Production Loss by Scale Formation in Unconventional Reservoirs

Abouie, Ali; Tagavifar, Mohsen; Sanaei, Alireza; Sepehrnoori, Kamy

doi:10.2118/190148-ms

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Many factors lead to scale deposition including incompatible water, pH value, pressurization, salt content, and temperature . The potential for secondary mineral precipitates to irreversibly clog porosity to reduce hydrocarbon production from the shale matrix, damage well productivity, and reduce overall extraction efficiency is a well-recognized concern, particularly when reusing high-salinity produced water ,,, (Figure ).…”

Section: Evolution Of Shale Flow Channels Due To Reactive Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Review of the Physicochemical Impacts of Water Chemistry on Shale in Hydraulic Fracturing Systems

Khan

Spielman-Sun

Jew

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Hydraulic fracturing of unconventional hydrocarbon resources involves the sequential injection of a high-pressure, particle-laden fluid with varying pH’s to make commercial production viable in low permeability rocks. This process both requires and produces extraordinary volumes of water. The water used for hydraulic fracturing is typically fresh, whereas “flowback” water is typically saline with a variety of additives which complicate safe disposal. As production operations continue to expand, there is an increasing interest in treating and reusing this high-salinity produced water for further fracturing. Here we review the relevant transport and geochemical properties of shales, and critically analyze the impact of water chemistry (including produced water) on these properties. We discuss five major geochemical mechanisms that are prominently involved in the temporal and spatial evolution of fractures during the stimulation and production phase: shale softening, mineral dissolution, mineral precipitation, fines migration, and wettability alteration. A higher salinity fluid creates both benefits and complications in controlling these mechanisms. For example, higher salinity fluid inhibits clay dispersion, but simultaneously requires more additives to achieve appropriate viscosity for proppant emplacement. In total this review highlights the nuances of enhanced hydrogeochemical shale stimulation in relation to the choice of fracturing fluid chemistry.

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Section: Evolution Of Shale Flow Channels Due To Reactive Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Review of the Physicochemical Impacts of Water Chemistry on Shale in Hydraulic Fracturing Systems

Khan

Spielman-Sun

Jew

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Many UGTO reservoirs that experience sulfate scales would benefit from more potent and effective products because very few economic options are in existence today. 165,166 8. SURFACTANTS AS FLOWBACK AIDS 8.1.…”

Section: Scale Inhibitorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…New chemical approaches for dissolving sulfates are desirable, especially those that can tolerate high temperatures. Many UGTO reservoirs that experience sulfate scales would benefit from more potent and effective products because very few economic options are in existence today. , …”

Section: Scale Inhibitorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Technical Playbook for Chemicals and Additives Used in the Hydraulic Fracturing of Shales

Reynolds

2020

Energy Fuels

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Improving production of shale gas and tight oil from low-permeability formations has dominated the energy landscape over the past two decades. Successful applications of horizontal drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing (HF) techniques, first demonstrated in the Texas Barnett shales in the 1990s, are the impetus for the current shale boom in the Americas. Chemicals are at the heart of the fracturing (or "fracking") process, which includes pumping a water-based fluid and proppant into a shale formation to create fissures that access the buried hydrocarbons. The fracturing fluid composition is critical to the completion design and should reduce wellbore friction while enabling proppant placement into the fractures. However, adding too many chemicals without properly evaluating the fracturing fluid formulation can lead to increased cost, poor fluid performance, or even damage to the reservoir. This review discusses the purpose of each chemical used in HF fluids, the techniques applied by the production chemist to assess fluid performance, and suggested best practices in optimizing formulations to reduce costs, enhance performance, and improve footprint.

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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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Production Loss by Scale Formation in Unconventional Reservoirs

Cited by 4 publications

References 23 publications

A Critical Review of the Physicochemical Impacts of Water Chemistry on Shale in Hydraulic Fracturing Systems

A Critical Review of the Physicochemical Impacts of Water Chemistry on Shale in Hydraulic Fracturing Systems

A Technical Playbook for Chemicals and Additives Used in the Hydraulic Fracturing of Shales

Simulation Study of Scale Management During Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Reservoirs

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