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Fiber-Laden Diverter System Improves Stimulation Economics, Enhances Well Performance

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Fiber-Laden Diverter System Improves Stimulation Economics, Enhances Well Performance ® Originally appeared in World Oil NOVEMBER 2012 issue, pgs 37-44. Posted with permission. SPECIAL FOCUS: ADVANCES IN PRODUCTION Fiber-laden diverter system improves stimulation economics, enhances well performance Use of a new diverter in Saudi Arabia has Nonreactive and reactive polymer-based fracturing fluids greatly impacted engineering practices and and diverters were historically accepted as systems that could enabled treatment volumes optimization. efficiently control fluid leakoff. However, the performance of The system lowers total diverter and acid such fluids relies on wall-building fluid loss additives (such as polymers). Filter cake on the etched fracture wall can cause skin. usage per net pay, achieving consistent While non-degradable particulate fluid loss additives can be a post-stimulation production performance. good leakoff-control tool, the particulates could permanently shut off natural fractures and stop their production contributions. Recent advances in stimulation fluids and diverter technolo- ŝŝJAIRO LEAL, ATAUR R. MALIK, SIMEON BOLARINWA, and FADEL gies have given Saudi Aramco engineers the ability to further im- AL-GHURAIRI, Saudi Aramco; TOMISLAV BUKOVAC, BRIAN SINOSIC prove post-stimulation well performance while simultaneously and M. NIHAT GURMEN, Schlumberger enhancing treatment economics. This task has become more dif- ficult as the ongoing gas development targets tighter zones that require maximum reservoir contact and effective stimulation to While advanced stimulation techniques are not new in Saudi achieve production goals. The heterogeneous nature of the reser- Arabia, where most current gas production comes from carbon- voir has increased the need to closely monitor treatment param- ate reservoirs in the eastern part of the country, a novel fiber-laden eters and reservoir response, and make adjustments onsite and in self-diverting acid system is increasing well productivity almost real time. Therefore, an efficient and adjustable strategy, designed threefold in some wells. The fluid achieves a balance between in- to minimize diversion efficiency in zones with low permeability duced temporary fracture damage and conductivity. contrast and maximize it in those with high contrast, has become Acid fracturing treatment performance is largely determined a necessity in the quest for successful stimulation. by the achieved effective etched fracture length. Evolution of The challenge is to find the right balance between induced fracture length during such treatments leads the acid leakoff rate fracture damage and conductivity. A new fiber-laden fluid, now to increase progressively up to a point when the fracture stops being introduced in Saudi Arabia, is designed to temporarily extending. Therefore, zonal coverage and fluid loss control in decrease or block fluid leakoff into natural fractures and worm- naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs with high permeability holes in carbonate reservoirs by creating bridges with fibers, contrast are the key challenges during acid fracture treatment. and increasing viscosity as the acid spends. World Oil / NOVEMBER 2012 37 ADVANCES IN PRODUCTION Fig. 1. An example of carbonate rock outcrop heterogeneity, left. Because carbonates are biological deposits, pores have highly complex shapes and sizes. (Photo courtesy of Mohammad Reza Saberi, University of Bergen). Khuff main lithofacies and gamma ray correlation are shown, right. Reservoir properties vary significantly in this Permian Khuff formation with colossal dimensions. (Courtesy of Saudi Aramco) Well-2 Well-1 Top of khu Khu-A Mudstone and grainstone Anhydrite Khu-B Mainly grainstone Mudstone interbedded with anhydrite Khu-C Mainly grain stone D - Ankydrite and mudstones Khu-D Proving ground for stimulation fluids. The Saudi Arabian design and cost optimization, leading to improved gas produc- reservoirs, specifically the Khuff formation in Ghawar field, are tion performance. However, the bottomhole treating pressure heterogeneous, with variations in permeability and porosity, and a (BHTP) could not be maintained above the fracturing pres- formation composition comprised mainly of calcite and dolomite sure limit throughout the duration of the treatment, which sug- interbedded with streaks of anhydrites, which act as nonproduc- gested that the created fracture closed during the treatment, and ing sections and possible barriers. Pressure, temperature and gas that the desired fracture geometry was not ultimately achieved. composition in these reservoirs vary significantly throughout the field at different depths. Unlike sandstones, the heterogeneous Treatment design optimization. Acid fracturing treatment pore systems of carbonate rocks defy routine petrophysical analy- designs in these carbonate reservoirs have evolved in parallel sis. Because carbonates are deposited through biological activity, with advances in stimulation fluids and technologies. The most the pores have highly complex shapes and sizes, Fig. 1. common is alternating stages of viscous nonreactive pad fluid From simple acid washes to major acid fracturing operations, with stages of acid, which is designed to limit wormhole growth every carbonate stimulation technology has found an application once it begins. The first pad stage pumped initiates the fracture over the years in these reservoirs. Rigorous evaluation ensured geometry, followed by the first acid stage, which etches a por- that only the most useful technologies survived the test of time. tion of the fracture and creates significant wormholing—result- With a large number of high-volume acid treatments per- ing in high fluid leakoff that must be controlled. formed in the past decade, both Saudi Aramco and service pro- The second pad stage then fills up the wormhole network, and viders have gained significant knowledge in this type of major prevents the second acid stage from entering the established net- stimulation operation and have consistently introduced optimiza- work. This process is repeated until the designed treatment vol- tion steps. The majority of the acid fracturing treatments targeted umes are placed into the formation. The higher the viscosity of the the multilayered carbonate formations that are interbedded with nonreactive pad fluid, the more difficult it is for acid to displace impermeable layers separating the net pay. Significant heteroge- the gelled fluid and restart wormhole growth. This technique also neities in stress profile and reservoir quality are present through- implicitly employs viscous fingering as a secondary deep penetra- out the field, which combined with the deep and hot nature of the tion mechanism; therefore, the primary intent is to increase hy- reservoir, has made achieving uniform, effective stimulation of all draulic fracture width and to provide acid leakoff control. targeted layers in these wells a challenging task. Several techniques to achieve effective acid leakoff control Treatment designs comprising alternating stages of polymer and diversion have been used by Saudi Aramco throughout the pad, diesel emulsified acid for deeper penetration and in-situ gas development program. Nonreactive and reactive polymer- gelled acid, and a polymer-based system for diversion and leak- based fracturing fluids and diverters were used first, followed by off control, have been extensively used in most of the fractur- polymer-based self-diverting acid systems, and more recently ing treatments. In an attempt to control excessive progressive by polymer-free viscoelastic acid systems. Significant optimiza- leakoff during the treatment, degradable fibers were added to tion steps, derived from field experience and post-stimulation the crosslinked polymer pad stages. These particulates, helped results, have also been consistently applied, leading to a reduc- reduce leakoff by bridging wormholes and natural fractures, tion of up to 70% of the initial pad volume being implemented thereby allowing acid entry into targeted stimulation zones. without negatively impacting fracture requirements and perfor- Field implementation results showed significant treatment mance while still reducing pumping time and fluid costs. 38 noVEMBER 2012 / WorldOil.com ADVANCES IN PRODUCTION Use of associative polymers showed diversion improvement, in this test leaked through the slot opening at a constant rate but the BHTP could not be maintained above fracturing pressure throughout much of the experiment, and never demonstrated a throughout the whole treatment, so the practice was discontin- wall-building phase. ued. The relatively recent use of viscoelastic surfactant-based The system’s unique chemistry offers the ability to adjust the diverter technology, along with degradable fibers for leakoff con- degree of diversion throughout the treatment and another benefit trol, has significantly improved post-treatment performance. is faster well cleanup. Due to the high efficiency of the system, less fluid volume is loaded into the formation during the acid fractur- Combining the best carbonate stimulation techniques. ing treatments. Flowback statistics indicate that the clean-up pe- The Schlumberger MaxCO3 self-diverting acid system, combin- riod drops from an average of 4.7 days to not more than two days. ing degradable fiber and a polymer-free viscoelastic diverting acid (VDA), was first tested in a number of matrix acid stimula- First applications in Ghawar field. A significant number tion treatments, all of which yielded excellent results. The next of wells in Ghawar field were
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