High-Performance Water-Based Insulating Packer Fluids

Abstract

fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractDeepwater production well design and equipment installation presents a host of challenges for operators. One of the major problems is the uncontrolled heat transfer to outer annuli and heat loss from the production tubing which can be detrimental to the integrity of outer annuli. This can reduce the well productivity in case deposition of paraffin and asphaltenes occurs, and could contribute to the formation of gas hydrates. Vacuum insulated tubing (VIT) has had limited success but has numerous drawbacks (e.g., cost, breakdown, "hot spots" at connection joints, etc.). To avoid these problems, high viscosity insulating packer fluids (IPFs) have been employed to thermally isolate production tubing from the exterior pipe and to provide the required hydrostatic pressure.Numerous combinations of both water-and oil-based materials have been utilized in attempts to devise a cost effective solution. Successful fluids have a low inherent thermal conductivity, remain viscosified or gelled to eliminate convective heat transfer and are expected to have service lifetimes of up to 20 years. However, the current state of the art falls short of meeting these objectives. Oil-based IPFs often have low thermal conductivity, but cannot be weighted, suffer from toxicity and often come with HSE issues. Water based IPFs can be weighted, but generally have temperature stability limitations > 250°F (121.1°C) as well as higher inherent thermal conductivity than oil-based IPF's.Through extensive investigation of multidisciplinary technologies, a superior performing aqueous-based IPF was developed for elevated temperatures. The novel system delivers performance beyond conventional systems of comparable thermal conductivity (k). The new system covers a density range of 8.5 -14.6 lb/gal (1.02 -1.75 sp.gr.) and displays heat transfer measurements between 0.12 -0.17 BTU/hr ft°F. High-temperature static aging tests have demonstrated superior gel integrity with no phase separation or syneresis after exposure to 280°F (137.8°C) for three months. Parallel testing at 325°F (162.8°C) has shown similar success. The new fluids are hydrate inhibitive, pass oil and grease testing, and can be made environmentally acceptable for the Gulf of Mexico. Laboratory data generated under deepwater simulated conditions will be presented and discussed in this paper.