scholarly journals Study For Water Shutoff Using Tandem Through Tubing Bridge Plugs Technique, Case Study

Author(s):  
Dr. Ahmed Samer Azab, Et. al.

Increasing water production rate is from one of the well knownmain problems that face any oil producer in the world. Although this problem is most happen in old wells, this can also happen in new drilled wells as well. It causes differenteconomic problems for oil produced companies. First, increasing water production affectsproduced wells performance and reduced their production lifetime. The high percentage of the water in the wellbore increasing the hydrostatic pressure (weight of the fluid column) which cause increasing in the lifting power required. which increasingoil and gas production cost per barrel and causing toreduce the drawdown. As an example, if the well is gas lift well, the quantity of gas needs to be injected for lifting the fluid from the wellbore to the surface is increasing with the production of heigh water cut than without producing water. Increasing water cut percentage and Water production also increases the possibility of corrosion, scale and has negative effect on the field equipment starting from the wellbore itself to the surface facilities. Also another serious and important problem is increasing produced water separating cost, treatment, and disposal is a great challenge to oil producers budgets. It costs almost $1.1 billion/year in averageforseparation and disposal of the produced water. Found solution for that type of production help in minimizingcost for the operators and increasing the yearly profit of their operations. Then, water shutoff jobs and operations are very essential. Finally, bythe good understandingfor the formation characterizations and otherfield problems of the field, we can avoid un-necessary water production during the wellbore designing stage.Through tubing bridge plugs (TTBPs) as one of water shut-off (WSO) workovers in the Belayim Fields resulted in average gradualproduction increasing of 2450 bopd.The Average water cut percentage (WC) reduced from 54% to 15%. 87WSOworkoversjobs done since December 1991. Technical evaluation and economical income successful evaluation approaches 90%. Just below 4.5 million dollars companies spent for an average cost of 60,500 dollars per job. Costs spent in less than two days equal to using income from a13 dollars per barrel from crude oil price. Depend on achieved results during the last 4.5 years, these WSO (water shut off)workoversdone in Belyim Field as an effective and on-going cases history for running and set zone water production control. Water production probleminBelayim Field gradually increasing during the last 10 years.Which result indropping inoil production rates.Depend on the reservoir characteristics; lower water zone isolated using through tubing bridge plugs (TTBPs)usingSchlumberegerelectric line units. Dump bailer tools used to put a 14 feet cement cap above the TTBPs to have means of a permanent pressure seal. After 24-hourswaiting on cement time, wells returned back to production with a great change and higher oil rate and very good reduction in Water Cut. Rigless cost for TTBP water shut off workover becomes much less than conventional rig water shut offoperations which result in averaged more than 450,000 dollars per job. Before December 1990,conventional rig operationsWSOwasonly the method used in Belayim Field. now, riglessWSOworkovers becomesa very important for reducing cost or to control cost with financial language.Rigless WSOoperations becomes alsovery important reservoir control tool forincreasing oil production and reducing water production which helps to save reservoir energy.

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (07) ◽  
pp. 7-8
Author(s):  
Pam Boschee

Drought conditions rated as “moderate or worse” affected 31 US states as of 8 June, as reported by the US National Integrated Drought Information System. Particularly dry are the West and Upper Midwest regions, relevant to the Permian and Bakken, respectively. While not a record-level drought, attention is turning to the Missouri River in North Dakota where streamflow levels are at low levels for this time of year—about 48% below the seasonal average. About 96% of the water in North Dakota’s rivers and streams flows through it, making it one of the main sources of fresh water for oil and gas production in the Bakken. In the extreme drought, water restrictions could come into play. Throughout the industry, recycling and reuse of frac and produced water have been studied, and where the chemical makeup of the frac or produced water is suitable for optimal and economical treatment, it has been implemented. However, Bakken production is typically associated with 1.0 to 1.5 bbl of produced water per barrel of oil (a water cut of approximately 50%). It is highly saline with total dissolved solids (TDS) ranging up to 350,000 mg/L (seawater is about 35,000, or 10 times less salty than Bakken brine). Treatment options for such high TDS levels are limited and often cost-prohibitive. The Bakken’s produced water volumes increased fourfold since 2008 to about 740 million bbl per year due to increasing volumes per well and increasing water cut. Produced water disposal volumes in the same period increased fivefold to about 680 million bbl per year. More than 95% of saltwater disposal (SWD) targets the Inyan Kara Formation, the lowermost sandstone interval of the Dakota Group. The increase in SWD volumes has resulted in localized areas of high pressure in the formation in geographic regions associated with high levels of oil and gas activity. This increased pressure affects the economics and risk associated with the drilling of new wells that now require additional intermediate casing strings (“Dakota Strings”), adding a cost of $300,000 to $700,000 per well. About 200 wells to date have been identified with additional casing strings, according to the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC). Faced with the challenges of high salinity in recycling/reuse of produced water, constraints on SWD injection, freshwater limitations, pressure regulation, and inflated drilling costs, a 2-year project was begun in January 2020 which may hold promise for greater use of the produced water. Participants in the $1.3-million project are EERC, Nuverra Environmental Solutions, and the US Department of Energy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yang ◽  
Xiaodong Li ◽  
Changwei Sun ◽  
Yuanzhi Liu ◽  
Renkai Jiang ◽  
...  

Abstract The problem of water production in carbonate reservoir is always a worldwide problem; meanwhile, in heavy oil reservoir with bottom water, rapid water breakthrough or high water cut is the development feature of this kind of reservoir; the problem of high water production in infill wells in old reservoir area is very common. Each of these three kinds of problems is difficult to be tackled for oilfield developers. When these three kinds of problems occur in a well, the difficulty of water shutoff can be imagined. Excessive water production will not only reduce the oil rate of wells, but also increase the cost of water treatment, and even lead to well shut in. Therefore, how to solve the problem of produced water from infill wells in old area of heavy oil reservoir with bottom water in carbonate rock will be the focus of this paper. This paper elaborates the application of continuous pack-off particles with ICD screen (CPI) technology in infill wells newly put into production in brown field of Liuhua, South China Sea. Liuhua oilfield is a biohermal limestone heavy oil reservoir with strong bottom water. At present, the recovery is only 11%, and the comprehensive water cut is as high as 96%. Excessive water production greatly reduces the hydrocarbon production of the oil well, which makes the production of the oilfield decrease rapidly. In order to delay the decline of oil production, Liuhua oilfield has adopted the mainstream water shutoff technology, including chemical and mechanical water shutoff methods. The application results show that the adaptability of mainstream water shutoff technology in Liuhua oilfield needs to be improved. Although CPI has achieved good water shutoff effect in the development and old wells in block 3 of Liuhua oilfield, there is no application case in the old area of Liuhua oilfield which has been developed for decades, so the application effect is still unclear. At present, the average water cut of new infill wells in the old area reaches 80% when commissioned and rises rapidly to more than 90% one month later. Considering that there is more remaining oil distribution in the old area of Liuhua oilfield and the obvious effect of CPI in block 3, it is decided to apply CPI in infill well X of old area for well completion. CPI is based on the ICD screen radial high-speed fluid containment and pack-off particles in the wellbore annulus to prevent fluid channeling axially, thus achieving well bore water shutoff and oil enhancement. As for the application in fractured reef limestone reservoir, the CPI not only has the function of wellbore water shutoff, but also fills the continuous pack-off particles into the natural fractures in the formation, so as to achieve dual water shutoff in wellbore and fractures, and further enhance the effect of water shutoff and oil enhancement. The target well X is located in the old area of Liuhua oilfield, which is a new infill well in the old area. This target well with three kinds of water problems has great risk of rapid water breakthrough. Since 2010, 7 infill wells have been put into operation in this area, and the water cut after commissioning is 68.5%~92.6%. The average water cut is 85.11% and the average oil rate is 930.92 BPD. After CPI completion in well X, the water cut is only 26% (1/3 of offset wells) and the oil rate is 1300BPD (39.6% higher than that of offset wells). The target well has achieved remarkable effect of reducing water and increasing oil. In addition, in the actual construction process, a total of 47.4m3 particles were pumped into the well, which is equivalent to 2.3 times of the theoretical volume of the annulus between the screen and the borehole wall. Among them, 20m3 continuous pack-off particles entered the annulus, and 27.4m3 continuous pack-off particles entered the natural fractures in the formation. Through the analysis of CPI completed wells in Liuhua oilfield, it is found out that the overfilling quantity is positively correlated to the effect of water shutoff and oil enhancement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (09) ◽  
pp. 60-61
Author(s):  
Chris Carpenter

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 200957, “Application of Specially Designed Polymers in High-Water-Cut Wells: A Holistic Well-Intervention Technology Applied in Umm Gudair Field, Kuwait,” by Ali Abdullah Al-Azmi, SPE, Thanyan Ahmed Al-Yaqout, and Dalal Yousef Al-Jutaili, Kuwait Oil Company, et al., prepared for the 2020 SPE Trinidad and Tobago Section Energy Resources Conference, originally scheduled to be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 29 June–1 July. The paper has not been peer reviewed. A significant challenge faced in the mature Umm Gudair (UG) field is assurance of hydrocarbon flow through highly water-prone intervals. The complete paper discusses the field implementation of a downhole chemical methodology that has positively affected overall productivity. The treatment was highly modified to address the challenges of electrical-submersible-pump (ESP)-driven well operations, technical difficulties posed by the formation, high-stakes economics, and high water potential from these formations. Field Background and Challenge The UG field is one of the major oil fields in Kuwait (Fig. 1). The Minagish oolite (MO) reservoir is the main oil producer, contributing more than 95% of current production in the UG field. However, water cut has been increasing (approximately 65% at the time of writing). The increasing water cut in the reservoir is posing a major challenge to maintaining the oil-production rate because of the higher mobility of water compared with that of oil. The natural water aquifer support in the reservoir that underlies the oil column extends across the reservoir and is rising continuously. This has led to a decline in the oil-production rate and has prevented oil-producing zones from contributing effectively. The reservoir experiences water-coning phenomena, especially in high-permeability zones. Oil viscosity ranges from 2 to 8 cp, and hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide levels are 1.5 and 4%, respectively. During recent years, water production has increased rapidly in wells because of highly conductive, thick, clean carbonate formations with low structural dip as well as some stratified formations. Field production may be constrained by the capacity of the surface facilities; therefore, increased water production has different effects on field operations. The average cost of handling produced water is estimated to be between $5 billion and $10 billion in the US and approximately $40 billion globally. These volumes often are so large that even incremental modifications can have major financial effects. For example, the lift-ing cost of one barrel of oil doubles when water cut reaches 50%, increases fivefold at 80% water cut, and increases twenty-fold at 95% water cut.


Author(s):  
Jie Wang ◽  
Fujian Zhou ◽  
Lufeng Zhang ◽  
Fan Fan ◽  
Hong Yang

Water logging problem in late production reservoir with abundant edge-bottom water and water-gas layer stagger is one of the main factors that lead to production wells stop flow. For the water plugging problem during gas well production, the common operation is coiled tubing through casing. So, coiled tubing technology without moving production string is explored. X oilfield is located in Sichuan basin of China southwest and belongs to the origin of gas pipeline from Sichuan to China east. Its main gas producing area is carbonatite full of edge water and controlled by structural and lithology. The relationship between water and gas is complex and water-gas system is independent of different blocks and different layers. Because the main gas producing layer is close to the water layer, lots of gas producing wells stop spray for high water cut. At the meantime, the difficulty and risk of water plugging increases for its high depth of main gas producing layer and high temperature at the well bottom. To solve the problem above, cement slurry system with the characteristics of high temperature and sulfur resistant and channeling preventing is developed. At the same time, the cement slurry system has low friction and high liquidity and is easy to flow through the coiled tubing. Besides, cement slurry pollution is reduced and the success rate of gas well produced water plugging is improved by the combination of coiled tubing and cementing process and the construction technology optimization, software simulation and laboratory evaluation is carried out. The key step is that log analysis of water and gas distribution is done first. Then, tubing-expansion bridge plug is placed under the water layer and the cement slurry is sent to the desired location. At last, coiled tubing is put down after cement solidification and gas production is recovered. The measurement of coiled tubing and cement slurry system is positive for water plugging in gas wells with high depth and temperature. The oilfield test results show that daily gas production is improved largely and liquid production is reduced by 90% of 4 wells with high water cut through water plugging. Besides, operation cost is reduced and the pollution problem caused by produced water is also solved, which can provide certain significance for the same type wells need water plugging operation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Abdullah Al-Azmi ◽  
Thanyan Ahmed Al-Yaqout ◽  
Dalal Yousef Al-Jutaili ◽  
Kutbuddin Bhatia ◽  
Amr Abdelbaky ◽  
...  

Abstract Excessive water production from hydrocarbon reservoirs is a serious issue faced by the industry, particularly for mature fields. Higher water cut adversely affects the economics of the producing wells, thus it is undesirable. Disposal and reinjection of ever-increasing volumes of produced water poses additional liability. A significant challenge faced in the mature Umm Gudair field is assuring hydrocarbon flow through high water-prone intervals. In recent times, field development strategies have begun to prioritize new well intervention technology because of the advantages of minimized water cut, higher production rates, and improved overall reserve recovery (hydrocarbon in place). This paper discusses the field implementation of a downhole chemical methodology, "first of its kind" designed and applied, that has created a positive impact in overall productivity. To solve these challenges, the treatment was highly modified as fit-for-purpose to address the unique challenges of electric submersible pump (ESP)-driven well operations, formation technical difficulties, high-stakes economics, and high-water potential from these formations. A unique Organically Crosslinked Polymer (OCP) system with a tail-in Rigid Setting Material (RSM) system was implemented as a porosity-fill sealant in a high-water-cut well to selectively reduce water production. A pre-flush was pumped ahead of the treatment to remove deposits that could have prevented the polymer from effective gelation. The treatment was then overdisplaced with brine. The OCP system is injected into the formation as a low viscosity solution using the spot and hesitation squeeze method via bullheading. It activates at a predicted time to form a 3-D rigid hydrogel to completely shut off matrix permeability, fractures, fissures, and channels, thus creating an artificial barrier seal in the reservoir. The tail-in near wellbore RSM system rapidly develops a high compressive strength to avoid any formation loss before setting. This holistic approach helps to create a robust sealant for blocking the unwanted water-producing zone, impeding water flow, and facilitating increased hydrocarbon flow. A direct comparison of the application of this system with conventional cement squeeze treatments is presented to illustrate the advantage of having a deep matrix penetration for a more efficient water shutoff in this field. A direct result of the implemented treatment is that the post-operation well test and production data showed a high-sustained production at lower rate with significantly reduced watercut, confirming this technology is one of successful chemical water shut off techniques this field. This paper summarizes the candidate selection, design processes, challenges encountered, and production response, and can be considered a best practice for addressing high water production challenges in similar conditions in other fields.


Author(s):  
Amieibibama Joseph ◽  
Friday James

Produced water is water trapped in underground formations that is brought to the surface along with oil or gas. It is by far the largest volume by-product or waste stream associated with oil and gas production especially in brown fields. Management of produced water present challenges and costs to operations. In this paper, the possible causes, effects and solutions of high water-cut is being investigated in some production oil wells in Niger Delta, using Kalama field as a case study. Diagnostic and performance plots were developed in order to determine the source of water as well as to evaluate the impact of excess water production on oil production and in field economics in general. Results obtained from the diagnostic plots showed the possible sources of water production are channeling behind casing and multi-layered channeling. The recommended remediation is cementation through a workover operation. Also, a concise step to be taken for identifying excess water was also developed in this work to effectively control excess water production in oil producing wells.


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 309-316
Author(s):  
William F. Garber

Past evaluations of the success of wastewater treatment and submarine outfall placement and operation have considered only a limited number of parameters affecting the marine and onshore environments. Important questions regarding the best allocation of available funds have not been adequately addressed. The relative contamination of the sea from airborne and landwash contaminants has not been considered. Neither has the increased air pollution deriving from the energy required for advanced treatment. Similarly, regular epidemiological studies to evaluate actual changes in morbidity arising from drastic changes in treatment and disposal have not been made prior to very large committments of funds. Most importantly, little attention has been given to the relative ranking of all environmental risks within a catchment area. The net result is that, when all factors are considered, the very large expenditures and increased energy use for sanitary wastewater treatment and outfall disposal will have a net negative effect on the physical and societal environment. The City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Metropolitan area can be used to illustrate this probability.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3251
Author(s):  
Tomasz Sliwa ◽  
Aneta Sapińska-Śliwa ◽  
Andrzej Gonet ◽  
Tomasz Kowalski ◽  
Anna Sojczyńska

Geothermal energy can be useful after extraction from geothermal wells, borehole heat exchangers and/or natural sources. Types of geothermal boreholes are geothermal wells (for geothermal water production and injection) and borehole heat exchangers (for heat exchange with the ground without mass transfer). The purpose of geothermal production wells is to harvest the geothermal water present in the aquifer. They often involve a pumping chamber. Geothermal injection wells are used for injecting back the produced geothermal water into the aquifer, having harvested the energy contained within. The paper presents the parameters of geothermal boreholes in Poland (geothermal wells and borehole heat exchangers). The definitions of geothermal boreholes, geothermal wells and borehole heat exchangers were ordered. The dates of construction, depth, purposes, spatial orientation, materials used in the construction of geothermal boreholes for casing pipes, method of water production and type of closure for the boreholes are presented. Additionally, production boreholes are presented along with their efficiency and the temperature of produced water measured at the head. Borehole heat exchangers of different designs are presented in the paper. Only 19 boreholes were created at the Laboratory of Geoenergetics at the Faculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas, AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow; however, it is a globally unique collection of borehole heat exchangers, each of which has a different design for identical geological conditions: heat exchanger pipe configuration, seal/filling and shank spacing are variable. Using these boreholes, the operating parameters for different designs are tested. The laboratory system is also used to provide heat and cold for two university buildings. Two coefficients, which separately characterize geothermal boreholes (wells and borehole heat exchangers) are described in the paper.


2000 ◽  
Vol 41 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Visvanathan ◽  
P. Svenstrup ◽  
P. Ariyamethee

This paper presents a case study of a natural gas production site covering various technical issues related to selection of an appropriate Reverse Osmosis (RO) system. The long-term field experience indicates the necessity of the selection of appropriate pretreatment systems for fouling-free RO operational conditions. The produced water has a variety of impurities such as oil and grease, process chemicals used for corrosion and scaling control, and dehydration of natural gas, etc. This situation leads to a complicated and extremely difficult task for a membrane specialist to design RO systems, especially the pre-treatment section. Here as part of the pretreatment selection, two types of UF membrane modules viz. spiral wound and hollow fibre, with MWCO of 8000 and 50,000 Dalton respectively, were tested in parallel with NF membranes of the spiral wound type with MWCO 200 Dalton. The UF permeate is used as feed for RO compatibility testing. Both configurations of UF failed to be compatible, due to irreversible fouling of the RO membrane. The NF membrane, however, showed interesting results, due to membrane stability in terms of cleaning and fouling. The NF plant with 50% capacity gave a recovery of 75% and the RO plant gave a recovery of 60% versus the expected 92–95%. The long-term tests have indicated that the reminder of the membranes could be installed to achieve full capacity of the plant. This study also demonstrates the importance of selection of proper pre-treatment set-up for the RO system design.


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