Swellable Packer Fluids Designed for Zonal Isolation in Openhole Completions

Abstract

A weighted, all-oil fluid system was developed to activate oil-swell packers and maintain compatibility with water-based filtercakes. This fluid system has enabled the successful installation of multiple openhole gravel pack completions to date.Traditionally, base oils, such as diesel, serve as activating fluids. The low density of the base oil risks compromising well control and/or borehole stability. There are products available to viscosify the base oil and suspend weight material for some applications, but jobs most require special shearing equipment operating at temperatures above safe limits for base oil. Other products are required at significant concentrations that risk adverse reactions with the water-based filtercake and filtrate. Invert emulsion systems offer greater density and viscosity, but they are incompatible with the water-based filtercakes, risking formation damage. This new fluid system utilizes a new viscosifying agent that easily mixes using rig equipment along with an acid-soluble, treated weight material to maintain a dispersion in oil. All of the products are micronized to reduce any risk of plugging downhole completion equipment. The all-oil system is spotted in the open hole, allowing the swell packers to expand. The system may either remain in the wellbore to flow back with production or circulate out of the wellbore prior to gravel packing. Flexibility in additive concentrations aids to effectively displacing the fluid in and out of the well. This paper discusses the development process of this all-oil system in the laboratory and the challenges overcome to deliver a rig-practical solution. A review of field planning and execution is included for the initial wells employing the system. Zonal Isolation EquipmentAdvances in openhole completion technology have resulted in new hardware to aid in improved production performance. Openhole packers are utilized to isolate sections of the reservoir (Freyer and Huse 2002). Isolation aids to block production of undesirable fluids, such as water in the production interval or shale sections where risk of formation collapse may result in plugged completion equipment. Openhole packers also function to separate the production interval into separate sections of varied permeability or pressure drawdown requirements. In conjunction with inflow control devices, the

A Review of Recent Developments in Nanomaterial Agents for Water Shutoff in Hydrocarbon Wells

“…Each method is effective in shutting off only specific water paths, and they could be classified into two types: Mechanical methods involve placing a tool of high mechanical strength or cement into the wellbore to shut off the unwanted water source. The mechanical tools involve retrievable and straddle packers, − plugs, tubing patches, and squeeze cementing. − They are preferred for treating near wellbore problems such as channels behind casing or casing and tubing leaks. The advantage of the mechanical methods is that the effect will appear in a short time and is relatively inexpensive compared to other solutions. , However, they are not feasible for treating reservoir-related sources such as fractures or high permeability zones .…”

Modeling and Adoption of Technological Solutions in Order to Enhance the Effectiveness of Measures to Limit Water Inflows into Oil Wells under Conditions of Uncertainty

“…Among the widely recognized mechanical approaches for wellbore waterproofing, it is worth highlighting the installation of packers and plugs. They are commonly used by oil operators to shut off excess water supply [18,19]. This equipment is known for its economy and reliability in achieving waterproofing.…”

“…Dependences of the values of the efficiency indicator and geological and technological factors were built according to their actual values. For this, the logarithms of the input and output variables were found, and utilizing the linear regression program, linear multiple equations of type (1) were constructed in the form of the following polynomials (polynomials) [17][18][19][20][21].…”

Introduction to Smart Oil and Gas Wells: Drilling, Completion and Monitoring Solutions

“…Inflatable packers are usually successful in optimizing the productivity of the well by eliminating the production from unwanted zones and achieving isolation from unwanted features. Oil operators depend on these kinds of systems to improve the performance of the wells and reduce unwanted production [6].…”