The effect of temperature and pressure on oilfield scale formation

Dyer, Sarah Jane; Graham, Gordon Michael

doi:10.1016/s0920-4105(02)00217-6

Cited by 132 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…These approaches require the pipe wall to be smooth and of uniform thickness [18], while the wall thickness of conventional casing is rather poorly controlled, with specifications allowing for 12.5% variability [56]. Alongside mineral scaling, present in many existing wellbores [34,62], significant lubrication issues are therefore expected [30], which in turn could cause swaging to induce considerable damage to the casing tube [18]. Given these difficulties, alternative approaches are needed for expanding conventional wellbore casings to seal leakage pathways outside of the casing in existing wellbores, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reaction-driven casing expansion: potential for wellbore leakage mitigation

2017

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It is generally challenging to predict the postabandonment behaviour and integrity of wellbores. Leakage is, moreover, difficult to mitigate, particularly between the steel casing and outer cement sheath. Radially expanding the casing with some form of internal plug, thereby closing annular voids and fractures around it, offers a possible solution to both issues. However, such expansion requires development of substantial internal stresses. Chemical reactions that involve a solid volume increase and produce a force of crystallisation (FoC), such as CaO hydration, offer obvious potential. However, while thermodynamically capable of producing stresses in the GPa range, the maximum stress obtainable by CaO hydration has not been validated or determined experimentally. Here, we report uniaxial compaction/expansion experiments performed in an oedometer-type apparatus on precompacted CaO powder, at 65°C and at atmospheric pore fluid pressure. Using this set-up, the FoC generated during CaO hydration could be measured directly. Our results show FoC-induced stresses reaching up to 153 MPa, with reaction stopping or slowing down before completion. Failure to achieve the GPa stresses predicted by theory is attributed to competition between FoC development and its inhibiting effect on reaction progress. Microstructural observations indicate that reaction-induced stresses shut down pathways for water into the sample, hampering ongoing reaction and limiting the magnitude of stress build-up to the values observed. The results nonetheless point the way to understanding the behaviour of such systems and to finding engineering solutions that may allow large controlled stresses and strains to be achieved in wellbore sealing operations in future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reaction-driven casing expansion: potential for wellbore leakage mitigation

2017

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“…In developing a surface engineering strategy for scale, it is particularly important to understand the effect of some parameters in reducing scaling such as: surface parameters (e.g. the roughness (Keysar et al 1994;Cheong, Gaskell and Neville 2013;Liu et al 2011) and the wettability (Cheong, Gaskell and Neville 2013;Zhao et al 2005;Bargir et al 2009;Förster and Bohnet 1999;Azimi et al 2014;Herz, Malayeri and Müller-Steinhagen 2008a;Rankin and Adamson 1973a)), kinetics of crystallization and surface deposition (Crabtree et al 1999;Kitamura 2002;Yu et al 2004;Dyer and Graham 2002;Peyvandi, Haghtalab and Omidkhah 2012), and the induction time (Geddert, Augustin and Scholl 2011;Geddert et al 2009;Jaouhari et al 2000;Gabrielli et al 2003) for surface scaling which is dependent on the flow regime (Han et al 2006;Alahmad 2008;Vazirian and Neville) and the saturation rate (Merdhah and Yassin 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface inorganic scale formation in oil and gas industry: As adhesion and deposition processes

Vazirian

Charpentier

Penna

et al. 2016

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

102

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Scale formation on surfaces can normally be divided into two distinct processes: a "deposition process" which refers to the process of heterogeneous nucleation and growth at the asperities of the surface and an "adhesion process" which refers to the sticking of preexisting crystals, which have nucleated in the bulk solution, and which build up as a layer on the surface. It has been presented in this paper that the surface scale formation rate is more dominantly controlled by the "deposition process" rather than the "adhesion process"; however, the level of agitation could have inverse effects on one process to another. Only a small amount of research has been done to understand the differences of the kinetics of each of these processes. The presented work represents an experimental study of scaling tests to assess the effect of hydrodynamic conditions, using Rotating Cylinder Electrode (RCE), in a complex scaling environment, particularly supersaturated with barium/strontium sulphate and calcium carbonate, on the stainless steel substrate coated with a wide range of different industrial coatings.In addition, the effect of the surface energy and surface roughness on both processes has been studied. The paper provides data that will assist in the understanding of the controlling parameters in scale formation in different conditions, and also describes what characteristics of the surface can make it a good anti-scale surface for inorganic scale; however, the results have showed that merely one parameter cannot assure a surface as a good antifouling surface.

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“…Exploration companies have been pushing drilling operations farther from shore because of technological improvements that allow them to handle extreme depths and pressures. Dyer and Graham (2002) pointed out a number of HP/HT fields in the North Sea had been in production. Those HP/HT reservoirs are characterized by high pressures (12,000-15,000 psi), high temperatures (T > 175ºC), and very high salinity brines (TDS ~ 300,000 ppm) (Dyer and Graham, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scale Prediction and Inhibition for Unconventional Oil and Gas Production

et al. 2010

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With the advance of new exploration and production technologies, oil and gas production has gone to deeper and tighter formation than ever before. These developments have also brought challenges in scale prediction and inhibition, such as how to prevent scales at high temperature (150-200ºC), pressure (1,000-1,500 bars) and TDS (>300,000 mg/L) commonly experienced at these depths. This paper will discuss (1) the challenges of scale prediction at high temperature, pressure, and TDS; (2) an efficient method to study the nucleation kinetics of scale formation and inhibition at these conditions; (3) the kinetics of barite crystal nucleation and precipitation in the presence of various scale inhibitors and the effectiveness of those inhibitors. In this study, nine scale inhibitors have been evaluated at 70-200ºC to determine if they can successfully prevent barite precipitation. The results show that only a few inhibitors can effectively inhibit barite formation at 200ºC. Although it is commonly believed that phosphonate scale inhibitors may not work for high temperature inhibition applications, the results from this study suggest barite scale inhibition by phosphonate inhibitors was not impaired at 200°C under strictly anoxic condition and in NaCl brine. However, phosphonate inhibitors can precipitate with Ca 2+ in a brine at high temperatures and, hence, reduce efficiency. In addition, the relationship of scale inhibition to types of inhibitors and temperature are explored in this study.

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The effect of temperature and pressure on oilfield scale formation

Cited by 132 publications

References 2 publications

Reaction-driven casing expansion: potential for wellbore leakage mitigation

Reaction-driven casing expansion: potential for wellbore leakage mitigation

Surface inorganic scale formation in oil and gas industry: As adhesion and deposition processes

Scale Prediction and Inhibition for Unconventional Oil and Gas Production

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