Field Study of the Physical and Chemical Factors Affecting Downhole Scale Deposition in the North Dakota Bakken Formation

Cenegy, Lawrence M.; McAfee, Clyde; Kalfayan, Leonard

doi:10.2118/140977-pa

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 17 publications

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“…This software has been tested rigorously with laboratory as well as field data and periodically updated to include the most recent available data in the literature. It has been commonly used in academia as well as in industries as a reliable tool for saturation index calculation in the laboratory or in field conditions. − The saturation index (SI) was used to indicate the chemical potential (eq ) level of brine with respect to mineral phase. SI of, for example, barite is defined as where [Ba 2+ ] and [SO 4 2– ] and γ Ba 2+ and γ SO 4 2– refer to concentration (molality) and activity coefficients of barium and sulfate ions, respectively.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineral Precipitation Kinetics: Assessing the Effect of Hydrostatic Pressure and Its Implication on the Nucleation Mechanism

Bhandari

Kan

Zhang

et al. 2016

Crystal Growth & Design

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Sulfate minerals (barite, anhydrite, and celestite) can be a technological hindrance as a result of scale formation especially for operations where seawater injection is involved. The effect of pH, temperature, and saturation index (SI) on sulfate mineral nucleation and growth are fairly wellknown, but the influence of pressure on the nucleation kinetics has attracted no attention. Here we show that nucleation kinetics of barite, anhydrite, and celestite is highly dependent on hydrostatic pressure applied even under constant thermodynamic driving force, that is, at the same supersaturation level. Activation parameters of barite nucleation kinetics were calculated, and measured values are in agreement with literature. The negative activation volume measured suggests that barite nucleation from hydrated Ba 2+ and SO 4 2− ions is coupled to an overall volume decrease, albeit a large volume increase due to dehydration is expected. The results indicate that nucleation is not controlled by desolvation of solvated precursor Ba 2+ and SO 4 2− ions but rather by an intrinsic volume collapse in the ratedetermining step of the nucleation and crystal growth processes. The activation parameters measured in this study indirectly support previous findings of formation of hydrated barite precursor before formation of crystalline barite particles.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineral Precipitation Kinetics: Assessing the Effect of Hydrostatic Pressure and Its Implication on the Nucleation Mechanism

Bhandari

Kan

Zhang

et al. 2016

Crystal Growth & Design

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Prevention of Halite Formation and Deposition in Horizontal Wellbores: A Multi Basin Developmental Study

Hebert¹,

Leasure²,

Saldungaray³

et al. 2016

Day 2 Tue, September 27, 2016

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Halite scale is a wide spread problem throughout several basins in the United States. This scale can form in surface equipment, downhole tubulars as well as affecting production. Traditional remediation of halite can be accomplished by dissolving the scale in fresh water as well as recycled water. In most cases the operator must factor in the cost of fresh water, trucking, manpower, anti-scale additives, and disposal of additional produced water. These treatments are often frequent with multiple applications per week. The approach described in this paper will prevent the formation of halite scale for a given period of time. This is accomplished through the use of a new porous ceramic proppant-based chemical delivery system in which a halite inhibitor is infused. The infused halite inhibitor is encapsulated with a semi-permeable membrane to regulate the elution rate of the inhibitor from the porous proppant carrier. The chemical delivery system is added to the bulk proppant as a small weight percentage of the bulk proppant and is placed in the fracture as normal proppant. Several wells in the multiple basins for several E&P companies were completed using this new chemical delivery system, which allowed for a significant amount of halite inhibitor to be placed within the proppant pack. As fluids flowed over the proppant pack the halite inhibitor was slowly released. This paper intends to describe the mechanism for which the inhibitor acts, the control release mechanism of the substrate and the engineering behind the placement and volumes of the halite infused proppant. This paper will also discuss the data collected from laboratory modeling and the implementation of these products in fracturing applications. The use of this chemical delivery system will allow these operators to defer remediation, lowering lease operating expenses. This paper will be useful to all production and completions engineers and technicians operating in an area with halite scale issues. This new chemical delivery system allows for deferred implementation of traditional remediation strategies while extending the most productive time of the wells life. This halite inhibitor delivery system not only improves estimated ultimate recovery but also lowers lease operating expenses.

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Simulation Study of Scale Management During Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Reservoirs

Abouie

Sanaei

Sepehrnoori

2019

SPE International Conference on Oilfield Chemistry

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Geochemical scale formation and deposition in reservoir is a common problem in upstream oil and gas industry, which results in equipment corrosion, wellbore plugging, and production decline. In unconventional reservoirs, the negative effect of scale formation becomes more pronounced as it can severely damage the conductivity of hydraulic fractures. Hence, it is necessary to predict the effect of scale deposition on fracture conductivity and production performance. In this work, an integrated reactive-transport simulator is utilized to model geochemical reactions along with transport equations in conventional and unconventional reservoirs considering the damage to the fracture and formation matrix. Hence, a compositional reservoir simulator (UTCOMP), which is integrated with IPhreeqc, is utilized to predict geochemical scale formation in formation matrix and hydraulic fractures. IPhreeqc offers extensive capabilities for modeling geochemical reactions including local thermodynamic equilibrium and kinetics. Based on the amount of scale formation, porosity, permeability, and fracture aperture are modified to determine the production loss. The results suggested that interaction of the formation water/brine and injection water/hydraulic fracturing fluid is the primary cause for scale formation. The physicochemical properties such as pressure, temperature, and pH are the secondary cause affecting scale formation in the reservoir. During hydraulic fracturing, precipitation of barite and dissolution of calcite are identified to be the main reactions, which occur as a result of interaction between the formation brine, formation mineral composition, and injection water/hydraulic fracturing fluid. Calcite dissolution can increase the matrix porosity and permeability while barite precipitation has an opposite effect. Therefore, the overall effect and final results depend on several parameters such as HFF composition, HFF injection rate, and formation mineral/brine. Based on the fracturing fluid composition and its invasion depth in this study, the effect of barite precipitation was dominant with negative impact on cumulative gas production. The outcome of this study is a comprehensive tool for prediction of scale deposition in the reservoir which can help operators to select optimum fracturing fluid and operating conditions.

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Field Study of the Physical and Chemical Factors Affecting Downhole Scale Deposition in the North Dakota Bakken Formation

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Mineral Precipitation Kinetics: Assessing the Effect of Hydrostatic Pressure and Its Implication on the Nucleation Mechanism

Mineral Precipitation Kinetics: Assessing the Effect of Hydrostatic Pressure and Its Implication on the Nucleation Mechanism

Prevention of Halite Formation and Deposition in Horizontal Wellbores: A Multi Basin Developmental Study

Simulation Study of Scale Management During Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Reservoirs

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