Formation Damage During Completion Phase

Chapter 4
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Causes and Types of Formation Damage During Completion
3. Prevention of Formation Damage in Well Completion
4. Reduce Formation Damage in Sandstone Completion: Case Study
4. Completion and Work-over Fluids:
Chapter 4
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
Definition
1) The fluid is meant to control a well should downhole hardware ,
without damaging the producing formation or completion
components. Completion fluids are typically brines (chlorides,
bromides and formates), but in theory could be any fluid of
proper density and flow characteristics. proper density and flow characteristics.
2) The fluid should be chemically compatible with the reservoir
formation and fluids, and is typically filtered to a high degree to avoid
introducing solids to the near-wellbore area which may cause
formation damage.
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
Completion fluid should be selected to satisfy the following needs:
1. Fluid Density:
Needed to control formation pressure.
2. Selection Criteria
2. Filtrate Characteristics:
Should minimize formation damage (swelling of clays, wettability changes, and
emulsion stabilization.
3. Fluid Loss:
Minimum Fluid Loss to the formation
4. Viscosity-Related Characteristics:
Viscosity and gel strength to bring sand or cuttings to surface
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
2. Selection Criteria
5. Corrosion
Chemically stable Minimum free oxygen reaction
6. Mechanical Considerations
Rig equipment available for mixing, storage, solids removal, and circulating is often a
factor in fluid selection.
7. Economics
The most economical fluid commensurate with the well's susceptibility to damage
should be selected.
9. Complete Solids Removal
To be effective, fluid in contact with the formation must not contain any solids larger
than 2 micron size.
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
3- Types A. Oil Base Fluids
Crude Oil
Availability makes crude oil a common choice with low (8.3 Ib/gal) density is required.
Loss of oil to the formation is usually not harmful. But, Low viscosity crude has
limited carrying capacity.
Diesel Oil Diesel Oil
This is often used where a low density clean fluid is required.
B. Water Base Fluids
Formation Saltwater
When available, formation saltwater is a common workover fluid since the cost is low.
If it is clean, formation saltwater should be ideal for minimum clay swelling
Seawater or Bay Water
Due to availability, it is often used in coastal areas. Again, it frequently contains clays
and other fines that cause plugging. Fresh water is often desirable as a basic fluid due to
the difficulty of obtaining clean sea or formation water. Desired type and amount of salt
is then added.
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
3- Types
C. Conventional Water-Base Mud
Economics and availability sometimes suggest use of water-base mud rather than weighted
saltwater where weights above 11.5 Ib/gal are required. Water-base mud should never be
used except in zones to be abandoned.
D. Oil-Base or Invert-Emulsion Muds
These muds are usually less damaging from the standpoint of clay problems than
conventional water base mud's since filtrate is oil and very low filtration rates can be
obtained.
E. Foam
Foams can be used for certain workover operations (very low BHP) such as washing out
sand, drilling in or deepening. Depending on the ratio of air to foam water circulated, flow
gradients as low as 0.1 to 0.2 psi/ft are possible.
Foam is a mechanical mixture of air or gas dispersed in clean fresh water or field brine
containing a small amount of surfactant.
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
Practical Application
Viscosity and Fluid Loss Control
A number of additives are available to provide "viscosity," thereby increasing the lifting,
carrying, and suspending capacity of the fluid.
Ideally, fluid loss control should be obtained strictly by a bridging mechanism at the face of
the formation. This can be done effectively by use of properly sized particles. Particles larger
than one-half the pore size should bridge at the pore entrance.
Viscosity Builders
Both natural and processed polymers are used in completion fluid formulations. Among
them are: guar gum, starch, hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC),
and biopolymer (xanthan).
Natural Polymers-Guar gum is a hydrocolloid that swells on contact with water to
provide viscosity and fluid loss control.
Starch primarily is used to provide fluid loss control. Other polymers may be needed for
carrying capacity. But higher concentrations of starch are required.
Xanthan provides good carrying capacity and fluid loss control.
Heavy brines have inherent viscosity (3-20 cps). If more viscosity is needed HEC can be
added, usually in concentrations of 0.25 to 1.0 Ib/bbl.
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
Practical Application
Fluid Loss Control
Due to un-regained permeability loss, most currently available viscosity builders should not
be used without proper bridging particles to prevent movement of the viscosity colloids into
the formation pore system. Bridging particles must meet two criteria:
Form a stable, low-permeability bridge quickly.
Be removable by degradation or backflow. Be removable by degradation or backflow.
Calcium Carbonate
This material is available in several size ranges
Oil Soluble Resins
These are available in graded size ranges needed for effective bridging action.
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
Practical Application
Formation Damage
Laboratory core flow tests apparently do not show unfavorable fluid/rock interactions with
heavy brines. Incompatibility with formation water should be carefully observed specially if
formation water contains significant sulfate or bicarbonate.
Crystallization
Since salt solubility varies with temperature, each brine formulation will have a minimum
temperature at which it can be used.
Corrosivity-Toxicity- Safety
Keep the dry chemical dust out of eyes and lungs. Rubber protective clothing should be worn
to prevent skin damage. Figure 8.9 shows the corrosivity of inhibited high weight brines.
4. Reduce Formation Damage due to Completion Fluids:
Chapter 4
4- Cost
Cost
Heavy brines are very expensive.
A 15.0 Ib/ gal CaCl2-CaBr2 brine costs about 25 times more than a 10.0 Ib/gal A 15.0 Ib/ gal CaCl2-CaBr2 brine costs about 25 times more than a 10.0 Ib/gal
CaCl2 "new" brine. Fluid Recovery and reuse may minimize cost.
4. Reduce Formation Damage in Sandstone Completion: Case
Study 1:
See Reference: Reduce Formation damage during sandstone
completion PDF File
Chapter 4
http://www.slb.org
4. Reduce Formation Damage in Gravel Pack Sandstone Completion: Case
Study 2: Schlumberger
Gravel Pack SystemsOptiPac
OptiPac Alternate Path systems use shunt-tube technology to fill in the voids left during gravel packing, maximizing
efficiency. They use specially developed fluids and state-of-art modeling software to ensure full, uniform gravel packing across the
entire interval. They overcome premature screenout and prevent erosion hot spots, hardware damage, and consequent completion
failure.
Chapter 4
failure.
OptiPac systems are highly effective for gravel packing long openhole intervals in vertical, deviated, or horizontal wells
ensuring maximum gravel-pack efficiency, regardless of conditions that can lead to premature screenout
gravel pack wells with openhole zonal isolation packers.
OptiPac systems are part of an integrated approach that ensures that screens are fully protected in high-flow-rate wells
reduces fluid requirements when compared with similar water-packing operations uses powerful software to design, execute, and
evaluate an entire job.
4. Reduce Formation Damage in Gravel Pack Sandstone Completion: Case
Study:
ClearPAC LT
ClearPAC LT fluids provide stability in low temperatures and densities and break down on contact with most
crude oils, yielding a lower friction pressure and reducing the hydraulic horsepower needed for pumping
operations.
ClearPAC HD
Chapter 4
ClearPAC HD
ClearPAC HD fluids for well control work with calcium chloride brines, as well as brines that incorporate calcium
bromide. ClearPAC HD fluids break down on crude oil contact, reducing friction pressure and pumping-power
requirements.
HEC Fluids
Hydroxyethylcellulose polymer-based fluids are ideal for use as gravel-pack carriers, brine viscosifiers, workovers,
and completion fluids. They are highly soluble in water and brines and are not degraded by common bacteria.
Xanvis
Xanvis is an aqueous biopolymer gravel-pack carrier fluid that uses xanthan as a vicosifier.
4. Reduce Formation Damage in Gravel Pack Sandstone Completion: Case
Study:
MudSOLV
MudSOLV technology is used to assess and remove filtercake. Filtercake removal helps achieve uniform inflow
velocity across a formation and helps protect completion hardware, extending the effectiveness and life of the
completion.
Chapter 4
SandCADE
SandCADE gravel-pack design and evaluation software allows Schlumberger to combine all OptiPac elements and
design the ideal gravel pack strategy before a job begins.
http://www.slb.org
Chapter 4
4. Reduce Formation Damage in drilling and Completion: Case Study 3
formate brines
- Saudi Aramco uses formate brines as drilling and completion fluids in 44 deep
gas wells through Khuff and Pre-Khuff gas reservoirs
http://www.formatebrines.com/
- Formate brine passes six-year corrosion test in GOM HPHT well
- Corex sets new Gold Standard for HPHT Coreflood testing with cesium formate brine