Successful Implementation of Hydraulic Fracturing Techniques in High Permeability Heavy Oil Wells in the Llanos Basin-Colombia

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing is the most common stimulation technique to make hydrocarbon production feasible and optimal worldwide. However, it has been preferentially focused on low permeability formations, and when applied to high permeability, it has been focused on sand control. This article outlines the process and results of the hydraulic fracturing campaign for productivity purposes (not for sand control) in the basin of the eastern plains of Colombia given the petrophysical characteristics of the cretaceous formations, where thinking "out of the box" and separating from the existing premises, resulted in successful implementation of this technique in high permeability wells (~ 1D), high water cuts (up to 80% BSW) and heavy oil reservoirs (9–12 API). The technical process consisted on several steps leading to the success of the campaign, which included: Formation damage study that identified candidate wells and damage mechanisms affecting them.Refining of the petrophysical model from pressure testing to establish incremental production.Adjustment of fracture models using varying anisotropy from special sonic log runs.Using state of the art technologies such as mobility enhancers and Flow back proppant additives as active ingredients of the fracturing fluid. This article presents the outcomes of more than 40 wells intervened to date with an average volumetric increment of ~ 250 BOPD per well, consistent reductions of BSW up to 60% and optimized operations which let the operator consider the hydraulic fracturing as a production optimization option for the field under analysis.

Development and Evaluation from Laboratory to Field Trial of a Dual-Purpose Fracturing Nanofluid: Inhibition of Associated Formation Damage and Increasing Heavy Crude Oil Mobility

“…An application of the developed fracturing nanofluid was carried out in a Colombian oilfield, located in the Llanos Basin 50 km to the SE of the Villavicencio City in the Meta department in Colombia [14,20]. For this, a formation with petrophysical porosity values between 8 and 17.4% and permeability ranges from 254 to 1424 mD was selected [14].…”

“…An application of the developed fracturing nanofluid was carried out in a Colombian oilfield, located in the Llanos Basin 50 km to the SE of the Villavicencio City in the Meta department in Colombia [14,20]. For this, a formation with petrophysical porosity values between 8 and 17.4% and permeability ranges from 254 to 1424 mD was selected [14]. The initial water saturation of this formation was originally around 15%, and the typically produced HO has an API gravity near to 13 • , additionally, mobility ratio is 47.…”

“…The initial water saturation of this formation was originally around 15%, and the typically produced HO has an API gravity near to 13 • , additionally, mobility ratio is 47. The reservoir temperature is estimated at 87.7 • C [14,20]. In one well of this field was made a fracking operation that used 126 bbls of the proposed fracturing nanofluid (nanoFF) to initiate the fracture, reaching pressures above 4500 psi.…”

“…Other techniques point to generating wettability alterations that improve crude oil mobility inside the porous media, as the injection of surfactants [12,13]. In this sense, hydraulic fracturing operation also has been used to stimulate several wells producing heavy oil generating, in a particular Colombian oil field, increments in all the 43 wells intervened with this technique [14]. However, this technique has been associated with inherent damage due to the low percentage of fracturing fluid recovered in the flowback, being typically lower than 50% [15], and causing damage rate in permeabilities of even almost 98% [16].…”

Field Applications of Nanotechnology in the Oil and Gas Industry: Recent Advances and Perspectives

“…Hydraulic fracturing in conventional and unconventional reservoirs has been a game-changer in the oil and gas industry, leading to the significant increase of reserves in hydrocarbon producer countries. , In Colombia, hydraulic fracturing has been even applied in sandstone reservoirs containing heavy crude oils, which has led to great increases in productivity . Nevertheless, the challenge of increasing the oil mobility under reservoir conditions remains.…”