
but, because of mud lost history, this type of diverter was
discarded. The other diverter considered was a bridging agent
based on an inorganic salt pumped combined with a RPM and
brine; but, because it was not desired for the diverter to enter
into the two upper perforations, this option was not selected
either. In both cases, the placement technique considered was
bullheading.
Finally, and because of the operators needs, a self-degraded
diverter was considered to be pumped to temporarily isolate
the lower zone and the use of CT was selected as placement
technique.

DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

As part of the completion phase, stimulation has an important
part in final well definition. At the beginning, before adding
the two upper intervals, the zone in front of the slotted liner
was evaluated pumping a non-reactive treatment
recommended because of severe fluid-loss control.
After pumping 500 bbl of solvent treatment, the well was
uploading at 4200 m using 1 1/2-in. CT and pumping nitrogen
at a 20-scm/min rate flowing through a 1-in. choke. A volume
of 290 bbl of reservoir fluid was recovered at surface, but the
flow was not continued. The two upper intervals were added
using 2-in. perforating guns, phased 60 at 6 shots per foot

(spf). The intervals added were 3960 to 3990 m and 4115 to

4145 m.
The stimulation consisted of two parts. The first part was run
with a 1 1/2-in. CT unit to deploy a temporary plug into the
slotted liner section using the self-degraded diverter from the
total depth of 4337 to 4200 m.
The diverter was a biodegradable polymer containing multiple
particle sizes, is self-degrading in aqueous fluid, and is useful
for BHTs of 160 to 320F. As part of the diversion design, a
non-guar polymer gel base was selected as a carrier fluid with
40-cp viscosity. The average diverter concentration considered
to be pumped through the CT unit was 1 lb/gal. To fill the 137
m in 5-in. liner, the volume capacity was 8 bbl. But,
considering the openhole liner annular space and even the
natural fractures present, a 50% excess volume was
considered to a final volume of 12 bbl of diverter material.
With this capacity and the bulk density of the diverter, 3545 lb
of the diverter were calculated to be used as a final slurry
volume of 94 bbl to be deployed with a CT unit. Fig. 4 shows
the treatment plot for Well A during diverter deployment.
The diverter will degrade, depending on BHT; for Well A, the
formation temperature is 260F and the material will
significantly degrade in approximately five hours, and slight
formation cooling will occur with the 94 bbl placement of the
diverting stage through the CT string. However, there is no
risk of longer-term formation blockage or damage because the
degradation process cannot be halted. An important benefit of
using degradable particles is that, because particle size reduces
during degradation, the diverter will permit the well to flow
long before total chemical degradation is achieved (Allison et
al. 2011). In this particular case, the objective was to
temporarily isolate the slotted liner section for four hours
while CT was pulled out of the hole (POOH) and the pumping
equipment prepared for the acid treatment bullheading stage.
Laboratory tests were conducted principally to verify the
diverter self-degradation at 260F. As a first step, a non-guar
linear gel was designed for the proper transportation of the
particulate diverter running at 80F for stability testing. The
result was obtained in a visual manner, achieving good
particle suspension in the carrier fluid at static conditions.
To verify the diverter degradation, a 1-lb/gal slurry was
evaluated at BHT conditions. As is shown in Fig. 5, the
diverter has multiple particle sizes; the rate at which physical
particle-size reduction occurs is a function of surface area. The
smallest particles reduce in size proportionally faster. Once
reduction has changed the particle size by 10 to 15%, the
particles could begin to dislodge with flowback, permitting the
return flow of liquids and gas in the production direction
(Allison et al. 2011).

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At laboratory conditions, it takes time to observe the complete

change of the diverter. Depending on the temperature, a solids
free solution could be obtained in several hours, but the
complete chemical conversion could occur after several days.
The CT program for the intervention in Well A is summarized
as follows:
1. Rig up 1 1/2-in. CT equipment
2. Perform pressure test
3. RIH to 4337 m
4. Perform injectivity testing with brine to observe
stabilized pressure
5. Spot the self-degrading particulate diverter slurry
as a plug from 4337 to 4200 m (137 m)
6. Displace the plug with clean linear gel
7. POOH CT
8. Rig down CT equipment
9. Perform the bullheading stimulation treatment
For the second part of the operation, a stimulation treatment
was pumped using a primary acid system, a non-reactive
solvent system, and a RPM additive. All of the systems
achieved the necessary compatibility testing requirements.
The acid concentration considered to treat 60 m of perforated
intervals was approximately 50 gal/ft divided into two
treatment stages. The pumping sequence was as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Pre-flush using mutual solvent and xylene

Main carbonate stimulation acid (CSA)
RPM autodivergent system (RPM)
Flush using mutual solvent and xylene
Main carbonate stimulation acid (CSA)
Post-flush using mutual solvent and xylene
Nitrogen for displacement

RESULTS
After the treatment, Well A produced in natural flow 890 B/D
of oil with 3.8 % water cut, through a 1.45-in. choke.
Before this intervention, the well did not manifest any
production from the lower zone, even after adding the upper
intervals. Fig. 6 shows the production resulting after isolating
the lower zone and stimulating the upper zone. After three
months of the same production rate, the flowing condition
through tubing was changed to an annular flowing condition
producing 1080 BOPD through a 1.45-in. choke with 2.8 %
water cut.

CONCLUSIONS

A self-degradable diverter was an excellent choice for

temporarily isolating zones where stimulation was not
planned.

The versatility of the diverter permitted plugging a zone

in a slotted liner section for a period of time depending on
the BHT.

Once the BHT was restored after treatment injection, a

solid-free solution was obtained, permitting the return
flow of production.

In naturally fractured carbonate reservoir with complex

completion, a coiled tubing unit provide the versatility of
placed the diverter where needed to allow a following
bullheaded acid treatment to treat the proper zone.

To deploy this particulate diverter using a 1 1/2-in. CT

unit, it is necessary to use low solid material
concentrations up to 1 ppg.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank Petroleos Mexicanos PEMEX and
Halliburton management for permission to publish this paper.
The authors also thank the Halliburton lab members for the
data provided.

NOMENCLATURE
bbl
B/D
BHT
CT
JSK
JST
km
2
km
KS
KM
KI
m
md
Qo
RIH
spf

= barrels
= barrels per day
= bottomhole temperature
= Coiled Tubing
= Upper Jurassic Kimmer
= Upper Jurassic Thito
= Kilometer
= square kilometer
= Upper cretaceous formation
= Middle cretaceous formation
= Lower cretaceous formation
= meters
= milidarcies
= Oil rate
= Run in holes
= shots per foot

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REFERENCES

Halliburton. 1996. Coiled Tubing I. Section 2.6. Printed in USA.

Allison, D., Curry, S., and Todd, B. 2011. Restimulation of

Wellsusing Biodegradable Particulates as Temporary Diverting
Agents. Presented at the Canadian Unconventional Resources
Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1517 November. SPE149221-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/149221-MS.

Halliburton. 2008. Diversion in Matrix Acidizing-Best Practices

Series. Printed in USA.

FIGURES

Fig. 1SW-NE schematic section of field in study.

Fig. 2Lost fluid profile along Well A.

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Fig. 3Well A schematic.

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Fig. 4Treatment plot for Well A during diverter deployment.

Fig. 5Self-degrading diverter agent.

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Fig. 6Production history after selective stimulation.

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