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Chapter 7
Formation Damage
Khafiz Muradov
Institute of Petroleum Engineering, EGIS School, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K.
Learning Objectives
• Explain when and how formation damage contributes to poor well performance.
• Identify the crucial near wellbore area susceptible to formation damage.
• Calculate the loss of production due to formation damage
• Explain the mechanisms of formation damage
• Identify the major sources of formation damage.
• Select appropriate remedial treatments.
• Discuss the causes of production, drilling, completion, and production related formation damage
• Identify the types of scale encountered in well operations.
• State the scope, underlying cause and remedial action required to deal with scale deposition
problem.
• Provide guidelines for minimising formation damage during well operations.
• Indicate how the formation damage can be identified in a production or injection well.
• Discuss the methods used in the formation damage removal and flow assurance.
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Pressure Change in the Near-wellbore Zone
Formation Damage
Formation Damage (FD) reduces the permeability of the reservoir rock
in the near wellbore area
– One component of the “well skin”
FD can start as soon as the drill bit enters the formation
FD has many sources resulting in:
– Pore (especially) throat Blockage (Absolute Permeability) &
– Wettability changes (Relative Permeability)
Solutions:
– Chapter 8 (Matrix Stimulation) discusses how to reduce or remove
Formation Damage
– Chapter 9 (Hydraulic Fracturing) discusses how to bypass
Formation Damage
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Well Inflow Pressure Profiles with/without Skin
For a Constant Flow Rate
Formation Damage Skin
STotal SFD SGeometry SCompletion SPr oduction
Formation Damage and other types of skin
STotal SFD SGeometry SCompletion SPr oduction
Well geometry
– limited entry/partial penetration/off-centre well placement(+)
– well deviation / slanted well (-)
Completion
– perforations {flow convergence / crushed zone)} (+ or -)
– gravel packs (+) / natural or hydraulic fractures (-)
Production
– non-Darcy effects / turbulence (+, rate dependent)
– relative perm. effects (+)
– pressure dependent phase (gas & condensate) behavior (+)
Formation Damage
– only form of “+ve skin” which can be chemically removed
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Formation Damage - Modeling
Pd 2 kh k r
Hawkins Equation: Sd 1 ln d
q kd rw
Flow Efficiency
• Sideal includes all re
ln
Sideal
rw 100%
skin sources apart FE
ln
re
STotal
from Formation rw
Damage Optional class activity:
Tutorial 1
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Formation Damage Mechanisms
Plugging and bridging of pores by solid
particles
Chemical Precipitation
Bacteria
Fluids
Mechanical Damage and Rock
Compaction
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Formation Damage - Filter Cake Formation
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Formation Damage - Fines Movement
Immobile fines
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Formation Damage - Fines Movement
Water wet fines become mobile with water production
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Formation Damage due to fines:
dispersed clay particles
Clay-related damage effects include:
- Clay swelling
- Clay dispersion
Can be initiated by:
- Increase in water saturation
- Change of fluid composition
- Fluid flow
Formation Damage - Scale
Scale precipitation results from a chemical
instability caused by changing conditions due to
the production process
Temperature reduction
Pressure reduction
Mixing incompatible waters & hydrocarbons
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Formation Damage - Inorganic Scales
Scale type ( N.B. Pressure triggered phenomena are self aggravating)
Ca (HCO3)2 CaCO3 + CO2 +H2O (P,T changes)
++
Ca + SO4 -- CaSO4 (P,T changes)
++
Ba + SO4 -- BaSO4 (mixing)
also SrSO4, NaCl, S etc.
Formation Damage – Wax (Paraffin)
Between 1 & 50%wt. wax, a long chain (C18-C60) linear
molecule, dissolved in crude oil at reservoir temperature
Precipitates as a soft / brittle solid when temperature
reduced below cloud point (Pressure has minor effect)
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Formation Damage - Asphaltenes
Amorphous (non-crystalline), bituminous solid consisting of high molecular
weight asphaltenes / maltenes / resins that precipitate from some crude oils
Originally present in the form of a “metastable, colloidal dispersion” in the
crude oil
Precipitation triggered by pressure changes
– Can occur above the bubble point
Found in specific part of well facilities at a given time
– Precipitation point will change with time
Seldom causes formation damage
Asphaltene precipitation process
Formation Damage- Bacteria
Typically found in injection wells & projects
Bacterial Slime
– Bacterial cellular remnants
– Physical plugging of pores etc.
Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (Anaerobic)
– SRB + SO4-- (sea water) H2S
– Safety and corrosion issue
– FeS precipitation
Iron Bacteria (aerobic)
– Iron Bacteria grow under iron deposit
– Causes corrosion (pitting)
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Formation Damage - Fluids
Surfactants can change wettability and promote oil-
water emulsion forming
Crude oil and acid can form sludges
Increase in water saturation -> water block
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Formation Damage due to Water Block
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Formation Damage due to introduction of a third phase
Formation Damage Sources
Drilling
Cementing
Perforating
Completion / Gravel Packing
Production
Injection
Workover
Stimulation
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Formation Damage - Drilling Operations
Formation Damage commences as soon as drill bit enters the Pay
Zone
Above the Pay Zone
– Choose drilling fluid to minimise Drilling Cost (drill fast)
In the Pay Zone
– Choose drilling fluid to minimise Formation Damage
Drill in drilling muds
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Ideal Filter Cake Formation
• Low permeability filter cake forms at the borehole wall
• Rapid filter cake formation & use of correctly sized particles in
the drilling mud restricts:
- Particle & Fluid invasion into the Formation
- Formation Damage
Formation/ Filter Cake Permeability
ratio controls the Fluid-Loss Process
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Formation Damage - Drilling Impairment
Formation Damage Depth controlled by:
– Drilling Mud type
– Open hole time
– Pressure Overbalance
– Borehole dynamics that increase fluid loss:
Large Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA)
Changes to BHA
High circulation rates
Fluid Loss during the Drilling Process
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Fluid Loss & Invasion Depth
Wellbore radius 10.8 cm, Perforated interval 15.5 m
• Fluid Invasion Depth & Formation Damage Depth are not the same, but are often related
• Resistivity Logging Tools measure Fluid Invasion Depth
Causes damage by:
- Water block
- Extra phase
- Wettability change (by surfactants)
- Precipitation if incompatible fluids
- Clay swelling and fines dispersion
(addition of 1-3% wt potassium chloride (KCl) or ammonia chloride (NH4Cl) help)
- Polymer absorption
Underbalance Drilling
Underbalance Drilling avoids formation Damage from the Drilling
Fluid
Improvement depends on formation type and reservoir pressure
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Formation Damage due to polymers from wellbore fluids
Formation impairment due to Polymer Absorption from the drilling mud
Formation Damage - Filter Cake Formation
Particle invasion into formations:
– Forms a surface cake good
– Adheres to pore surface
– Plugs pore throats bad
Filter cake formation process depends on Particle/ Formation
size ratio & particle concentration
– Impermeable surface mud cake allows only limited leak off, hence
remains thin
Efficient filter cake
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Formation Damage
Particle Invasion and Damage (Abrams Rule)
Filter Cake Formation depends on:
pore throat size (dpt) / particle diameter of the solids (d)
A wide range of particle sizes encourages efficient filter cake formation
Formation Damage - Invasion Profile
Optional class activity:
Tutorial 2
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‘Formation Damage’ due to drilling not on-gauge
Formation Damage - Cementing
Washes & Spacers
– Destroys mud cake with dispersant additives
– Filtrate invasion - inches due to limited volume
Cement Slurries Fluid Loss
– Reactive to clays (high pH)
– Precipitation of CaCO3 / lime /Ca silicates
– BUT fluid loss control essential for cementing success
– Shallow damage, can be bypassed by perforations
Cement loss into natural fractures
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Formation Damage During Production/Injection
Many Sources of Formation Damage can occur while
well is on production
– Fines Movement
– Use of incompatible work over fluids
– Inorganic & Organic Scale formation
– Bacteria
– Stimulation
– Pressure reduction leading to introduction of third phase
Formation Damage – Fines Movement
Fines movement controlled by:
– Concentration & nature of fines
– Fluid velocity & Wettability (fluid phase, surfactants)
Controlled by slow bean up or by chemical treatments
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Formation Damage - Filtration Requirements
Formation Damage - Water Injection
Formation Impairment due to oil and solids (also corrosion
products, precipitation, bacteria etc.)
Filtration requirements depend on water quality
Tubing corrosion reduced via inhibition and / or primary
oxygen removal & scavenging treatments
(Thermal) fracturing increases “well” surface area by use
of cold water or high pressure injection
Produced Water Re-Injection often more problematic
(higher water temperatures & oil present)
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Formation Damage - Workover fluid guidelines (1)
Filter fluid to remove undissolved (micro) gel residues as
well as particles larger than 1/3 dpt
LCM with correct particle size for formation
Minimise contamination from pipe dope, millscale etc
– Clean dirt, scale and mud residue from tanks, lines,
pumps, tubulars etc. prior to use
– Use dedicated tanks/workstring for gravel packing &
acidising where fluid loss to formation is normally high
Add adequate breaker to all viscous fluids
Minimise overbalance - 200 psi
Formation Damage
Workover techniques can avoid Formation Damage
• Use well records to identify fractures, loss rate, best type of kill pill
• Isolation of the production interval mechanically, using LCM, kill pill, etc.
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Formation Damage- Pressure Reduction
Pressure reduction can trigger:
– Inorganic and asphaltene scales
– Increased formation effective stress
formation failure / sand production
compaction of producing interval
fault reactivation
formation permeability reduction
– Multiphase flow effects:
below bubble or dew points
retrograde condensation
leads to reduced (relative) permeability
Formation Damage Monitoring and Identification
• Production logging (spinner, WC, …)
• Fluid sampling (and subsequent tests)
• Well records
• Core tests
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Formation Damage Removal and Flow Assurance
Emulsions
Mineral Scales
Waxes
Asphaltenes
Gas hydrates
Emulsion
De-emulsifiers
Mutual solvents
Eliminate the forming conditions:
– Change restrictions or the pump
– Isolate watered zones
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Inorganic Scales
Drill Out or erode with special slurry – well. Re-perforate
Dissolve - formation / well / facilities
– NaCl (water), CaCO3 (HCl acid), BaSO4 (very difficult)
Inhibit - formation / well / facilities – continuous or squeeze treatment
– preferred technique
– change kinetics of crystal growth, NOT Thermodynamics
Stay out of P/T where scales form
– Control of pressure or insulation
Avoid mixing of waters
– Reservoir management
– Produced/aquifer water re-injection
Treatment of injected water (expensive)
Wax
Precipitation best prevented by keeping crude oil warm –
difficult for deep water, subsea wells with long flow lines &
sea temperature < 4oC)
Remedies:- Inhibitors, Insulation,
Heating etc.
Removal: mechanical (scraping),
hot oil(ing), solvents
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Asphaltenes
Mechanical removal from well and facilities required
Formation damage rarely observed
Poorly soluble in solvents
Precipitation can also triggered by acid, particularly if it
contains Fe+++
Gas Hydrates
Ice-like solids
Form at high P and relatively low T
Inhibition (methanol, glycol, etc.)
Thermal insulation / heating
(Export or gas lift) Gas dehydration
Depressurization should be done with care
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Appendix A
Common Damage Types
Condition or Type of Damage Diagnostic Clues Remedial
hydrates (ice) gas well, intermittent flow, near total glycol or alcohol injection below hydrate
shutoff, followed by return to flow in a formation point. Insulated risers or tubing.
few minutes; produces a small amount of
water
oil well, usually only forms near mud line insulated risers
in arctic regions; may also form in drilling
mud
migrating fines kaolinite or fibrous illite clay or some clay control for prevention, retarded acid
feldspars (non clays); brine salinity for removal; may need to limit rate in
changes may trigger fines movement; extreme case
sporadic reductions in flow rate, variable
production rate tests; fines in prod,
emulsions rare but possible
swelling clay smectite clay, sometimes illite and acidize with HCI/HF if damage is shallow
smectite interbedded clay; permeability is Hydraulic Fracture if damage is deeper
sensitive to change in water salinity or than 12"
brine type
water blocks usually gas well, small pore throats, matrix treat with alcohol or surface tension
untreated water, low pressure formation; if lowering surfactant; inject gas in gas
very low pressure (< about 0.2 psi/ft), pore reservoir to distance of 10 ft
throat size doesn’t matter
poor load fluid rec. usually formation dependent; may Prevention - avoid or minimize water
decrease production rate in severe cases or contact and lower surface tension of water.
cause long cleanup time. Most common in Removal - alcohols and some surfactants
formations with small pores and
microporous clays
Learning Objectives
• Explain when and how formation damage contributes to poor well performance.
• Identify the crucial near wellbore area susceptible to formation damage.
• Calculate the loss of production due to formation damage
• Explain the mechanisms of formation damage
• Identify the major sources of formation damage.
• Select appropriate remedial treatments.
• Discuss the causes of production, drilling, completion, and production related formation damage
• Identify the types of scale encountered in well operations.
• State the scope, underlying cause and remedial action required to deal with scale deposition
problem.
• Provide guidelines for minimising formation damage during well operations.
• Indicate how the formation damage can be identified in a production or injection well.
• Discuss the methods used in the formation damage removal and flow assurance.
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