Mitigation of Formation Damage and Wellbore Instability in Unconventional Reservoirs Using Improved Particle Size Analysis and Design of Drilling Fluids

Dorman, James; Lakatos, István; Szentes, G.; Meidl, A.

doi:10.2118/174260-ms

Cited by 6 publications

References 18 publications

(15 reference statements)

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Prediction of barium sulfate precipitation in dynamic tube blocking tests and its inhibition for waterflooding application using response surface methodology

Khormali¹,

Ahmadi²

2023

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

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Scale precipitation is one of the major problems in the petroleum industry during waterflooding. The possibility of salt formation and precipitation should be monitored and analyzed under dynamic conditions to improve production performance. Scale precipitation and its dependence on production parameters should be investigated before using scale inhibitors. In this study, the precipitation of barium sulfate salt was investigated through dynamic tube blocking tests at different injection rates and times. For this purpose, the pressure drop caused by salt deposition was evaluated at injection rates of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mL/min. The software determined the worst conditions (temperature, pressure, and water mixing ratio) for barium sulfate precipitation. Moreover, during the experiments, the pressure drop caused by barium sulfate precipitation was measured without using scale inhibitors. The pressure drop data were evaluated by the response surface method and analysis of variance to develop a new model for predicting the pressure drop depending on the injection rate and time. The novelty of this study lies in the development of a new high-precision correlation to predict barium sulfate precipitation under dynamic conditions using the response surface methodology that evaluates the effect of injection rate and time on the possibility of salt precipitation. The accuracy and adequacy of the obtained model were confirmed by using R2 statistics (including R2-coefficient of determination, adjusted R2, and predicted R2), adequate precision, and diagnostic charts. The results showed that the proposed model could fully and accurately predict the pressure drop. Increasing the time and decreasing the injection rate caused an increase in pressure drop and precipitation of barium sulfate salt, which was related to the formation of more salt due to the contact of ions. In addition, in a short period of the injection process, the pressure drop due to salt deposition increased sharply, which confirms the need to use a suitable scale inhibitor to control salt deposition. Finally, the dynamic tube blocking tests were repeated in the presence of two well-known scale inhibitors, which prevented salt deposition in the tubes. At the same time, no pressure drop was observed in the presence of scale inhibitors at all injection rates during a long period of injection. The obtained results can be used for the evaluation of salt precipitation during oil production in the reservoirs, in which barium sulfate is precipitated during waterflooding. For this purpose, knowing the flow rate and injection time, it is possible to determine the amount of pressure drop caused by salt deposition.

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Prediction of barium sulfate precipitation in dynamic tube blocking tests and its inhibition for waterflooding application using response surface methodology

Khormali¹,

Ahmadi²

2023

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

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An Experimental Study on optimizing the particle size distribution of bridging agents in drilling fluids

Cheng

Tian

et al. 2021

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Managing lost circulation has always been a serious challenge in the oil industry. This situation becomes further complicated when shale formation is involved. Particulate lost circulation materials (LCMs) have been used to prevent the drilling fluid from entering fractured, cavernous, or high-permeability formations for many years. However, existing LCMs are inefficient in terms of size and application methods in solving severe-to-total losses in shales due to the uncertainty of particle size distribution (PSD) in drilling fluids. This study focuses on an experimental method optimizing the PSD of solid particles in the drilling fluid at high temperature and pressure. An orthogonal experiment of L9 (3)4, including four factors and three levels, was designed to investigate the relationship between the PSD of solid particles and filtration loss. Results indicate that the orthogonal design method contributes to the optimization of the PSD of solid particles in the drilling fluid and reduce the test time and experimental workload during the drilling fluid process in the design stage. In addition, a polynomial relationship between the cumulative filtration loss and D90 or D50 is verified experimentally in this study. This study will remarkably benefit the drilling technologists in resolving the issue of lost circulation.

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Experimental Study of Drilling Fluid's Filtration and Mud Cake Evolution in Sandstone Formations

Ezeakacha

Salehi

Hayatdavoudi

2017

Journal of Energy Resources Technology

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In real time drilling, the complexity of drilling fluid filtration is majorly attributed to changing mud rheology, formation permeability, mud particle size distribution (PSD), filter cake plastering effects, and geochemical reaction of particles at geothermal conditions. This paper focuses on quantifying the major effects as well as revealing their contribution toward effective wellbore stabilization in sandstone formations. We conducted an extensive experimental and analytical study on this subject at different levels. First, we used field application and the results as guides for our experiments. We have considered both oil-based mud and water-based mud. Next, we optimized the mud particle size distribution (PSD) by carefully varying the type, size, and concentration of wellbore strengthening material (WSM). Laboratory high pressure high temperature fluid loss tests were carried out on Michigan and Bandera Brown sandstones. The results from these tests identify the formation heterogeneity and permeability in successful wellbore stabilization. Filter cake permeability calculations, using the analytical model for linear systems, were consistent with filtration rates, and the expected trend of permeability declines with time. Finally, we investigated the evolution of internal filter cake and plastering mechanism, using scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis. The test results revealed a significant difference in the formation permeability impairment for the optimal mud PSD and WSM blend.

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Mitigation of Formation Damage and Wellbore Instability in Unconventional Reservoirs Using Improved Particle Size Analysis and Design of Drilling Fluids

Cited by 6 publications

References 18 publications

Prediction of barium sulfate precipitation in dynamic tube blocking tests and its inhibition for waterflooding application using response surface methodology

Prediction of barium sulfate precipitation in dynamic tube blocking tests and its inhibition for waterflooding application using response surface methodology

An Experimental Study on optimizing the particle size distribution of bridging agents in drilling fluids

Experimental Study of Drilling Fluid's Filtration and Mud Cake Evolution in Sandstone Formations

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