Model-based characterization of permeability damage control through inhibitor injection under parametric uncertainty

Abstract

Damage in subsurface formations caused by mineral precipitation decreases the porosity and permeability, eventually reducing the production rate of wells in plants producing oil, gas or geothermal fluids. A possible solution to this problem consists in stopping the production followed by the injection of inhibiting species that slow down the precipitation process. In this work we model inhibitor injection and quantify the impact of a set of model parameters on the outputs of the system. The parameters investigated concern three key factors contributing to the success of the treatment: i) the inhibitor affinity, described by an adsorption Langmuir isotherm, ii) the concentration and time related to the injection and iii) the efficiency of the inhibitor in preventing mineral precipitation. Our simulations are set in a stochastic framework where these inputs are characterized in probabilistic terms. Forward simulations rely on a purpose-built code based on finite differences approximation of the reactive transport setup in radial coordinates. We explore the sensitivity diverse outputs, encompassing the well bottom pressure and space-time scales characterizing the transport of the inhibitor. We find that practically relevant output variables, such as inhibitor lifetime and well bottom pressure, display a diverse response to input uncertainties and display poor mutual dependence. Our results quantify the probability of treatment failure for diverse scenarios of inhibitor-rock affinity. We find that treatment optimization based on single outputs may lead to high failure probability when evaluated in a multi-objective framework. For instance, employing an inhibitor displaying an appropriate lifetime may fail in satisfying criteria set in terms of well-bottom pressure history or injected inhibitor mass.