JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY www.jptonline.

org JUNE 2012

Coiled Tubing
Applications

Well Stimulation

Wellbore Tubulars

EOR Operations

FEATURES

Challenges for Earth

Resources Engineering

Young Technology
Showcase

Reducing Heavy Oil

Emissions, Costs

Illuminating
Saudi Reservoirs
 REDA HotlineSA3
HIGH-TEMPERATURE
ESP SYSTEMS

Reliable high-temperature
ESP performance
*Mark of Schlumberger. Measurable Impact is a mark of Schlumberger. 2012 Schlumberger. 12-AL-0032

Rated to 482 degF (250 degC), the REDA* HotlineSA3* systems new features include
monitoring of intake and motor pressure and temperature for better control during
operations. The prefilled integrated motor enables faster installation with ease of
assembly. HotlineSA3 systems are currently deployed for 8 operators in Canada and
the Middle East, building on the unsurpassed Hotline* track record in HT environments.
www.slb.com/sa3jpt

Global Expertise | Innovative Technology | Measurable Impact

 CONTENTS
Volume 64 Number 6

18 GUEST EDITORIAL
DOWNHOLE FIBER OPTICS ARE CHANGING THE
WELLS FOOTPRINT
The idea of doing more with less is at the heart of advances in downhole
fiber-optic technology, writes Greg Powers, Halliburtons vice president
of technology, and its application is not far removed from doing nearly
everything with almost nothing.

40 YOUNG TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE

A new section highlighting the best in young technology.

48 ILLUMINATING THE RESERVOIR

Saudi Aramco is using advanced technologies to fully unlock its
resourcepotential.

58 REDUCING HEAVY OIL EMISSIONS, COSTS

Solvents are cutting emissions and costs in the Canadian oil sands and
Cover: An artists illustration of nano-sized other heavy oil regions.
particles, called Resbots, traveling through
reservoir rock to perform tasks ranging
from tracking the path of waterfloods to 66 R&D GRAND CHALLENGES
creating enhanced images. Illustration GRAND CHALLENGES FOR EARTH RESOURCES
courtesy of Saudi Aramco.
ENGINEERING
An assessment of the biggest challenges faced by Earth resources
engineers.

6 Performance Indices 72 MANAGEMENT

10 Regional Update KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
12 Company News Knowledge management can help the digitally immersed, socially
networked, information overloaded, smartphone obsessed, and busy
14 Presidents Column knowledge worker of today.
16 Comments
22 Technology Applications
28 Technology Update
136 People
139 Professional Services
143 Advertisers Index
144 SPE Events

Printed in US. Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers. An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
TECHNOLOGY MicroScope
HIGH-RESOLUTION RESISTIVITY
AND IMAGING WHILE DRILLING

MicroScope is a mark of Schlumberger. 2012 Schlumberger. 12-DR-0082

76 Coiled Tubing Applications
John Misselbrook, SPE, Senior Advisor Global Coiled Tubing,
Baker Hughes

77 Targeted Fracturing Using Coiled-Tubing-Enabled Fracture Sleeves

80 Downhole Mixing Technique Facilitates Pinpoint Fracturing in Eagle
Ford Shale

84 Coiled Tubing Reduces Stimulation Cycle Time by More Than 50% in

Multilayer Wells in Russia

90 Well Stimulation
Gerald R. Coulter, SPE, Consulting Petroleum Engineer and
President, Coulter Energy International

91 Combined Smart-Chemical System and Real-Time Temperature

Sensing: A Case Study
Magnify
96 DTS Technology: Improving Acid Placement
your reservoir
100 Phosphonic/Hydrofluoric Acid: Tortuosity Remediation for
FracturingTreatments The MicroScope application has greatly
enhanced the ability to geosteer and identify
the fractures in our complex carbonate oil
104 Wellbore Tubulars reservoir in Sichuan.
Casey McDonough, SPE, Drilling Engineer, Chesapeake Operating Yang Jing Li, Chief Geologist,
PetroChina SWOGC SuiNing
105 Safe Drillpipe Connections During Managed-Pressure-Drilling
Operations The MicroScope LWD service for formation
110 Expansion-Cone Material: Heat-Treatment Effects evaluation, well placement, and fracture
analysis enabled PetroChina to drill an
116 Damages and Repairs on Drillpipe Connections 810-m horizontal section 100% in zone.

120 EOR Operations www.slb.com/MicroScope

Luciane Bonet-Cunha, SPE, Senior Reservoir Engineer,
Petrobras America

121 Production Optimization in the Campos Basin: A Case for Robustness

in Waterflooding

126 Comparative Analysis of Electromagnetic Heating Methods for

Heavy-Oil Recovery

130 Downhole Steam Generation Pushes Recovery Beyond

ConventionalLimits

The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
free to SPE members for two months at www.jptonline.org.
 Were Changing
Mindsets Weatherfords Tactical Technology
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Changing Mindsets with
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Breaking News from the 2012 Offshore Technology Conference
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OU Shale Research Pursues Cutting-Edge Rock Analysis
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guesswork out of fluid behavior in tight reservoirs, toward more effective PVS
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 PERFORMANCE INDICES

WORLD CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION+

THOUSAND BOPD
OP EC 2011 AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 2012 JAN
Algeria 1540 1540 1540 1540 1540 1550
Angola 1790 1840 1790 1940 1890 1890
Ecuador 495 496 502 504 501 504
Iran 4050 4050 4000 4000 3950 3850

Be a part of the Iraq

Kuwait*
2625
2600
2725
2600
2725
2600
2725
2600
2725
2600
2675
2650

SPE Opinion Panel Libya

Nigeria
0
2600
100
2600
300
2400
550
2500
800
2400
1000
2500
Qatar 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300

Short on time?
Saudi Arabia* 9940 9740 9540 9840 9840 9840
UAE 2720 2720 2720 2720 2820 2620
Venezuela 2240 2240 2240 2240 2240 2240
This volunteer TOTAL 31900 31951 31657 32459 32606 32619

opportunity is for you. THOUSAND BOPD

NON-OPEC 2011 AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 2012 JAN

Argentina 604 609 611 607 600 589

For less than one hour Australia 353 355 365 385 427 340

of your time each month, Azerbaijan 927 977 946 986 991 959
Brazil 2052 2099 2105 2188 2214 2231
you can help shape the
Canada 3068 2983 3032 3022 3120 3189
future of SPE products China 4030 3964 3926 4006 3998 4089
and services. Colombia 952 891 940 965 930 941
Denmark 213 210 217 211 185 197
Join the SPE Opinion
Egypt 510 505 505 505 505 558
Panel and give feedback
Eq. Guinea 270 270 270 307 315 314
about the Society and Gabon 236 246 246 246 245 246
its programs, as well as India 782 776 775 768 765 765

participate in industry and Indonesia 926 943 914 916 896 901

technical topic research. Kazakhstan 1558 1513 1515 1528 1519 1538
Malaysia 517 500 508 514 541 540
Mexico 2598 2534 2598 2573 2601 2562
Norway 1714 1636 1756 1764 1713 1761
Getting started is easy. Oman 908 894 899 871 900 894
Russia 9832 9557 9902 9595 9869 9894

For more Sudan

Syria
428
335
423
255
418
205
413
205
408
205
358
175
information, log on to UK 767 890 998 1039 1010 999

www.spe.org/volunteer/ USA
Vietnam
5660
298
5579
280
5866
318
5958
351
5973
346
6094
348
opinion_panel Yemen 160 185 170 160 155 160
Other 2531 2464 2315 2216 1857 2674

Total 42229 41538 42320 42299 42778 42808

Total World 74129 73489 73977 74758 75384 75427

JPT JUNE 2012

Cameron, Technical Services, Middle East

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 SPE PERFORMANCE INDICES

Bookstore
www.spe.org/store US NATURAL GAS WELLHEAD PRICES
5

FEATURED TITLE 1
USD/Mcf

2011
MAR

APRIL

MAY

JUN

JUL

FEB
AUG

SEPT

OCT

NOV

DEC

2012
JAN
WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)

114.99 100.9 114.99 96.26 116.97 97.3 110.22 86.33

2011 MAY JUN JUL AUG

112.83 85.52 109.55 86.32 110.77 97.16 107.87 98.56

SEPT OCT NOV DEC

110.69 100.27 119.33 102.20 125.45 106.16 119.75 103.32

2012 JAN FEB MAR APR

Solids Injection Brent WTI

SPE Monograph Series, Vol. 24
Edited by Neal Nagel and WORLD ROTARY RIG COUNT
John McLennan
2011 2012
The use of subsurface injection to manage REGION OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR
drilling and production wastes has expanded
steadily over the past 25 years and now US 2017 2011 2003 2003 1990 1979 1962
represents one of the best means of Canada 508 487 429 577 706 492 158
responsible waste management, both onshore
Latin America 438 422 438 420 439 438 423
and offshore. This monograph provides
a practical, state-of-the-art look at best Europe 122 122 112 108 120 109 118
practices for major aspects of the safe and Middle East 297 308 304 311 311 312 312
environmentally sound disposal of oileld
Africa 81 86 79 78 81 89 80
solids through injection into subsurface strata.
Asia Pacific 259 247 247 254 253 244 245
Contents: *OKFDUJPO
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*OKFDUJPO

QSPHSBN
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NBOBHFNFOU
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TOTAL 3722 3683 3612 3751 3900 3663 3298
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WORLD OIL SUPPLY AND DEMAND 1
t
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MILLION BOPD 2011 2012
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$BTF
SUPPLY 86.03 86.79 88.46 89.07
studies DEMAND 86.97 88.65 88.22 88.42

INDICES KEY
+ Figures do not include NGLs and oil from nonconventional sources.
* Includes approximately one-half of Neutral Zone production.
1 Includes crude oil, lease condensates, natural gas plant liquids, other hydrocarbons for refinery feedstocks, refinery
gains, alcohol, and liquids produced from nonconventional sources.
Source: Baker Hughes.
Source: US Dept. of Energy/Energy Information Admin.
Visit our online bookstore at
www.spe.org/store
JPT JUNE 2012
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 REGIONAL UPDATE
AFRICA
Tullow Oil appraised the Enyenra-4A
well in the Deepwater Tano license offshore
Ghana. The well, drilled to a total depth of
13,695 ft in 6,160 ft of water, encountered
oil in very good quality sandstone
reservoirs. Results of drilling, wireline logs,
samples of reservoir fluids, and pressure
data show Enyenra-4A has intersected
105 ft of net oil pay. Tullow (49.95%) is
operator, with Kosmos Energy (18%),
Anadarko Petroleum (18%), Sabre Oil & Gas
(4.05%), and the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation (10% carriedinterest).
Anadarko announced another success
in the Rovuma basin, offshore Mozambique,
with a new gas find at its Barquentine-4
appraisal well. The welllocated in the
2.6-million-acre Rovuma basin Area 1
block approximately 19 miles north of the
Lagosta discovery well at the southern end
of the Windjammer/Lagosta/Barquentine/
Camarao gas complexencountered 525
net ft of natural gas pay. Anadarko (36.5%)
is operator, with Mitsui E&P Mozambique
Area 1 (20%), BPRL Ventures Mozambique
(10%), Videocon Mozambique Rovuma 1
(10%), and Cove Energy (8.5%).
ASIA
Coastal Energy announced a successful
Miocene discovery in the Bua Ban South
A-04 well, Gulf of Thailand. The well was
drilled to a total vertical depth of 3,250ft
on the eastern flank fault block at Bua
Ban South, about 1.5 miles south of the
main Bau Ban Main A-11 well. The A-04
well encountered 42 ft of net pay in the
Lower Miocene M75 and M100 sands with
29.5% average porosity. Coastal (100%)
isoperator.
China National Petroleum Corporation
and Shell China Exploration and
Production Company signed a production
sharing contract (PSC) for shale gas
exploration, development, and production
in the Fushun-Yongchuan block in
the Sichuan basin, China. Subject to
government approval, this is the first shale
gas PSC ever signed in China. The contract
area covers approximately 3,500 km2.
Santos has found a new gas reservoir
through the Sangu-11 well in the Sangu
area, with about 66 ft of good quality
10
gas pay. The well will be completed and
tied into the Sangu facilities. Considered
the first offshore gas field development
in Bangladesh, the Sangu field is located
in Block 16 in the Bay of Bengal about
28miles southwest of Chittagong. Santos
(75%) is operator with Halliburton (25%).
AUSTRALIA
ConocoPhillips spudded the Boreas-1
well, located in permit WA-315-P in the
Browse basin offshore Australia. The well
is located on a large tilted fault block that
is part of the northeast trending structural
high of the greater Poseidon structure. The
objective of the well is to test the extent,
presence, and quality of reservoirs within
the Boreas-1 fault block. ConocoPhillips
(50%) operates the permit, while Karoon
holds the remaining stake.
EUROPE
Eni commenced production from
the Marulk field in the Norwegian North
Sea. Marulk is part of the PL 122 license
held by operator Eni (20%), with Statoil
(50%) and Dong (30%). Marulk is a gas
and condensate field with estimated
reserves of 74.7 million BOE and produces
20,000BOEPD.
Noreco commenced drilling at
Exploration Well 7228/1-4 on the Eik
prospect in Production License 396
in the Barents Sea. The well is being
drilled by Transoceans ultradeepwater
semisubmersible the Transocean Barents.
Noreco (50%) is operator, with Front
Exploration (30%) and Petoro (20%).
MIDDLE EAST
Talisman Energy confirmed the
presence of light oil at the Kurdamir-2 well
in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.
The well flowed at unstimulated rates of
7.3 MMcf/D of natural gas and 950 B/D
of oil and condensate, with no indications
of water and no observed decline. This
openhole drillstem test was conducted
only over the upper 180 ft of the Oligocene
reservoir. A total of 459 ft of gross reservoir
(289 net ft) was identified through wireline
logging. Talisman (40%) is operator of the
Kurdamir Block, with WesternZagros (40%)
and the Kurdistan Regional Government
(20% carried interest).
NORTH AMERICA
McMoRan completed technical work
on the Davy Jones No. 1 well on South
Marsh Island Block 230, US Gulf of Mexico
(GOM), in 20 ft of water. The company
expects the operations currently under
way will enable a measurable flow rate
during second-quarter 2012 followed by
commercial production shortly thereafter.
McMoRan (32.7%) operates the block, with
PXP (27.7%), EXXI (15.8%), Nippon Oil
(12%), W.A. Tex Moncrief Jr. (8.8%), and
a private investor (3%).
Shell successfully drilled the northeast
fault block of the Appomattox structure
in the GOM. The company demonstrated
contingent recoverable resources in
the northeast block of approximately
215million BOE, with a range of 120 million
to 370 million BOE of light oil. Future
planned appraisal drilling will further refine
this range. Shell (80%) is operator, with
Nexen(20%).
SOUTH AMERICA
Petrobras announced a discovery,
found while drilling Well 4-SPS-86B
(4-BRSA-971-SPS), unofficially known
as Carcar, 144 miles off the coast of
So Paulo state. Sampling confirmed the
presence of oil of approximately 31API
in reservoirs 18,865 ft deep. Petrobras
(66%) is operator, with Petrogal Brasil
(14%), Barra Energia do Brasil Petrleo
e Gs Ltda. (10%), and Queiroz Galvo
Explorao e Produo S.A. (10%).
The Ramiriqui-1 oil exploration well
in the Llanos-22 block, located in the
Andean foothills trend of the Llanos
basin,Colombia, has reached total
depthat 19,519 ft measured depth (MD).
Initial testing has been completed on
Ramiriqui-1, with 130 ft gross thickness
in the Mirador formation, which was
perforated and tested from 17,610 to
17,630 ft MD in the uppermost primary
reservoir interval. The interval had natural
flow rates of up to 2,525 BOPD gross over
32.5 hours with a 28/64-in. choke and
a 0.12% water cut with 26API oil. The
Ramiriqui-1 well flowed at a restricted
rate due to gas flaring limitations.
Compania Espanola dePetroleos S.A.U.
(55%) is operator, with Gran Tierra
Energy(45%).JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
 R E N TA L TO O L S E RV I C E S

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 COMPANY NEWS
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
National Oilwell Varco purchased
Wilson, a unit of Schlumberger, in an
all-cash transaction, subject to regulatory
approval. The value of the deal was not
disclosed. The Wilson unit sells pipes,
valves, fittings, and other tools for oil and
natural gas companies.
Cairn Energy agreed to buy Norwegian
oil firm Agora Oil & Gas. Cairn will pay
USD 450 million for Agora, which holds
several assets in the Norwegian and UK
North Sea. Agora holds a 15% stake in the
Catcher P1430 license in the central North
Sea and a 20% interest in the Tybalt P1632
license in the northern North Sea, along
with nine other licenses.
Expro has agreed to sell its Connectors
& Measurements (C&M) business, including
the Tronic and Matre brands, to Siemens
for USD 630 million. Expros C&M business
specializes in the design, manufacture,
assembly, and installation of subsea
electrical power and data connectors and
temperature and pressure sensors.
Hercules Offshore closed the
acquisition of the offshore drilling rig
Ocean Columbia from a subsidiary
of Diamond Offshore Drilling for
USD40million in cash. Ocean Columbia,
to be renamed Hercules 266, is a
LeTourneau Class 82 SD-C self-elevating
drilling rig. Hercules will invest about
USD45 million to repair, upgrade, and
mobilize the rig and use it to execute
a 3-year contract with Saudi Aramco,
from which it expects USD160 million
inrevenue.
Schlumberger entered into an
agreement with Altor Fund II to acquire
SPT Groupa privately owned software
company that provides a combination
of software and consulting services for
multiphase flow and reservoir engineering
applications. Closing is subject to
customary regulatory approvals. SPT
Group, founded in 1971, is headquartered
in Norway and employs approximately
280people in 11 countries worldwide.
Williams Partners agreed to buy
a natural gas pipeline system in the
Marcellus shale from closely held Caiman
Energy for USD 2.5 billion in cash and
12
equity. Williams will acquire the pipeline
unit Caiman Eastern Midstream, which
built pipelines, two processing plants, and
a gas-liquids fractionator with backing
from private equity firm EnCap Flatrock
Midstream. Caiman has agreements with
10 producers to gather and process gas
and petroleum liquids from wells drilled
across 236,000 acres in West Virginia,
Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
COMPANY MOVES
BMT ARGOSS, a subsidiary of
BMTGroup, an international maritime
design, environmental, and engineering
consultancy, opened an office in Atyrau,
Kazakhstan, which will provide a local
presence for oil and gas companies
operating in the region. The companys
initial focus will be on providing and
further developing weather forecasting
and emergency response capabilities to
itscustomers.
Intertek, a worldwide provider of
quality and safety services, is investing
USD 23.7 million in new 41,000-ft2
Aberdeen headquarters in Scotland for
its energy services. The Intertek Moody
teams, with contracts that include
training, systems certification, technical
inspection, and staffing services for oil
and gas operators and service companies
operating in the North Sea and abroad,
are among the first to move to the
newpremises.
TWMA, specializing in integrated oil
and gas drilling waste management and
environmental solutions, opened the
companys newest manufacturing base
in Houston. The new facility will allow
TWMA to manufacture American-made
equipment and meet growing demand
for its services. Operating both offshore
and onshore, TWMA handles and treats
drill cuttings and associated oil industry
wastes. Using state-of-the-art technology,
drilling wastes are recovered, recycled,
and reused.
Schlumberger opened a new
30,000-ft2 Houston Geoengineering
Laboratory, the companys latest addition
to its global network of laboratories that
offer an array of reservoir core analysis
services for the oil and gas industry.
The new facility has a conventional core
analysis laboratory for measuring porosity,
saturation, and permeability. It also has
a special core analysis laboratory for
more complex tests of capillary pressure,
relative permeability, electrical properties,
nuclear magnetic resonance, and
enhanced oil recoveryevaluations.
CONTRACTS AND TENDERS
Aker Solutions was awarded a contract
by Enerserv WLL to deliver 600 sets of
surface wellheads and trees to the Awali
oil field in Bahrain. The total contract value
is USD 17 million. The first delivery will be
a total of 45 sets of surface wellheads and
trees that will be delivered in June.
Samsung Engineering signed a
lump-sum turnkey contract, worth
approximately USD 1 billion, with Lukoil
Mid-East for the project management,
engineering, procurement, supply,
transportation, construction, and
precommissioning of facilities comprising
the oil gathering system, central
processing facilities, and water supply
system for the development of the West
Qurna (Phase 2) Contract Area, Iraq, and
thereafter to assist Lukoil with its carrying
out of the commissioning and start up.
Samsung expects to complete the contract
within 29 months.
Saipem said it won new engineering
and construction offshore contracts
in Brazil and Saudi Arabia worth
USD700million. The contract in Brazil
was awarded by Petrobras, while
the Saudi Arabian deal was within a
framework agreement with Saudi Aramco.
Keppel Shipyard has secured floating
production storage and offloading (FPSO)
upgrading projects from its long-term
partners SBM Offshore and Bumi Armada
Berhad. The combined contract value of
the two projects is USD 135.34 million.
Technips UK subsidiary was awarded
a contract, worth approximately
USD790million, by BP and partners to
develop the subsea infrastructure for the
Quad 204 project located in the West
of Shetland area. The Quad 204 project
involves replacing the existing Schiehallion
production facility with a new purpose-
built FPSO vessel and installing extensive
new subsea infrastructure. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
 SPECTRUM SPE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
2012 President

Moving Toward 70% Recovery Ganesh Thakur

Chevron Energy Technology Company

2011 President

Factor: Multiple Disciplines, Alain Labastie, Total

2013 President

Different Methods, One Goal* Egbert Imomoh, Afren

Vice President Finance

Kenneth E. Arnold
Ganesh Thakur, 2012 SPE President WorleyParsons

REGION DIRECTORS
During my 38 years in the industry, I have been dedicated to res- AFRICA
Alek Musa, Total E&P Nigeria
ervoir and well productivity improvement, particularly focused
CANADA
on enhanced oil recovery (EOR). As many of you know, I have Keith MacLeod, Sproule Associates
talked about our industrys need to increase recovery during my EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
many section and conference presentations and have written John Cramer, Superior Well Services
numerous papers on the topic. I feel that productivity improve- GULF COAST NORTH AMERICA
Sid Smith Jr., PolyFlow
ment is both one of the industrys biggest challenges and one of
its most promising opportunities, and it is a constantly moving MID-CONTINENT NORTH AMERICA
Mohan Kelkar, University of Tulsa
target. The worlds desire for energy will continue to grow. By 2030, our global chal-
MIDDLE EAST
lenge will be to meet a projected 40% increase in energy demand and to do so in a way Hosnia Hashim, Kuwait Oil Company
that protects the environment. NORTH SEA
The often-quoted industry average of 35% recovery efficiency for conventional Lon Beugelsdijk, Shell International E&P

crude oil raises the question: Can we double it to produce several trillion barrels more? NORTHERN ASIA PACIFIC
Yiaw Hin Wee, PETRONAS
The many technology breakthroughs and thousands of incremental advances in explo-
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NORTH AMERICA
ration and production since the beginning of oil production have increased oil recov- Arnis Judzis, Schlumberger
ery levels in many shallow heavy oil reservoirs from less than 10% to in excess of 70% RUSSIA AND THE CASPIAN
by steam injection. Andrey Gladkov, Modeltech

We can add 600 to 900 billion bbl of recoverable oil with only a 10% incremental SOUTH AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Nestor Saavedra, Ecopetrol ICP
recovery of oil from the remaining conventional resource base by improved recovery
SOUTH, CENTRAL, AND EAST EUROPE
through improved oil recovery (IOR) and EOR technologies. Although by no means an Maurizio Rampoldi, Eni E&P
easy task, if we can raise total recovery to 70%, we can add a few trillion bbl of recov-
SOUTHERN ASIA PACIFIC
erable oil. The future will be even brighter if we can use IOR and EOR in exploiting John Boardman, RISC
unconventional resources, with the potential to defer the impact of peak oil far off SOUTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICA
into the future. Enormous progress is already taking place through the integration of Peter Schrenkel, Vision Natural Resources

unconventional resource exploitation with horizontal drilling and multistage fractur- WESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Sam Sarem, Improved Petroleum
ing. As a result, US oil production is on the rise for the first time in many decades, pri- Recovery Consultants
marily due to liquids from unconventional reservoirs.
Now, I know what many of you are going to say: A 70% recovery efficiency can- TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
not be achieved. I believe it can be. Such efficiency gains are happening today. Many DRILLING AND COMPLETIONS
Joseph Ayoub, Schlumberger
operators are improving recovery efficiencies by being innovative and infusing more
HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT,
technology and know-how, increasing capital, and working with regulators. It is not AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
unreasonable to imagine that implementing advanced IOR and EOR technologies can Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil Upstream
Research Company
create another step change for this game-changing resource. When we start thinking
MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION
of the integration of unconventional resources with the potential of IOR and EOR, the Cindy Reece, ExxonMobil
possibilities are mind boggling. PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS
The challenge we must face is how to accelerate innovation and the development Ahmed Abou-Sayed, Advantek International

of essential technology. Commercializing technology in the oil and gas market is cost- PROJECTS, FACILITIES, AND CONSTRUCTION
John Walsh, Shell Exploration & Production
ly and time intensive, with an average of about 16 years from concept to widespread
RESERVOIR DESCRIPTION AND DYNAMICS
commercial adoption. The key is more collaboration in R&D and sharing innovations Gene Narahara, Chevron Energy
among industry, governments, and academic institutions, as well as with scientists Technology Company

outside the E&P industry. We must continue to expand our capabilities through inno-
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
vation as our industry has relentlessly done in the past.
Sudhir Vasudeva, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation

Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco

To contact the SPE President, email president@spe.org.

14 JPT JUNE 2012

 125
100
Million B/D
75
50
25
0 role in developing best practices in these
1971 1980 1990
Existing capacity
Enhanced oil recovery
Source: IEA World Energy Outlook 2004
We all know the supergiant Ghawar
field, the largest conventional oil field in
the world covering over 8,000 km2. After
more than 60 years it is still producing
at about 5 million B/D as a result of the
application of new technologies and effi-
cient reservoir management.
Here are a few other examples (Next,
2010) of how technology, people, and
capital can drastically improve recovery.
Kern River enhanced recovery
techniques have already captured 67%
of this 100-year-old heavy oil fields
estimated 3 billion bbl of OIP. A pilot
program to use horizontal steam-
injection wells seeks to push ultimate
recovery to 75% or higher at this field,
one of the largest and most prolific in
the US.
Tengiz, the worlds deepest
producing supergiant oil field, is making
excellent progress with an industry-
leading pilot project to safely reinject
sour gas into reservoirs to yield higher
production and boost recovery rates.
Sour gas operations at Tengiz began
in 2007, with full operations launched
in mid-2008. These efforts along with
plant expansions enabled Tengiz to
double its overall production capacity.
At the Agbami Field, a miscible
gas and water injection project is being
deployed with a novel application of
crestal gas injection and peripheral
JPT JUNE 2012
2000 2010 2020 2030
Development of new discoveries
Development of existing reserves
Unconventional oil
waterflood concurrently. This technique
will maximize oil recovery and
production by squeezing oil out of the
reservoir with a top down and bottom
up displacement mechanism.
At the Minas Field in Sumatra,
a pilot project that uses a chemical
surfactant-polymer flooding process
to recover additional reserves was
deployed. The surfactant-polymer
project represents ongoing efforts to
economically capture more reserves
and sustain production at Minas, where
secondary recovery techniques have
made this field the largest waterflood
project in Southeast Asia.
Let us not forget that oil prices are
also an important factor that there are
several crude oil prices (several types
of crude) influences recovery efficien-
cy. Also, note that large investments and
comprehensive competency and knowl-
edge are needed to implement an EOR
process. Moreover, reservoir specific
research is needed to increase recovery.
I sincerely believe that to truly maxi-
mize economic recovery from a reservoir
takes an integrated multi-functional and
multi-stakeholder team effort. This effort
can be facilitated through SPE, with the
organization providing the environment
to foster collaboration with more in the
industry, such as academia, NOCs, IOCs,
and service companies. Collaboration
and building trust with our collaborators
are essential to developing a partnership,
and it takes time to achievethis.
I would like to see an increase in
well-organized, collaborative efforts
such as in-depth discussions and devel-
opment of standard practices in surveil-
lance and monitoring of fields. Although
there are pockets of excellence, this is
not happening consistently all over the
world, and SPE should take a leadership
areas. If we could accomplish this in an
organized way, it would provide a valu-
able service to the entire industry and
move us toward the goal of 70% recov-
ery efficiency.
Miscible CO2 flooding now contrib-
utes more oil production in the US than
any other EOR method. There are over
120 CO2 EOR projects. The CO2 EOR tech-
nology is well proven, safe, and econom-
ic. In addition, the knowhow and tech-
nology from CO2 flooding are applicable
to carbon capture and storage. So, the
expertise developed from CO2 EOR is also
transferable to manage anthropogenic
CO2, a great plus for our industry.
Some people would say this is not
possible everywhere in the world. I dont
want to get stuck on the literal goal of
70% recovery. It is not always about the
goal, it is often about the journey. The
journey is to increase recovery efficiency.
As I stated in the beginning, an increase
of just 10% could give us 600 to 900 bil-
lion bbl. That would be an accomplish-
ment, but if we dare to push for 70%,
we could gain a trillion barrels of oil. I
know some will think the believers are
the crazy ones but I believe in the words
of Steve Jobs when he said, Stay hungry,
stay foolish.
As always, I would appreciate your
feedback and comments. JPT
*Thanks to the SPE Saudi Arabia Section
for using this title as a theme for one of
their conferences.
Enticing more from the reservoir.
Next* The Next Generation of Energy
Technology. Chevron (November 2010)
2023.
15
 COMMENTS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
J.C. Cunha, Drilling Manager,
Ecopetrol America, Chairperson
Francisco J. Alhanati, Director E&P,
C-FER Technologies
Syed Ali, Research Advisor, Schlumberger

Young Technology Showcase Renzo Angeles,

Senior Research Engineer, ExxonMobil
Mohammed Azeemuddin, Research
John Donnelly, JPT Editor Scientist-Rock Mechanics, Chevron
Baojun Bai, Associate Professor of
Petroleum Engineering, Missouri University
of Science and Technology
Ian G. Ball, Technology Director, INTECSEA UK
This month, JPT publishes the first articles in its new Young
Luciane Bonet, Senior Reservoir Engineer,
Technology Showcase section. The articles in this and subse- Petrobras America
quent issues will spotlight the best in young technology Paul D. Cameron, Senior Well Intervention Discipline
Advisor, BP Exploration
technology new in the development-to-adoption cycle that
Robert B. Carpenter, Senior
shows great promise for use in the upstream oil and gas industry. AdvisorCementing, Chevron
Although hydrocarbons supply is abundant, global ener- Simon Chipperfield, Team Leader Central and
Amadeus Gas Exploitation Development, Santos
gy demand is growing steadily and producing these resources
Gerald R. Coulter, President, Coulter Energy
is becoming more complex and technically challenging. Many
Martin Crick, Chief Petroleum Engineer, Tullow Oil plc
of these assets reside in difficult locations and in extreme environments. The most
Martyn J. Fear, General Manager Drilling
advanced technologies, some yet to be developed, will be required to find, produce, and Completion, Husky Energy
and maintain these resources. And although the oil and gas industry excels in the use Emmanuel Garland, Special Advisor to the
HSE Vice President, Total ExplorationProduction
of high-tech tools and techniques, it is relatively slow in adopting new technologies
Robert Harrison, Global Technical Head of Reservoir
compared with otherindustries. Engineering, Senergy Oil & Gas Ltd.
In concert with SPEs role to disseminate technical information to the upstream Delores J. Hinkle, Director, Corporate
Reserves, Marathon Oil
sector, the SPE Board of Directors created a task force to examine how the society
George W. Hobbs, Director, Strategic Chemistry
could help accelerate the acceptance and awareness of new upstream technology. SPE
John Hudson, Senior Production Engineer, Shell
transfers information about more mature technology through its many publications,
Gerd Kleemeyer, Head Integrated Geophysical
conferences, lectures, and workshops. But highlighting a young technology new in the Services, Shell
development cycle often does not lend itself to technical papers. Gregory Kubala, Global Chemistry
Mtier Manager, Schlumberger
The SPE Technical Directors Technology Pipeline Task Force aims to acceler-
Cam Matthews, Director, C-FER Technologies
ate emerging technology through publications and other vehicles and is working with Casey McDonough, Drilling Engineer,
JPT on its initial initiative to publicize promising new technology. The committee has Chesapeake Energy
been reviewing submissions sent in by both large and small technology developers Stephane Menand, Managing
Director, DrillScan US
and providers.
John Misselbrook, Senior Advisor for Coiled Tubing,
The two technologies highlighted in this issue are a new stage multiplier device Baker Hughes
created by Packers Plus and Boots & Coots Power Reach Service that combines the Badrul H Mohamed Jan, Lecturer/Researcher,
University of Malaya
features of coiled tubing and jointed tubing in well intervention. Other technologies
Alvaro F. Negrao, Senior Drilling Advisor,
have been approved by the committee as having great potential will be published in Woodside Energy
upcoming issues of JPT. The committee is in the process of reviewing numerous oth- Shauna G. Noonan, Staff Production
Engineer, ConocoPhillips
ers. Among the technologies being reviewed are aspects of robotics, drilling methods,
Karen Olson, Completion Expert,
sand management, and fracturing. Southwestern Energy
In the meantime, JPT and the committee will continue to welcome submissions of Michael L. Payne, Senior Advisor, BP
young technology for possible publication. Companies and individuals are invited to Mauricio P. Rebelo, Technical Services Manager,
Petrobras America Inc.
submit information on their new technologies by submitting a template that describes
John D. Rogers, Vice President of Operations,
the technology and what it can do, which is available at www.jptonline.org/index. Fusion Petroleum Technologies
php?id=986. Developers of technology will need to define the reason or need for the Regis K. Romeu, Petroleum Engineer, Petrobras
technology, verify its purpose, describe how it works, state its target applications, and Jon Ruszka, Drilling Manager, Baker Hughes
note how and where it has been used. In addition, the submission must provide infor- Hisham N. Saadawi, VP Engineering, Abu Dhabi

mation on any case studies, discuss what would cause the new technology to not work Jacques B. Salies, Drilling Manager,
Queiroz Galvo E&P
or fail, and describe the possible health, safety, and environmental impact. The tech-
Helio Santos, President, Safekick
nology must provide significant benefits beyond commonly used technologies. It must Luigi A. Saputelli, Senior Production Modeling
also be original and, to a certain degree, groundbreaking. Advisor, Hess Company

If you are interested in submitting information on your new technology or have Jerome J. Schubert, Associate Professor,
Texas A&M University
any questions about this process, please contact me at jdonnelly@spe.org. JPT
Brian Skeels, Emerging Technologies
Manager, FMC Technologies
Erik Vikane, Manager Petroleum Technology, Statoil
Scott Wilson, Senior Vice President, Ryder Scott
To contact JPTs editor, email jdonnelly@spe.org.

16 JPT JUNE 2012

 When it comes to managing pressure, Boots & Coots a key Halliburton
Now, all your on-site product service line brings operators the industrys most experienced

pressure control personnel and the deepest, most comprehensive portfolio of wellsite
services, including: coiled tubing, hydraulic workover/snubbing, HPHT
challenges require surface equipment, nitrogen, thru tubing and risk management.
All seamlessly connected and coordinated to help reduce the number of
is one steady hand contractors on site which saves you time and trouble, delivers enhanced

at the controls. safety and produces greater operational efciencies.

World famous for its well control work, Boots & Coots is the pressure
control expert. Whats your pressure control challenge?

h a llib ur ton . c om /boots-c oots +1 2 8 1 9 3 1 8 8 8 4 o r 1 -8 00- B L OW OU T

2012 Halliburton. All Rights Reserved.

 GUEST EDITORIAL
Downhole Fiber Optics Are
Changing the Wells Footprint
Greg Powers, Vice President of Technology, Halliburton
Greg Powers is
vice president
of technology at
Halliburton. He
oversees technology
investment and
intellectual asset
management, the development of
new products and services, and the
strategy and structure of the companys
global technology organization.
Powers technology experience spans
three decades of work in engineering,
research, and development in a broad
range of industries. Most recently,
he was executive vice president of
research, development, and biofuels
operations at Verenium. Before
that, he was vice president of global
engineering at United Technologies
Carrier. Powers has also worked in
General Electrics Specialty Materials,
Lighting, and Plastics divisions.
He earned bachelors, masters,
and doctoral degrees in chemical
engineering from the University
ofPennsylvania.
18
Ephemeralization is the term coined by engineer Buckminster Fuller, the father
of the geodesic dome and an early environmental activist, to describe the advance-
ment of technology that achieves more and more with less and less until eventually
you can do everything with nothing.
This idea of doing more with less is at the heart of advances in downhole fiber-
optic technology, and, in relative terms, its application is not far removed from
doing nearly everything with almost nothing.
Using light-transmitting optical fibers slightly thicker than a human hair and
similar to the technology that brings Internet capacity to your home, we have been
measuring wellbore parameters such as temperature, pressure, strain, vibration,
and sound (acoustics) for years. In the near future, with the development of new
optical or photonic sensing methods for chemical, microdeformation, resistivity,
magnetic field, and other monitoring solutions, the industry will be able to inte-
grate, visualize, and analyze numerous operations and activities downhole in real
time, thus extending the life of the well and the reservoir.
More Photons, Fewer Electrons
Fuller illustrated his concept of ephemeralization by comparing the tons of copper
wire required for a trans-Atlantic communication cable that could be replaced with
ounces of the copper wire that it takes for a single communications satellite. With
fiber-optic cables, the comparison is equally dramatic in many ways.
Legacy electronic systems require deployment of complex, dedicated downhole
instruments with millions of transistor junctions to make discrete wellbore mea-
surements at specific points and times. In marked contrast, fiber-optic technology
uses low-cost, low signal loss, high-bandwidth, silica glass transmission lines down-
hole in concert with surface opto-electronic instruments to continually acquire real-
time, remote, fully distributed measurements over the entire length of the installa-
tion, making the solution highly scalable.
Leaving instrumentation on the rig floor, and not within the wellbore, removes
risk from the hostile environment and enhances operating parameters. For instance,
fiber-optic sensing and monitoring have been used in environments of up to 300C
(572F) for years with great success. Solutions exist today for much higher tempera-
tures. In contrast, electronic solutions are limited to less than about 200C (392F)
for permanent deployment.
As the technology evolves, surface instrumentation can be upgraded and con-
nected to the same downhole fiber-optic sensors, instantly providing better data
and potentially new sensing applications. For example, instrumentation connect-
ed to fiber-optic cables originally deployed on pipelines for telemetry decades ago
is now being used to monitor distributed flow, temperature, acoustics, and tubular
strain across many kilometers, thus enabling leak detection, flow restriction identi-
fication, object tracking, and other capabilities.
JPT JUNE 2012
 GUEST EDITORIAL
Condition-Based
Monitoring and Intervention
Fiber-optic-based systems provide high
sampling rates and fully distributed meas-
urement data, thereby enabling immedi-
ate feedback and the ability to under-
stand a problem and/or identify trends.
Using conventional monitoring methods,
once a problem becomes obvious at the
surface, a costly and lengthy process of
deploying tools, using coiled tubing or
wireline, is required to understand the
nature of the problem before mitigation
is initiated. This typically leads to loss of
production and potential environmental
risks. Real-time fiber-optic monitoring
enables early identification of abnormal-
ities and prevents problems from occur-
ring in the first place.
Improved wellbore knowledge sup-
ports the application of sophisticat-
ed, condition-based maintenance and
intervention (CBMI) methods aimed at
2012 CARBO Ceramics Inc. All Rights Reserved.
20
reducing failure rates by eliminating the
root cause. These optimization process-
es are widely used in other industries
in which monitoring is less challeng-
ing. For well drilling, completion, stim-
ulation, and production processes, the
advent of noninvasive downhole fiber-
optic sensors provides the data needed
by CBMI methods to 1) increase over-
all knowledge of the field and opera-
tions, 2) predict and reduce equipment
failures, and 3) perform pattern rec-
ognition. This leads to lower resource
requirements, less risk to the environ-
ment, and reduced life-cycle owner-
shipcosts.
Illuminating a Greener Future
Downhole fiber-optic technology pro-
vides an elegantly simple, highly effec-
tive solution across a broad and grow-
ing range of applications. This solution
moves the industry toward present and
non-radioactive
traceable proppant: safe, accurate, effective
CARBONRT is the industrys most effective non-radioactive detectable
proppant and has been deployed successfully on five continents.
With CARBONRT, you avoid pumping radioactive material in your well
and the disposal risk of unused or flowed-back proppant.
Transportation and importation are simplified as CARBONRT requires
no special equipment, handling, permits or certifications.
Identifies proppant coverage (stimulated interval)
with standard neutron logs
Tracer uniformly distributed through each grain of proppant
not a coating
Available with any ceramic proppant in CARBOs
industry-leading product line
Learn more online at carboceramics.com/NRT
future process optimization with ele-
vated environmental conscientiousness.
Take the case of improving forma-
tion heating in heavy oil plays. Steam-
assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) oper-
ations are widely implementing down-
hole fiber-optic technologies to moni-
tor injected steam for its relative dis-
tribution over the length of these wells.
Downhole pressure and temperature
measurements using fiber-optic tech-
nologies are key to understanding the
SAGD process. Results over the past
decade show significant improvements
in steam-chamber specific warming,
injectivity, and steam/oil recovery ratio
performance, with reduced input ener-
gy and water requirements.
Another major benefit of fiber-
optic technology in wellbore monitor-
ing is a remarkably new level of efficien-
cy and risk reduction. For example, use
of fiber-optic temperature and acoustic
Gamma Ray Lithology Perfs Tagged Proppant
Perforations
Propped Frac Height
XXX00
XXX50
XXX00
CARBONRT identied 98 ft of total propped
fracture height in this intermediate stage
JPT JUNE 2012
sensors allows real-time monitoring of
fluid placement during hydraulic frac-
turing and real-time changes to stim-
ulation treatments. New fiber-enabled
information effectively conserves ener-
gy, reduces the carbon emission foot-
print, and can lower the use of water
resources and chemicals, while enhanc-
ing production. These processes will be
further improved with the use of fiber-
based optical, microseismic, and micro-
deformation sensors simultaneously
and permanently deployed within the
annulus of the same well.
The combination of existing tech-
nologies, such as distributed tempera-
ture and pressure sensing, with emerg-
ing and future technologies, such as
distributed acoustic/vibration sens-
ing and chemical specie sensing, will
enable accurate interventionless pro-
duction monitoring for gas- and liquid-
rich plays from any wellbore depth/tra-
jectory exceeding 10 km (33 kft) in total
depth. This will enable a more accurate
time-lapse monitoring of the oil and gas
production zones while identifying and
quantifying the source of water produc-
tion. With this information, we can close
problematic zones and allow the rest of
the well to produce more efficiently.
Some of the technologies being
developed will enable the detection of
waterfronts far from the wellbore, giv-
ing weeks and perhaps months of warn-
ing before water reaches the wellbore.
As technology advances, permanent-
ly installed fiber-optic monitoring sys-
tems will provide new opportunities to
enhance formation evaluation and long-
term reservoir monitoring, including
hydrocarbon fractioning to measure the
concentration of petroleum hydrocar-
bons/water ratio by means of chemical,
resistivity, and natural ionizing radia-
tion sensing techniques in both land and
offshore environments.
It is an ephemeralization
that Buckminster Fuller would have
appreciated. JPT

JPT JUNE 2012 21

 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Dennis Denney, JPT Senior Technology Editor
Fig. 1Baker Hughes Mastiff rigless intervention system.
Rigless Intervention
Baker Hughes new Mastiff mechanized,
self-pinning rigless intervention sys-
tem (Fig. 1) enables carrying out pipe-
installation and -retrieval operations
that typically require an offshore rig. The
rigless intervention system can reduce
the cost of abandonment, workover, and
drivepipe-installation operations. The
modular design and light weight enable
operations on platforms with limited
load capacity. With a maximum weight of
22
line would have had to be depressur-
24,000 lbm, each module can be trans-
ported in a standard 40-ft open-top con-
tainer. The self-pinning mast-erection
system improves safety and enables the
unit to be rigged up or rigged down
in 24 to 48 hours by use of hydraulics
built into the system. The systems mast
is rated for operation at wind speeds
of up to 50 miles/hr. The system has a
352-T pulling capacity. In conductor-pipe
removal, the system can support cutting
and pulling lifts of 50-ft-long sections
of 36-in. conductor pipe, inner casing,
and cement. As an alternative to well
abandonment, the system can be used
to initiate a slot-recovery program for
continued field development before the
arrival of the drilling rig.
For additional information, visit
www.bakerhughes.com/
tubularservices.
Pipeline Maintenance
TDW Offshore Services A/S announced
successful design and build of a cus-
tomized 48-in. SmartPlug pipeline-
pressure-isolation tool (Fig. 2). Weigh-
ing approximately 12 t, it is the largest
of these tools ever produced. The com-
pany assisted in developing contingen-
cy solutions for pipe lay, pressure test-
ing, and planned future maintenance
of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Upon
completion, the two 48-in. pipelines
will extend approximately 1220 km
from Russia through the Baltic Sea to
Germany. The new tool will be used to
isolate pipeline pressure during sched-
uled pipeline maintenance and poten-
tial valve changeouts. It is currently
Type Approved by Det Norske Veritas
for a maximum operating pressure of
199 bar. The pipeline pressure-isolation
method is designed to enable safe isola-
tion of the area targeted for work from
hydrocarbons without bleeding down
the entire work zone. In the case of Nord
Stream, there are no midline valves
available, so the entire 1220-km pipe-
ized. Given the minimal amount of gas
released while isolating a work area, it
is also very effective in minimizing envi-
ronmental effects.
For additional information, visit
www.tdwilliamson.com.
Marine Broadband
WesternGeco introduced its ObliQ
sliding-notch broadband acquisition
and imaging technique, which enhanc-
es low-frequency content of marine-
seismic data without compromising
high frequencies. The technique increas-
JPT JUNE 2012
Maximized recovery means maximized return on investment. And FMCs subsea separation technologies, combined with
water injection and boosting, represent a whole new way to maximize the reserves you can economically recover across a
wide range of challenging conditions. So stop leaving all that oil in the ground. Discover the results only subsea processing
can deliver. Learn more at www.MaximizeRecovery.com

TWO AWARDS
for subsea separation:
MARLIM & PAZFLOR
 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Fig. 2The 12-t 48-in. SmartPlug pipeline-pressure-
isolation tool designed by TDW Offshore Services
for Nord Stream.
es the penetration depth of seismic
imaging and helps geoscientists extract
rock properties from seismic data. Opti-
mized seismic bandwidth is achieved
by combining variable-streamer-depth
acquisition with a proprietary deghost-
ing methodology (Fig. 3) and a newly
developed broadband-seismic source.
This proprietary processing is applied
early in the sequence, making the data
suitable for both time- and depth-
domain analysis. Enabled by the com-
panys Q-Marine point-receiver marine-
seismic system, the technique can be
used with other technologies such as
Fig. 4The OTS DataPlug can
record multiple axis-vibration
types. The bullet shaped DataPlug
is for pressure and temperature
(PT-Mode); the squared-off end is
the V-Mode. These plugs will fit
into a drill-bit port.
24
Fig. 3The WesternGeco ObliQ technique deghosts
data acquired with a variable streamer depth.
Coil Shooting and Dual-Coil Shooting
full-azimuth acquisition to combine
broad bandwidth with full-azimuth,
long-offset acquisition. This combina-
tion is particularly important for imag-
ing below complex structures such as
subsalt andsubbasalt.
For additional information, visit
www.slb.com/obliq.
Multinode Vibration Monitoring
The OTS International DataPlug
(Fig. 4) is a patent-pending indepen-
dent vibration-monitoring tool for use
in downhole components. With a high-
temperature battery, large memory, and
triggering thresholds, it can record mul-
tiple axis-vibration types. In V-mode,
it can be installed in most downhole
components by machining a thread-
ed receptacle for the sensor, includ-
ing expandable or eccentric reamers,
motors, stabilizers, hole openers, mill-
ing tools, dog subs, and drill bits. The
vibrations are recorded at the source,
providing discrete, local vibration data
relative to the tool. It enables qualify-
ing vibrations relative to their occur-
rence in the drillstring. This device
provides better incident investigation,
improved tool selection, and consistent
field performance from downhole tools.
Analyzing the data enables identifying
vibration sources. The degree of damp-
ening or amplification between vibra-
tion nodes can be determined relative to
tool performance. By deploying multiple
devices in V-mode, software models can
be fine tuned with real multinode data,
enabling accurate predictions of bot-
tomhole-assembly behavior. Data are
stored on the basis of threshold values
programmed into the sensor with a time
stamp, which can be correlated with
rig operational data. Data are retrieved
by reading through a universal-serial-
bus port upon reaching the surface.
Upgrades will read data as the tools pass
through the rotary table.
For additional information, email
info@otsintl.com.
Fracturing Sliding Sleeve
Weatherfords MASS fracturing-treat-
ment sliding sleeve (Fig. 5) enables
treatment of more than 50 zones in a
single job, enhancing the efficiency of
multizone fracture-stimulation oper-
ations. The technology is based on a
multiarray stimulation system. The sys-
tem groups up to five sleeves per stage,
and the array is opened with a single
ball. This design will enable fracturing
of up to 10 stages in a single trip. The
sliding sleeve opens when a ball lands
on the seat and applied tubing pressure
shears the sleeve open. The ball passes
through the ball seat and on to the next
JPT JUNE 2012
Fig. 5Weatherfords MASS fracturing-treatment sliding sleeve.

sleeve. This process repeats until it lands
on a solid seat sleeve. Balls are staged
from the surface after the appropriate
amount of proppant is pumped for the
stage. This method of isolating below
the sleeves, opening the ports, fractur-
ing, and then moving up hole to the next
stage optimizes efficiency and reduces
overall completion costs. The sleeves
built-in port diffusers prevent preferen-
tial flow in the isolated zone during frac-
turing, improving the uniformity of the
fracturing pressure across the interval.
The size and number of diffusers used on
each sleeve can be customized to meet
the needs of the reservoir.
For additional information, visit
www.Weatherford.com/zoneselect.
Well-Abandonment Tool
Proserv has introduced its Multi-String
Cutting tool (Fig. 6), a customizable

Fig. 6Proservs next-generation Multi-String Cutting tool for well-

abandonment projects.

Fig. 7Sperry Drilling Geo-Pilot EDL RSS.

JPT JUNE 2012 25

 internal multistring-conductor cutter
that provides complete well severance,
from tool deployment to cutting opera-
tion and recovery, within 12 hours. The
tool was developed to sever fully grouted
or nongrouted casing strings. The tool
includes wireless-data-transmission
technology, which eliminates the data
cable and the threat of cable damage.
The new tool is approximately 3 m long

Your SPE and 20 cm in diameter. The internal

multistring-conductor cutter is custom-
izable and is used with the companys
water/abrasive cutting technology. The

Membership tool is configured to deploy into topside

or subsea wells with inner casing sizes
of 9 to 20 in. and will cut through any

Counts number of internal casing strings out

to a maximum diameter of 36 in. The
system uses an inflatable-packer sys-
tem for tool centralization and clamp-
ing to the inside of the casing. It can test
and prove the cut without recovering
and rigging down the tool and deploy-
As SPE celebrates its ment system. It provides real-time cut-
ting analysis to minimize risk of no

100,000 member milestone, pull. The system is modular and stack-

we want to know what
SPE means to you.
Leave a comment and read what
other members are saying at
www.spe.org/members/celebration.
Reach us on your tablet or smart phone.
Scan here with your QR code reader.
able and does not require integration
onto drillpipe.
For additional information, email
info@proserv.com.
Point-the-Bit System
Sperry Drilling, a Halliburton busi-
ness line, has introduced its Geo-Pilot
EDL rotary-steerable system (RSS). The
Model 9600 RSS (Fig. 7) can deliver
large well profiles (that previously were
possible only with motors) with the
wellbore quality and high rates of pen-
etration (ROPs) of a point-the-bit RSS.
This system features enhanced dogleg
capability and can be used when high
build rates are required or in soft forma-
tions that typically limit build-rate capa-
bility. The system also can deliver a con-
sistent build rate through interbedded
formations. The point-the-bit technol-
ogy steers the wellbore precisely while
rotating the drillstring to increase ROP
and reduce the number of drilling days.
The service delivers real-time continu-
ous at-bit steering control and forma-

26 JPT JUNE 2012

tion evaluation to provide an accurate in a fluid bath for a long service life. eliminate premature internal drive-
assessment of the wellbore position at Pressure equalization on the primary head wear. JPT
all times. The system has been used in seal ensures effective leakless sealing. For additional information, visit
offshore and onshore operations to drill A modified mounting procedure helps www.rmenergy.com.
hole sizes ranging from 8 to 17 in. In
its first extensive application, six com-
plete build sections were drilled from
vertical to horizontal, including con-
sistent dogleg capability up to 8/100ft
with reserved deflection capacity to
reach 10/100 ft.
For additional information, visit
www.Halliburton.com/
Geo-PilotEDLSystem.
H ey , I n eed a
Leakless Stuffing Box
Robbins & Myers Energy Services Group
has developed its Moyno EF (Environ-
fish tail bit
mentally Friendly) Leakless stuffing
box (Fig. 8) that is designed to prevent
risks associated with unwanted environ-
with
mental issues caused by leaking stuffing
boxes. The unit uses a simplified clamp-
ing system for use in a new installation
smaller wings.
or for retrofitting an existing installa-
tion. The stuffing box is adaptable to
H Early TIW customer I
most electric or hydraulic drive heads
for versatility in preventing unnec-
essary fluid leakage at the wellsite. It
also is designed to provide increased When TIW first opened for business in 1917,
bearing support for enhanced stabil- customer needs were different, but the way we
ity and to eliminate premature inter-
fulfill those needs remains the same.
nal drive-head wear. The design has a
floating primary seal that is isolated Whether it was yesterdays Fish Tail Bit or
todays X-PAK Expandable Liner Hanger,
then and now, TIW delivers
what you need.

JUST WHAT YOU NEED

1917 2012
1 95 YEARS OF SERVICE

713-729-2110 TIWtools.com

Fig. 8Moyno EF Leakless

stuffing box.

JPT JUNE 2012 27

 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Advanced Workflow Package
for Shale Assets Developed
Dan Buller, Halliburton
The growth in unconventional resource
plays in the past several years has pro-
duced a burgeoning need for new soft-
ware tools for organic shales. Geoscien-
tists need tools to help them understand
complex hydrocarbon generation, stor-
age capacity, and migration paths in
source rock reservoirs, enabling them to
flag and map optimized pay. Engineers
need tools to help them define optimum
techniques to deliver the most shale gas
and oil to the market and enable them to
build the best reservoir models to exploit
these resources. And for unconventional
resource development to proceed as it
should, these tools must work together
in a common framework.
An advanced integrated petrophysi-
cal evaluation software package, based
on a calibrated workflow, was recent-
ly developed by Halliburton for organ-
ic shales. The concept behind it was to
bring all the requisite pieces of an explo-
ration shale play analysis into a single
vantage point for an asset team. This is
critical when very few vertical explora-
tion wells are used to define the econom-
ics of these resource plays before full-
scale horizontal development begins.
The softwares workflow modules
encompass the following capabilities:
total organic carbon (TOC) and organic
maturity estimation; fluid and minerals
evaluation; advanced saturation model-
ing; mechanical properties and brittle-
ness; 3D stress and stress orientation;
permeability; and pay analysis.
TOC Estimation and
Organic Maturity
To define the resource volume, one
needs to determine an accurate volume
of organic kerogen present in the rock.
To determine potential hydrocarbon
28
type, the level of thermal maturity must
be established. To solve for kerogen, the
TOC measured by core pyrolysis can be
calibrated to logs, using eight industry
accepted correlations. Organic maturi-
ty, VRo, is measured by actual vitrinite
reflectance or calculated from pyroly-
sis-derived Tmax (temperature between
300C and 600C that generates peak
hydrocarbons from existing kerogen).
This maturity value is used to make the
final TOC calibration and predict hydro-
carbon type.
Fluid and Minerals Evaluation
The heart of the volumetric analysis is
its probabilistic solver. Total porosity in
organic shales can only be resolved by
logs when relative amounts of geochem-
ically derived minerals are measured
and combined with the TOC calculation.
Minimum requirements for this type of
analysis include a triple combo log, neu-
tron capture spectroscopy, and natural
gamma spectroscopy. The software uses
a probabilistic error minimization meth-
odology to determine formation fluid
and mineral volumes.
The idea is to construct theoretical
logs that closely replicate actual logs.
Tool response equations are expressed
in terms of fluid and mineral volumes
and their corresponding tool response
parameters. Most response equations
are linear. Some, such as neutron, con-
ductivity, and certain acoustic equa-
tions, are nonlinear. The inclusion of
additional evaluation tools, such as the
dipole sonic travel time curves DTC
(compressional velocity) and DTS (shear
velocity), helps add coherence to the
analysis, as long as the correct acous-
tic equations are used for harder rock-
clay shales.
The analyst first constructs a
dry rock model, which consists of the
response equations, parameters, and
constraints available for the input tools
and includes TOC. The key to the entire
analysis is solving only for those miner-
als that are actually found by core x-ray
diffraction (or alternatively x-ray fluores-
cence). Key constraints relating relative
abundances of the different types of clay
mineralogy to one another, and to the
base matrix silica or calcite, help com-
plete the dry rock model.
When a good match of all measured
log inputs for the dry rock model case
has been achieved, the wet rock model
case, which uses available resistivity
inputs, is applied. While all conventional
saturation models are supported in soft-
ware, the Simandoux model has worked
best in matching GRI core gas satura-
tions because of its more robust handling
of clay water response. Even with the
best saturation equation, cementation
m and saturation n constants must
be adjusted lower to match core because
only a portion of the internal pore sur-
face has seen water as a wetting phase.
Internal kerogen porosity has either oil
or gas as a wetting phase, as it has never
been exposed to water. Microfractures
internal to the matrix, where migrating
oil and gas have escaped internal kero-
gen containment, are also nonwater wet.
This explains why conventional water
saturation equations will fail unless cali-
brated to core.
Advanced Saturation Modeling:
NMR and Dielectric Volumes
All organic shales exhibit both water and
hydrocarbon wetting phases as a result
of the varied porosity systems present
in the rock. This makes it appropriate
JPT JUNE 2012
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 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
to apply resistivity independent satu-
ration measurements, such as nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR) and dielec-
tric porosity. These allow direct mea-
surements of total fluid-filled porosi-
ty (NMR T1 time constant dimension)
and total water-filled porosity (dielec-
tric). The difference between the two is
typically unflushed oil and gas that is
picked up in TOC pyrolysis data as an S1
free hydrocarbon volume. It should be
noted that the accuracy of the dielectric
water porosity measurement depends
on determining the mineralogy and
watersalinity.
The NMR porosity data is best
viewed in a T1 dimension, as that time
constant spreads out the measured
porosity spectrum to twice the extent
of that seen in conventional T2 porosity
measurements. This allows a much more
detailed analysis of the ultrasmall pores
in the lowest part of the spectrum. Recent
laboratory data show that in ultrasmall
SPE Hydrocarbon Economics
and Evaluation Symposium
2425 September 2012
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
30
pores, gas exists in a restricted diffusion
environment and will be detected ear-
lier in a normal water signal range and
not later in a T1 bulk signal. Even with
that, a T1 measurement gives the analyst
a much more robust spectrum in which
an enhanced spectral BVI technique can
be used to discriminate clay- and capil-
lary-bound water from small amounts of
free fluid.
The wet rock volumetric analysis can
directly use all the discriminated NMR
and dielectric porosity measurements.
Clay-bound water can be constrained to
what is seen from NMR. Total water can
be constrained by a total dielectric poros-
ity. A solved oil or gas volume can be
constrained to the difference observed
between NMR and dielectric porosities.
Mechanical Properties
and Brittleness
Conventional vertical Youngs mod-
ulus and Poissons ratio are calculated
from DTC and DTS dipole sonic data
and are calibrated to static rock proper-
ties using surface core stress tests and
analysis from small volume diagnostic
fracture injection tests (DFIT) in cased
vertical exploration wells. After final cali-
bration to the DFIT analysis, the program
determines fracture initiation pressure,
fracture closure pressure, and closure
stressgradient.
Since 2008, we have used the con-
cept of shale brittleness, a simple ratio
between Youngs modulus and Poissons
ratio, as a technique to predict induced
fracture complexity and enhanced sur-
face area contact. It has been used exten-
sively as a powerful fracture fluid system
design tool and to aid in sweet-spot iden-
tification. This same technique is imple-
mented as pseudobrittleness and is
color palette calibrated to core-measured
brine hardness.
Using directly measured DTC and
DTS values, calibrated synthetic DTC and
www.spe.org/events/hees
JPT JUNE 2012
 Sand Dragon availability
is not a mirage.

In stock and ready to roll.

When you need sand units now, Dragon is as real
as it gets. We offer Sand Dragons for sale or for rent
as many as you need, wherever you need them.
Every Sand Dragon is severe-duty engineered and
ruggedly built to perform day in and day out under
the harshest oil & gas production eld conditions.
You can count on every unit to deliver sand reliably
to the blender, so you can keep your frac operation
moving. And because it carries the Dragon name,
you know its built in the U.S. And built to last.
All the Sand Dragons you need, delivered on time.
Make it happen.
Make it happen.
www.dragonproductsltd.com 1-800-231-8198 U.S. owned and operated. Founded in 1963.

Copyright 2012 Modern Group Inc. All rights reserved.

 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Fluid and minerals
evaluation (FAME)
mineralogy
FAME volumetrics
TOC and kerogen
Water saturation
Pseudobrittleness
Fig. 1A final composite reservoir source rock analysis from the Haynesville and Lower Bossier shales
in east Texas.
DTS curves can be generated from miner-
alogy and effective porosity data. These
calibrated models can be used on future
wells in which the operator may not have
actual sonic data but still needs an accu-
rate mechanical properties prediction.
The prediction of mechanical proper-
ties from mineralogy data also allows
the calibration of a mineral brittleness
to the conventional pseudobrittleness.
This allows mineralogy from advanced
cuttings analysis techniques or neutron-
induced spectroscopy logs to be used for
mechanical proxy measurements.
3D Stress and Stress
Orientation
Laminated clay-rich shales often exhib-
it large differences between vertical and
horizontal elastic properties. This anisot-
ropy is quantified in a 3D stress analy-
sis requiring a fast shear, slow shear,
and Stoneley shear from an oriented x-y
dipole sonic tool. The computed 3D clo-
32
Bossier
Haynesville
sure stress is a much better predictor
of true fracture geometry when used in
current and future 3D fracture model-
ing software. The orientation of the fast
shear azimuth will always be in the direc-
tion of maximum principal stress, which
is orthogonal to the optimum horizontal
well direction.
Permeability
This software uses a linear regression
technique to match core-measured GRI
matrix shale permeability. This can be
several orders of magnitude less than
permeability estimated from a DFIT anal-
ysis but is often used as a shale qual-
ity indicator. The DFIT effective perme-
ability can be used to calibrate Timur or
Coates model system matched permea-
bilities, or one of two new regression per-
meabilities with better dynamic range.
Fracture simulators require an estimate
of fluid leakoff that uses such permea-
bilty estimates.
3D stress
vertical vs. horizontal
Poissons ratio,
Youngs modulus,
and closure stress
DFIT and GRI
permeability,
micro vs. nano darcy
Free and sorbed
cumulative gas
2D vs. 3D
closure pressure
gradient
Pay Analysis
The software allows the analyst and asset
team up to six criteria for flagging and
counting net pay. Typical criteria used
include effective porosity, effective water
saturation, pseudobrittleness, and clo-
sure stress. Either gas or oil, or both, can
be volumetrically solved and cumulative
reserves are output alongside flagged net
pay. If core canister isotherm data is sup-
plied, free vs. sorbed gas volumes are also
calculated in this module.
The ShaleXpert tool is then used
to develop a final composite analysis
(Fig. 1) that brings together all the dif-
ferent workflow modules in a display that
aids in primary sweet-spot identification,
shows in-place reserve estimates, and
delivers everything required for an opti-
mized fracture stimulation design. In this
process, it can also generate individual
quality-control plots and logs from any of
its workflow components, so all process-
es are transparent to the enduser. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Traceable Proppant Eliminates Need
For Radioactive Detection Material
Fredy Torres and Wildiman Reinoso, Gran Tierra; Mark Chapman and Xiaogang Han, CARBO Ceramics;
andPablo Campo, Halliburton
A new ceramic proppant has made
detection possible without placing
radioactive material downhole. The new
detection method makes use of a high
thermal neutron capture compound
(HTNCC) incorporated into the ceram-
ic proppant.
Traditional fracture-height or prop-
pant-placement evaluation after hydrau-
lic fracturing relies on the detection of
radioactive tracers pumped downhole
with the proppant. Although this tech-
nique is useful, it raises environmental,
safety, and regulatory issues.
The HTNCC is added to the prop-
pant during its manufacture and is
included in concentrations low enough
not to affect the proppants strength or
conductivity. The proppant is detected
using standard compensated or pulsed
neutron tools, with detection based on
the high thermal neutron capture of the
compound relative to the surrounding
downhole constituents.
This new detectable proppant was
used in the T sand of the Villeta and
Caballos formations of the Juanamb
field in the Putumayo Basin of Colombia.
Two detection methods use a com-
parison of before-fracture log count
rates and after-fracture count rates,
with reduced after-fracture count rates
observed in zones containing proppant.
Another detection method, especially
useful when formation gas saturations
change, uses only the after-fracture log.
The HTNCC method has advantag-
es over the common radioactive parti-
cle method. First, the HTNCC tagging
material is incorporated in very small
quantities into each proppant grain dur-
ing the manufacturing process. Because
it is present in every particle of the
fracture treatment, the detection of all
JPT JUNE 2012
propped fractures is insured. With tra-
ditional radioactive tracers, which are
blended into the slurry at extremely
small ratios compared with total prop-
pant volume, segregation can occur,
which can lead to misinterpretation of
fractures in which no radioactive parti-
cles are contained near the wellbore in
the propped fracture section. A related
but opposite problem also can occur in
situations in which a stray radioactive
particle is located in an area that is not
a propped fracture (e.g., a casing col-
lar or perforation). These false posi-
tives are eliminated by the new method
because the small quantities of HTNCC
in a few stray pellets will not create a
logresponse.
A second advantage, and more
important in many cases, is that the
new method contains only inert mate-
rials, thereby eliminating the need for
the special requirements or permitting
necessary for handling, transporting,
pumping, or flowing back of hazard-
ous materials associated with tradition-
al radioactive tracers. This new method
provides intrinsic value to operators by
providing an environmentally friendly
and virtually hazard-free alternative to
radioactive tracers.
A third advantage is that the
HTNCC is inherently stable and perma-
nently incorporated within the prop-
pant. The HTNCC can be logged at any
time in the future to evaluate remedial
operations or determine whether prop-
pant has flowed back from any interval.
Typical radioactive tracers experience
radioactive decay, and the detectabil-
ity declines as a function of the isotope
half-life, which prevents the accurate
identification of proppant location after
a few months.
Detection Methods
Three methods for detecting the tagged
proppant have been developed. Two of
the methods require before-fracture
and after-fracture logs, and the third
requires only an after-fracture compen-
sated neutron log. As in most cases,
the Putumayo Basin field application
uses only one method for the determi-
nation of proppant location. However,
in some cases, multiple methods may
be employed when logs are available,
regardless of changes in borehole con-
ditions or formation hydrogen index
(HI) values between the before-fracture
and after-fracture logs. The use of mul-
tiple methods increases the consistency
of the results, and the independent vali-
dation increases the degree of certainty
in the proppant locationinterpretation.
The first of the two methods requir-
ing both before- and after-fracture logs
requires a conventional neutron log,
preferably from a compensated neutron
tool (CNT), with a continuous neutron
source and one or more thermal neu-
tron detectors (or with capture gamma
ray sensing detectors). Before the frac-
ture treatment, this tool needs to log the
interval of the wellbore that includes
depths spanning the zones intended
to be fractured, with both the detec-
tor count rates and count rate ratios
recorded for use in the final analysis.
The wellbore is logged a second time
after fracture treatment across the same
wellbore interval. The observed after-
fracture count rates are then compared
with corresponding values recorded in
the logging run made before the well
is fractured. Intervals in which after-
fracture count rates are suppressed
to a lower level than the before-frac-
ture count rates identifies the presence
33
 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Average depth (TVD):
Reservoir pressure:
Reservoir temperature:
Gross sand:
Permeability:
Porosity:
Fracture gradient:
Fig. 1Location and basic reservoir parameters of T sand and the
Caballos formation in the Juanamb field of the Putumayo Basin.
of proppant containing HTNCC and
indicates the location of the created
proppedfracture.
The second method that requires
both before- and after-fracture logging
uses a pulsed neutron capture (PNC)
logging tool to detect the presence of
proppant with HTNCC in the fracture.
Decay curve count rate data from cap-
ture gamma ray or thermal neutron
sensors, and possibly spectral gamma
ray data as well, are recorded before
and after the fracture treatment. The
after-fracture data is compared with
the before-fracture data with the for-
mation and borehole thermal neutron
absorption cross sections calculated
from the PNC decay curves. Increas-
es in the formation and borehole cross
sections in the after-fracture PNC logs
relative to the before-fracture logs, as
well as decreases between the logs in
the observed formation or borehole
34
T Sand Caballos
8,890 ft 9,020 ft
3,250 psi 3,350 psi
205F 211F
44 ft 156 ft
50 md 350 md
11% 13%
1.14 psi/ft 0.93 psi/ft
decay component count rates, are used
to identify the presence of the tagged
proppant in the induced fractures or in
the borehole region adjacent to the frac-
tured zones.
The third method available with
this new proppant detection technol-
ogy uses only the after-fracture com-
pensated neutron logging for proppant
location. In this method, ratios of the
count rates of the near detector to the
far detector (N/F) are used in the log
interpretation process to create a syn-
thetic before-fracture log for compari-
son. This method is useful when changes
occur in the formation HI, particular-
ly formation gas saturation changes in
the zones, between the before-fracture
and after-fracture logging. Gas satura-
tion changes occur regardless of the
presence of proppant. When HTNCC-
tagged proppant is present in forma-
tion fractures or in the borehole region
adjacent to the fractures, approximate-
ly the same percentage decrease in the
count rates is observed in both detec-
tors (N/F ratio is independent of the
presence of the HTNCC proppant).
However, the N/F is sensitive to chang-
es such as nonproppant-related vari-
ations in formation porosity and gas
saturation. If wellbore conditions are
uniform, logged intervals known not
to contain the HTNCC proppant can be
used to develop a unique relationship
between near detector count rate and
N/F (and similarly between far detec-
tor count rate and N/F). Using these
relationships, N/F can be used to com-
pute near and far detector count rates
across the entire logged interval, effec-
tively creating a before-fracture log.
These computed count rates are inde-
pendent of the presence of the prop-
pant and can be compared with the actu-
al observed after-fracture count rates,
which are sensitive to the presence of
the proppant. The computed count
rates will be greater than the observed
count rates in intervals containing
HTNCC proppant.
Case History
in the Putumayo Basin
The Juanamb field is located in the
extreme southwest corner of Colombia in
the Putumayo Basin (Fig. 1). This basin is
part of the large foreland basin referred
to as Putumayo-Oriente-Maraon basin.
This basin covers 320,000km2 in Colom-
bia (Putumayo), Ecuador (Oriente), and
Peru (Maraon).
The majority of oil in this basin is
found in structural traps within the Cre-
taceous Caballos formation and in the
T sand of the Villeta formation. Other
productive sands exist in the Villeta for-
mation (Kg and Lower U), but, in the
Juanamb field, they are considered
secondary objectives. The Juanamb
field is a trapped, fault-bounded closure
formed by late Tertiary compression-
al forces (late Andean) that reactivated
older basement source faults. This oro-
genic phase also buried the Cretaceous
source rocks to sufficient depth to allow
the generation of hydrocarbons.
JPT JUNE 2012
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 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Gamma Ray Perf Zones
Fig. 2Neutron log interpretation for HTNCC proppant detection in the T sand. Proppant is indicated by the
yellow shading in the two rightmost tracks, and fracture height is shown by the pink shading.
Despite the good petrophysical
properties measured in the produc-
tive reservoirs, the production histo-
ry of Juanamb and offset wells shows
reduced production because of fines
migration. For this reason, the skin
bypass fracturing job is designed and
executed as a standard practice in the
productive sands to bypass the region
damaged during drilling and completion
and thereby regain productivity.
After 20 hydraulic fracture jobs in
the offset wells, matching the geometry
with net pressure values recorded during
minifrac and main treatment stages has
been difficult. One of the more critical
points to control is the fracture height
because contacting deeper water-bear-
ing zones is possible, which would cause
water-cut increases in producer wells.
To improve fracture design, geomechan-
ical studies have been conducted that
include core routines, dipole sonic logs,
image logs, and electrical logs. Taking
into account all these data and the new
36
LITH Depth Porosity Resistivity
technology developed to assess stim-
ulation jobs, the Juanamb-2 well was
proposed to be a pilot project for prop-
pant tagged with HTNCC to determine
fracture height. Radioactive tracers were
considered but were not used because of
environmental and safety risks.
Work Description
Engineers determined that skin bypass
fracturing treatments in the Caballos
and the T sand formations would
increase the recovery of reserves.
A baseline, before-fracture CNT
that could be compared with an after-
fracture CNT for determination of
proppant location was run. Taking
into account offset well experience,
the target intervals were reperforat-
ed using a new technology that reduc-
es the near-wellbore friction. Before
the injectivity test, a pad acid was
pumped to remove the formation dam-
age generated by fines migrations and
scale precipitation.
Neutron CH Near Neutron CH Far
For both stimulations, two diag-
nostic pumping stages were performed
to collect information to match fracture
parameters in the simulator. The first
stage was a step-down test (SDT) used
to calculate the entry hole and near-
wellbore friction losses. In this specific
case, a 35 lbm/1,000 gal linear gel was
injected at 20 bbl/min.
Minifrac or calibration tests were
designed to calculate fracturing fluid
leak-off coefficient, fracturing fluid
efficiency, fracture closure pressure,
closure time, and fracture geome-
try (height, width, and length). These
parameters (obtained by G-function
analyses) are used to alter the subse-
quent fracture treatment to prevent pre-
mature screenout.
The fracture treatment designs
reflect the results of the mini-
frac analysis. All stimulations have a
35 lbm/1,000 gal borate crosslinked
fluid and 16/20 lightweight ceramic
tagged withHTNCC.
JPT JUNE 2012
Fracture Height Definition
Propped fractures containing HTNCC-
tagged proppant cause a suppression of
neutron counts when compared with
before-fracture neutron logs. Figs. 2 and
3 show the interpretation of neutron
counts (after and before) for T sand and
Caballos formation.
The log interpretation indicated
a fracture contained between the top
(9,105 ft) and bottom (9,170 ft) shales in
the T sand with the high suppression of
neutrons located mainly near the perfo-
rations and representing high proppant
concentration into the productive inter-
vals extending from 9,120 to 9,169 ft.
For the Caballos formation, a propped
fracture was identified between 9,250ft
and 9,325 ft, with the highest concen-
tration occurring near the perforations
between 9,264 ft and 9,304 ft. In both
cases, it was concluded that the border
JPT JUNE 2012
of the fracture was broken rock but that
it had not retained conductivity because
the fracture width was insufficient to
receive HTNCC proppant to create a
conductivepathway.
The observed pressure data from the
bottomhole sensor was used to match the
net pressure for fracture model calibra-
tion of the T sand and Caballos hydrau-
lic fractures.
A summary of the fracture height
results from both the pressure match-
ing of the model and neutron logging of
HTNCC proppant is located in Table 1.
In the T sand, both methods produce
a similar total fracture height and
total propped height. While not dras-
tic, results had greater variability in
the Caballos, where the model pres-
sure matching method produced a total
fracture height of 30 ft greater than the
HTNCC method.
Fracture Job Performance
After fracturing operations, selective
production tests and transient pressure
analyses were performed to assess res-
ervoir performance.
The analyses showed that after
stimulation in T sand, the skin factor
changed from 20 to 0.5, representing a
productivity regain of 3.25. It is impor-
tant to note that the water cut mea-
sured after fracturing was 30% because
the fracture dimensions reached the
water leg zone in the reservoir. In the
Caballos formation, the skin factor
dropped from 137 to 5, representing a
productivity regain of 8.6. The water
cut measured after fracturing increased
from 13% to 62% because the frac-
ture height (as measured with the HTCC
proppant) contacted the lower intervals
(9,3209,350 ft), which were previously
producing water.
37
 SPE RUSSIAN OIL AND GAS
EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION
TECHNICAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

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www.russianoilgas.com
 Gamma Ray Perf Zones LITH Depth Porosity Resistivity Neutron CH Near Neutron CH Far

Fig. 3Neutron log interpretation for HTNCC proppant detection in the Caballos formation. Proppant is
indicated by the yellow shading in the two rightmost tracks, and fracture height is shown by the pink shading.

TABLE 1COMPARISON OF FRACTURE HEIGHT RESULTS FROM PRESSURE

MATCHING THE MODEL AND HTNCC PROPPANT NEUTRON LOGGING
T Sand Caballos
Pressure Absolute Pressure Absolute
Parameter HTNCC HTNCC
Match Difference Match Difference
Total fracture
53 65 12 105 75 30
height (ft)
Total propped
50 49 1 95 40 55
height (ft)

The production history before
stimulation indicates this well showed a
high decline rate (total fluid rate) because
of fines migration and scale precipitation.
After stimulation, the well has maintained
a stable total production rate. Despite the
water-cut increment, the net oil production
increased from 385 to 625 BOPD. It
is anticipated that initial drawdown
conditions (50%) will be pursued;
however, the current drawdown condition
is maintained at 30% to assess the water-
cut trends at consistent drawdown.
These results indicate that the fines
migration problem was overcome with
a highly permeable pathway created
between the wellbore and the nondam-
aged reservoir zone. This highly perme-
able proppant pack reduces flow veloc-
ity in the matrix by creating a very large
connection between the reservoir and
wellbore. The proppant pack made up
of large diameter, uniformly sized light-
weight ceramic proppant allows small
particles to more easily travel through
the pore throats, thereby avoiding any
blocking or fines plugging. JPT

JPT JUNE 2012 39

 YOUNG TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE

Coiled-Tubing and Jointed-Tubing Hybrid

StringA New Approach to Well Intervention

As oil reserves mature around the either the CT or JT is unable to provide and trip out, which requires redundant
world, oil companies look to improve the required reach efficiently and safely. safety measures and reduces the effec-
the recovery of existing assets and to Combining CT and JT can bring the flex- tiveness of downhole operations.
tap into unconventional reserves such ibility of CT to extended-reach horizon- In shale plays, operators have deter-
as shale gas and tight gas. Coiled tub- tal wells. mined that laterals in excess of 10,000ft
ing (CT) and jointed tubing (JT) have Typical well intervention opera- and more than 30 fracturing stages are
progressed to larger sizes and premi- tions present several challenges, includ- necessary to maximize production and
um material grades to adapt to these ing equipment and reel availability, achieve the desired return on investment.
new and extended applications. How- transportation issues, achievable flow These wells are challenging to complete
ever, some situations, such as long hori- rates, and the ability to reach the tar- using only CT.
zontal or ultradeep wells, remain where get depth of the well. CT is prone to
sinusoidal buckling and eventual lockup PowerReach Service
in deviated and horizontal wells. This Boots & Coots, a Halliburton service,
Editors note: Last year, SPEs means that friction-reducing agents or developed PowerReach, which com-
Technology Pipeline Task Force began mechanical aids such as tractors may be bines CT and JT to form a hybrid string
soliciting information through JPT
on young technologies to publish
necessary to reach target depths. Small- that offers the best of both. The result-
and inform the upstream oil and er CT reduces the flow rate that can be ing string allows for greater depth
gas community of their potential. achieved and requires higher horsepow- for long horizontals, high flow rates
Once reviewed and approved by the er to overcome fluid friction. JT, on the when using larger CT, and a smaller
task force, the information would other hand, is larger and heavier than equipmentfootprint.
be published in JPT describing the
technology and what it can do. These
CT but requires constant making and The PowerReach system consists of
are the first two entries in this ongoing breaking of connections during trip in JT at the bottom and CT on top to have
series. Future articles will be published
on an ad hoc basis depending on
the number of company submissions
approved by the taskforce.
Tower with
A template (available at www.jptonline. tubing guide
org) outlines the minimum content
necessary for inclusion. Developers
of technology are asked to define the
reason or need for the technology,
outline its purpose, describe how it Reel trailer
works, state its target applications,
and note how and where it has been
used. In addition, the submission
must provide information on any case
studies, discuss what would cause the
new technology to not work or fail, and
describe the possible health, safety,
and environmental impact.
Rig
If you are interested in publishing assist
information on your new technology or
unit
have questions about this series, please
contact JPT Editor John Donnelly at
jdonnelly@spe.org.
Fig. 1Rig assist unit with tower, tubing guide, and crane.

40 JPT JUNE 2012

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 YOUNG TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE

The hybrid string is used with safe-

Coiled tubing
ty valves (Fig. 2) that allow safe connec-
Coiled tubing
connector tion between CT and JT and can be acti-
vated and deactivated during different
Quick-connector stages of operation. This valve increas-
es job safety and allows continuous for-
ward and reverse circulation, which is
critical to multistage fracturing process-
Surface activated
es. The downhole valves can be locked
safety valve
open to provide a through-bore dur-
ing stimulation that can only be deac-
tivated by pumping a ball. The surface
safety valve, which allows safe discon-
Jointed pipe nection between CT and JT, can only be
activated on surface by connecting to
hydraulic lines. Blowout preventer acti-
Fig. 2A rig assist unit with tower and tubing guide bolted onto a vation of the surface valve is possible
frame. The connection between the CT and the JT can be seen. with somemodification.

the stiffness and weight of the JT at the
bottom of the string and the freedom
to move the CT portion on top without
making connections. The length of CT
depends on the length of the lateral or
the distance from the first to the last sec-
tion being treated. This ensures that the
string can be moved freely without mak-
ing a connection. Fig. 1 shows the setup
of a hybrid unit on location, including a
reel trailer, rig assist unit, and tower with
tubing guide.
First, the JT is tripped in the well
using a rig assist unit. The free end of
the CT, the tubing guide, and the tower
are then lifted from the reel trailer and
bolted onto the rig assist unit. Then,
the CT is connected to the JT with spe-
cial connectors and a safety valve to
manage pressure in a live well. Modified
slip bowls and special inserts grab and
align the CT. This two-tier rig-up allows
for more manageable transportation of
the JT sections, equipment, and CT reel.
The resulting CT now has a larger outer
diameter (OD) than that in a convention-
al CT-only operation. The hybrid string
provides the size and flow benefits of
JT with the speed and easy maneuver-
ability of CT. Many combinations of CT
and JT are possible, such as 2-, 2-,
or 3-in.-OD CT with 2- or 2-in.-
OD JT. The resulting string is snubbed
using a hydraulic jack on a hydraulic
workover unit, eliminating the need for
an injector.
Case History
Since June 2010, the hybrid system has
been used in 10 wells across the US.
Seven wells have been completed with
the techniques (Table 1). A fracturing
method was applied in three wells where
sand pumped through the tubing and
water pumped through the annulus is
mixed downhole before being placed in
the formation. This multistage fractur-
ing process relies on high concentra-
tions of sand that cannot be pumped
economically through smaller tubing
and has saved time, money, and horse-
power compared with conventional
plug-and-perforationcompletions.
The hybrid string has been used
in milling operations also. More than

TABLE 1HYDRAULIC FRACTURING USING HYBRID STRING

True
Vertical Measured Vertical
Well Well Depth Depth Section
State Formation Configuration Production Stages (ft) (ft) (ft)
Montana Upper Bakken Horizontal Oil 18 7,823 12,170 6,850
Montana Upper Bakken Horizontal Oil 17 7,708 11,850 6,955
Montana Upper Bakken Horizontal Oil 16 7,750 11,700 7,000
Montana Upper Bakken Horizontal Oil 23 7,700 11,790 7,140
West Virginia Marcellus Horizontal Gas 6 7,045 9,861 6,538
West Virginia Marcellus Horizontal Gas 15 7,068 9,084 6,493
West Virginia Marcellus Horizontal Gas 30 7,001 10,969 6,712

42 JPT JUNE 2012

 TABLE 2PLUG MILLOUT

True
Vertical Measured Vertical
Well Depth Depth Section
State Formation Production Stages (ft) (ft) (ft)
North Dakota Three Forks Oil 14 of 15 10,414 19,235 9,791
North Dakota Three Forks Oil 29 of 30 10,438 20,080 9,851
North Dakota Three Forks Oil 29 of 30 10729 20,332 7,10,210

70 plugs were milled in three wells in
North Dakota, one with a lateral sec-
tion more than 10,000 ft long (Table 2).
The conventional CT-only operation did
not have enough weight at the bottom to
drill these plugs. The hybrid string, using
2-in.-OD Grade-1000 CT combined
with 2-in.-OD JT, provided enough
force to drill these plugs successfully.
Value to Industry
Some of the benefits of PowerReach are
as follows:
It allows for reaching
greaterdepths before lockup by using
2-in-OD CT with 2-in.-OD JT;
a CT-only operation could use only
1-in.-OD CT.
It allows for higher flow rates
because of the larger diameter CT.
Flow rates greater than 9 bbl/min with
20-lbm/gal proppant were achieved
with a 2-in-OD CT/JT combination.
It allows for continuous forward
and reverse circulation. The hybrid
string uses safety valves that can be
activated and deactivated at various
stages of operation.
It requires a smaller equipment
footprint. With the ability to use
larger CT, 30%50% reductions in
horsepower were observed in the
Marcellus Shale play on a pinpoint
stimulation operation.
It can reduce completion
time.The JT can be hanged off as
production tubing at the end of
the operation, thereby reducing
completiontime. JPT

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 YOUNG TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE
Stage Multiplier Technology Provides
Ultrahigh Stage Numbers
In December 2011, a record-setting
60-stage openhole fracturing system
was installed in the Marcellus Shale in
western Pennsylvania. One of the key
technologies that enabled this applica-
tion is a new stage multiplier device
called the Packers Plus RepeaterPORT
sleeve, which allows the same sized ball
to be dropped multiple times. Initially,
reservoir fracture modeling indicated
that a relatively small number of pla-
nar fractures would adequately drain
unconventional resource plays such as
shale and ultratight rock for both oil
and gas. However, empirical evidence
has shown that this is not the case. No
matter which completion technique is
used, stage numbers have been increas-
ing and spacing between fractures has
been decreasing. In many cases, how-
ever, operational efficiencies are near-
ing an economic limit for conventional
cemented liners and plug-and-perfora-
tion completions.
Long planar fractures may not be
the best approach to effective resource
recovery; instead, shorter fractures,
smaller fluid volumes, and higher stage
numbers have increased productivity
and ultimate recovery numbers by as
much as 50%. In addition, liquids and
condensate numbers (bbl condensate/
MMcf/D of gas) increase with openhole
completions and ultrahigh stagedensity.
Technology Description
The stage multiplier technology oper-
ates by allowing the ball to pass through
the port, putting it through a passive
shift that does not open the port but
instead moves it to the next operating
44
position. Subsequent balls of the same
size will either provide another passive
shift or prime the port to be opened with
the next ball. In the latter case, the ball
will move the port to an active shift posi-
tion allowing the next ball to shift it to
the openposition.
This technology creates a number
of advantages. First, the ability to run
the same size ball multiple times enables
an increase in stage numberscurrent-
ly up to 60 stages in 5-in. casing. A sec-
ond advantage is that the smallest port
size can remain relatively large com-
pared with other approaches, reducing
accumulated friction from fluid pass-
ing through multiple port restrictions.
In addition, access with coiled tub-
ing is enhanced for operations such as
production logging and well cleanout.
Third, operational efficiency is great-
ly enhanced by allowing uninterrupted
stage-to-stage advancement. Further-
more, pumping rates can be reduced,
saving on hydraulic horsepower and
equipment requirements, because sin-
gle intervals are being treated per stage
rather than three or four perforation
clusters. This means that the effective
rate will be similar for individual inter-
vals, but the total pump rate at surface
can be reduced by approximately one-
third, thus saving on surface treating
pressure and friction whilepumping.
Case History
The Montney Shale formation, a high
liquid gas play in western Canada, has
seen a steady increase in stage numbers
but has plateaued at approximately 15
stages. The introduction of stage multi-
plier technology has allowed stage num-
bers and port diameters to increase.
Reducing total friction of fluid pass-
ing through the ports by having a rela-
tively large port size has allowed stage
numbers to increase to an average of 30
stages in a 4,600-ft lateral well. Produc-
tion results indicate a 50% increase in
initial production, and, based on sev-
eral months of data, a similar increase
appears to occur in ultimate recover-
ies for these wells. In addition, indi-
cations are that the liquids content of
the gas has been increased. The high-
er liquids content is beneficial because
prices for liquids are higher than those
for gas.
Future
The technology has been used on a trial
and commercial basis on more than 150
wells. This technology will continue to
be used as available stage numbers con-
tinue to increase. As long-reach lateral
completions greater than 14,000 feet
continue, such as in the North Dako-
ta Bakken formation, the desire for
increased stage density will continue
to grow. Decreased interfracture spac-
ing combined with longer laterals will
produce extremely large stage numbers,
likely approaching 100 in many plays.
The technology is on its third revision.
The fourth revision will be released
shortly, doubling the number of stages
allowed with current stage multiplier
tools. In addition, the ability to refrac-
ture existing cemented-liner horizontal
wells through slimhole systems will con-
tinue to be enhanced with stage multi-
pliertechnology. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
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 Illuminating
the Reservoir
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Editor

48 JPT JUNE 2012

 Saudi Aramco Seeking
Groundbreaking Tools
n the Ghawar field, Saudi Aramco is testing its vision of
I the future: developing new technologies to illuminate
the worlds largest oil field.
One of the most important missions for reservoir
experts at Saudi Aramcos EXPEC Advanced Research
Center (EXPEC ARC) is finding better ways to map its fields
in search of ways to produce more using waterflooding.
The interwell region, especially in fields with large
well spacing, is somewhat of a dark zone, and particularly
difficult to characterize due to the challenges involved
in acquiring deep and meaningful measurements, said
Abdulaziz O. Al-Kaabi, chief technologist for reservoir
engineering technology at EXPEC ARC. Our target is
enhanced knowledge of fluid distribution everywhere in
thereservoir.
Saudi Aramco is supporting the development of new
technologies to measure the effectiveness of waterfloods
to maintain output and spot oil reserves that have
beenmissed.
There are long-term programs to develop new methods
employing electromagnetism, nanotechnology, and gravity
to map the location and movement of the oil and water far
beyond the range of the tools now used to map reservoirs
and monitor production. The research work also could lead
to other advances, such as a more effective way to deliver
the chemicals used for enhanced oil recovery.
While the company is also working on advanced
seismic imaging methods, the fact that there is little
contrast between water and oil has led to a search for a
better way to observe them between wells. This factor
makes long-term production studies using 4D seismic less
telling in Saudi Arabia than in other regions, such as the
NorthSea.
Opposite page: A crane at a Saudi Arabian test site
suspends a lubricator containing a gravity tool designed
to measure reservoir fluids.
JPT JUNE 2012
The new technologies were chosen because they
have the potential to add to what can be learned about
areservoir.
No single tool has all the properties you are
seeking, but, by combining all the methods, you can get
over the limits of each one individually, said Alberto
Marsala, a petroleum engineering specialist who is an
electromagnetism expert at EXPEC ARC. We have to go
further in seismic, and be active in electromagnetic and
gravity andnanotechnology, and, hopefully, all of them
together willgetus close to where we want to be.
Saudi Aramcos development timelines can
stretch more than a decade, far past the limits of most
oilcompanies.
As the mission of Saudi Aramco is to provide
sustainable energy for future generations
maximizingrecovery of our oil and gas resources
our people and programs are more focused on the long
term with longer R&D cycles than many companies can
consider, said Samer AlAshgar, manager of Saudi Aramco
EXPEC ARC.
The ideas and technology development typically
involve partnerships with academic institutions
and companies around the world. While AlAshgar
describes theeffort as pushing technology to the
limits of science,the motivation is always maximizing
ultimaterecoveries.
We are not doing nanotechnology because nano is
cool. We are doing it because there is a need for it, said
Mazen Kanj, a petroleum engineering specialist and the
lead scientist working on nanotechnology applications at
EXPEC ARC. JPT
49
 Using Electromagnetic Waves
To Track Oil and Water
S audi Aramco has pushed the reach of electromagnetic
(EM) imaging. When it began more than 10 years ago,
the technology showed promise as a tool to spot oil and
water in producing reservoirs. Unfortunately, it suffered
from myopia.
Back then, EMs range was around 200 m, far short of
the distance between most oil wells in Saudi Arabia. Now
the company and its partners have pushed the range to
more than 1000 m for well-to-well (cross-well) imaging
and up to 4 km when transmitting EM signals from the
borehole-to-surface receivers.
EM development is a priority because the Saudi Arabian
national oil company needs accurate maps showing how
injected water is sweeping oil out of the reservoir and
where the oil remains in the countrys complex carbonate
reservoirs. In our business, we know where the oil is.
The key objective is to maximize the recovery from our
fields, said Alberto Marsala, a petroleum engineering
specialist who is an electromagnetism expert at Saudi
Aramcos EXPEC Advanced Research Center. EM imaging
offers a chance to locate the water front, and see if some of
the oil is missed by flooding.
Researchers at Saudi Aramco EXPEC ARC are
looking for alternatives to seismic imaging, which is an
effective way to image the rock in the formation but not
the movement of oil and water in Saudi reservoirs. EM
imaging looks like a better way to monitor waterflooding
because the salty water found in these reservoirs is affected
differently than the oil when exposed to a range of low-
frequency EM waves.
Receivers in a second well or on the surface can
distinguish between water with high salinity, which is a
good conductor of the induced electric current caused by
the EM transmission, and oil, which is not. As a result,
water shows up on images as a low-resistivity area and oil
shows up as resistive.

EM IMAGING
Potential: Low-frequency
EM signals can clearly
distinguish between salty
water in a reservoir, which
is a good conductor, and oil,
which is not.
Challenge: When work
began, EM imagings range
was too short to cover the
space between most wells.
Progress: It is now possible
to use EM imaging to cover
an area between two wells
more than 1 km apart, and
the range is even greater
when signals are transmitted
from the borehole-to-
surface receivers. The cross-well EM image was created by sending electromagnetic waves
Next: Improve the range and among three wells. The color differences reflect whether the rock is a good
resolution quality. conductor or resistive. The green and yellow zones can indicate oil-bearing
rocks or water tight zones. Actual interpretation requires incorporating EM
data into the reservoir interpretation model.

50 JPT JUNE 2012

 There is also work being done on using another to-surface performance is not affected by steel casing,
response to EM signals, induced polarization, to map which limits the range and image quality of cross-well EM.
fluids in a reservoir. Nanotechnology research could The cross-well distance record was set in a well with an
contribute by creating contrast agentsspecially treated openholecompletion.
nanoparticles that react distinctly to EM signals that help Borehole to surface electromagnetic has a totally
produce improved images. different potential. Only one well is needed. We can obtain
In the past year, testing in the Haradh field at the a map over 3 to 4 km from the single surveyed well,
southern end of the Ghawar field showed it was possible Marsala said. JPT
to create an EM image between two wells 850 m apart.
Borehole transmissions have been picked up by surface
receivers as much as 4 km away, though this produces
lower resolution subsurface images than cross-well EM.
Final fluid distribution maps created with EM surveys
require an understanding of the reservoir including
information from a variety of other sources, such as core
testing, well logs, and production data.

Moving From Hard Rocks to Liquids

EM imaging has long been used by mining companies
seeking a better way to define ore deposits. Evaluation
wells can locate valuable minerals, but EM is able to create
a 3D image of deposits if the ore is less resistive than
surrounding rocks. EM methods have been used for offshore
oil exploration, and Saudi Aramco has made it a priority to
adapt them for long-term production monitoring.
The cross-well method transmits EM waves from an
antenna that looks like a logging tool, more than 3 m long.
A series of signals are sent to receivers in a nearby well as
the tool is lowered in stages down a well. Saudi Aramco
is planning a field test, pushing the cross-well record to
1.2km between two horizontal wells, Marsala said.
Saudi Aramco is also working on improvements in
the borehole-to-surface EM method. The technique was
originally conceived in Russia and has been developed
and deployed over the past decade by the China National
Petroleum Company on more than 10 fields in China.
The borehole-to-surface method employs EM signals
sent from an antenna deployed down in the well. The
wavelength used for EM ranges from 10 to 400 Hz for
cross-well imaging, and from 0.1 to 10 Hz for borehole-to-
surface imaging.
The impact of the variable frequency waves is observed
by arrays of surface receivers. In the coming year, this
method will be tested using receivers capable of recording
a wider range of components combined with improved data
processing methods.
The image quality and resolution with the borehole- The tool used to send EM signals from the borehole to
to-surface method was described as adequate but not as surface is displayed by Alberto Marsala, who is the key
good as that with the well-to-well method because the scientist in Saudi Aramcos EM imaging program. The
signals have to travel through layers of overburden before method can be used to identify the location of water
reaching surface receivers. On the plus side, borehole- and oil.

JPT JUNE 2012 51

 Using Gravity to Measure
How Much Oil Is There
T he fact that water is denser than oil makes it possible
to use gravity measurements to tell the fluids apart in
a reservoir. Doing so, though, requires development
of an extraordinarily precise device because the gravity
difference between the two is extremely small.
If the device were compared to a scalewhich at
heart it isit would need to be precise enough to measure
the weight added by a 20-mg fly landing on the back of a
20,000-kg whale.
Adding to the challenge is that the measurement
needs to be done inside a well, so this ultraprecise device
will also need to be slender enough to fit inside a well and
durable enough to stand up to the high temperatures and
vibrationsdownhole.
After 9 years of work, Saudi Aramco has taken the
first step on its development patha tool with a diameter
of 3 in., allowing it to fit inside wells, and nearly precise
enough to do the job. The development timeline calls for
progressively slimmer, tougher, more accurate tools over
the next few years. The goal is to create a unique tool for
measuring hydrocarbons.
The ideal is looking really deeply into a formation.
Gravity can look hundreds and thousands of feet deep,
said Ton Loermans, a petroleum engineering consultant
GRAVITY MEASUREMENT
Potential: Measure the oil in the ground with a
device able to distinguish oil and water by the
difference in density.
Challenge: Create an extremely sensitive
loggingtool slim enough to fit inside a well
and durable enough to operate under extreme
conditions.
Progress: A proof of concept was delivered in late
2010. The tool, with a diameter of 3 in., could be
used to distinguish between gas and liquids over
a wide area.
Next: Build and test progressively better devices
able to function in narrower wellbores with the
sensitivity to tell oil from water.
52
working on gravity measurement at Saudi Aramcos EXPEC
Advanced Research Center.
Gravity measurement has long been used by the oil
industry, but the density measurements gathered by
well logging tools have been limited to the area near the
wellbore. The few borehole gravity measurement devices
capable of covering a wider area were too bulky to be used
in normalwells.
One advantage of gravity measurement is that
theformula used to interpret the measurements is
basedonformulas taught in introductory physics
courses,dating back to Isaac Newton. Another is that,
unlike measurements using EM waves and sound, which
can be influenced by power lines or complex geology,
distortion is not an issue. Even well casing does not
influence the measurement because its mass is tiny
compared to the mass of rock and fluids measured in
areservoir.
A Different Spin on Newtons Apple
The inspiration for Newtons theory is said to be an apple
falling from a tree. That may be a legend, but the scientific
measure of the force of gravity is still stated in terms
ofacceleration.
A device capable of measuring the difference in density
between oil and water in a reservoir would need to be
sensitive enough to record the weight added by a fly
landing on the back of a whale and slim and tough enough
to do it deep inside an oil well.
JPT JUNE 2012
 Differences in this force, abbreviated as g, can be
telling. At the North and South Poles, g is 9.83 m/s2. At the
equator, it is 9.78 m/s2. That means that a person would
weigh a bit less in Brazil than he would at the North Pole
because of the effect of the Earths rotation and the fact
that the equator is a bit farther from the center of our
planet, which is flattened at the poles.
Differences in g have been used to track the thinning
of the ice sheet around Greenlandgravity measurements
made from space show its mass is decreasing.
In a tub of water, it is easy to see that oil is lighter
because it floats; medium-weight oil has a density about
20% less than water. In a reservoir, it is far harder to
tell them apart because the device is measuring the
bulk density measurement of water- and oil-filled
rock. The mass of the solids is gigantic compared
tothemassoftheoil.
For that reason, the device will need to be able to
accurately measure based on a unit representing one-
billionth of the strength of the Earths gravity field. And
it must do that within a well to be close enough to the
reservoir to provide the required resolution. That adds
to the challenge because the high wellbore temperatures
cause thermal expansion, which can drastically alter
thereadings.
In late 2010, the latest version of the tool was
checked out in a vertical well used for testing where the
temperature can rise as high as 135C. The level of precision
is nearing the specifications set for well measurement, and
work continues on the next generation version. JPT
 Basic Nano Transportation
For Reservoir Travel
S audi Aramco has crammed its nanotechnology
expertise into a tiny florescent particle, called an
A-Dot, built to travel freely through an oil reservoir.
The nanoagent is an early destination on Saudi Aramcos
road map to create a family of Resbots able to acquire
data deep within its formations, and influence conditions
there. The name A-Dot is derived from one of the richest
formations, the Arab D, in the Ghawar field.
The A-Dot is a carbon-based particle that is generally
less than 10 nanometers across, about 1/10,000 the width
of a single human hair. Even minute concentrations
measured in parts per billionwill shine bright blue when
lit up by a laser at the right wavelength.
Its minute size allows it to move through the pores of
the prolific formation in the Ghawar. Just as important,
Saudi Aramco testing shows A-Dots are stablemany
nanomaterials will clumpare able to move freely
past reservoir rockadsorption is an issue with many
materialsand are not affected by harsh reservoir
conditionstemperatures can exceed 100C with salinity
levels several times greater than sea water.
The A-Dot is an important early step in a multifaceted
project begun in 2006 to develop Resbots. The effort to
create nanoagents requires mobile, stable, mass-produced,
NANO AGENTS
Potential: Ultrasmall particles able to move
through reservoirs and perform tasks, from
tracking water flows to delivering chemicals.
Challenge: Create particles that are small enough
to travel through rock, remain stable under harsh
conditions, and can be made in large quantities for
an affordable price.
Progress: The first nanoagent was able to travel in
and out of a Saudi reservoir in a single-well test.
Next: See if it can flow from an injection well to a
production well, and develop varieties with new
properties.
54
and low-cost particles that can be modified for increasingly
more ambitious reservoir assignments.
There are parallels between what Saudi Aramco is
working on and the ways nanoparticles have been used by
medicine to create clearer images of the body and deliver
drugs to specific sites. The brine we use in the reservoir is
similar to the blood in the human body; the fatty cells and
cholesterol are like oil. The structure of the rocks pores
and pore networks is similar to the veins and vessels in a
human body, said Mazen Kanj, a petroleum engineering
specialist and lead scientist on developing the Resbots at
Saudi Aramcos EXPEC Advanced Research Center. But,
the reservoir environment is a lot harsher than that of the
human body.
We needed to address these challenges, so we
went back to the drawing board and formulated our
own tracers, said Kanj. These nanoparticles are well
conditioned to our own reservoir environment. The
ArabDformation is highly permeable but is also highly
variable, so the A-Dots had to be built to accommodate
constricted passages between pores. To determine the size
range of the pore throats, 850 core plugs from two areas
in the Ghawar field were tested at Saudi Aramco EXPEC
ARCslaboratory.
The glowing blue color of the bottle on the right shows
the presence of A-Dots, nanoparticles able to travel
through oil reservoirs.
JPT JUNE 2012
 Mercury was injected under high pressure into the
rock samples to estimate how small the Resbots needed
to be to travel through them. Further testing was done
of various possible nanoagents to see if they could move
through the rock and retain their properties under
reservoir conditions. The A-Dots passed the tests and
werecleared for field testing.
In 2010, 5 kg of A-Dots were mixed in 255 bbl of
seawater and injected into an observation well in the
Ghawar field. Pumping continued until the A-Dots had
moved about 20 ft into the reservoir, and the well was
shut in. Three days later, the well was allowed to flow and
samples were collected over a 2-day period. Laboratory
analysis showed nearly 90% of them were recovered.
The next step will be a long-distance test. The A-Dots
will enter a reservoir though a water-injection well to see if
they are able to flow in large numbers to nearby production
wells. If the A-Dots perform as expected, it would be
a significant step toward the development of future
generations of Resbots.
flocculation and failure. Testing verified the A-Dots would
remain stable in a colloidal suspension under reservoir
conditions and would not be lost in the rock found in
theformation.
Another requirement is the ability to make large
quantities of them at a reasonable price. Kanj described one
recipe for A-Dots combining citric acid and amine, which
were mixed and stirred in a container on a hot surface until
the mixture reached a syrupy consistency and then baked
in an oven. A rough estimate of the cost is less than
USD 10/kg.
As testing continues on its basic nanoparticle, Saudi
Aramco researchers are working with technical partners
in universities, research laboratories, and companies on
adding features. One goal is finding a way to make A-Dots
in a variety of colors. While researchers at Saudi Aramco
have created A-Dots in colors other than blue, Kanj said the

Ultrasmall Is Not the Hardest Part

Nanotechnology materials can have amazing properties,
not all of which are desirable for a nanoagent. While the
smallness of the particle is a must, its ability to remain
suspended in a fluid is a critical determinant of whether it
will be able to make the trip. Ultrasmall particles also often
have a powerful attraction to each other, which can mean

MISSIONS FOR NANO-AGENTS

The goal of Saudi Aramcos Resbot program is to
create nano-agents capable of taking an increasingly
active role in reservoirs. Resbots can be divided into
three categories:
Passive: Multicolored tracers for tracking the flow
from injection wells to production wells. The goal
is to avoid problems common with molecular
tracers, such as adsorption in the reservoir rock.
Active: Can sense the reservoir environment and
properties. One possibility is a contrast agent,
similar to the ones used in medical imaging to
highlight soft tissues, for mapping waterfloods
Another is a chameleon-like particle able to
change color upon touching the oil.
A bottle filled with a solution of nanoparticles, known as
Reactive: Able to treat problems in the reservoir. A-Dots, held by Mazen Kanj, the head of Saudi Aramcos
For example, the Resbots are able to deliver program to develop nanoagents able to travel through
chemicals where they are most needed in the reservoirs. The solution in the bottle was added to water
reservoir. An initial step taps into slow- and injected into a well and produced several days later. About
sustained-release drug concepts from the 86% of the particles were recovered, indicating these
pharmaceutical industry. Resbots can move in and out of reservoir rock.

JPT JUNE 2012 55

 company is not yet able to produce the tons of them needed
for field-scale testing.
The researchers are looking for a lower-cost
replacement for chemical markers now used to analyze the
flow of water from injection wells, with each well identified
by a different colored A-Dot, to production wells. Kanj
said the unique properties of the nano-agents should make
them much less likely to be absorbed in a reservoir than the
chemicals nowused.
The researchers are also working on reservoir nano-
agents for increasingly active roles, such as serving as a
magnetic contrast agent to improve reservoir imaging,
highlighting the path followed by the injected water. The
company has been unable to do so yet because the materials
used to highlight nanoparticles on EM images have made
them unstable, Kanjsaid.
Another project in progress is a nano-engineered
delivery mechanism of chemicals used for enhanced oil
recovery. The problem driving the work is the tons of
surfactants that are now absorbed near the wellbore before
they can go to work deeper in the reservoir. Kanj describes
the nanotech delivery method under development as like
tiny soap bars that deliver the chemicals far deeper into
the reservoir with little loss in the rock.
Longer term, the goal is more active tracers able
to test and react to reservoir conditions. One under
development has a coating that changes color like a
chameleon when itcontacts oil. This could help locate oil
pockets. Ultimately,the goal is a family of particles that
will live uptothe name Resbots by playing an active role in
reservoirmanagement. JPT
Further Reading
SPE 126161 Nanofluid Coreflood Experiments in the Arab-D
by Mazen Kanj, Saudi Aramco
SPE 142592 Industry First Field Trial of Reservoir Nanoagents
by Mazen Kanj, Saudi Aramco, et al.
IPTC 12229 Cross-Well Electromagnetic Tomography:
from Resistivity Mapping to Interwell Fluid Distribution
by Alberto F. Marsala, Saudi Aramco, et al.
SPE 146348 First Borehole-to-Surface Electromagnetic Survey
in KSA: Reservoir Mapping and Monitoring at a New Scale
by Alberto F. Marsala, Saudi Aramco, et al.
SPE 105353 Cross-Well Electromagnetic Tomography: Pushing
the Limits by M.L. Sanni, Saudi Aramco, et al.

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56 JPT JUNE 2012

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 A TRICKY TRADEOFF
Can Adding a Little Solvent
Yield a Lot More Heavy Crude?
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Editor

ears of small-scale testing have shown that adding a Lowering the steam/oil ratio (SOR)which represents

Y small amount of a light hydrocarbon to steam can yield

large gains in heavy-oil output and reduce emissions;
but, no one has proven it can be done on the large scale
common in the Canadian oil sands.
That could change soon. Two innovative Canadian opera-
torsImperial Oil and Cenovus Energyare working on com-
mercial steam-injection installations.
They have spent more than a decade developing and
testing ways to add solvents such as butane to steam to
increase production and ultimate recoveries. If it works on a
large scale, it will allow heavy-oil producers to use significantly
less steam per barrel to coax out thick crude.
the barrels of water used to produce an added barrel of oil
could offer a profitable path to reduced emissions.
If you can improve the thermal efficiencythe steam/
oil ratioemissions go down. Also, costs go down, said
Ian Gates, an associate professor at the University of Cal-
gary, whose research includes solvents. It all goes in the
same direction. You make more money with lower green-
house emissions.
Based on laboratory work and field tests, the combi-
nation of heat and solvents can increase production30%
or more is often citedthough some have done better and
someworse.

Cenovus has shown it can significantly increase production and reduce the energy needed to do so using its solvent-aided
process (SAP) method, which adds a solvent to steam. The wells at Christina Lake produce both heavy oil and a stream of
solvent, which will be used again after processing. Tanks storing the butane are seen in the background.

58 JPT JUNE 2012

 Cenovus Solvent-Aided Process (SAP)
SAP vs. SAGD metrics
30% production rate improvement
15% increase in total oil recovery
3% reduction in annual fuel gas usage
0.05 bbl solvent (butane) purchased per bbl bitumen
30% increase to initial capital
10% decrease in annual sustaining capital
510% reduction in nonfuel operating cost
Environmental benefits
lower SOR and emission intensity
lower water usage and smaller footprint
Cenovus pilot program, which was run at two locations,
showed it could reduce its steam/oil ratio by 25%, said Subodh
Gupta, chief of technology development for the company spun
off by Encana. He also said the greater efficiency could allow
wide well spacing.
Imperial said it sees a significant increase in the amount
of oil it will ultimately be able to produce. The operator, which
improved its estimated recoveries from 20% to 40% at its
Cold Lake field by improved reservoir analysis, steam injec-
tion, and drilling techniques, said that solvent use plus contin-
ued improvements in those three areas have the potential to
increase recovery to more than 60%.
Despite the potential, many working on the technolo-
gy express concerns about the cost of the solvent required.
There is no doubt it works, but solvent is quite expensive,
said Neil Edmunds, vice president for enhanced oil recovery at
Laricina Energy, who has long been involved in solvent research
and simulation work. For companies considering the idea, he
said, the cost of the solvent can be sobering.
Large-scale operations multiply the variables under-
ground. Solvent is more expensive than water, and you really
do not want to lose it. And reservoirs are finicky things, they are
all different and all have a mind of their own, said Les Little,
executive director for energy technology for Alberta Innovates,
a government agency supporting technology development in
the province.
Gupta said he sees solvent addition becoming a regu-
lar element of heavy-oil extraction. More and more of this is
definitely expected in the future. Eventually, the technology
will progress, either (through) a breakthrough such as ours or
someone elses, he said. But much needs to be learned about
how to apply something that is not a one size fits allapproach.
Putting It to the Test
Imperial Oil is the first company to perform a field-scale test
of solvent-assisted production in a cyclic steam system. The
Canadian arm of ExxonMobil, which was a pioneer in in-situ
production from oil sands too deep to mine, is adding a small
percentage of solvent to the steam injected into 240 wells in
its Cold Lake field.
JPT JUNE 2012
Steam only (SAGD)
Steam and solvent (SAP)
Milestones
20002001 Senlac SAP pilot
20042005 Christina Lake SAP pilot
20092011 Christina Lake isolated test
2010 Q2 SAP and SAGD Narrows Lake
Its method is called LASERan acronym for liquid addi-
tion to steam to enhance recovery. The goal is to increase
the efficiency of the cyclic steam process that periodically
injects high-pressure vapor into the ground to mobilize the
viscouscrude.
Imperial and Cenovus are also working on using solvent
plus steam in wells using steam-assisted gravity drainage
(SAGD), which is the most common in-situ method used in the
oil sands. Cenovus has submitted a plan to provincial regula-
tors to perform a large-scale application of its solvent-aided
process (SAP), in a field it is developing, the Narrows Lake oil
sands project.
A decision by regulators was expected late in the first
half of 2012, said Jessica Wilkinson, a spokesperson for Cen-
ovus. The company would then decide whether to use the SAP
on the 139 wells in the first phase of the SAGD development,
which is expected to begin producing in 2016, according to the
environmental impact statement.
The new field would be equipped with storage caverns for
the solventbutane has been used so farplus equipment to
recycle and distribute the solvent.
Imperial said it is still analyzing data from its Cold Lake
LASER installation. It did say in a paper (SPE 150706) that
results from the pilots to date are generally encouraging,
and it is expected that solvent-based recovery processes will
emerge as the next generation of heavy-oil processes with
improved environmental and economic performance.
But the company cautioned that the process is subject
to change. Due to the complexity of the process, commercial
application is expected to be evolutionary rather than instan-
taneous, according to the paper.
One of the critical aspects of applying the technique will
be minimizing solvent losses. Solvent recovery is a key con-
sideration in proving that these technologies are viable, said
Pius Rolheiser, a spokesman for Imperial Oil.
Gupta said Cenovus has been able to recover around 85%
of the butane used in its pilot tests and expects that, by apply-
ing what it has learned, a 90% recovery is reasonable. But he
cautioned that the percentage alone is not a good measure of
how much solvent is expended.
59
 That calculation begins with knowing how much solvent
is added per barrel of water turned to steam. Imperial has used
from 3% to 8% solvent in steam (based on the volume of the
water when liquid) in its LASER process. The amount varies
based on factors such as the age of the well and the number of
steam cycles. But, the company said it has tested using up to
20% solvent in a solvent-aided SAGD (SA-SAGD) pilot project.
Variables in calculating the solvent cost include the
amounts used, the recycling rate, the processing costs, the
storage time between injection and production, and the cost
of the solvent. The aim is actually quite explicit; however, the
answers arent necessarily so, Gupta said. The high cost and
long-term nature of any heavy-oil project make reliable com-
puter simulations a high priority. Creating reliable simulations
requires an understanding of the chemistry, thermodynamics,
and geology of the reservoir.
It is not like a standard process. It is unique for every
reservoir, said Tayfun Babadagli, a petroleum engineering pro-
fessor at the University of Alberta, whose work includes simu-
lation. For everyone who applies it, it has to be designed based
on the conditions.
Factoring in Natural Gas Costs
Significant unknowns are the future price of oil and natu-
ral gas, which tend to be volatile and unpredictable. For now,
those prices are not pressuring operators to take a chance on
an emerging technology.
At more than USD 100/bbl, oil prices are comfortably
above the relatively high production costs for oil sands crude,
and natural gas is relatively cheap at around USD 2.50/mcf.
The perceived value of energy efficiency has shrunk from a few
years ago when many analysts were predicting rising natural
gas prices.
Some of the alternatives may prove to be more expen-
sive than what they are trying to replace, said Bill Gwozd, vice
president of gas services at Ziff Energy, an energy industry
information firm that advises using financial markets to hedge
price risk. All SAGD processes using natural gas are cheap, so
why pay for expensive chemicals?
The response from Imperial and Cenovus is that add-
ing solvents to steam can reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
primarily carbon dioxide, using a method that can also sig-
nificantly reduce the energy and capital investment per barrel
of oil they produce. The motivation is not just the gas price.
Reducing our environmental impact is one of our main objec-
tives, Gupta said.
While global efforts to regulate greenhouse emissions
have slowed, due to political opposition in the US and press-
ing economic concerns in Europe, they can still sting oil
sandsproducers.

The boilers and heat exchangers in this complex are making the steam needed for Laricina Energys Saleski pilot project near
Wabasca, Alberta. The steam will be added to solvent and injected into wells as part of a test to see if the company is able to
commercially produce heavy crude in a carbonate formation, the Mississippian Grosmont dolomite.

60 JPT JUNE 2012

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 The opposition that delayed construction of the Key-
stone pipeline was driven by environmentalists who oppose oil
sands production because the energy needed to extract bitu-
men results in carbon emissions greater than those from tra-
ditional oil production.
Regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions expect-
ed from the European Union and the state of California penal-
ize the use of fuel refined from dirty oilsources associated
with high carbon emissions, such as oil sands. The regulations
are expected to be based on the amount of carbon dioxide
emitted per barrel of oil produced.
Even at these low prices, natural gas is one of the larg-
est operating expenses for oil sands operators. The cost of
producing a barrel of oil with SAGD was USD 44.75 in 2011,
according to the Canadian Energy Research Institute, which
said fuel represented 10% of that cost. The cost of comply-
ing with emissions laws added another 1%. Over time, efficien-
Reducing the Complexity of Building Complex Models
One day, while working on a computer program simulating
how a well using a combination of heat and solvents to pro-
duce heavy oil would perform, Neil Edmunds thought, This
is rocket science.
Rockets and reservoirs both are based on the phys-
ics of fluid flow and heat transfer in an interrelated environ-
ment fraught with uncertainties, which is what Edmunds,
the vice president of enhanced oil recovery for Laricina
Energy, spends his time on at work.
Laricina is using computer simulation to increase
its odds of accomplishing what others have largely been
unable to do, commercially produce bitumen trapped in
a Grosmont carbonate formation in western Canada. It is
seeking the most likely combination of heat, solvents, and
well design for moving the heavy inert bitumen out of the
unpredictable rock.
The number of possibilities is enormous, even if
the oil is found in a more straightforward sand reservoir.
Edmunds, who has spoken on the need for more detailed
modeling, said one solvent-selection problem used about
5,000 simulations to sample processes containing over
10100 possible recipes. A server with 16 processors com-
pleted the jobs over a 2-week period.
Because the best injection rate and solvent mix is
likely to change over the life of a well, as is the amount of
steam used, Edmunds adapted an algorithm originally cre-
ated to mimic biological evolution. One study of which sol-
vents are best to use in conjunction with steam found that
heavier ones, such as butane, are best in the early years
while lighter hydrocarbons, such as propane, are good
later on because they provide an insulating layer, reducing
heat loss. The result was consistent with predictions from
othermethods.
62
cies gained using more solvents could also reduce the capital
spending per barrel to produce steam and process water, which
is 38% of the cost of production.
And gas prices are subject to unpredictable swings over
time. The industrys interest is likely to rise considerably if gas
prices hit USD 7/Mcf down the road, said Gates of the Univer-
sity of Calgary.
Solvent research is one of many initiatives at Cenovus
and Imperial to reduce the energy and emissions required to
produce a barrel of oil sands crude.
In 2010, Cenovus operated the two oil sands fields with
the lowest emissions of carbon dioxide per barrel of crude pro-
duced, according to a study by Evaluate Energy, a consulting
firm that bases its reports on government records. The low-
est was Cenovus Christina Lake field, which emitted 48.3 kg of
CO2 /bbl. That is close to the average for conventional oil pro-
ducers in the United States, according to a recent estimate by
The work inspired a second observation: There
are a lot of redundant steps when building a heavy-oil
simulator. Common housekeeping elements, such the
codes for checking for geomechanical errors and creat-
ing 3D models and the user interface, must be built into
the programs.
The realization led to a project to create a sin-
gle generic program using open-source software, which
Edmunds describes as a programming language at heart,
to format the physics to be modeled. The goal of the OASIS
simulation software is to enable a petroleum engineer-
ing undergraduate student without specialized computer
knowledge to create a black-oil simulator.
Students at the University of Calgary are likely to be
the first to try it out. A goal for next year in our enhanced
oil recovery course is to use it in our reservoir simula-
tions, said Ian Gates, an associate professor at the Uni-
versity, who describes himself as peripherally involved
in the development. One reason Gates hopes to use it, is
he expects students will be able to learn how to use it far
faster than commercial reservoir simulators. And, the pro-
gram, which he described as a general equation solver,
can try out a wider range of possibilities, such as mixing
heat and solvents. It can be used for complex multiphase
solvent modeling with different stages of solvent and heat
used, Gates said.
The code is being written at Laricina using Java with
advice from colleagues at the University of Calgary, where
Edmunds teaches, to create a widely used tool based on
open-access software.
The plan is to try it out with the academic commu-
nity. They see the synergy in using algorithms as a tool,
Edmunds said.
JPT JUNE 2012
Laricina Energys Saleski pilot project near Wabasca, Alberta, has begun injecting steam and solvents into a formation. The
company is not yet commenting on the commercial test from the SA-SAGD well, which is still in its earlystages.

Tanks hold sales oila mixture of bitumen thinned by gas condensatefor shipping by Laricina Energy. The company is
combining solvents and steam with the SAGD method to try to commercially produce oil in a type of reservoir that has
frustrated others.

JPT JUNE 2012 63


The production wellhead is equipped with a cavity pump
powered by a drive motor on top. Connections for the tubing
are designed to accommodate thermal expansion caused by
the high-temperature process.
Statoil in its greenhouse gas report. The average greenhouse
gas emissions for in-situ operations in the oil sands were 79 kg
of CO2 /bbl of oil produced, according to the study.
Imperials emissions at Cold Lake are higher. The com-
pany says that is due to characteristics of the reservoir, such
as its permeability, porosity, and initial oil saturation, which
require the cyclic steam method.
To reduce energy use, Imperial and other Alberta oil
sands operators have installed cogeneration plants that divert
waste heat from gas turbine generators or special steam
power units producing electricity. This added power reduces
the demand from the electric grid, which is largely supplied by
coal-firedplants.
Seeking Solvent Synergies
Adding light hydrocarbons to heavy crude is an everyday event
in oil sands, where diluents are mixed with the viscous oil to
allow it to flow easily through pipelines to refineries. Mixing the
two when the oil is still in the ground has required years of work.
One thing is clear: Solvent requires a thermal ener-
gy boost to work in the ground. Earlier in his career, Edmund
helped test a process called VAPEX that uses cold solvent to
try to increase heavy-oil production. The long story short: It
proved to be ineffectivetoo slow, basically, Edmunds said.
Combined, the two are greater than the sum of their
parts. The interplay between the steam and solvent mov-
ing out oil in the area surrounding the steam chamber is not a
settled question among experts, whose descriptions make the
hot, hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere at the edges of the steam
chamber sound like the atmosphere of Venus.
64
Steam reduces the viscosity. Solvent reduces it further
by blending it, Gupta said, adding that the solvent really acts as
an agent to enhance the heat transfer between steam and oil.
On the other side: Edmunds said the heat acts to enhance
the movement of the solvent into the oil. When you put that in
a simulator, the solvent moves ahead of the steam front. Most
of the oil drainage is due to solvent, said Edmunds, who has
been working on heavy-oil simulations since 1979.
There is also ongoing work on using heat and solvent
without water. Steam is an extremely efficient way to deliver
thermal energy into a reservoir, but it comes at a high price in
terms of water treatment and environmental issues.
Imperial has also been working on a third method: using
cyclic solvent injections that it said could eliminate water use
and greenhouse gas emissions. It reported a successful proof-
of-concept test in 2009, in which nearly 1,600 bbl of propane
were injected into each well and then production was moni-
tored. It is now working on a three-well test, which will cost
USD 100 million. It expects production from the horizontal wells
beginning in 2013.
Laricina is part of a heavy-oil industry research group
considering whether solvents plus heat generated by micro-
waves from an antenna in the well could do as well as much
hotter steam injections. They are running an antenna under-
ground that emits enough energy to heat the ground to around
50C, Edmunds said. We figure it is warm enough for solvent
drainage at an effective rate but cool enough to use electricity
to heat the reservoir.
These ideas are drawing notice from around the globe.
Gates has been in contact with researchers in China and Ven-
ezuela. Babadagli recently met with researchers in Oman con-
sidering if adding solvents use would increase the output of
steam injection projects there. Gates said that In the future
we will be going far beyond SAGD. JPT
For further reading:
SPE 129518 ES-SAGD; Past, Present, and Future
by Bryan Orr, Nexen
SPE 150706 An Integrated Technology Development Plan
forSolvent-Based Recovery of Heavy Oil
by Thomas J. Boone, Imperial Oil Resources, et al.
SPE 145052 Increasing Cold Lake Recovery by Adapting
Steamflood Principles to a Bitumen Reservoir
by Shane D Stark, Imperial Oil Resources
SPE 146671 Semianalytical Approach for Estimating Optimal
Solvent Use in Solvent Aided SAGD Process
by Subodh Gupta, Cenovus Energy et al.
SPE 140659 Advanced Solvent-Additive Processes by Genetic
Optimization by Neil Edmunds, Laricina Energy, et al.
SPE 128045 Dynamics of Steam-Solvent Coupling at the Edge
of an ES-SAGD Chamber by Jyotsna Sharma and Ian D. Gates,
Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Schulich
School of Engineering, University of Calgary
JPT JUNE 2012
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 R&D GRAND CHALLENGES

Grand Challenges for

Earth Resources Engineering
R. Lyn Arscott, Charles Fairhurst, and Larry Lake

A recent report by the US National
Academy of Engineering (Grand Chal-
lenges for Engineering, NAE 2008)
identified 14 grand challenges covering
the broad range of engineering disci-
plines that await engineering solutions
and that, when accomplished, will make
significant improvements to the broad
realms of human concern: sustainabil-
ity, health, vulnerability, and joy of liv-
ing. Two of those challenges are in Earth
resources engineering: developing car-
bon sequestration methods and provid-
ing clean water. Many other engineering
challenges fall into the category of Earth
resources engineering so a task force
composed of members of the academys
Earth Resources Section identified four
challenges that were the most critical.
They are:
Make the Earth transparent.
Understand, engineer,
andcontrol subsurface
coupledprocesses.
Minimize the environmental
footprint.
Protect people.
The primary objective of Earth
resources engineering is to apply engi-
neering principles to the discovery,
development, and environmentally re-
sponsible production of subsurface
Earth resources. The traditional engi-
neering disciplines for this objective are
mining engineering, mineral process-
ing engineering, petroleum engineer-
ing, and geological engineering. How-
ever, other science and engineering
disciplines contribute critical expertise,
particularly geophysics and hydrogeolo-
gy. The skills needed to explore and pro-
duce resources from the Earth are also
important in the study of earthquakes,
the subsurface flow of groundwater, the
storage of wastes such as carbon dioxide
or nuclear wastes, and the design of sub-
surface structures for human habitat or
subsurface infrastructure such as elec-
trical cables or pipelines.
Make the Earth Transparent
That the solid Earth is opaque is a major
obstacle in all aspects of Earth resources
engineering. The challenge for subsur-
face engineering is similar to the imag-
ing problem in medicine. We need tools
that will allow us to see into the subsur-
face just as medical tools allow doctors
to see into the human body.
Geological structures range from the
microscopic grains and crystals of the
rock matrix and associated pore spac-
es to the topography of a basin. This
range spans nanometers to kilometers,
or 12factors of 10. To complicate matters
further, geological properties are mostly
anisotropic (vary with direction) and het-
erogeneous (vary in space). Because of
the scale effect, many methods and tools
are required to characterize geological
structures. On the largest scale (110km

During 2010, the SPE Research and Development
(R&D) Committee developed a list of some of the great
challenges facing the oil and gas industry. The committee
prioritized these needs and called them the R&D Grand
Challenges: increasing recovery factors, in-situ molecular
manipulation, carbon capture and sequestration, produced
water management, higher resolution subsurface imaging
of hydrocarbons, and the environment. These grand
challenges incorporate as much as possible enabling
technologies (e.g., drilling performance can improve
recovery) as well as address the technical disciplines within
the SPE organizationDrilling and Completions; Facilities
and Construction; Reservoir Description and Dynamics;
Production and Operations; Health, Safety, and the
Environment; and Management and Information. It is the
intent of the SPE R&D Committee to articulate and promote
the benefits of R&D in the upstream oil and gas industry so
this third series of invited guest JPT articles was begun in
May 2011. These have been published every two or three
months with two remaining articles to appear.
Readers will find interesting the recent effort by the
Earth Resources Section of the US National Academy of
Engineering to also identify critical challenges. After carbon
capture and sequestration and clean water, it identified
transparent Earth, coupled processes, environmental
footprint, and protection of people as their grand challenges.
These critical areas correlate very well with the view of
the SPE R&D Committee and add clear messages related to
complex underground processes and protection of people
through operational excellence and isolation ofwastes.
Arnis Judzis, Schlumberger
Chairman SPE R&D Committee

66 JPT JUNE 2012

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 R&D GRAND CHALLENGES

geneity, the feedbacks often lead to unsta-

Thermal Convective Fluid Flow Hydrologic ble phenomena, such as viscous fingering
or the creation of fast flow paths. Heat
transfer, in thermal recovery processes
Energy Transfer
or in nuclear waste disposal, affects rock
Thermal Expantion (Rock and Fluid)

Ra
dio
mass expansion and displacement and,
che
mic
al
consequently, fluid flow and permeabili-

Permeability Alteration
Eq ty. Aqueous ionic reactions, such as those
Frictional/Deformational Heating

uili n
bri atio
lter

Mass Transfer
um
ty A ge
s occurring in groundwater, are affected by
bili an
m ea e Ch pore surface electrical charges, the ionic
r r Ch
Pe ssu em
e Pre ica
l strength of the aqueous solution, and the
r R
Po ea
ctio
Re ns applied electrical field. Moreover, when
act
ion
Kin
etic organic contaminants enter groundwa-
s
ter as waste products, complex coupled
chemical reactions occur involving the
Modified Reactive Surface Area chemicals in the waste stream, the ambi-
ent groundwater, and the rock matrix.
Mechanical
Heating/Weathering/Dissolution
Chemical
Adding to this complexity is the dif-
ficulty of quantifying or upscaling the
Modified after Yow and Hunt (2002) effects of the large range of both time and
physical dimensions on the process equa-
Fig. 1Coupled thermal, hydrologic, mechanical, and chemical processes.
tions. The mechanics of deformation and
fracture of rock depend on the size of the
spatial resolution), airborne gravity, mag- ogists to assess groundwater resources rock under stress and the duration of the
netic and electromagnetic imaging, and and quantify movement of contaminants loading. Injection of fluids into fractures
satellite-based synthetic aperture radar in the subsurface. Geophysical methods can induce seismic slip and tremors as
measurements are used. On the scale of that would sharpen the ability to see frac- observed when fluid is injected into geo-
10100 m, seismic waves are used, either tures or changes in rock or fluid proper- thermal reservoirs. The effect of long peri-
actively generated by explosive charges ties ahead of a drill bit or just a few (three ods of time on subsurface processes is par-
or mechanical vibrators or naturally gen- or more) tunnel diameters ahead of a tun- ticularly important for long-term storage
erated by distant earthquakes or ocean nel-boring machine could improve the of waste and the diagenesis of minerals.
waves. On a smaller scale of centimeters efficiency of subsurface engineering. In Deciphering this complex coupling
to 1 m, a variety of well logging tools that addition, they could save lives. Monitor- and dependence is a fundamental chal-
use electromagnetic, nuclear, and gamma ing the stability of mine pillars or tunnels lenge in Earth resources engineering. The
ray technology exist. would provide information on the risk of efficacy of numerical simulation models
Geophysical techniques that sense rock failure. of subsurface processes directly depends
the subsurface ahead of a drill bit are on the accuracy of the equations used to
reaping enormous benefits for effective Understand, Engineer, describe the processes. Development of
recovery of resources. Such techniques andControl Subsurface better field-scale models requires that we
provide clear images of the rock within Coupled Processes understand coupled processes sufficient-
a radius of several meters around a bore- Underground thermal, mechanical, chem- ly to quantify them, to characterize and
hole and enable a drill bit to be steered ical, and hydrologic processes are com- quantify heterogeneity, and to raise lab-
precisely into producing horizons either plex and interactive (Fig. 1). For example, oratory and field observations to a scale
automatically or under real-time control pressure gradients lead to momentum suitable for modeling.
by an operator on the surface. flux and fluid flow, but they also may A better understanding of subsurface
Better imaging will enable better esti- affect the displacement of rock masses coupled processes will benefit the engi-
mates of the Earths potential resources. (e.g., in fractured reservoirs) or trigger neering, design, and control of all subsur-
In addition, it will enable geoscientists to landslides. Conversely, mechanical stress- face projects, including enhanced recov-
monitor both anthropogenic and natural es on rocks change fracture apertures and ery of oil and gas, exploration of minerals,
changes in the subsurface. Monitoring affect flow permeability. Chemical reac- surface and underground mining opera-
subsurface fluid flow in real time provides tions affect fluid mobility because of vis- tion, geothermal recovery, in-situ mining,
invaluable input to the management and cosity alteration, and the dissolution of a subsurface disposal of wastes, fate and
optimization of the recovery of oil and pore surface-lining mineral would affect transport of contaminants in groundwa-
gas resources. It can also enable hydrol- permeability. In the presence of hetero- ter, and earthquake mechanics.

68 JPT JUNE 2012

 R&D GRAND CHALLENGES
Minimize the
EnvironmentalFootprint
Minimizing the environmental footprint
of operations is a major challenge for
all industries, but particularly for Earth
resources engineering because it deals
with enormous volumes of both Earth
material and materials introduced to the
subsurface, many of which are flamma-
ble, corrosive, or toxic. The effect of
the extraction process on surface water
and groundwater ranks among the major
concerns of the industry and the public.
Extraction of minerals from the
Earth can involve many square miles of
the surface, which must be restored after
completion of the extraction operations.
The processes often use large amounts of
water, which can be very difficult to sep-
arate from the finely ground produced
material. Reagents are needed that are
more effective in the separation and are
not toxic to workers or the environment.
Mineral processing also can consume
prodigious amounts of energy for the
comminution of ore and for slurry trans-
port. Reducing this energy consumption
is a major challenge.
Developing an ore body by in-situ
leaching would eliminate the need for a
surface or underground mine. Recovery
by in-situ processes also would reduce
the number of workers exposed to poten-
tially dangerous underground environ-
ments and could possibly reduce the
costs of production. The major challenge
in in-situ leaching is the creation of con-
duits between a borehole and the rock
matrix to enable fluids, called lixiviants,
to extract the ore. The conduits are then
used to transport the extracted fluid to
the borehole for delivery to the surface.
Hydraulic fracturing is a technol-
ogy that creates one or more fractures
that emanate through the rock matrix
through which fluids can flow into the
borehole. However, the fractures must
not communicate with active or poten-
tial sources of groundwater. Groundwa-
ter in the mining zone, which may be
contaminated by the ore body or the
lixiviant and chemicals used in the frac-
turing process, should not be allowed to
contaminate groundwater being used for
70
water supply. Thus, the real-time moni-
toring of fluid flow, both in and around
the ore deposit, is critical to success.
When producing oil and gas, one way
to reduce the environmental footprint is
to drill many wells from a single surface
site by using extended-reach boreholes.
The direction of the inclined holes is con-
trolled from the surface by signals to the
steerable rotary drill to stay within the
narrow producing horizon. The number
of boreholes needed to develop an oil or
gas reservoir can be reduced if effective
conduits can be created to link the fluid
in the rock matrix with the borehole.
This can be accomplished by hydraulic
fracturing. Recent public concern about
the environmental consequences of the
application of fracturing in the devel-
opment of oil and gas from shales has
increased attention on the need to ensure
that development operations adequate-
ly protect groundwater. Public concerns
about the potential for stimulating earth-
quakes by injecting high pressure fluid
into the ground must also be considered.
Protect People
Operational Excellence. The highest pri-
ority for any industry is to ensure the
health and safety of the public and its
workers. Safety is particularly impor-
tant for the extractive industries because
workers are exposed to the high risks of
working in confined subsurface openings,
on remote offshore platforms, or in other
extreme environments. The public could
be exposed to health and safety risks from
air emissions from operations, failure of
impoundments, spills, and contamina-
tion of surface or groundwater. Design-
ing the appropriate equipment and pro-
cedures, as well as creating a culture of
operational excellence and environmen-
tal awareness, is a major challenge.
Operational excellence should per-
meate through all levels of an organiza-
tion. In response to the 1988 Piper Alpha
accident in the North Sea and the Exxon
Valdez oil spill in 1989, the oil and gas
industry increased its diligence in devel-
oping comprehensive management sys-
tems to reduce accidents and to ensure
compliance with regulations. Beyond
that, companies recognize the business
imperative to be more socially respon-
sible. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico reinforced
thistrend.
Management systems involve a com-
prehensive set of instructions, policies,
best practices, and operational proce-
dures to minimize risk. Engineers must
design equipment and processes that
minimize accidents. Operators must be
trained in safe operating procedures and
to respect the environment. Clearly, the
penalties for noncompliance are major
incentives, but it is critical to business
success to create and maintain a safety
culture throughout an organization.
Prescriptive regulations for design
of equipment and facilities, such as the
height and dimensions of handrails or
the placement of alarm systems, are not
enough to prevent accidents. One out-
come of the Piper Alpha accident was
a set of risk-based regulations that
required operators in the North Sea to
analyze all the risks in their operations
and to develop risk reduction procedures
and contingency plans. The US regula-
tors did not adopt the North Sea regula-
tions at that time because of the compli-
cations involved in applying the concepts
to the very large number of facilities in
US coastal waters. The incident at the
Macondo well has prompted US regu-
lators to implement regulations requir-
ing operators to develop comprehensive
management programs to address and
manage safety and environmental risks.
Subsurface Isolation of Wastes. Safe
isolation of nuclear wastes from the bio-
sphere for thousands of years is a major
challenge for society. Success in meet-
ing this challenge, especially following
the tsunami-related nuclear disaster in
Japan in 2011, will have a major effect
on the future of nuclear power. Safe iso-
lation requires a firm understanding of
subsurface coupled processes to predict,
with some assurance, the long-term fate
of radioactive material. Sequestration of
carbon dioxide in subsurface formations
has been demonstrated on a small scale.
However, it will require a massive effort
JPT JUNE 2012
to demonstrate that the technique is safe
and economical on the enormous scale
required to significantly reduce the emis-
sion of CO2 to the atmosphere. Devel-
opment and installation of long-term
monitoring networks (e.g., microseis-
mic systems) to observe the performance
of such sequestration and storage along
with models that simulate the coupled
processes will be needed.
Conclusion
The Earth is richly endowed with many
resources, but its burgeoning population
is consuming them at a rate that is unsus-
tainable. In addition to the challenge of
supplying the raw materials, the genera-
tion, processing, and eventual discharge
of the enormous quantities of materi-
als and energy used in a modern society
creates a massive burden on the plan-
ets capacity to sustain the ecosystem.
Today, oil, gas, coal, and uranium provide
93% of the energy currently consumed
in the United States. Given the slow rate
of development of renewable energy,
there will be a very long transition away
from nonrenewable resources. Engineer-
ing solutions are urgently needed dur-
ing this transition to ensure that we meet
societys needs with reliable, safe, and
environmentally protective production
of traditional energy and minerals. This
transition will require vigorous interdis-
ciplinary dialog and collaboration involv-
ing many technical disciplines to supple-
ment the traditional extractive industry
disciplines of mining, petroleum, and
geological engineering. JPT
R. Lyn Arscott, SPE, was 1988 SPE
president, past executive director of
the International Association of Oil and
Gas Producers, and a retired Chevron
executive. Charles Fairhurst, SPE, is
professor emeritus at the University
of Minnesota and a former head of
its Mining and Civil Engineering
Departments. Larry Lake, SPE, is a
professor of petroleum engineering at
The University of Texas at Austin. All
have been elected as members of the
USNational Academy of Engineering.
JPT JUNE 2012
Acknowledgments sota, professor emeritus; Raj Ramani, Uni-
The task force members are Mary Ander- versity of Pennsylvania, professor emer-
son, University of Wisconsin, profes- itus; and Yannis Yortsos, University of
sor emeritus; Lyn Arscott, International Southern California, dean of engineering.
Association of Oil and Gas Producers and
Chevron, retired; Brian Clark, Schlum- Reference
berger; Don Gentry, consultant; Charles Yow, J., and Hunt, J. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min.
Fairhurst, Itasca and University of Minne- Sci., 39, 143 (2002).
From design to decommissioning,
you will find it all inside.
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71
 MANAGEMENT
Knowledge Management In the Digital Age
Cindy Hubert, Executive Director, APQC Delivery Services Group
The project challenges of the oil and gas
industry are characterized by change
and uncertainty. Work operations span
the globe and smooth working part-
nerships cannot be anticipated. How-
ever, we can confront that uncertainty
by becoming more agile. Greater lev-
els of agility rest upon using the power
of knowledgethe cornerstone of suc-
cessful corporations.
The difference between a powerful
knowledge management (KM) program
and the also-ran is the ability to identify
and enable critical knowledge. The KM
system is a tool and not the end prod-
uct. People still make the system work
and are the critical component for input,
expert collaboration, and mentoring. In
fact, business value is created when criti-
cal knowledge gets to the right person
at his or her teachable moment and is
applied. The crucial knowledge set with-
in your organization is often hidden
sometimes buriedbecause it resides in
people or in many electronic reports or
in stacks of lessons learned. The question
we need to ponder is this: Can too much
knowledge flow?
What Is Knowledge
Management?
From a practical perspective, knowledge
is information in action. Until people
take information and use it, it is not
knowledge. In a business context, knowl-
edge is what employees know about their
customers, each other, products, pro-
cesses, mistakes, and successes, whether
that knowledge is tacit or explicit.
The American Productivity and
Quality Center (APQC) defines KM as a
systematic effort to enable information
and knowledge to grow, flow, and cre-
ate value. The discipline is about creat-
72
ing and managing the processes to get
the right knowledge to the right people at
the right time and help people share and
act on information in order to improve
organizational performance. Organiza-
tions implement a KM program to insti-
tutionalize and promote knowledge shar-
ing practices. An enterprise program is
usually a centralized, organizationwide
effort to standardize and excel in KM.
Strategy in a New Context
The defining book on how to implement
an effective KM strategy was written in
1998 when the discipline was less than
a decade old (If Only We Knew What We
Know by C. ODell and C.J. Grayson).
Since then, we have seen many momen-
tous changes affecting KM: rising Inter-
net and broadband access, the explosion
of mobile devices and smartphones, the
continued rise in virtual work and glob-
al teams, the international equalization
of competitive prowess and knowledge,
the decline of readership for the print-
ed word, the rise of digital readership,
and so on. It would be hard to overstate
how profoundly these developments
have both challenged and enhanced the
promise and practice of KM. The core
objectives have not changed, but how we
accomplish them has.
Force 1: Digital Immersion
We are experiencing the incursion of the
Internet and digital technology in almost
every aspect of our lives. Wireless con-
nections and mobile devices have made
the Internet available from almost any-
where, and ever-increasing bandwidth
has enabled the rise of streaming video
and other high-impact content. Many
people are comforted by the feeling that
they are always getting things done
responding to email in meetings, taking
calls in line at the supermarket, and so
on. But that feeling may be an illusion.
Are todays employees as savvy as
they appear at multitasking? Not accord-
ing to Clifford Nass, a professor at Stan-
ford University and the director of the
Communication Between Humans and
Interactive Media Lab. His data sug-
gested that even the brightest people
are hampered by an unwillingness (or
inability) to focus on one thing at a time.
Nass and his research team predict-
ed that multitaskers might be good at
threethings:
1. Filtering. Focusing on what is rel-
evant while ignoring distractions and
extraneous information.
2. Switching. Moving between tasks
quickly and getting up to speed with a
minimum amount of ramp-up time.
3. Organizing memories. Trans-
ferring information from short-term to
long-term memory to ensure that impor-
tant facts are retained.
However, his research results indi-
cated the opposite: It turns out multi-
taskers are terrible at every aspect of
multitasking, Nass wrote. Theyre ter-
rible at ignoring irrelevant information;
theyre terrible at keeping information in
their head nicely and neatly organized;
and theyre terrible at switching from one
task to another. (Nass, 2010). Even more
disturbing, almost all the research par-
ticipants thought they were good at these
aspects of multitasking.
If you are familiar with Lean manu-
facturing techniques, you know that set-
up time does not add value. And when
you switch what you are working on,
there is set-up time. Research indicated
that it can take 15 minutes to fully reset
your focus after an interruption. You are
JPT JUNE 2012
not actually multitasking. Instead, you
toggle between tasks and lose start-up
time every time you switch back. And
there is a good possibility that you will
forget something before you return to it.
The findings were clear: While sup-
posedly getting more done in less time
through our immersion in digital tech-
nology, we are actually working more
slowly, absorbing information less effec-
tively, and hampering our capacity for
analytic reasoning.
If we do not have any choice and
we are going to hire (and even encour-
age) multitaskers, then what kind of KM
scaffolding do we need to create to get
thoughtful work done? We must adapt
content and messages to align with
employees time and attention limitations.
For KM, the implications are as follows:
We should assume employees are
multitasking.
Multitasking is not making
employees perform better or pay
attention to everything they see.
We should not design KM
approaches that interrupt
employees any more than they
already are.
Even if a piece of information or
knowledge is critical to retain, we
cannot assume that employees
will remember it when they
need it. It has to be there at the
teachable moment.
A second defining feature of social
computing is that the more the content
improves, the more people interact with
and build on it. Wikis and open inno-
vation sites work best when informed
people contribute; ratings are arguably
better and more accurate the more peo-
ple contribute; metatags are more use-
ful the more they are applied; folkson-
omies can rival corporate taxonomies
when many people tag and rate con-
tent; and good sites and documents rise
to the top of search requests the more
often people bookmark them and share
thosebookmarks.
Social computing tools are rein-
vigorating KM by making it easier for
employees to participate in knowledge
creation while showing them the value
of sharing with an online network of
peers. By borrowing ideas from Face-
book, organizations have been able to
help employees connect across disparate
regions. Similarly, sites such as Wikipedia
have popularized ways to collaborate and
co-write content. Because a majority of
employees are already familiar with the
features and have seen their value, it is
easier to build buy-in and may be easier
to drive participation.
Many organizations continue to be
extremely concerned about the ram-
ifications of these barrier-crushing
applications. For example, standards
around trust are relaxed when it comes
to the democratization of information
and opinion. And social computing is
altering the determination of who are
experts. But the most pressing con-
cerns center on security and privacy:
what stays behind the firewall and what
employees share with each other and
the world at large. KM professionals
must find ways to capitalize on the posi-

Force 2: Social Computing

Nearly one-fourth of the worlds 1.8bil-
lion Internet users have profiles on social
networking sites such as Facebook,
LinkedIn, and MySpace, and 75 million
are signed up on Twitter. With that much
practice, it is no surprise that employees
feel at ease with social networking tools.
The rise of social media is transforming
KM. It is so good for KM that if we did
not have it, we would have to invent it.
A defining feature of social comput-
ing is the reliance on the employeenot
the organizationto create, share, rate,
and consume content. Simply by having
the means to do so, each employee can
be an author, arbiter, and consumer all
at once.

JPT JUNE 2012 73

 MANAGEMENT

tive aspects of these new technologies ments, and new business models for edents for how to manage security; who
while addressing these concerns. offshoring work requires just as much pays for the device and its text, voice,
Another key concern is how em- careful identification and transfer of and data charges; how to ensure the
ployees participate. Social computing knowledge. We have also seen shortfalls security of information; and how the IT
works when enough people participate. of skilled employees in key disciplines organization can establish, manage, and
And participation historically has been and time-to-competency issues for integrate the whole system.
the biggest challenge for KM. We see an those entering the workforce. Employ- What are not well established are
important, sobering parallel in terms of eesespecially new hiresface steep- guidelines for KM professionals to capi-
content contribution. er, longer learning curves at the same talize on this ubiquitous, addictive pock-
On Facebook, 80% of the time that employers are looking for et computer. What is appropriate to share
contentis posted by 20% greater revenue and higher productivity. through that tiny screen? How much do
ofusers. The scarcity of talent will be a driv- employees want to know, and when do
Only one in five Twitter ing force in KM. Despite the handwring- they want to know it? What can we learn
accountholders have ever ing that every generation does about from RSS, alert systems, and Twitter to
posted anything, and 90% of the next one, since the beginning of communicate withemployees?
the content is posted by 10% the Industrial Revolution, every genera- The future also belongs to stream-
oftheusers. tion has been more productive than the ing video, and KM will benefit. Too
last. Innovative technologies along with expensive until now, cheap digital video
Force 3: Demographics education and free market models have is literally in the hands of millions of
andDynamics been the reason. people. YouTube and big bandwidth
We could get so caught up in the hype KM needs to adapt to these evolving have made video a feasible and desirable
around generational differences at demographics and power dynamics. We medium for millions of average people
work (which may not be that great) that are just seeing the first wave of a larger to teach, learn, and share. Demands to
we may be overlooking the elephant phenomenon. Employees increasingly show me, dont tell me make video
in the room: retirement of the huge expect more engagement and informa- far superior to text for communicating
baby boomer generation. Many organi- tion and want to achieve it the same way something physical. It is also terrific for
zations face looming knowledge reten- they do in their personal lives. communicating emotion. Now the buzz
tion and transfer issues, regardless of is to use it for a wide range of internal
industry, annual revenue, or number Force 4: Mobile Devices communication and not just the annual
ofemployees. andVideo CEO speech.
The retirement of a record 77 mil- The tagline We have an app for that Yet many, if not most, organiza-
lion baby boomers has the potential has entered our lexicon, and everyone tions block access to YouTube. It is a
to result in huge losses of critical tacit seems to be perpetually in a Crack- quixotic effort, considering the sophis-
knowledge, including the loss of organi- berry prayer mode or immersed in tication of the personal devices that
zational and technical knowledge on key his or her iPhone to the exclusion of employees have at their disposal. Orga-
processes and competencies. And churn all else. So what? Smartphones have nizationsand KM programswould
from organizational reorganizations, been around a long time. There are well- benefit instead by taking advantage of
rapid growth, layoffs, internal redeploy- established company policies and prec- employees comfort and familiarity with
mobile devices and streaming video. In
time, more powerful applications will
be developed for mobile devices and
Cindy Hubert is the executive director of APQCs Delivery Services Group, which streaming video, which will expand the
provides individualized and collaborative approaches to solving business problems power of these tools for finding and
and addressing strategic needs. Her background includes developing knowledge sharing information.
management, business process management, and measurement systems. She has These are some of the major forces
worked with several industries including manufacturing, health care, financial, at work on KM today. KM can help the
retail, nonprofit, and consumer product. Previously, she was APQCs director of digitally immersed, socially networked,
knowledge management and learning. Before joining the company in 1995, Hubert information overloaded, smartphone
spent 15 years in the oil and gas industry as a controller and in the retail industry as obsessed, and busy knowledge worker
a general manager. Hubert is the coauthor of a book, The New Edge in Knowledge: oftoday. JPT
How Knowledge Management Is Changing the Way We Do Business. A graduate
of the University of Texas at Austin, Hubert holds a bachelors degree in business An extended version of this article is
administration and marketing with an emphasis on accounting and finance. available at www.onepetro.org.

74 JPT JUNE 2012

 CEMENT INTEGRITY

Helping prevent annular

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reducing rig time is a
resin to celebrate.
eb
bratte.

Introducing WellLock Resin.
An annular barricade.
Learn more at www.halliburton.com/welllock

Solving challenges. HALLIBURTON

2012 Halliburton. All rights reserved.

 TECHNOLOGY

COILED TUBING
John Misselbrook,
SPE, is senior
advisor global

coiled tubing with
Baker Hughes.
Previously, he was
with Nowsco Well
Service Company, which merged with
BJ Services in 1996. Misselbrook
has worked in various operational,
engineering, research, and management
roles involving CT in the North Sea,
Canada, Southeast Asia, and the
United States. He was a member
of the original team of engineers
involved directly in the development
of improved engineering techniques
for underbalanced drilling in
western Canada in 1991. Misselbrook
subsequently became responsible
for Nowscos initiative to develop
underbalanced-drilling technology
by use of CT. He holds several US
patents and has authored several SPE
papers on the use of CT. Misselbrook
is a mechanical sciences graduate
of Cambridge University. He served
on the 2008 and 2009 SPE/ICoTA
Coiled Tubing and Well Intervention
Conference Committees and serves on
the JPT Editorial Committee.
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 152351 Comprehensive Approach
to Production Stimulation of Massive Cold
Heterogeneous Carbonate Formation
Using Coiled Tubing by Vladimir
Dnistryansky, Schlumberger, et al.
APPLICATIONS
The coiled-tubing (CT) industry has experience unparalleled growth in the past year,
driven directly by the massive expansion in multistage-fracturing operations in North
America. Various sources estimate that the US consumed 50% of the worlds CT in the
past 12 months, helping to contribute to a massive 80% growth in product coming off
the CT production lines.
The growth in the United States was fueled primarily by three applications: mill-
ing out composite plugs, milling out fracture-sleeve ball seats, and toe shoots (the
name given to the first perforating operation before plug-and-perforate operations).
Because toe shoots take place without any pressure on the well, the amount of CT life
consumed by fatigue during the operation is small. Plug or seat milling, on the other
hand, takes place after fracturing operations are complete and with the wellbore fully
pressure charged by the formation; therefore, the CT life consumed by fatigue is high.
Superimposed over the wellbore pressures are the pressures arising from circulating
fluids through the CT and the milling assemblies. In some of the higher-pressure shale
plays, CT strings last only for a few jobs.
Accordingly, any technology that reduces the superimposed pressure could lead
to longer CT life and potentially to lower completion costs. Two of the papers selected
for this months issue involve new technologies that might be helpful to operators in
this respect.
However, of possible greater concern to CT companies in North America is the
fact that CT use is now clearly dominated by well-completion operations, or, to put it
another way, by rig count. Until recently, the CT intervention business was primarily
remedial in nature and, thus, was partially cushioned from the extreme cycles expe-
rienced by drillers. However, in North America, a change has already arrived and,
with gas prices at historic lows, CT service companies, CT pipe manufacturers, and CT
equipment manufacturers probably need to prepare for the same swings that the rest
of the well-construction industry is used to. JPT

SPE 154221 Production Logging on

Coiled Tubing in a Marcellus Shale
Horizontal Completion by A. McCluskey,
Shell Exploration and Production

SPE 154060 Best Practices for

Composite Plug Milling by Steven Craig,
Baker Hughes, et al.

SPE 154423 Use of Coiled Tubing

Deployed Expandable Technology in
Sidetrack Drilling Operations
by A. Caccialupi, Mohawk Energy, et al.
76 JPT JUNE 2012
Targeted Fracturing Using
Coiled-Tubing-Enabled Fracture Sleeves

U nconventional reservoirs are

an increasingly important part
of the hydrocarbon production pool
Fracture Port Valve Centralize
Liner ID Cement

in North America. Because reservoir

conditions typically require hydraulic
fracturing for economical production,
a significant amount of resources are
focused on making the fracturing
process faster and more efficient and
on lowering its environmental impact.
A novel technique to create targeted
annular hydraulic fractures rapidly Valve Fracture Port
involves deploying an activation tool Fig. 1CTFS diagram. ID=inside diameter.
on coiled tubing (CT) to open fracture
sleeves in a horizontal well. The new perforate intervals in the second stage larger treatment pressures. Many per-
technology uses fracture sleeves (each interval is commonly referred to foration clusters are treated simultane-
that are activated swiftly using a CT as a cluster). Running wireline in hor- ously, with the risk of inefficient stimula-
bottomhole assembly (BHA). The izontal wells requires pumping fluid tionor no stimulation in some clusters
system, already used in thousands of from surface to push the wireline BHA because fluid/proppant follows the path
fracturing stages in Canada, speeds through the wellbore like a piston. After of least resistanceand lower-than-
up the completion process, uses less retrieving the wireline from the well, expected production results. High flow
fluid, minimizes risks, and reduces the subsequent fracture treatment is rates require the use of many fracture
overalldowntime. pumped. This process is repeated until pumps to achieve the required hydraulic
all stages are completed. After the frac- horsepower, which makes this technique
ture spread moves off of the location, a equipment-intensive.
Introduction CT unit is commonly brought in to mill A second method of stimulating
Unconventional reservoirs in the United the composite plugs and allow the well unconventional reservoirs that is gain-
States are commonly stimulated using to produce. ing momentum is the ball-drop-fracture-
what is known as the plug-and-perf Although this method is the one sleeve (BDFS) method. In its simplest
(P&P) method. This method requires most commonly used, it has drawbacks. form, BDFSs are run into the well as part
a tubing-conveyed perforating (TCP) P&P fracs are time consuming: They of the completion. Each sleeve is spaced
device run, typically on CT, for the first require numerous days on location to out using external casing packers, which
stage to open a conduit for pumping prepare the well (i.e., running the TCP provide isolation in the openhole section.
down the casing. The first stage of the device, known as a toe-shoot), complete During the fracture treatment, a ball is
fracturing treatment is then pumped all the stages designed for the fracturing pumped down the casing to seat and shift
down through the open perforations. treatment, and finally mill the plugs. a sleeve open, the fracture is pumped,
Once completed, a composite plug and Finally, P&P fracs require large vol- and then a ball with a slightly larger size
perforating guns are run on wireline to umes of fluid and proppant, pumped at is pumped at the end of the treatment to
isolate the first fracture stage and to high flow rates, which translates into shift open the next sleeve. Each sleeve is
equipped with a ball seat designed for a
specific ball size.
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper
The BDFS method is faster than P&P
SPE 154391, Reducing Operational Time, Fluid Usage, Hydraulic Horsepower, Risk, because it does not rely on wireline to
and Downtime: Targeted Fracs Using CT-Enabled Frac Sleeves, by Luis Castro, SPE, open perforations and isolate the previ-
Thomas Watkins, SPE, Brian Bedore, SPE, and Robert Holt, Baker Hughes, and ous stage. Therefore, time between stag-
Greg Manuel, Pioneer Natural Resources, prepared for the 2012 SPE/ICoTA Coiled es is minimized and virtually eliminated.
Tubing and Well Intervention Conference and Exhibition, The Woodlands, Texas, However, just like P&P, it still requires
2728 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. high flow rates and potentially large fluid

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

JPT JUNE 2012 77


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and proppant volumes per stage. Until
recently, it has been limited to openhole
completions. It also often requires mill-
ing the ball seats at the end of the opera-
tion, which adds to the overall comple-
tion time. Additionally, the number of
fracture stages achievable with BDFSs is
currently limited to approximately 40
because of the incremental size increase
of the activation balls dropped to shift
each sleeve open.
CT-Enabled Fracture-Sleeve
Description
As shown in Fig. 1, the CT-enabled frac-
ture sleeves (CTFSs) are essentially a
valve opened by a CT-deployed BHA. The
sleeves are run by the drilling rig as part
of the completion and are placed at the
desired stimulation depths either in the
cemented casing string or on a liner that
is isolated with external casing packers.
Because the sleeves are run with
the completion, the initiation point of
the fracture treatment is known pre-
cisely when used in a cemented liner
(just as with conventional perforating
techniques). If the sleeves are run on a
liner that is isolated with external casing
packers, fracture-initiation location can-
not be located precisely because of the
unknown nature of the rock; although, it
can be confined to a set interval between
the packers. This characteristic is typical
of most openhole completions. In either
case, the placement of the fracture treat-
ment is controlled accurately, ensuring
that no target zone is untreated.
The fracture sleeves are pressure-
balanced devices that open because of a
pressure differential. This differential is
achieved by placing an isolation packer
run on CT in the sleeve. As the packer
is set inside the sleeve and pressure is
applied from above, a pressure differen-
tial is generated from the top to the bot-
tom of the packer and across the sleeve
assembly. When this differential exceeds
a predetermined rating, the sleeve shifts
open. Because all sleeves are pressure
balanced, only the sleeve with a differ-
ential across it will open when pressure
is applied.
The CT-operated valve reduces treat-
ment-fluid requirements in two ways: (1)
eliminating the need to abrasively per-
forate or pump wireline plug/gun BHAs
down the casing and (2) reducing flush
volumes because the CT string and BHA
are in the well at all times. An addition-
al benefit is eliminating the risks asso-
ciated with perforating explosives. The
fracture sleeves are opened by a reset-
table CT-conveyed anchor/packer assem-
bly that remains set during the fracture
treatment, providing isolation from the
previous stages. The BHA enables each
sleeve to be opened and treated indepen-
dently, from the toe of the well up, leav-
ing the wellbore free of obstructions and
debris that are typical of milling opera-
tions associated with P&P or BDFS com-
pletions. Running fracture sleeves oper-
ated by means of CT also allows for less
time between stimulation stages than
with P&P, thus reducing nonproductive
time (NPT) on location.
Reservoir Background
The Barnett shale is a tight formation,
requiring hydraulic fracturing to make
wells economical. Many stimulation
techniques have been attempted in the
Barnett, starting with energized fluids,
moving to gelled systems, and finally
settling on slickwater jobs as the pre-
ferred treatment. A typical challenge of
stimulating the Barnett shale is that the
Ellenberger formation, a water-bearing
zone, is stacked below the hydrocarbon-
producing zone. Therefore, fracture-
height control is key to a successful stim-
ulation job.
Stimulation-Treatment
Background and Design
The traditional treatment in this area of
the Barnett is a P&P job pumped at 80 to
90 bbl/min through three or four perfo-
ration clusters covering approximately
300 ft of lateral length at a time. Ide-
ally, each cluster is treated with 20 to
30 bbl/min and an equal distribution of
proppant. If this well is completed with
a traditional P&P completion, the treat-
ment will consist of 12 to 14 stages. The
challenge in completing this well is the
proximity to a water-bearing zone. Frac-
ture control is essential to avoid water-
ing out the well.
To contact as much virgin reser-
voir as possible while avoiding the water
zone, the first CTFS treatment in the
United States was pumped. The original
job design called for 48 stages pumped at
35 bbl/min through ports spaced approx-
JPT JUNE 2012
imately 64 ft apart in the 3,100-ft-long
horizontal section. Each design stage
included 67,750 lbm of proppant (100
and 40/70 mesh) and 52,000 gal
(1,238 bbl) of slickwaterbut changes
to the fracture-treatment design were
expected. One CTFS was run and cement-
ed in place for each fracturing stage.
Operational Notes
and Discussion
To activate the fracture sleeves and per-
form the annular fracture job, a BHA
with a unique hydraulic/compression
cup packer set up for 5.5-in. casing was
attached to the CT.
The BHA was run to total depth of
10,065 ft and then was pulled uphole
to activate the first sleeve as per the
job program. Once the fracture sleeve
was located using the mechanical casing-
collar locator and the BHA was placed in
the port, the packer was set, a pressure
test was performed to ensure well integ-
rity, and the well was pressured up to
open the sleeve as designed. After open-
ing the sleeve, the fracturing treatment
was initiated by pumping down the cas-
ing/CT annulus and into the formation
as planned. After the fracture treatment,
all pumping equipment was shut down
and a slight pull was applied on the BHA
to release the packer by equalizing pres-
sure between the top and the bottom of
the isolation element. Then, the BHA
was moved to the next treatment depth
64 ft uphole. This procedure was fol-
lowed until all 48 fracture sleeves were
open and treated as per the program.
At the end of the job, the well has
been treated successfully and as expect-
ed. The average fracture gradient for
all 48 stages was 0.747 psi/ft, and the
treating pressure averaged 3,142 psi at
an average rate of 30.9 bbl/min. A total
of 3.15 million lbm of sand was used,
with 3.106 million lbm of that being
40/70-mesh white. The total amount of
fluid used was 92,263 bbl, with each stage
using less fluid after Stage 15.
One of the advantages of this com-
pletion technique is the flexibility that
is allowed for the treatment design to
change from one entry point (or stage)
to the next. In multicluster stimulation
techniques, several perforation clusters
(typically four to eight) are treated at
once using the same fracture design for
JPT JUNE 2012
all entry points. With the CTFS tech-
nique, each stage can be tailored on the
fly to suit the reservoir that is being con-
tacted in each entry point.
Conclusions
The CTFS method proved to be
a fast and effective way to stimulate an
unconventional-reservoir well in an accu-
rate and controlled manner.
The technique provides a flexible
platform to change fracture designs and
schedules from one stage to the next
without delays.
Similarly, the higher frequency of
fracture stages per day helps improve
and refine a fracture design because key
parameters are changed continuously
Action is the
from stage to stage without having to
wait long periods of time to observe
foundation
treatment behavior.
The technique provides addition-
to success
al peace of mind for the operator because Pablo Picasso
CT is in the wellbore at all times, ready to
be used in the case of a screenout.
The method provides quick recov-
ery from screenouts, allowing the oper-
ator to modify the fracture design as
eRED can be
aggressively as desired without fear of
major setbacks.
CTFSs reduce water usage because
no wireline BHA needs to be pumped
down the wellbore. Reduced flush vol-
umes are also realized because CT is in
remotely
the wellbore at all times. actuated multiple
The targeted fracturing process
requires considerably less hydraulic
horsepower than conventional stimula-
times without
tion methods such as P&P and BDFSs.
This provides an improved environmen-
intervention
tal and location footprint and makes
pumping equipment available for other
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 Downhole Mixing Technique Facilitates
Pinpoint Fracturing in Eagle Ford Shale

T he increased demand for natural

gas from shale plays in the United
States has forced the industry to be
more efficient and develop innovative
methods for fracture-stimulation
optimization. Pinpoint-fracturing
methods represent a divergence
from the conventional methods, with
minimal optimization needed to help
maximize reservoir volume. Multiple-
interval completions can be performed
efficiently so that all intervals receive
the designed proppant volumes, one
interval at a time. To accomplish
this efficiency, coiled tubing (CT) is
used to hydrajet perforate intervals
for individual fracturing treatments
at predesigned depths. The latest
pinpoint-fracturing technique provides
maximum engineering flexibility in
the execution of these treatments
by allowing downhole control of the
proppant schedule; this can be used
to optimize the stimulated reservoir
volume (SRV) on the fly, in real time,
and with downhole control. The process
also incorporates large-outer-diameter
(OD) CT. A recent 25-interval completion
in the Eagle Ford shale demonstrated
theprocess.
Introduction
The downhole mixing process (DMP)
allows multiple-interval fracturing treat-
ments in horizontal laterals in a sin-
gle trip. The DMP enables the fractur-
ing treatment to be manipulated in real
time. This allows the altering of bottom-
hole conditions to increase net pressure,
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper
SPE 153312, Downhole Mixing Fracturing Method Using Coiled Tubing Efficiently:
Executed in the Eagle Ford Shale, by S. Lindsay, SPE, C. Ables, SPE, and D. Flores,
Halliburton, prepared for the 2012 SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing and Well Intervention
Conference and Exhibition, The Woodlands, Texas, 2728 March. The paper has not
been peer reviewed
Plug-and-Perforate Process
24,500 HHP
15 Intervals
92.2 hours
Fig. 1Comparison between plug-and-perforate and DMP techniques.
resulting in increased complexity and
more SRV compared with conventional
casing fracturing treatments.
Using this method, multiple treat-
ments can be performed in a time-
effective manner with less hydraulic
horsepower (HHP) on location. This is a
result of the higher rate per interval that
is pumped into the formation. On a typi-
cal 100-bbl/min treatment with four per-
foration intervals, each interval receives
only at a 25-bbl/min fracturing rate. This,
of course, is assuming that all the inter-
vals are of a homogeneous rock type,
have the same fracture-initiation and
-extension pressures, and are all receiv-
ing fluid.
With the DMP, each interval is frac-
tured individually, helping ensure that
all fluid enters the desired area of the
formation at the desired pumping rate.
This results in a reduction in required
HHP; for example, only 25 bbl/min
must be pumped to achieve the desired
DMP
15,440 HHP
30 Intervals
92.4 hours
25-bbl/min fracturing rate in that inter-
val. An example of this process is illus-
trated in Fig. 1.
Enabling Technology
The DMP is accomplished by pumping a
high-rate, nonabrasive (clean) fluid down
the annulus, which mixes downhole with
a low-rate, proppant-concentrated slurry
pumped through the tubing. By control-
ling the proppant concentration in the
slurry and manipulating the dual pump-
ing rates, almost any downhole proppant
concentration can be obtained instant-
ly. This is because the mixing occurs at
the perforations by means of a specially
designed bottomhole assembly (BHA).
BHA. The specially designed BHA con-
tains mostly conventional components,
with the exception of the mixing sub.
The typical DMP BHA is illustrated in
Fig 2. The mixing sub is designed to
create a desired turbulent-flow pattern
to allow the high-concentration slurry
pumped down the tubing to mix with the
clean fluid pumped down the annulus at
a short distance from the perforations.
Hydrajetting. Hydrajetting uses abra-
sive sand particles carried by a fluid to
create a perforation hole in the casing.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

80 JPT JUNE 2012

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CT Connector
Cutting Tool
Mixing Sub
Fig. 2DMP BHA.
Once this is accomplished, the cement
and formation rock are then eroded. By
adjusting pump rates and orifice sizes to
achieve a differential pressure of 2,500
to 7,500 psi across the orifice, the abra-
sives remove undesired material and the
fluid enters into the rock matrix. With
the high fluid pressure inside the rock
matrix and a lower pressure in the sur-
rounding wellbore region, rock particles
are lifted away from the rock surface.
Far-Field Diversion. The slug-and-
sweep method is designed to increase
fracture complexity by bridging off
inside the created fracture and opening
new fractures. This is achieved by drop-
ping the clean-fluid rate while maintain-
ing the slurry (tubing) rate for a period of
time until a desired pressure response is
observed. In turn, this delivers an instan-
taneous amount of high-concentration
sand into the fracture. The rate is then
picked back up to 100% or more of
the desired fracturing rate, flushing the
slug away. Once the sand slug is in the
formation, it will bridge off the branch
fractures. This creates a slight pressure
increase, which in turn causes the for-
mation to break down in another area,
creating a new branchfracture.
By using this method of slug and
sweep where heavy concentrations of
proppant slugs are used to bridge and
force fluid to another newly created frac-
ture, far-field complex fractures are cre-
ated. This process is repeated numer-
ous times throughout the fracturing
treatment to increase net pressure and
high conductivity deep into the fracture,
resulting in greater reservoir contact and
increased or sustained production.
82
Caged Carbide
Seat Ball Sub
Shoe
Benefits
When using conventional fracturing
methods, screenouts are costly and time-
consuming events. This typically leads
to treatments being underdesigned to
help avoid them. Underdesigned treat-
ments can result in a decrease in the
formation contact and recovery, with
roughly the same overall cost as an
optimizedtreatment.
Using the DMP, the need to under-
design the treatments is greatly reduced,
if not eliminated, and the need to make
during-the-job changes to the pump-
ing schedule to avoid screenouts in
response to formation changes is signif-
icantly reduced. If a screenout or other
event occurs, it can be detected early,
allowing for accurate and quick deci-
sions regarding the continuation of the
treatment. In the event that a screen-
out cannot be avoided, the proppant
left in the wellbore is simply forward or
reversecirculated.
Preplanning
Training. As part of the preplanning for
successful implementation of the DMP,
a training plan was conducted consist-
ing of a series of workshops to train
the local operations and key leaders on
theprocess.
Site Survey. The DMP is more complex
with respect to surface rig up and oper-
ation compared with the convention-
al plug-and-perforate method. Howev-
er, the DMP allows a reduction in HHP
required on location, thus offsetting the
environmental footprint associated with
the additional equipment of a CT unit,
crane trailer, and a large crane.
CT Considerations
With the latest pinpoint-fracturing tech-
nique, larger-OD CT is most suitable
because the proppant used during frac-
turing is sent through the CT. In this
instance, 2-in. CT was used. The larger-
OD coil allows for higher rates and larg-
er proppant concentrations throughout
thetreatment.
Another consideration is the burst
pressure of the CT. The highest pressures
observed during this process are during
the hydrajetting stage. During this stage,
there must be a certain amount of back-
pressure to hold the previous proppant
plugs in place. The more backpressure
that is needed, the higher the pump pres-
sures required to overcome that back-
pressure. It is necessary to keep in mind
to what limit the CT was hydratested so
that this pressure is not exceeded dur-
ing the job.
The DMP involves pumping sand-
laden fluid down the CT. The possibility
of erosion must be discussed, and cer-
tain precautions must be taken not to
erode the CT. The maximum velocity that
sand can be pumped along CT with mini-
mum erosion is 35 ft/sec. The fracturing
and hydrajetting stages must be designed
around this limitation.
Finally, the fatigue on the coil needs
to be monitored constantly throughout
the process.
Case-History Information
The Eagle Ford shale is a hydrocarbon-
producing formation trending across
Texas from the Mexican border to east
Texas, rich in both oil and natural-gas
fields. The formation occurs as a thin
sheet, at most 300 ft wide, with depths
varying from 4,000 to 14,000 ft (Fig. 3).
Because of the thinness of the formation,
operators are drilling horizontal wells
to maximize the amount of contact in
theformation.
The referenced well was in the shal-
lower part of the Eagle Ford formation,
with a true vertical depth of 5,036 ft. The
lateral was 6,000 ft long, and 25 DMP
stages were planned throughout the bot-
tom half of the horizontal section from
8,188 to 10,688 ft.
Force models were run to deter-
mine if the 2-in. CT would make it to
the desired depth without any problems.
JPT JUNE 2012

Fig. 3Map of Eagle Ford shale.
The model confirmed that, at the regu-
lar coefficient of friction (0.30), the CT
would make it down to bottom.
The DMP can avoid possible
screenouts. This occurred during Stage
3. Increases in both annular and tub-
ing pressure were detected, indicating
a likely screenout. The tubing rate was
immediately decreased while the annular
rate was increased, in effect decreasing
the sand concentration instantaneous-
ly downhole. The pressure immediately
dropped, and the fracturing treatment
continued on as normal.
After the job, the average fatigue on
the string was approximately 16%, with
one 50% spike near 8,420 ft, from the
whip end of the CT. The spike was caused
while attempting to wash down to clean
up the perforations.
There were no signs of erosion on
the coil or on any of the flow iron on sur-
face. The tool had some normal wear and
tear, which was to be expected. The sac-
rificial jet covering had the greatest ero-
sion because of the splashback observed
during the hydrajetting process.
Conclusion
The training provided before the exe-
cution proved to be essential because
any contingency required during the pro-
JPT JUNE 2012
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Eagle Ford Producing Wells (HPDI)
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MEPO is proven by leading E&P
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and-perforate applications because of companies to improve NPV and
hydrajetting perforating. This also collaboration across asset teams.
enabled the control of fracture inten- Features include:
sity and growth. The average bottom-
The rst model for rigorous optimi-
hole proppant concentration per stage sation under uncertainty available
was 3.89 lbm/gal. The average maximum on the market
slurry rate was 20.95 bbl/min. Screen- Field management library: optimise
out occurred during two stages, and one well locations, well scheduling,
stage was abandoned. Cleanout com- production strategies
menced after the last stage. The clean- Leading edge 3D visualization for
out was completed in a little more than multi-model workows
5 hours, washing down to bottom and Superior usability and efciency -
back to surface. the new industry standard
With proper fatigue monitoring and Improved workow support:
management, the CT string should be exploration and appraisal, eld
able to perform three more DMP and development and production
cleanout jobs. If care is taken to not optimisation
move the coil, with more than 8,000-psi
be dynamic
pressure inside and with minimum
Visit SPT Group at:
cycles in the same spot, little fatigue will
occur during the job because the CT is SPE EAGE, Copenhagen
moved very little during the high-rate 4-7 June 2012 Stand 1200
pumpingstages.
Production results are currently
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83
 Coiled Tubing Reduces Stimulation Cycle Time
by More Than 50% in Multilayer Wells in Russia

T raditionally, coiled tubing (CT) has

had very limited service diversity in
Russia. Its use has been mostly limited
tial approach of the workover crew per-
forating, the wireline crew running in
tubing and packers, and the fracturing
new wells has been as follows (how many
times the cycle is repeated depends on
the number of targeted zones):
to wellbore cleanouts and nitrogen crew fracturing and pulling tubing and Wireline crew tags bottom and
kickoffs after fracturing treatments. CT packers out of hole for each of the layers. perforates bottom layer.
equipment and technologies were used That sequence takes a long time to com- Workover crew runs packer and
to supplement stimulation operations plete the well, especially if the formation tubing in hole.
in one of the worlds largest oil fields, starts flowing naturally before the work- Fracturing crew performs
Priobskoye, which has up to five separate over and wireline crews can manage the stimulation treatment of bottom layer.
layers per well. Conventionally, well pressure properly to continueoperations. Wireline crew tags current
completions at Priobskoye have involved Starting in 2008, CT fleets were bottom depth.
complicated workover operations employed to assist in the well-completion Workover crew unsets packer,
with tubing, packers, and wireline cycle with abrasive perforating and pulls it out of hole, and sets sand plug or
perforation after each stimulated layer. well-cleanout operations under pres- cleans out excessive sand (if required).
An average well with three layers took sure between the fracturing stages. Wireline crew perforates next
30 days to complete. CT provided a The advantage of CT lies in its ability interval.
significant improvement in completion to perform the same sequence of oper- Workover crew runs packer and
efficiency, reducing the cycle time to just ations significantly faster. In fact, the tubing in hole.
10 to 12 days. CT replaced both workover and wireline Fracturing crew performs
rigs, with the perforating performed with stimulation treatment in next interval.
an abrasive material jetted through the CT crew cleans out wellbore and
Introduction nozzles of a special bottomhole assembly. kicks off well with nitrogen.
Priobskoye is one of the worlds biggest A jets velocity and its focused flow create This method requires so much time
oil fields. It is in the Khanty-Mansi auton- a hole inside the casing and a cavern because it requires well flowback after
omous region, and the Ob river divides inside the cement and the rock outside each stage, well killing, and workover
it into two parts, the left bank and the the casing (Fig. 1). operations to run the fracture string
right bank. and packer in and out of the hole after
Hydraulic fracturing is the main Standard Practice for each fracturing stage, and the rig-up/rig-
method used to increase production and Stimulating Multilayer down of workover and fracturing fleets
recovery from the Priobskoye formations, Wells in Russia each time. On average, this type of com-
and most new wells are stimulated imme- To maximize a wells production, prop- pletion cycle for a multilayer well takes
diately after drilling. Fracturing optimiza- pant fracturing is commonly used in approximately 30 days. Furthermore,
tion has mostly evolved toward increasing western Siberian oil fields. Therefore, the well-killing operations, obviously, lead to
the quality of hydraulic fractures. How- typical CT operation in the area involves fluid invasion inside the fracture and for-
ever, the Priobskoye field is a multilay- wellbore cleanout and well kickoff with a mation damage that can impede the pro-
er reservoir where separate fracturing tubing size of 38 mm. ductivity of the well.
treatments normally take excessively long Many oil fields have commingled
times to complete. The standard comple- production from several zones, where Abrasive Perforating and
tion method has consisted of a sequen- the standard-case completion cycle for Fracturing Through Casing
Starting in 2008, an intensive use of CT
fleets was aimed at reducing completion
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of
cycles for multilayered wells. The main
paper SPE 154386, Coiled Tubing Reduces Stimulation Cycle Time by More Than
difference from the conventional com-
50% in Multilayer Wells in Russia, by A. Yudin, SPE, K. Burdin, and D. Yanchuk, pletion method is in the lack of tubing
SPE, Schlumberger; and A. Nikitin, SPE, I. Bataman, A. Serdyuk, N. Mogutov, and and packer (operations are performed
S. Sitdikov, SPE, Rosneft, prepared for the 2012 SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing and Well through casing) and the addition of per-
Intervention Conference and Exhibition, The Woodlands, Texas, 2728 March. The forating by means of CT by jetting an
paper has not been peer reviewed. abrasive fluid.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

84 JPT JUNE 2012

 (a)
Fig. 1Abrasive-jetting yard tests showed that the technique creates large, clean holes and deep caverns
(a) to handle fracturing fluids without damage to the nozzles and perforator (b).
The new method can be described
by the following sequence (how many
times the cycle is repeated depends on
the number of targeted zones):
Workover crew scrapes casing
and cleans out well.
Wireline crew tags bottom depth.
CT crew correlates depth and
performs abrasive jetting in bottom
interval.
Fracturing crew performs
proppant stimulation job through casing
and pumps sand plug right after last
treatment stage.
CT crew removes excessive
proppant (if necessary) and creates
abrasive holes in next interval.
Fracturing crew performs next
fracturing treatment.
CT crew cleans out wellbore and
kicks off well with nitrogen.
This completion sequence is called
abrasive perforating and fracturing
through casing (APFTC), for the sake
of simplicity. This combined technique
requires simultaneous presence of both
fracturing and CT fleets; thus, sufficient
space at the pad needs to be available.
Such operations must be planned prop-
erly to comply with the schedules of
other operations on offset wells [e.g.,
drilling and electrical-submersible-
pump (ESP)installations].
APFTC Case Study
This method of completion was imple-
mented successfully in the Priobskoye
oil field at the end of 2008. The goal of
86
the APFTC operations on Well A with
146-mm casing was to stimulate five lay-
ers of the well through abrasive perfora-
tions. Intervals were isolated by pump-
ing sand plugs immediately after the
main fracturing treatments.
The overall completion cycle Fracturing Through Tubing
including perforations, fracturing, well
cleanout, and kickofftook approxi-
mately 17 days of continuous fractur-
ing and CT operations. Including prepa-
ratory work by the workover crew and
installing an ESP, the full cycle of well
completion was reduced by 21 days.
Results of APFTC
Implementation
As a result of APFTC operations in
200809, more than 30 multilayered
wells were completed, with more than
100 fracturing stages pumped in total.
That period is considered the most rep-
resentative for the comparative analy-
sis of technique effectiveness and well
productivity because many of the off-
set wells had been completed with the
conventionalapproach.
On the whole, during 200809,
APFTC was optimized and a high qual-
ity of operations was reached. Comple-
tion cycles were reduced to approxi-
mately half the conventional time. In
most cases, abrasive jetting consisted
of only a few (three to six) stations of
three holes and caverns. Nevertheless,
this number was enough for success-
ful placement of any fracturing treat-
ments. During that period, in most of
(b)
the cases, 12/18-mesh proppant was
pumped with resin-coated proppant of
the same mesh as a tail-in to prevent
proppant flowback.
Abrasive Perforating and
Drilling new wells is not the only way
to increase production; sidetrack drill-
ing from existing wells in Malobaliks-
koye and Priobskoye fields is increasing
each year. Sidetrack drilling with sever-
al fracturing stages in multilayer forma-
tions allows for a significant increase in
oil recovery.
To increase the candidate pool sig-
nificantly for the improved comple-
tion technique, a new approach to the
abrasive-fracturing process was devel-
oped in 2010 that provided an option
to treat the wells through tubing and
packers; this approach is called abrasive
perforating and fracturing through tub-
ing (APFTT). The method uses almost
the same sequence as APFTC, with the
only difference being that perforat-
ing and fracturing operations now are
performed through tubing and pack-
er, the latter being set only once above
all the intervals. The full completion
cycle now can be described as follows
(how many times the cycle is repeat-
ed depends on the number of tar-
geted zones):
Workover crew scrapes casing
and cleans out the well.
Wireline crew tags the bottom
depth.
JPT JUNE 2012
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88
Well flowback
Perforating
and kickoff
Workover
Fracturing
Workover
Workover
Workover
Cleanout
ESP
Repeat the cycle two times
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Repeat
CT rig down
Perforating
and kickoff
Well killing
Fracturing
Workover
CT rig up
Cleanout
APFTC
the
ESP
cycle 15 days of cycle reduction
two
times
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Repeat
CT rig down
Perforating
and kickoff
Fracturing
Workover
Workover
CT rig up
Cleanout
the
APFTT
ESP
cycle 15 days of cycle reduction
two
times
Fig. 2Workover completion techniques typically require twice the
time of APFTC and APFTT.
Workover crew runs tubing and tions on well deviation because wellbore
special packer in hole and sets packer on cleanout is conducted with direct flow
top of all intervals. and not reversed, as in the case of remov-
CT crew correlates depth and al of proppant from a well through casing.
performs abrasive jetting in bottom At least 95 wells have been com-
interval. pleted with a combination of CT and
Fracturing crew performs stimulation, and more than 30 of them
proppant stimulation through the usedAPFTT.
casing, pumping the sand plug right
after the last treatment stage. Conclusions
CT crew removes excessive The well-completion cycle was
proppant (if necessary) and creates reduced by more than 50% on average.
abrasive holes in next interval. This reduction in completion-cycle
Fracturing crew performs next time was achieved by removing the
fracturing treatment. requirement to run the fracture string
CT crew cleans out wellbore and and packer in and out of hole between
kicks off well with nitrogen. each operation because CT can perform
Workover crew pulls packer and these operations in the well under
tubing out of hole and installs the ESP. pressure (as opposed to workover
operations that can start only after the
Effectiveness of well has been flowed back and pressure
APFTC and APFTT has been released).
To compare the effectiveness of these two Well productivity after abrasive
options, we analyzed several representa- perforating and fracturing assisted
tive three-layer wells. Fig. 2 shows the typ- by CT is higher than in offset wells
ical operational sequence and duration completed by separate fracturing stages
for the different completionscenarios. that depend on cumulative perforation
Both APFTC and APFTT have similar and workover operations between the
completion-cycle lengths (approximately stimulation treatments. One advantage
13 to 14 days). However, APFTC requires of abrasive perforating and fracturing is
additional procedures for casing- that the increase in productivity of the
pressure tests before the CT rig up and wells may reach up to 14% in formations
a longer cleanout process to complete with high reservoir quality where an
an additional run-in-hole and well-killing aggressive fracturing schedule can be
operations. Assuming the rest of the con- placed. Another contributing factor is
ditions are the same, APFTT will have an a better and faster fracture-cleanout
advantage because it can be implement- process in CT-assisted operations as
ed in wells with regular Grade-D casing. opposed to long workover cycles and
Also, this option does not have limita- damaging well-killing operations. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
Energy Solutions.
Worldwide.

FTS International is a leader in multi-stage, unconventional completion services. We continue to

focus on more environmentally friendly ways to do business while offering custom solutions to
maximize well productivity.

Strategic Service Locations Top Performance

As a leading provider of well stimulation services, we offer FTSI exceeded our expectations. For the rst time in
services in the most demanding shale plays in the United a very long time, we had virtually trouble-free jobs.
States. In addition, we are developing new unconventional I must give a large part of the credit to the FTSI crew.
opportunities worldwide. They are on the ball and on top of their business.

E&P Customer in the Eagle Ford Shale

Vertically Integrated Business Model
Our vertical integration provides a competitive edge. Our
supply chain network includes:
Custom-built high pressure hydraulic pumps and
mobile pumping units
Proprietary sources for reliable proppant supply
Safety First
The OSHA Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR)
for FTS International Operations is 26 percent lower
than our industry peer group, as provided by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics.*

Extensive logistics network for efcient and

reliable proppant and equipment delivery
Environmentally friendly uid technologies

* As of December 2011

817.850.1008 Toll Free 866.877.1008 International +1.817.850.1008 www.ftsi.com

 TECHNOLOGY
FOCUS
Gerald R. Coulter,
SPE, is a consulting
petroleum engineer
and president of
Coulter Energy
International.
He is involved in
consulting and technology transfer of
well-completion, formation-damage,
and well-stimulation technology.
Coulter is currently an instructor with
PetroSkills. His industry experience
includes work with Sun Oil/Oryx
Energy Company, Halliburton,
and Conoco. Coulter has authored
numerous technical papers and holds
numerous patents, has been chairman
of and has served on numerous SPE
committees, and is currently serving
on the JPT Editorial Committee. He
holds a BS degree in geology and a BA
degree in chemistry from Oklahoma
State University and an MS degree
in petroleum engineering from the
University of Oklahoma.
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 144803 Selective Stimulation and
Water Control in High-Water-Cut Wells:
Case Histories From Upper Magdalena
Valley Basin in Colombia by E. Rodriguez,
Ecopetrol, et al.
SPE 154257 Acidizing Optimization:
Monterey Shale, California by Rakesh
Trehan, Halliburton, et al.
SPE 143942 Sandstone Reservoir
Stimulation Using High-Temperature
Deep-Penetrating Acid by Puyong Feng,
China Oilfield Services, et al.
SPE 148835 Fracture-Stimulation
Diagnostics in Horizontal Wells Using DTS
by M. Tabatabaei, Texas A&M University,
et al.
SPE 152320 Stimulation in Wells With
Electrical Submersible Pumps Increases
Production and Saves Costs Without
Damaging Pumps by M. Gallegos,
Schlumberger, et al.
90
WELL STIMULATION
Well stimulation continues to be a hot topic in our industry, particularly with hydrau-
lic fracturing of shales. Having been in the industry since the Dark Ages, (at least, it
seems like it at times), it is interesting to see the technology changes over time and
what areas are currently in the spotlight. Certainly, hydraulic fracturing continues to
lead the industry interest; however, we do pump a lot of acid, and we have not forgot-
ten its importance. Our acid blends have not changed much since the very early days
the late 1800sof acidizing. Hydrochloric acid has been the mainstay, with primarily
hydrofluoric acid and formic and acetic acids being the complimenting acids. Specialty
acids, such as phosphonic, sulfamic, and others, have also been playing a role.
Major technology developments in nonproppant-fracturing well stimulation, as
evidenced by the numerous publications over the last few years, have been primarily
in carbonate acidizing. This is a continuing trend brought about by the significance of
the carbonates to the worlds oil supply. However, our industry does use a lot of acid
in the noncarbonates. One of those areas is in spearheading fracturing treatments to
reduce near-wellbore tortuosity, most of these in sands and shales. My experience with
this approach in horizontal shale wells has not always been successful; however, one of
the papers selected for this months feature shows a unique acid blend that has shown
some success in tight-gas-sand fracturing. Perhaps this and other unique acid blends
could provide increased success in shales.
Horizontal wells in all reservoir types are now quite common, allowing our indus-
try to exploit lesser-quality reservoirs economically. Shales are excellent examples.
Many reservoirs have a high water cut, and stimulating wells in these reservoirs can
be a real challenge. Acid-placement techniques, as well as diagnostics while acidiz-
ing, are a significant challenge to our industry. Of course, in our industry, challenges
beget solutions. A recent development helping with well stimulation and production
diagnostics is distributed temperature sensing (DTS) and distributed acoustic sens-
ing (DAS). From reviewing numerous technical papers from worldwide SPE meetings
held in the last year or so, the development and application of DTS and DAS appear to
be in the forefront. Two of the papers selected for this months feature reflect on these
developments and applications.
Readers are advised to review the following synopsized papers as well as the
recommended additional reading to gain information on recent advancements in
wellstimulation. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
Combined Smart-Chemical System and
Real-Time Temperature Sensing: A Case Study

A case study is presented of a matrix-

acidizing treatment whereby the
combination of a smart fluid in a
knowledge of, and control over, where
the acid will flow during the treatment,
with no means of avoiding stimulation of
from chemical stimulation by temporar-
ily plugging it with a smart fluid.

stimulation treatment pumped through the water zones. Temporary Water Isolation
coiled-tubing (CT) with real-time Real-time DTS had not been used The treatment had two objectivesmax-
distributed-temperature-sensing (DTS) to evaluate the effectiveness of tempo- imizing the oil-production rate and min-
technology helped improve the real-time rary isolation and subsequent stimula- imizing the water cut. To increase oil
decision process of fluid placement, tion; however, real-time DTS has been production, the oil-rich Zone-1 reservoir
temporary-plugging placement, and used with matrix-acidizing treatments to must be matrix acidized, while acid must
treatment-efficiency evaluation. To evaluate zonal coverage. The approach be prevented from penetrating the Zone-
facilitate on-site decision making, a presented here enables engineers to deal 2 reservoir. Also, uniform acid coverage
temperature-inversion technique was with the uncertainty of predicting fluid is desired in Zone 1 to ensure stimulation
used to translate the actual-temperature placement along the well and to act in real of the whole production interval.
profiles into fluid-invasion profiles time following the interpretation of the
across the horizontal openhole section DTS logs recorded during the treatment. Preliminary Design. The preliminary
of the well. Also, full-scale acid- design consisted of using 1-in. CT with
placement and thermal modeling is Background an enclosed DTS system to acid stimu-
proposed to perform in-depth post- The horizontal well produces oil from a late Zone 1 from the CS to the boundary
treatment evaluation. formation with porosity in the 155% between Zones 1 and 2 (Z1-2) at 3277-m
range. It produces from an openhole sec- MD with 15 wt% HCl, and to apply a
tion 2720 m deep, with the casing shoe selective, nonacidic, viscoelastic gel as
Introduction (CS) at a measured depth (MD) of 2887 m acid diverter from Z1-2 to TD. The visco-
The South Umm Gudair field, discov- and a total depth (TD) of 3343 m. elastic gel, referred to as water-blocking
ered in 1966, is in the neutral zone The well was drilled and completed gel, selectively plugs zones with high
between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It pro- in August 2010. A swabbing test during water saturation, forcing acid to enter
duces mainly from the Ratawi oolite, a the completion indicated poor productiv- zones with high oil saturation. This non-
Lower Cretaceous reservoir, by a water- ity, with water being the dominant phase. polymeric nonparticulate aqueous sys-
drive mechanism. The drilling-and- Therefore, chemical stimulation was per- tem gels in water-saturated matrices or
completion strategy has evolved from formed. During the stimulation design, fissures, but not in the oil-rich zones. To
simple vertical wells to horizontal wells the decision was made to split the hole optimize zonal coverage of the acid above
to maximize reservoir contact and to section into two partsZone 1 and Zone Z1-2, another surfactant-based diverter,
minimize the producing water cut. Over 2. Zone 1, with relatively higher resistiv- referred to as self-diverting acid, was
time, an increase in the water cut is ity and heterogeneity, was considered used in stages with the acid. This self-
inevitable. The task of performing an the primary zone of interest. Zone 2, diverting acid contained 17 wt% HCl.
efficient stimulation, which is required with lower resistivity and higher poros-
for improving the wells production, ity, was suspected to contribute water. Final design. The true nature of carbon-
becomes more challenging without It then was decided to exclude Zone 2 ate formations and how they connect
to the wellbore are revealed only when
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights the treatment fluids are pumped. Typi-
cally, carbonates are heterogeneous and
of paper SPE 154387, A New Methodology for Stimulation of a High-Water-Cut
may be fissured. Their damage distribu-
Horizontal Oil Well Through the Combination of a Smart-Chemical System With Real-
tion may not be well understood, and
Time Temperature Sensing: A Case Study of South Umm Gudair Field, PZ Kuwait, by the injectivity profile may be difficult
A. Al-Najim and A. Zahedi, Chevron; T. Al-Khonaini and A.I. Al-Sharqawi, Kuwait to predict. Therefore, uncertainty must
Gulf Oil; and P.M.J. Tardy, SPE, A.R. Adil, SPE, I. Nugraha, P. Ramondenc, SPE, and be considered when designing an acid
F.S. Al-Hadyani, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2012 SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing & treatment. One approach to deal with
Well Intervention Conference & Exhibition, The Woodlands, Texas, 2728 March. The such uncertainty in real time is based
paper has not been peer reviewed. on the use of CT and DTS to identify the

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

JPT JUNE 2012 91

 Baseline DTS Preflush DTS
2900 15 min 30 min
2950
3000
3050
Measured Depth, m
3100
3150
3200
3250
3300
347 348 349 350 351 346 347 348 349 350
Temperature, K Temperature, K
Fig. 1The five DTS sets acquired for the whole treatment during their associated shut-in times. The blue
trace is the first DTS set, the red trace is the last DTS set, and the black traces are intermediate DTS sets.
fluid-placement profile during interme-
diate shut-in periods. It was decided that
the actual spotting volumes and posi-
tion of the acid and self-diverting acid
would be decided on site on the basis of
observed injectivity profiles.
Real-Time and
Post-Treatment Evaluation
During each shut-in period, DTS profiles
were acquired, processed, and sent to be
processed by a DTS inversion that yields
the fluid-placement profile. On the basis
of the interpretation, corrective actions
could be taken in subsequent treatment
steps with the goal of optimizing the
treatment objective. In particular, iden-
tifying thief zones from the DTS profiles
acquired after the acid-wash step was
key to define the zones where the self-
diverting acid must be squeezed. Inter-
pretation of a given DTS set required that
all previous treatments be simulated with
the DTS inversion algorithm and that
interpretation is possible. The later the
DTS survey, the more complicated it is to
interpret, because it depends on the com-
92
Acid-Wash DTS Main-Treatment DTS
1 hr
Zone 1
Zone 2
347 348 349 350 351 352 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352
Temperature, K Temperature, K
plex history of previous fluid placements.
DTS sets may be analyzed independently
only if very long shut-ins (tens of hours)
occur between them, but in practice this
cannot be achieved.
Baseline. During the initial trip in the
hole to TD, brine was circulated at
0.25 bbl/min. Approximately 19 bbl was
pumped while the CT was between the
CS and TD, and an unknown amount may
have invaded the formation during that
time. Acquisition of the baseline DTS pro-
files started 17 minutes after the pump
was stopped, with CT at TD, and lasted
for 15 minutes. The temperature values
on the DTS survey (Fig. 1) suggest that
the near-wellbore region cooled down
by approximately 1 K at TD and 45 K
at the CS. Such gradients are typical and
are influenced by the time interval dur-
ing which the formation is exposed to
a cooler fluid. The inversion algorithm
indicates a fluid-invasion profile. Two
zones appear to have taken some of the
fluid (approximately 6 bbl) where high-
er temperature gradients were observed
Post-Flush DTS
2 hr 1 hr
343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350
Temperature, K
on the DTS profiles. The inversion sug-
gests that the observed warm-back rate
is explained more by the formation cool-
ing under conduction during the trip in
the hole than by fluid invasion. Given the
short shut-in, the inversion result must
be considered with care, but it seems rea-
sonable to conclude that a low volume of
fluid was being injected during the trip in
the hole.
Preflush pumping started approxi-
mately 20 minutes after the last baseline
DTS profile was acquired. The pump-
ing and CT pull-out-of-hole/run-in-hole
sequence lasted approximately 2 hours,
during which only 16 bbl of preflush
could be injected.
During the acid wash, an inert fluid,
the water-blocking gel, was pumped
into Zone 2 and acid was pumped into
Zone 1. The DTS inversion algorithm
requires that only a single fluid, either
inert or acidic, be pumped at one time.
To perform the inversion, the two-part
openhole section was used and it was
assumed that acid and gel did not mix
during injection. It was assumed that the
JPT JUNE 2012
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 gel plugged the water zone efficiently,
asdesigned.
On the basis of the acid-wash DTS
interpretation, it was decided to spot
the self-diverting acid in the largest thief
zone between 3150 and 3250 m. The
main treatment consisted of spotting
20bbl of the water-blocking gel in Zone 2
while pulling out of the hole and spotting
10 bbl of spacer near Z1-2.
The main-treatment DTS profiles
then were acquired during a 2-hour shut-in
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period. The inversion process could be per-
formed only in Zone 1 because it had not
yet been performed in Zone 2 for the acid-
wash DTS. Therefore, the full sequence
of events in Zone 2 is lost and inversion
could not be undertaken there. The inver-
sion results for Zone 1 showed a striking
feature of the new zonal coverage: a new
thief zone between 2970 and 3010m. The
zone between 3150 and 3200 m, where
the self-diverting acid was spotted, was
still visible but was dwarfed by the newly
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observed zone, suggesting that the self-
diverting acid successfully blocked the
intended zone and promoted diversion
into the newly observed zone. The zone
between 3025 and 2050 m was still visible,
and the zone between 3080 and 3130 m,
which was visible on the acid-wash DTS,
then appeared to be more significant and
may have benefited from diversion.
In Zone 1, the DTS inversion algo-
rithm indicated that a volume of approx-
imately 200 bbl of acid-like fluid was
injected. This volume was 40 bbl less
than the acid volume actually pumped
into Zone 1, but it should not be expected
that the inversion algorithm detect 100%
of the volume of the injected fluid. How-
ever, this suggests that a maximum vol-
ume of 40 bbl of acid could have gone
into Zone 2. While the self-diverting acid
appears to have been efficient for improv-
ing the uniformity of the zonal cover-
age, the analysis of the water-blocking-
gel efficiency is more difficult to evaluate
independently. The DTS signature in Zone
2 did not resemble that observed after the
acid wash and suggests that some acid
may have found its way into Zone 2. It is
difficult to be strongly affirmative on the
blocking efficiency of the water-blocking
gel during the main treatment. It should
be noted that the magnitude of the pres-
sure drops increased by a factor of two
during the main treatment, compared
with the acid wash, and that this may have
promoted flow into Zone2. Unfortunate-
ly, the complete analysis with the acid-
placement simulator was not available at
the time of the writing of this paper.
Post-Flush. Performing a DTS analysis
during a shut-in after the post-flush con-
firmed the uniformity of zonal coverage.
110 bbl of inert post-flush fluid was inject-
ed over a 2-hour period during a pull-out-
of-hole/run-in-hole sequence over the full
length of the openhole section. The first
DTS survey was acquired a half hour after
the pump stopped, with the CT at TD, and
continued for approximately 1 hour. Only
44 of a total of 110bbl pumped could be
accounted for, but only 75 bbl was spotted
above 3250 m where the inversion is per-
formed. This difference may be because
the inversion method is able to detect the
later and cooler injected fluid better than
the early fluid coming out of the CT. Nev-
ertheless, it suggests that some fluid went
JPT JUNE 2012
 2900
Open by acid nature and extent of invasion profiles
2950 effectively.
Open by self-diverng acid Limitations occurred in places
3000 where the temperature evolution was
not large enough during a shut-in
3050 Open by acid
period, and these limitations affected
MD, m

subsequent DTS interpretation at

3100
3150
3200
3250
Acid Wash Main Treatment
Fig. 2Comparison of the relative invasion profiles after acid wash,
main treatment, and post-flush.
into Zone 2. Above 3250 m, the inver-
sion result suggests that the invasion pro-
file is more uniform than before (Fig.2)
and is consistent with the combined pro-
files obtained after the acid wash and
the main treatment. This suggests that
the self-diverting acid provided effective
diversion. A small zone above 3200 m
appeared not to have taken fluid during
post-flush, even though it was shown to
Open by self-diverng acid
Residual plugging by diverter?
Open by acid
Post-Flush
be flowing after the acid wash and the
main treatment. This may have been the
result of the persistent plugging effect of
the diverter at this depth, an effect that
should not last because of the nondamag-
ing nature of the self-diverting acid.
Conclusions
The DTS inversion algorithm
enabled engineers to determine the
theseplaces.
An acid-placement simulator
may help investigate DTS interpretation
in places where the DTS inversion
cannot be performed.
The DTS inversion algorithm
could be improved by inversion
ofaninjection-temperature history
rather than an assumed constant
injection temperature. This may
increase the sensitivity to detect
the early fluid coming out of the
CT. An algorithm for inversion of
injection-temperature history is
underdevelopment.
It is recommended to allow for
a longer shut-in period, in particular
during the baseline stage, to determine
the initial reservoir-temperature profile
more accurately and limit the number
of inversion runs. JPT

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 DTS Technology: Improving Acid Placement

D istributed-temperature sensing
(DTS) is used in wells to determine
the effectiveness of acid treatments.
Concerns include where the acid was
placed in the well, if the acid went where
it was supposed to go, and if the acid
went into the first least-resistive zone
while subsequent zones went untreated.
By use of DTS, it was determined that
information seen at the surface can be
misleading. Surface pressure can be
masked by friction and is, therefore,
not a valid indictor for what occurred
downhole, and diversion can take place
without surface indication. DTS enables
practical real-time adjustment to the
diversion strategy.
Introduction
As fluid flows in or out of the wellbore, it
creates a characteristic thermal-gradient
signature. DTS technology uses a fiber-
optic cable to read temperature in real
time, enabling validation of fluid place-
ment. During production, reservoir fluid
flows from the high-pressure reservoir
into the low-pressure wellbore. Liquid
recovery will result in a warming trend
in the wellbore, while gas recovery will
result in a cooling effect. These basic
characteristics help determine liquid and
gas movement.
Effective fluid placement in the well-
bore is critical for an optimized acid-
treatment design. When determining
fluid flow inside the wellbore, an under-
standing of the geothermal gradient and
the internal Joule-Thomson effect is nec-
essary. Fluid placement and zonal cover-
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
of paper SPE 145055, DTS Sensing: An Emerging Technology Offers Fluid Placement
for Acid, by Robert Reyes, SPE, Gerard Glasbergen, SPE, and Valerie Yeager, SPE,
Halliburton, and Joseph Parrish, Occidental Petroleum, prepared for the 2011 SPE
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, 30 October2 November. The
paper has not been peer reviewed.
age are important for matrix-acidizing
treatments, scale-inhibitor squeeze treat-
ments, water-control treatments, water
injection for enhanced recovery, and
hydraulic-fracturing treatments. Case
studies in this paper concentrate on
matrix acidizing and productionprofiling.
During these acid treatments,
running a diverter involved the use of
surface-pressure response, and the post-
treatment-production improvement
was used to determine if the treatment
was effective. If effectiveness was ques-
tioned, design changes were tried, such
as increasing or decreasing the rate,
changing the percent of acid, and drop-
ping diverters. Use of surface pressure
to determine design changes for the
current well and for the next well was
not sufficiently accurate to make these
determinations effectively. Fluid-friction
pressures in the tubulars are not always
known accurately, and they can affect
the surface pressure, yielding erroneous
bottomhole-pressure calculations. Case
studies revealed that, during the divert-
er stages, the surface pressure might
indicate diversion even though DTS data
showed no diversion had occurred. Sur-
face indicators falsely reported a down-
hole phenomenon because of fluid-
friction pressure. In other case studies,
the diverter was dropped and no surface
indicators of effectiveness were detected.
Again, downhole DTS data revealed the
opposite: Diversion did occur.
Diversion
Diversion of injected fluids attempts to
control the distribution of treating flu-
ids uniformly across a zone or from one
zone to another. Without diversion, fluid
placement tends to occur in zones of
highest permeability, highest acid solu-
bility, or lowest formation pressure. In
the studied fields, typical stimulation
treatments had yielded increased pro-
ductivity, but only for a short period of
time. Large portions of the reservoir
that should have been treated and that
contain a large portion of the reserves
were not treated and had poor connec-
tion to the wellbore, or none. For water
injectors, there were few zones taking
the fluid. In these cases, the goal was to
divert acid across the entire zone and to
remove damage in other places so that
the sweep efficiency could be improved.
The basic understanding of diver-
sion treatments is that the original flow
distribution across the treated interval
should be altered to provide a more near-
ly equal fluid distribution. If new fluids
are put into the same areas that were pre-
viously acidized, stimulated, or swept,
then there is incomplete zonal coverage.
The result is incomplete damage remov-
al, no contact with additional hydrocar-
bon reserves, and ineffective use of the
stimulation budget. The diversion meth-
od that is best suited for a particular situ-
ation depends on many factors, including
type of well completion, perforation den-
sity, type of fluid produced or injected
after the treatment, casing and cement-
sheath integrity, bottomhole tempera-
ture, and bottomhole pressure.
Well Candidates
and DTS Numbers
The DTS number is the number of times
a temperature anomaly was shown in
the completed interval. In this case, the
flow rate would be constant from the
surface to the bottom of the comple-
tion. Tracking such a disturbance in the
temperature profile across the complet-
ed interval is one of the main methods

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

96 JPT JUNE 2012

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 104
DTS ProfilePrior
Geothermal
Temperature, F 102
100
98
96
94
92
5,400
Radius, in.
10
5
0
5
10
5,400
Fig. 1Pretreatment profile: yellow curvegeothermal baseline; blue curvetemperature with injection-
fluid influence.
for flow-distribution quantification. It is,
therefore, required that the anomaly be
visible in at least three temperature pro-
files over time. A DTS number that is larg-
er than 2.5 will fulfill this requirement,
even in a scenario in which all fluid flows
to the lastperforation.
In the campaign, it was planned to
have an inventory of wells accessed and
ranked by the DTS experts according
to an order of magnitude for candidate
strength. A well would rank high in the
candidate-selection process if DTS anal-
ysis revealed an answer to fluid place-
ment. In contrast, a well would score low
if analysis revealed it was more difficult
or impossible to quantify flow percent-
age. Parameters that affected the candi-
date selection were treatment injection
rate, length of the zone of interest, open-
hole or perforated zone, and perforation
spread. A DTS number was calculated to
determine candidate strength quickly.
Case Histories
GLDU 33. Well GLDU 33, in Andrews
County, Texas, was a water injector with
two sets of perforated intervals totaling
280 ft. The treatment was a matrix-acid
process with a polymer diverter. DTS was
deployed inside capillary tubing. This
well had been on long-term water injec-
tion. The retrievable DTS system was
98
T<1F
5,600 5,800 6,000
5,600 5,800 6,000
Measured Depth, ft
deployed into the well before the acid
treatment. Fig. 1 shows a pretreatment-
temperature profile, which can be used
to determine long-term water injection.
The tubing showed a quick temper-
ature restoration, the casing showed a
slow restoration (first dotted line, 5,550
to 5,900 ft), and the liner showed a
medium restoration (second dotted line,
5,900 to 6,249 ft). Analysis indicated
that a more-delayed temperature resto-
ration would occur at the bottom perfo-
rations compared with that expected in
the upper regions. This analysis indicat-
ed that much water had been injected.
Limited and delayed temperature res-
toration was observed at the top per-
forations compared with the expected
temperature restoration. On the basis of
many thermal tracers, a flow distribu-
tion over time is shown in Fig. 2, indi-
cating that a clear and sustained diver-
sion occurred. The dramatic changes in
flow fraction percentage were a result
ofdiversion.
Initially, it was observed that almost
all fluid was placed in the bottom set of
perforations (the high-pressure zone),
which could have been a result of the top
set of perforations being heavily dam-
aged. While acid was flowing to the bot-
tom perforations, some of the top perfo-
rations were treated, removing damage.
T:
46F
6,200
6,200
Then, the diverter stage was inject-
ed into the bottom perforations, forc-
ing more acid into the top and, there-
fore, more diversion to the top. Damage
was removed, and a lower-pressure zone
opened, forcing more treatment to the
top. No pressure increase at the sur-
face was evident during the treatment.
The diverter and acid opened up a low-
pressure zone, causing the well to be in
better balance.
Denver Unit 5816. Denver Unit 5816 is a
producer in the Wassom field in Yoakum
County, Texas. The San Andres forma-
tion is perforated from 4,875 to 5,125ft,
and the well was completed in August
1981. The well is open hole from 5,135 to
5,226 ft. The well was cased to 5,135 ft.
The treatment was pumped down 2-in.
tubing, with a packer set at 4,750 ft.
The acid/diverter treatment was
designed as 17% hydrochloric acid (HCl)
in 2,000-, 3,000-, and 4,000-gal stages,
with diversion between each acid stage.
The diversion strategy was to begin
with 1- and then change to 1.5-lbm/gal
coarse rock salt pumped in gelled satu-
rated brine. DTS data would be used to
determine if diversion occurred. If no
diversion occurred, the operator would
proceed to a polymer diverter and then
go back to acid. A 22-month production
JPT JUNE 2012
 Surface Pressure, psi/Flow Rate, B/D
Fig. 2Flow-distribution changes over time. Crossflow indicated a high-pressure zone at the top of
the bottom set of perforations. Therefore, fluid flowed out of the reservoir at the top of the bottom
perforations and moved to a portion of the formation with lower pressurethe top perforations.
survey observed average production of
oil, water, and gas with an annual oil-
production increase of 80% for 2009.
Acid was placed in the region above
5,000 ft with ease. With much effort by
way of diversion strategies, as much as
20% of the fluid placement (1.35 bbl/min)
was placed below this depth for a short
time period. Acid did not reach the bot-
tom perforations. The assumption was
that all previous acid treatments must
have treated the region above 5,000 ft,
which was observed as the least-resistive
region and, historically, had taken all of
the acid treatment. Although more diver-
sion was desired, by use of DTS analy-
sis there appeared to be some acid/fluid
placement below the 5,000-ft region. In
the future, possibly with more divert-
er volume, a more-aggressive diversion
would be achieved. Real-time DTS did
indicate that, by use of a diverter strate-
gy, some acid was diverted into the more-
resistive region.
Midland Farms Unit 507. Midland
Farms Unit 507 is an injector well in
Andrews County, Texas. The Grayburg
formation is completed open hole from
4,697 to 4,804 ft and is a dolomite lithol-
ogy. Casing is set at 4,697 ft, and the
acid treatment was down 2-in. tub-
ing with a packer at 4,593 ft. The treat-
JPT JUNE 2012
Time, hour:minute:second
ment design was to pump down the tub-
ing at 1 bbl/min. A step-rate test would
determine fracture pressure, and then
the rate would be adjusted to pump the
matrix treatments for the well. Three
acid stages were designed to use 28%
HCl because a high-concentration acid
would achieve better dissolving capabili-
ty in the cool dolomite. Polymer diverter
was used between the acid stages.
Temperature increases in the well-
bore, caused by exothermic heat of reac-
tion, were observed. This phenomenon
has been rare, and the authors have seen
it only when injecting fluids with high
HCl concentrations in openhole comple-
tions with low flow rates. In such a case,
no wormholing occurs, and the HCl/car-
bonate reaction takes place at the surface
of the formation.
Post-treatment average injection
into the well increased by 104 bbl/min at
71 psi less pressure. The injection index
went from 74 to 97%. The job sum-
mary indicated acid stimulation from
4,720 to 4,740 ft. A small percentage of
acid went to 4,700 ft in the beginning
and at the end of the procedure. There
were flow-distribution changes, indi-
cating that some diversion had taken
place. Overall, it was observed that the
polymer diverter did not work as well
as desired. An increase in diverter vol-
ume would have improved the treat-
ment. Wormholing reduced the effect
of the diversion mechanism. Lessons
learned were to take more diverter to
location than designed, in the event that
DTS data indicate more diverter is need-
ed, and that use of diversion before
wormholing would have made diversion
moreeffective.
Conclusions
Surface pressure can be masked
by friction and, therefore, is not a valid
indicator for what occurred downhole.
Diversion can take place without
surface indication.
Surface-pressure response can be
a false indication of diversion.
Rock salt does not always work
and, in most designs, will show an early
indication of success, but diversion will
be lost as acid reaches its destination.
Polymer diversion fluids used
in these cases seemed to work more
reliably, but sufficient product must be
on location to allow volume changes as
the treatment progresses.
DTS enables practical adjustment
to the diversion strategy while the
treatment is in progress.
Candidate selection by use of
the DTS-number process is highly
recommended. JPT
99
 Phosphonic/Hydrofluoric Acid: Tortuosity
Remediation for Fracturing Treatments

T ortuosity is one of the biggest

challenges for shale and tight
gas hydraulic-fracturing treatments,
leading to high near-wellbore frictional
pressure loss, premature screenouts,
reduced treating rates, and poor
Fig. 1Example of multiple fractures and tortuosity.
production results. A new solution
demonstrated substantial success in
overcoming particularly stubborn shown in Fig. 1. Later, the fracture will ing in a smaller-than-expected fracture
tortuosity problems. The method reach its natural direction, according to or in early screenout. Such screenouts
builds on the use of a nondamaging, the formations stress orientation. Every might also be caused directly by tortuos-
single-stage phosphonic-/hydrofluoric- perforation is a potential source of frac- ity because these channels through the
acid system (SAS) for matrix- ture initiation. Many of these fractures rock often are not wide enough for the
stimulationtreatments. will be very small, but some may be large proppant to pass through, causing the
enough to take a significant portion of proppant to bridge and prevent further
the treatment fluid. flow of proppant.
Introduction Despite the artificial-stress envi-
Hydraulic fractures are initiated and ronment generated around the well- Tortuosity
kept open by pressure. The pressure is bore, hydraulic-fracture treatments tend Tortuosity manifests itself as a pres-
transmitted by the pumped fluid, so as to produce a small number of larger sure drop through the near-wellbore
the pumping rate increases, so does the fractures. Because of increased stress- region. Poor-quality perforations or
pressure. Following this process, stress es around the fracture faces, individ- cement isolation also can result in near-
is induced in the rock around the well- ual fractures tend not to join together. wellbore pressure loss. The important
bore. If the pumping rate continues to The stress regime around the fracture issue is that the loss of pressure is real
increase, so does the stress. Eventually, faces can cause fractures to repel each and can account for a substantial por-
a stress limit will be reached at which other. However, with the complex tion of the observed net pressurethe
point the rock can no longer sustain the stresses around the wellbore and per- total net energy available to propagate
applied stress and it fractures. forations, fractures can join together at the fracture. The pressure at the sur-
Over a long perforated interval or some point, connecting through narrow face is driven by the pressures inside the
in deviated wells, fractures can initiate paths, sometimes with bends toward a fracture; therefore, the pressure loss
anywhere, provided that the fluid pres- main large fracture. Therefore, the treat- caused by tortuosity increases the bot-
sure gradient exceeds the fracture gra- ing fluid must flow from a region con- tomhole treating pressure and, hence,
dient, either to initiate fractures or to taining many small narrow fractures to the surface treating pressure. The sur-
reopen natural fractures. Generally, the a region containing a few large fractures. face observer may have a false impres-
rock will fail at its weakest point and In following this path, the fluid must sion that the net pressure is higher than
the fracture will initiate there. However, move through a series of convoluted, the actual value inside the main frac-
if the pressure continues to rise, addi- bending, and narrow fractures (i.e., a ture, especially if the bottomhole treat-
tional fractures may be formed because tortuous path). This tortuosity can pro- ing pressure is calculated from surface
of changes in near-wellbore stress, as duce a significant pressure loss, result- measurements rather than measured
directly at bottom.
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
Identifying Tortuosity. The most wide-
of paper SPE 152624, Phosphonic/Hydrofluoric AcidA Promising New Weapon in
ly used method to identify tortuosity
the Tortuosity-Remediation Arsenal for Fracturing Treatments, by Ricardo Melo, is the rate-step-down test. This tech-
James Curtis, SPE, Julio Gomez, SPE, Alexandre Melo, Fernando Garcia, and nique identifies near-wellbore prob-
Helio Pedrosa, SPE, Baker Hughes, prepared for the 2012 SPE Hydraulic Fracturing lems related to perforation-entry fric-
Technology Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, 68 February. The paper has not tion or fracture-entry friction resulting
been peer reviewed. from limited width in the near-wellbore

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

100 JPT JUNE 2012

 PRODUCTION ENHANCEMENT

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no doubt which will be the
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stimulation service reliably delivers maximized propped
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the AccessFrac service provides full access to complex fracture
networks in unconventional formationssignicantly increasing
your reservoir contact. Indeed, better proppant distribution can
reduce the amount of proppant required and improve efciency. In
addition, the customizable conductivity of the AccessFrac service
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 region. If tortuosity is detected before
the main treatment, it sometimes can
be cured by pumping proppant slugs
or viscous-fluid slugs. In some extreme
cases, because of treatment-pressure
limitations and a very narrow opera-
tional window, it is not possible to apply
these methods.
Traditional Mitigation
Tortuosity can be mitigated by chang-
ing the perforating strategy to reduce the
perforated length; to change the distribu-
SPE Liquids-Rich tion, orientation, and phasing; or to clus-
ter the perforations. Other techniques
Basins Conference: include the use of viscous fluids, use of
high pumping rates to initiate the frac-
ture, use of sand-jet perforating, pump-
New Technology ing proppant slugs (during the analysis
stages or during the main treatment),
for Old Plays and pumping hydrochloric-acid (HCl)
or organic-acid prepads. Each technique
may have a degree or probability of suc-
cess, but, in some cases, the tortuosity
problem persists even after applying one
1920 September 2012, or all of these remedies.
In one case in northeastern Bra-
Midland Convention Center, zil, all of the mentioned options were
attempted without removing the tortu-
Midland, TX, USA osity. A single-step acidizing technology
applied to sandstone formations with no
acid preflush or post-flush was proposed.
SAS Overview
This acid has five hydrogen atoms that
will dissociate under different stoichio-
metric conditions. Mixtures of phos-
phonic acid and ammonium biflouride
produce an ammonium phosphonate
salt and hydrogen fluoride, hereafter
referred as the SAS acid.
The SAS acid has a high pH, approx-
imately 2, and other beneficial proper-
ties. No acidic preflush or post-flush is
needed. In the presence of acid, carbon-
ate minerals are dissolved to release cal-
cium ions that, in turn, react with fluo-
ride ions to produce insoluble calcium
fluoride, which precipitates quickly and
is a potential source of formation dam-
age. Therefore, traditional mud-acid
matrix treatments in sandstone forma-
tions are preceded by a preflush, usu-
ally HCl or other nonfluoride acid, to
www.spe.org/events/lrbc dissolve the carbonates. The preflush is
pumped in sufficient volume to, theo-
retically, remove all carbonates within
With the support
of the SPE Permian
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Basin Section
102
a radius of 2 to 3 ft from the wellbore,
thereby reducing the risk that the main
stages containing hydrofluoric acid (HF)
could contact any carbonate minerals.
The very reactive preflush can open
preferential flow paths through the rock
by dissolution of carbonate, potentially
bypassing other damaged zones. Subse-
quently, the main HF treatment can fol-
low these same flow paths and may not
contact the plugging clays and other sili-
ceous minerals that it is designed to dis-
solve. These treatments are very com-
plex, involving many repeated stages
of preflush, main HF stage, overflush,
and diverter, and it is difficult to ensure
that the correct acid stage enters the
appropriate zone and encounters the
appropriate mineralogy. The result
can be poor zonal coverage, poor dam-
age removal, and creation of unexpect-
ed damage caused by acid/rock incom-
patibilities, resulting, ultimately, in
poorstimulation.
The SAS acid can circumvent this
problem and change the technique of
acidizing. The phosphonic-acid compo-
nent is an effective sequestrant of cal-
cium ions, which prevents subsequent
precipitation of calcium fluoride. Also,
SAS acid is a buffered, high-pH acid sys-
tem, whereas most other systems have
a low pH. Because of the high pH, SAS
acid attacks calcium carbonate slowly
(compared with conventional systems)
and, therefore, it is much less prone to
release calcium ions that would lead to
precipitation of calcium fluoride. Thus,
the SAS acid can, potentially, be used
with no preflush and with minimal risk
of problematic reactions with reservoir
rocks. Such an approach greatly sim-
plifies matrix-acidizing procedures in
sandstone reservoirs, eliminating the
need to pump multiple fluids in a care-
fully choreographed sequence.
Iron is prevalent in the oil field.
While iron is not necessarily a problem
when pumping HF systems, as a result
of the formation of soluble fluoroferrate
complexes, it is very much a problem
when pumping conventional HCl, used
in the preflush. It is preferred that well
tubulars be pickled with a suitable rust
dissolver (e.g., dilute acid) and the string
contents be reversed out, ahead of any
acid treatment on the formation. Even
JPT JUNE 2012
with the use of pickled tubulars, the level of iron in a mineral-
acid preflush can reach several thousand mg/L, requiring the
use of high levels of iron-control agents to avoid precipitation.
The SAS treatment method in a single stage eliminates the use
of a mineral-acid preflush, largely mitigating problems of iron
dissolution and its subsequent precipitation.

Case History: First Treatment

In northeastern Brazil, a two-well multistage project was per-
formed that encountered severe fracture tortuosity. At the first
well, before the SAS-acid trial, many techniques were attempt-
2012 APOGCE
ed to mitigate tortuosity, including proppant slugs, viscous flu-
ids, reperforating, and sand jetting. However, all failed to solve
the problem. The SAS treatment was performed by injecting a
Asia Pacific Oil & Gas
spacer, composed primarily of 3% ammonium chloride, fol- Conference and Exhibition
lowed by 120 bbl of 5% SAS, followed by another spacer of 3%
ammonium chloride; the treatment then was displaced with Providing a Bright Future
2% KCl to the top of perforations. After a 1-hour shutdown,
the treatment was further displaced in 10 stages of 12 bbl each, 2224 October 2012
with an hour shutdown between stages. Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre
An injectivity test, exceeding the fracture gradi- Perth, Australia
ent, was conducted before each acid pumping to evaluate
the injectivity before and after each treatment. After the
SAS treatment, another injectivity test was performed, fol-
lowed by a step-down test to measure the improvement.
The pressure drop at similar rates improved significantly. At
12 bbl/min, the pressure drop was reduced by 700 psi after
the SAS treatment, and at 16 bbl/min, the pressure drop was
reduced by 600 psi.
This formation is a very low-permeability gas reservoir,
with low porosity, high Youngs modulus, and a high frac-
ture gradient. A high pumping pressure was observed on
every stage in the first well. After the first injectivity test,
it was realized that performing the fracture stimulation as
designed would be almost impossible because of the high-
surface-pressure requirements in combination with limita-
tions on the wellhead and well configuration. Although the
plan called for a minimum pump rate of 20 bbl/min to per-
form the job, the maximum achievable rate was no more than
15.6 bbl/min at 12,100 psi. The maximum allowable surface
pressure was 12,500 psi. After the SAS treatment, signifi-
cant pressure decreases were observed, allowing increases in
pump rates to the designed level while holding pressures to
the levels seen before the SAS treatment.

Conclusions
The SAS method at fracturing conditions proved
effective in overcoming tortuosity problems and in reducing
treating pressures significantly.
Significant pressure improvements were obtained in 21
of 22 fracture stages in which the SAS-pretreatment technique
was used.
No problems with formation mineralogy have been
detected in the wells studied for this paper.
The SAS-pretreatment technique is a promising
method to improve hydraulic-fracturing treatments in tight or
unconventional gas formations with tortuosity problems. JPT

JPT JUNE 2012 103

 TECHNOLOGY
FOCUS
Casey McDonough,
SPE, is a drilling
engineer for
Chesapeake
Operating. He has
7 years of practical
drilling experience
working in the Permian Basin and
with the Barnett and Marcellus shale.
McDonough has nearly 20 years of
combined consulting, managerial,
technical, and field experience in the
oil and gas industry. He has worked as
a consultant for Knowledge Systems,
providing clients with pore-pressure
and wellbore-stability studies.
McDonough also held technical and
managerial positions in downhole
logging-while-drilling development
for Dresser and Halliburton, where
he contributed to density, neutron,
vibration, and hot-hole technology. He
began his career as a field engineer for
Sperry Sun Drilling Services and holds
a BS degree in industrial engineering
from the University of Oklahoma.
McDonough serves on the JPT
EditorialCommittee.
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 147747 Quantification of Drillstring-
Integrity-Failure Risk Using Real-Time
Vibration Measurements by Yezid Arevalo,
Schlumberger, et al.
SPE 146959 Stability Analysis of Pipe
With Connectors in Horizontal Wells
by Guohua Gao, Shell, et al.
SPE 146344 Development of Ball-and-
Pocket Gripping Technology To Overcome
Slip Handling Limitations by Justin Jarski,
Canrig Drilling Technology, et al.
SPE 148516 Post-Expansion
Characterization of Expandable Tubular:
Progress and Challenges by T. Pervez,
Sultan Qaboos University, et al.
104
WELLBORE
TUBULARS
We wear small bands on our fingers for many reasons. The rings have many mean-
ings; the wedding ring may be the most common. This band, signifying no beginning
or end, represents a union or reminds the wearer that he or she is married. It is tradi-
tionally worn on the left hand, on the vena amoris, the digit that the Romans believed
was connected directly to the heart. Puzzle rings, or gimmel bands, are another type
of ring used as wedding bands that has dual meanings. The word gimmel comes
from the Latin gemellus and means twin or paired. Engaged couples would each
wear one piece of the puzzle ring and, upon marriage, join the two bands with another
provided by the priest. Once joined, the bands formed a puzzle that, if removed, was
difficult to piece back together. Deceit that led to infidelity was made more difficult
because the wearer might not be able to put the puzzle back together. Wedding rings
have different traditions in eastern and western cultures, but they always hold a strong
mental connection for the wearers.
Rings also tie us to our accomplishments or recollections. School rings and cham-
pionship rings can tie us to a collegiate career or a significant athletic accomplish-
ment. The purpose of these rings is to remember. I have always been inspired by a
tradition that many Canadian engineers have of wearing an iron ring. The ring is worn
on the little finger of the engineers dominant hand so that, when writing or tasking
with the dominant hand, the engineer is reminded of his or her obligations. The tradi-
tion holds that the iron in the ring came from a bridge that failed and cost many lives.
The ring is small and is designed to be a constant reminder. The tradition continues
when the engineer retires; the ring is returned to service as an experienced ring.
Preventing failures in our field is imperative for safety and economic opera-
tion. Learning from these failures, properly documenting and remembering them,
is important for avoiding catastrophes. We may engineer a process, a method, or a
particular part to reduce failures and enhance operations. Solid-expandable-tubular
technology is a fairly new technology that is gaining more promising and important
applications in oil- and gas-wellbore design. Constant improvements to the deploy-
ment of this technology are increasing its reliability and number of applications. Heat
treatment of the expansion-cone material used in an expanding tubular is one such
modification. The drillpipe-connection phase of the drilling operation can be one of
the greater opportunities for failures and mishaps. An improperly handled connec-
tion procedure can damage drillpipe; stick a drillstring; and, in the case of managed-
pressure drilling, induce an unwanted influx. One of the selected papers reviews a
database of drillpipe-connection damage, and another reviews a method for making
connections in the managed-pressure environment. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
Safe Drillpipe Connections During
Managed-Pressure-Drilling Operations

M anaged-pressure drilling (MPD) is

effective for controlling equivalent
circulating density (ECD). However,
making a drillpipe connection with Rig Pumps Off
MPD is more challenging than with
Circulate Circulate
conventional drilling. A method was
developed for smoothly diverting rig-
pump flow during connections from the
standpipe to the MPD pressure-control Flow Rate
equipment at the annulus by use of a Ramp Rig Ramp Rig
Pumps Down Pumps Up
valve manifold with an onboard choke.
This method can improve pressure
control and increase the operating range
of MPD to provide higher pressures
during connections and greater drilling Ramp Down 3rd
Ramp Up 3rd
flow rates. Pressure Pump
Pressure Pump

Time
Introduction
The use of MPD enables accurate, pre-
cise, and dynamic bottomhole-pressure Fig. 1BPP technique of making a connection during MPD.
(BHP) control. Current MPD technolo-
gy incorporates automated-choke (auto- significant is the drillpipe-connection tional pressure loss (or dynamic pres-
choke) systems coupled with real-time phase. Because of the regular frequen- sure) that may be affected by flow rates,
hydraulics models to provide engineered cy and highly dynamic nature of mak- fluid rheologies, pipe movements, or geo-
control within set limits. However, there ing connections, effects on the BHP metric restrictions; and applied surface
is a common misperception that current can be significant, and if not managed pressure (backpressure) at the annulus
MPD systems can provide the same con- effectively, they can negate the benefits returns line. Automated MPD technology
sistent level of accuracy and precision in achieved by MPD. In the worst case, they actively manipulates the applied surface
all phases of drilling. The most-accurate can lead to unintentional induced kicks. pressure by means of the autochoke to
control usually is attained only in lim- The rig-pump diverter (RPD) addresses control the BHP within a desired range.
ited technical windows, such as the on- this problem directly and provides an This control relies on a continuous sta-
bottom drilling phase in which steady- improved level of control and efficiency ble pressure source. While drilling, this
state conditions enable more-accurate on connections. source is the rig pumps and it is throttled
evaluation and prediction. by the autochokes to apply the desired
All MPD systems have struggled Background surface pressure. The challenge arises
with periods in a drilling operation that The BHP (downhole pressure at a datum) when the rig pumps are switched off, as
usually involve a variety of transient consists primarily of hydrostatic pres- in the case of connections. During this
(startup/shutdown) behaviors. The most sure of the annular mud column; fric- scenario, the loss of rig pumps equates to
loss of frictional (or dynamic) pressure,
which in turn causes a reduction of BHP
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
(if not managed properly). The aim of
of paper SPE 147278, Field Demonstration of a New Method for Making Drillpipe
MPD technology is to maintain a constant
Connections During Managed-Pressure-Drilling Operations, by Rachel Johnson, BHP by increasing the surface pressure
Halliburton; Julio Montilva, SPE, Shell; Mohamed Sati, Jeff Grable, and Saad proportionally, accounting for the lost
Saeed, SPE, Halliburton; and Richard Billa and William Derise, Shell, prepared dynamic pressure. Without a pressure
for the 2011 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, 30 October source, increased surface pressure can
2 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed. be achieved only by pressure-trapping

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

JPT JUNE 2012 105


unconventional
wisdom
SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition
810 October 2012 San Antonio, Texas, USA
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
www.spe.org/atce/2012
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Standpipe
Blend Valve
Standpipe Diverter Skid
Valve
Kill Valve
Rig Pumps
Active Tank
Fig. 2Simple flow diagram of the RPD method.
techniques. Several alternative schemes
have been used to remedy this problem,
with the most popular providing an alter-
native pressure source (on the annulus)
that is used to drive the autochoke (in
the absence of rig flow rate) and, in turn,
apply the required surfacepressure.
This alternative setup uses an addi-
tional dedicated pump, commonly
referred to as the backpressure pump
(BPP), which is connected in the annulus
returns line upstream of the autochoke
system. The BPP provides a continuous
and stable independent pressure source
in the absence of the rig pump and is used
by the autochoke system to apply the
required surface pressure.
With the BPP method, the rig pumps
are shut off or ramped down, while the
BPP is turned on or ramped up. The sys-
tem traps the amount of frictional pres-
sure loss caused by the ramping down
of one pump and the ramping up of
another against the automated MPD
choke manifold, as shown in Fig. 1. The
result is a delicate balance that attempts
to synchronize two separate operators
and pieces of equipment, while main-
taining a set pressure point with the
MPDmanifold.
The pressure fluctuations result-
ing from ramping pumps up and down
MPD Autochoke
Skid
can cause pressure spikes. These pres-
sure spikes can result in oscillation of
the MPD chokes as they try to regain
pressure control and could lead to well
breathing. This situation is especially
apparent when drilling with a more-
compressible fluid, such as an oil-based
mud. Although other methods are used
to make a connection during MPD, the
BPP demonstrates some of the issues that
exist with any of the currentmethods.
Concept
To address the concerns, the following
items were set as the impetus for the use
of the RPD method in conjunction with
MPD technology.
Successfully and safely make
drillpipe connections by use of a fully
automated RPD method that uses
the rig pump, achieving a smooth
connection with a pressure variation no
greater than 30-psi while maintaining
a connection time of less than
10minutes.
Divert flow smoothly from the
annulus to the flow-diverting process
equipment without creating a pressure
spike or dip in MPD control.
Close the standpipe valve,
isolating the standpipe and enabling
the operator to make a connection
JPT JUNE 2012
 400

350

gal/min 300

250

200

150

100

50

0
19:45:00 19:47:53 19:50:46 19:53:38 19:56:31 19:59:24
Rig-Pump Rate Injection Rate RPD Flow Rate Choke Flow Rate

Fig. 3Typical connection made by use of the RPD method, showing the flow rates.

while holding the desired backpressure
on thewell.
Smoothly redivert flow to the
annulus, and continue with drill-ahead
and standard MPD operations.
Implement a fully automated
diversion process and well control by
use of a hydraulics model.
Drill the production hole with
MPD with the lowest possible ECD,
to minimize nonproductive time
by reducing drilling duration and to the rig and existing MPD equipment.
minimizing such problems as kicks, The manifold comprises an onboard
losses, and stuck-pipe events. choke, valves, sensors, pneumatic-control
panel, and remote data-input/-output
RPD (I/O) devices. The unit has two inlet-flow
During MPD operations, the RPD sys- connections that tie the RPD into the rig
tem diverts the rig-pump flow from the standpipe, and two outlet-flow connec-
drillpipe to the annular side of the well to tions. The first outlet connects the RPD
enable the driller to make a connection to the MPD equipment; the second outlet
while maintaining backpressure on the connects the RPD to the pits to bleed off
well. Fig. 2 shows how the RPD connects the standpipe during a connection and to

S P E / A P P E A I n t e r n at i o n a l C o n fe r e n c e
on Health, Safety and Environment
I N O I L & G A S E X P LO R AT I O N A N D P R O D U C T I O N

Pr o t e c t in g Peo p le and th e E nv i ro n m e n t - Evo l v i n g C h a l l en ge s

11-13 SEPTEMBER 2012

Per th Convention and Exhibition Centre
Per t h , Au s tral i a

CO-ORGANISERS H O S T O R G A N I S AT I O N

108 JPT JUNE 2012

bleed off the RPD manifold itself after a
connection has beenmade.
Data Acquisition and Control
The piping, valves, and choke form only
half of the RPD technology. Automation
and control are implemented by an array
of specialized components. Raw data are
acquired at the sensor level and transmit-
ted to a remote I/O box (by a wired con-
nection). The remote I/O box then sends
this information to a master programma-
ble-logic controller (PLC), usually on the
autochoke skid. The master PLC forwards
the information to a computer-based
human/machine interface and software
control system. The control system inte-
grates hydraulic knowledge with the
procedural connection steps. It calcu-
lates the required wellhead-pressure set
point dynamically (required to maintain
a specific BHP during all phases of drill-
ing) and functions as a state machine by
dividing the connection into several pre-
defined steps, enabling progression only
after all checks and balances are met.
The control system tracks the state of the
connection and determines an appropri-
ate control action (i.e., balancing BHP
requirements with operational consid-
erations). This decision is sent to the
master PLC, which transfers the deci-
sion to the remote I/O box. The remote
I/O box forwards the received command
to the pneumatic-control panel, where
the electrical signal is converted to a
pneumatic pulse, which in turn actuates
the appropriate valve or choke. Care-
ful sequencing of the data and control
signals enables a completely automat-
ed connection (diversion process), with
minimal rig intervention.
Process
To make a connection with the RPD, the
software cycles the system through the
series of steps in three phases: divert-
ing flow from the standpipe, making a
connection, and rediverting flow to the
standpipe to prepare for standard opera-
tions. Each diversion sequence requires
only three manual operations, which lim-
its interaction with the driller. In many
cases, the rig-pump rate can be main-
tained constant throughout drilling oper-
ations and the connection sequences,
JPT JUNE 2012
which reduces the workload for the MPD
operator and driller.
Fig. 3 shows an example of the use Got leaking wells?
of the RPD to make a connection. The
important variables in this model are MetalPatch it!
wellhead-pressure set point (pressure
MetalPatch restores the integrity of
value that the hydraulics model requires your well with a single trip solution.
the MPD equipment to hold on the annu-
lus at different points during the con- Cement squeezes are now a thing of
nection to maintain the desired ECD) the past. MetalPatch seals off the
and choke pressure (actual pressure problem area with minimal loss of
inner diameter, providing maximum
value that the MPD equipment is hold- production and wellbore access.
ing on the well). Because of the loss of
resistance as the flow is diverted (i.e., Some applications of the MetalPatch
no longer going down the entire drill- include:
string), the hydraulics model increas-


o Perforation shut off
es the set-point pressure that the MPD

o Connection / Collar leaks
system must hold on the well. Note that

o Parted casing
after the diversion begins, the hydraulics

o Casing corrosion
model and, therefore, the set-point pres-

o Leaking or failed sliding sleeve
sure are updated continuously.

o Economically Re-line entire well
Results
On the trial wells, the MPD/RPD sys-
tem maintained a constant BHP in all
drilling stages and could adjust the BHP
rapidly according to well conditions. Trouble MetalPatch
Zone System
Although some positive drilling results
were a reflection only of MPD use, RPD
technology had an immediate and over-
all positive effect on drilling opera-
tions. Successful implementation of the
RPD method in south Texas included
thefollowing:
Depleted Shut Off
No nonproductive time from Zone Perfs
kicks or loss events
Connections successfully
performed and repeated by use
of theRPD method, with minimal
pressuredeviations
The desired pressure control
maintained during connections with a
Re-Frac
smooth diversion to and from the RPD Zone
manifold and the MPD chokes, which
held a constant BHP as designed to limit
influxes, losses, and formation damage
Mud losses reduced to a
negligible amount
Nonproductive time reduced
anda quick and safe rig-up process
enabled by sufficient planning and
training of personnel 1160 West 26th Street
No health, safety, or Houston, Texas 77008
(713) 956-7473
environmental incidents reported info@mohawkenergy.com
because of the diligent safety
programsin place JPT
109
 Expansion-Cone Material:
Heat-Treatment Effects

T o withstand repeated high-level

thermomechanical stresses,
expansion-cone material must have
Ultimate
Expansion
specific properties. This work covered window Plastic region
heat treatment and mechanical testing Yield
of tensile and impact specimens of
American Iron and Steel Institute
(AISI) D6 (DIN 1.2436) tool steel. The

Stress
heat-treatment process comprises
annealing, hardening/austenitizing, air
or oil quenching, and single or double Elastic region

tempering. Mechanical testing includes Strain

hardness, tensile properties (elastic
modulus, yield strength, ultimate Fig. 1Diagram and principle of tubular expansion with a conical mandrel.
strength, and ductility), and impact
strength. An optimal heat-treatment operations include correcting pro- scale expansion tests of SETs. Expan-
sequence was developed for the AISI duction or injection profiles, convert- sion cones, shown in Fig. 2, used at this
D6-steel expansion mandrel. ing wells from producers to injectors facility are made from cold-worked AISI
(or vice versa), mitigating cementa- D6 tool steel.
tion problems, repairing corroded cas- AISI D6 tool steel is a high-carbon
Introduction ings, fracturing or refracturing of zones, high-chromium steel with 2.02.25% car-
Solid-expandable-tubular (SET) tech- and perforating or reperforating new bon, 0.20.6% manganese, 0.20.4%
nology is applied for completion and or existing zones. SET systems enable silicon, 1113% chromium, 0.150.3%
production purposes. SET systems can such strategies. Also, SET technolo- vanadium, and 0.81.25% tungsten.
optimize fracturing parameters by gy can assist techniques such as smart This steel is known for its high wear
maintaining larger diameters, and they completions, multifracturing strat- resistance, high compressive strength,
can provide effective sealing for isolat- egies, steam-assisted gravity-drain- high surface hardness after hardening,
ing multizone environments. Expand- age applications, and unconventional good through-hardening properties, and
able tubulars can help in first-time frac- enhanced-oil-recoverymethods. good stability during hardening. Pub-
turing, refracturing, and multizone SET technology uses cold expan- lished work on AISI D6 steel focused on
fracturing, and in refurbishing older sion of a tubular by forcing a conical surface-hardening methods and wear-
wells, thus providing enhanced produc- mandrel made from special tool steel related issues. However, little published
tion and fracturing applications. through it. The tubular is cold worked literature was available about an opti-
Maintenance of many oil and beyond its elastic limit, causing per- mum heat-treatment strategy, especially
gas wells requires workover opera- manent plastic deformation, as shown for AISI D6 steel used as a mandrel for
tions ranging from simple interven- in Fig. 1. An SET test rig was designed, expanding petroleum tubulars. The main
tions to costly remediations. These fabricated, and commissioned for full- objectives of this work were to inves-
tigate mechanical properties of AISI
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights D6 steel after various heat-treatment
operations and to develop an optimum
of paper IPTC 14784, Effect of Heat Treatment on Mechanical Properties of
heat-treatmentstrategy.
Expansion-Cone Material, by Sayyad Zahid Qamar and Tasneem Pervez, Sultan
Qaboos University, prepared for the 2011 International Petroleum Technology Experimental Work
Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, rescheduled to 79 February 2012. The paper has Standard tensile and Charpy V-notch
not been peer reviewed. impact specimens of AISI D6 steel
were fabricated in collaboration with
Copyright 2012 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced a precision machining facility by use
bypermission. of electrical-discharge-machining wire

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

110 JPT JUNE 2012

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 1000C, the result of the higher amount
of retained austenite.

Impact Strength. With increasing tem-

Fig. 2Cutaway section showing expansion cone (mandrel) and aligner.
cutting and high-speed machining. Sam-
ples were subjected to different heat-
treatment sequencesannealing, hard-
ening, air or oil quenching, and single
or double temperingat six tempera-
tures: 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and
600C, as shown in Fig. 3. Heat-treated
specimens were tested mechanically for
tensile properties, impact toughness,
andhardness.
Results
Samples were subjected to three types
of heat-treatment sequences: single-
tempered oil-quenched (STO), double-
tempered oil-quenched (DTO), and
double-tempered air-cooled (DTA). Vari-
ation of mechanical properties of the
AISI D6 steel after these heat treatments
was compared. All mechanical testing
was performed at room temperature.
Experience dictated that tempering for
tool steels should generally be performed
at temperatures higher than 250C. Tem-
pering was carried out at 100 and 200C
in this study to obtain a more complete
comparative study, but results focused
on tempering at temperatures 300C.
Hardness. As the tempering temper-
ature increases, hardness decreas-
es, then stabilizes somewhat, and then
starts to decrease again. In the medium-
tempering range (300 to 500C), maxi-
mum hardness was obtained for sam-
ples tempered at 400C, with the highest
value, 57 HRC, obtained for DTO speci-
mens. Curves for the three cases were
close to each other, indicating that dif-
ferent heat-treatment sequences do not
have a significant effect on hardness.
This observed behavior of AISI D6 steel
is in line with normal steels in which
hardness tends to decrease with higher
tempering temperatures. A near-hori-
zontal portion of the curve for medium
tempering was observed and is typical
of tool steels hardened at approximately
pering temperature, impact strength
increases to a maximum value at 200C,
then remains almost constant to 400C,
and then suddenly drops at 500C
before increasing again at a tempering
temperature of 600C. All three curves
were close to each other, except for tem-
pering at 500C, which showed a sig-
nificant difference in toughness values.
Air-cooled samples did not exhibit the
sudden dip in impact energy, and exhib-
ited higher strength at higher temper-
ing temperatures. The mirror behavior
(Charpy V-notch test increasing when
the HRC value is decreasing) is com-
patible with general trends observed
for D-class tool steels. Sudden decrease
of impact values at 500C for DTO and
STO samples may be experiment error,
because toughness should increase at
higher tempering temperatures.
Yield Strength. Tensile tests were per-
formed on samples subjected to each of
the heat-treatment sequences. Ignoring
the low-tempering region, DTO samples
exhibit the typical tool-steel behavior:
Yield strength decreases over the range
from 300 to 400C, then increases from
400 to 500C, then gradually decreas-
es for higher tempering temperatures.
Double-tempered samples showed high-
er yield strengths compared with the
single-tempered samples. The highest

Annealing Hardening Tempering

Hardening at 970C

Annealing at 880C 1/2 hour

Quench in air or oil

Temperature 2 hours 800C to 5060C

600C Cooling inside the 600C Tempering at 100600C

furance to 400C and
then the oven door is 2 hours
400C open until room 400C
15 minutes temperature is reached Cooling in air to
(15C/h) room temperature
200C 200C 5060

Time

Fig. 3Graphic illustration of the heat-treatment process.

112 JPT JUNE 2012

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 values were approximately 600 MPa at
500C tempering.
Ultimate Strength. Except for STO sam-
ples, ultimate strength increases in the
range from 100 to 200C, then remains
almost constant to 500C, then decreas-
es sharply for higher temperatures.
The double-tempered curves almost
overlapped, indicating only marginal
effect as a result of the different heat-
treatment sequences. Maximum tensile
strength of 13501380 MPa occurred at
tempering of 400 and 500C.
Ductility. Ignoring the lower temper-
atures, ductility increased slightly at
400C, then dropped slightly before
becoming near constant or slightly
increasing again. The lowest ductility
values were obtained at 300 or 600C
tempering temperature.
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114
Optimum Heat-Treatment Strategy.
In a typical metal-forming process, the
two most relevant properties are tough-
ness and hardness. Toughness prevents
instantaneous fracture of the tool or
tool edges, and sufficiently high hard-
ness avoids local plastic deformation, to
retain tool geometry. If other mechani-
cal properties are in the favorable range,
the single most important factor is high
surface hardness, ensuring dimensional
accuracy of the formed product.
Single tempering is not recom-
mended. Single tempering showed the
highest fluctuation in mechanical behav-
ior (not desirable), and it resulted in
the lowest yield and ultimate strengths.
Lower yield strength can lead to tool
failure by plastic deformation under
higher stresses, resulting in shape and
dimensional inaccuracy of the expand-
ed tubulars. Tool-steel manufacturers
with optical and scanning microscopy of
also advise at least double tempering for
AISI D6 steel.
The best combination of high hard-
ness and high toughness was at a tem-
pering temperature of 400C for DTO
samples. However, this tempering would
produce the lowest ductility, leading
to the undesirable combination of low
formability and possible manufacturing
defects, such as cracks. Also, DTO sam-
ples being tempered at 400C would lead
to low yield strength and low ultimate
strength, which could result in exces-
sive plastic deformation leading to man-
drel failures such as deflection, shape
and dimensional inaccuracy, and wear
on the mandrel surface. If DTA samples
are tempered at 400C, they produce
slightly lower hardness (52 HRC) com-
pared with DTO samples (57 HRC); the
same impact toughness; and consistent-
ly higher values of yield strength, ten-
sile strength, and ductility. Because DTO
and DTA samples give hardness values of
greater than 50 HRC, and on the basis
of all mechanical properties considered
together, double-tempering at 400C
and air cooling werepreferred.
Conclusions
In line with the behavior of D-type tool
steels, testing of the AISI D6 samples
revealed that with increasing temper-
ing temperatures (>300C), hardness
increases and then gradually decreas-
es; impact toughness remains almost
stable (except for an anomalous behav-
ior of dipping down at 500C for oil-
quenched samples); yield strength gen-
erally increases, then decreases, and
then increases or becomes stable; ulti-
mate (tensile) strength remains con-
stant up to 500C before dropping
down sharply; and ductility (per-
cent elongation) remains almost con-
stant, with a slightly higher value
at 400C.
Considering all mechanical proper-
ties, the optimum heat-treatment strate-
gy would be DTA at 400C (i.e., judicious
combination of hardness, toughness,
yield strength, ultimate strength, and
ductility). For better understanding of
this behavior, tempering in a narrower
range (350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600,
and 650C) is recommended, together
the tested samples. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
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 Damages and Repairs
on Drillpipe Connections

T he drilling industry has
experienced major changes in
both drillpipe connections and related
inspection criteria. Many operators
and contractors regularly use premium
drillpipe connections to drill all
sections of their wells. There are
few or no established statistical data
available to budget repairs in any given
well program. This study reviewed
data from two inspection databases
coveringmore than 200,000 joints
of drillpipe. The databases contain
inspection records for premium,
double-shoulder, and American
Petroleum Institute (API) connections.
The objective was to provide a basis
forbudgeting repair costs.
Introduction
A financial surprise in well planning
can be the cost of repairing drillpipe.
These costs can be high, and, in some
cases, the damage incurred can result
in the downgrading and replacement
of an entire string of drillpipe. This is
not the normal case, but what is? The
industry has been inspecting drillpipe
for decades, meticulously recording
the state of the drillpipe during the
inspection; but what has been done
with this information? Many drill-
ers have developed personal knowl-
edge of a normal amount of damage
for their drilling conditions, but this
information is rarely shared or placed
in the public domain for comparison.
As a result, a full understanding of the
inspection data is lacking. Also, the
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
of paper SPE 151253, Comprehensive Review of Damages and Repairs on Drillpipe
Connections, by Thomas M. Redlinger, SPE, P. Steven Griggs, and Albert Odell,
Weatherford International, and Stein Bergo, EuroIncon A/S, prepared for the 2012
IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, San Diego, California, 68 March. The
paper has not been peer reviewed.
inspection, inspectors, and standards
vary by customer, geographic region,
well profile, rig, drilling contractor,
and rental company.
A better understanding may be
gained after tracking several databases
of inspection data and damage results
for the last several years. The informa-
tion contained within these databas-
es should form a basis for the drilling
community to understand the average
results and the variations in damage to
drillpipe connections.
Drilling Complexity
Drilling complexity has changed signif-
icantly over the last few decades, and
wells are drilled routinely that were
considered ultradeep or extended
reach 20 years ago. Therefore, revi-
sions have been made to ensure that
the drillstem elements are fit for pur-
pose, requiring inspection standards
to evolve also. A driver for increased
scrutiny of drillpipe inspections in the
1990s was the increased use of hori-
zontal drilling. The change in drilling
practice gave rise to a significant fatigue
damage on the drillpipe. To ensure that
the drillpipe would survive increased
drilling challenges, operators, contrac-
tors, and rental-equipment providers
improved their inspection standards
significantly. However, the change
to more-frequent or more-rigorous
inspections has not necessarily led
to better pipe quality, and, without a
mechanism in place to track them, the
effect of these changes remains masked
in the other processvariables.
Toward Double-Shouldered
Connections
Many in the industry have moved from
API connections (Fig. 1) to double-
shouldered connections (Fig. 2) for
a significant portion of their drilling
work. In general, double-shouldered
connections have increased torsional
strength. The inspection of these pro-
prietary connections usually is han-
dled in the same manner as for conven-
tional connections. However, because
they are manufactured to proprietary-
design criteria, the manufacturers con-
trol the rejection criteria, which typi-
cally involve much tighter tolerances
for acceptance and rejection. Also the
double-shouldered connections gener-
ally are inspected to a higher inspection
class than the conventional counterpart.
Even though the inspections are strik-
ingly similar, many inspectors modify
rejection criteria as the levels increase.
There is a need to better understand
how the selection of this type of connec-
tion may affect the likelihood that it may
need repair during an inspection cycle.
Inspection-Database Programs
Data were studied from two inspec-
tion databases that contain more than
3 years of drillpipe-inspection records
involving more than 200,000 inspect-
ed joints. These data are not a complete
survey of all inspection jobs complet-
ed during the period, but they do pro-
vide a significant sampling. The first
inspection database covers mainly pipe
used in land-based drilling operations
throughout the continental USA and was
designed specifically to collect informa-
tion on the causes and frequency of dam-
age to drillpipe and the connections.
Established in 2008, beginning in a sin-
gle pipe-inspection facility, the database
has expanded to include data from five
facilities with 125,000 records. The sys-
tem is Web based and includes reporting

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

116 JPT JUNE 2012

Fig. 1Typical API pin connection.
features, management metrics, and key
performance indicators. The standard
reporting features include the ability to
compare performance between regions,
rigs, connections, and end users.
The second database was estab-
lished in 2004 and covers approxi-
mately 180,000 inspection records
from drillpipe used in the North Sea.
The database was developed to han-
dle inspection reporting, but in 2006,
with a significant amount of data, it
was realized that it was not being used
to its potential. At the end of 2006,
a comprehensive statistics module was
added to process data from the inspec-
TABLE 1TYPICAL TRACKED CONNECTION DAMAGES AND CAUSES
Connection Damage Box
Benchmark
Cracked threads
Counterbore depth
Damaged sealing
shoulder
Damaged threads
Pin thread length
Pulled thread
Swelled box
Worn thread
JPT JUNE 2012
Fig. 2Typical premium double-shouldered pin
connection.
tion report directly into various statis-
tical records. The statistics report pro-
vides information regarding the total
amount inspected, rejection rates, and
causes of rejection. Data used in this
study were collected after those chang-
es: from 2007 to the middle of 2011,
approximately 90,000 joints.
It is important to note that these
databases represent results of inspec-
tions on drillpipe used or supplied by a
wide range of customers, drilling con-
tractors, and service and pipe-rental
companies. The databases also contain
inspection records for double-shoulder,
premium, and API connections.
Pin Common Cause(s)
Refacing sealing surface
Cumulative fatigue
Bending Forces
Vibration
Refacing sealing surface
Not using stabbing guides
Handling damages
Galled shoulder
Pitted shoulder
Handling damages
Galled threads
Corrosion and pitting
Service damages
Overtorque
Excess tensile load
Overtorque
Excess tensile load
Overtorque
Mechanical wear
Drillpipe-Connection Repairs
Table 1 lists types of damage, common
causes, and whether the box or pin was
affected. Although there are many types
of damage, it is almost always mitigated
by one of four repair mechanisms: reface,
recut, rehardband, rebuild, or scrap.
The databases allow a complete track-
ing record of the mechanism required
to bring the connection back to a fit-for-
purpose condition.
Refacing is required when only the
shoulder seal surfaces must be repaired.
Normally, a recut means that the damage is
severe enough that the threads, either box
or pin, must be removed. (A new thread is
cut into the tool joint, reducing the length
of the joint.) Rehardbanding is performed
when the hardbanding that protects the
tool joint reaches a rejection threshold,
which typically is set by the drillpipe
owner. Rebuilding of tool joints normally
is a commercial decision when the drill-
pipe tube is in very good condition but one
or both of the tool-joint outside diameters
have encountered excessive wear (often
a result of the hardbanding being worn
below the rejection limit without the pipe
being pulled from service).
Weighted connection damages are
summarized in Table 2. Damaged seal
surfaces and damaged threads are the
most common reason for recuts. These
two damage categories are the root cause
for almost all recuts. The averages for
recut and reface can be used to deter-
mine, in advance of drilling, what dam-
ages and repairs might be expected dur-
ing an inspection. The averages should
also help identify when a particular oper-
ation is above or below a level that might
117
 TABLE 2OVERALL WEIGHTED DAMAGE
Damage Type
Damaged sealing shoulder
Damaged theads
Other
Swelled box
Pulled threads
Cracked theads
Pin thead length
Benchmark
Counterbore depth
Work theads
Refacing*
*Refacing included for perspective.
be considered normal damages. Dam-
age rates that lie significantly above or
below that level should be reviewed to
determine why the rates were outside
those considered normal. These data
grouped different connection technolo-
gies, customers, and regions together to
obtain an overall average. The data vary
by type of connection, area of operation,
size, and end user, and it is important to
understand that this variation can be sig-
nificant. Because data in the databases
are separated by connection, interesting
observations can be revealed. The size of
sampling is a critical consideration; the
larger it is, the more accurate the data
should be. Some of the data-group sizes,
when shown by connection, may be too
small for an accurate representation. The
entire data set is included in Table 4 of
the complete paper.
Damage Variation
Drillers operate differently, so it is impor-
tant to note that the data vary significant-
ly for the following reasons.
Client standards and practices
vary, which can lead to variations in
the drillpipe-damage assessment and
occurrences. For example, stabbing
guides can have a major effect on
drillpipe damage, and their use is far
from universal.
Drilling-company standards and
practices vary by rig profile and by region.
Drilling fluid or formation fluid
may be corrosive.
118
inspection standards was 2.5%. NS-2
inspections had a marginally higher recut
Box/Pin rate, and DS-1 inspections had a 3% high-
Box Pin
Ratio
er shop reface rate. Therefore, there is
2.200% 1.334% 1.65 no significant difference in repair costs
1.700% 1.349% 1.26 between the two specifications.
0.328% 0.572% 0.57 Inspection-Cycle Frequency
0.164% It is not understood clearly whether
0.002% 0.056% 0.03 inspecting more frequently would affect
the percentage of connections that need-
0.006% 0.021% 0.27 ed repair. Drilling-contractor inspection
0.006% cycles and rental-company inspection
0.000% 0.000%
cycles are rarely the same. In many cases,
drilling contractors have longer periods
0.001% between inspections than rental com-
0.001% 0.000% panies. Because these databases contain
inspection data from both sources, it is
17% 12% 1.41
possible to look for the link between repair
percentages and frequency of inspection.
To determine whether the length
Rates of penetration vary widely of time between inspections affected
and can have an effect on damagethe the percentages of repairs significant-
harder the drilling, the more likely that ly, the data in the database were sepa-
there is damage. rated into groups with joints having less
Use of drillpipe-connection than 6months between inspections and
lubricant can vary in quality, quantity, groups with joints having more than
and application. 1 year between inspections. A detailed
Automated bucking machine vs. review of the data showed no solid cor-
manual makeup. relation between the length of time
Drillpipe-inspection frequency between inspections and the number of
and thoroughness may vary widely repairs. Several drilling contractors have
between companies. found similar results through a review
When reviewing recut and reface of their own inspection reports. Damage
variances between customers, it is neces- caused by extending the time between
sary to consider both the number of con- inspections was not reported as con-
nections inspected and the sample size nection damage, but as other inspected
of associated damages. Larger sample items on the drillpipe.
sizes reflect the true population better,
but differences in damage rates between Conclusions
inspections are common and consid- API double-shouldered and
ered normal when the deviation from the premium-connection repairs vary widely
established norm is within reason. When and can increase costs considerably. The
the deviation is too great, the inspection damage rate does not affect connection
report becomes an outlier, which is of selection, but the potential costs should
special interest because the damage rate be noted.
indicates that something extraordinary Until more data are gathered,
occurred to the connections. This outlier determining the effect of regional
also can have considerable effect on over- inspection variances is not possible.
all damage rates for a customer that has a Customers should compare their
smaller sample size. inspection rate with industry averages.
It also may be important to develop a
Inspection Standards mechanism to track improvements.
Often, it is assumed that a correlation As inspection criteria and drilling
exists between the level of inspection and well designs change, the damage
selected and the rejection rate. The dif- rates also may evolve.
ference in reject rates of inspected con- Damages to sealing shoulders and
nections between the NS-2 and DS-1 threads are the most prevalent. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
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 TECHNOLOGY
FOCUS

ENHANCED OIL
Luciane Bonet-
Cunha, SPE, is a
senior reservoir

RECOVERY
engineer for
Petrobras America
in Houston. She
has 27 years of
experience in applied research and
development related to reservoir
engineering in exploration and
exploitation projects in Brazil, Canada, Enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) operations are what moves EOR processes from the lab-
and the US Gulf of Mexico. Before oratory to the field. They involve a series of activities, from a detailed planning stage
joining Petrobras America, Bonet- to efficient application, consistent monitoring, and results analysis. When reviewing
Cunha was an associate professor of results from field pilots or full-field applications, it is noticeable that significant tech-
petroleum engineering at the University nical hurdles such as facilities, drilling and completion, and production-technology
of Alberta, Canada. She also worked developments need to be overcome in order to deploy and run a successful EOR oper-
for 16 years with Petrobras, Brazil. ation. Technology developments in water management, intelligent-well completions,
Bonet-Cunha holds a PhD degree and downhole innovation are key for EOR operations to achieve the expected increas-
in petroleum engineering from the es in reserves.
University of Tulsa and serves on the Over the past year and during the first quarter of 2012, SPE was host to several
JPT EditorialCommittee. events focusing on EOR operations, and more than 400 papers were presented. Sev-
eral of them explored topics related to enhancements associated with the three key
areas mentioned. Emphasis in many papers concerns extending the use of smart-well
completion technologies to EOR operations, targeting customization to set out an EOR
Recommended additional reading process and provide more flexibility for the solution to unexpected setbacks during
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
process startup. Also, several publications stress the importance of downhole innova-
SPE 150477 SAGD Field Trial for a New tion aiming at oil- and gasfield production maximization by continuous optimization
Intelligent-Well Completions Strategy To of steam and CO2 downhole injection rates in heavy-oil recovery and CO2-EOR pro-
Increase Thermal EOR Recoveries
by Joel Shaw, Halliburton, et al.
cesses, respectively.
Dealing with EOR operations adequately is a great challenge, and a broad and
SPE 154318 The Design and Execution of integrated set of competencies is required. Nevertheless, as some of the papers fea-
an Alkaline/Surfactant/Polymer Pilot Test
by A. Sharma, Rex Energy, et al.
tured in this issue illustrate, success is attainable with the right use of technology
and creativity. I hope that you enjoy reading these paper highlights and will search
SPE 154122 Mobility and Conformance for additional interesting contributions available in the OnePetro online library. JPT
Control for CO2 EOR Via Thickeners,
Foams, and GelsA Literature Review of
40 Years of Research and Pilot Tests
by R.M. Enick, University of Pittsburgh,
et al.
SPE 144893 Seventeen Years of
Development of Artificial Lift Technology
in ASP Flooding in Daqing Oil Field
by Yang Yonghua, China University of
Petroleum, et al.

120 JPT JUNE 2012

Production Optimization in the Campos Basin:
A Case for Robustness in Waterflooding

A successful cross-discipline
workflow used in a Campos basin
multiproducer-system waterflood
in the Polvo C_3 reservoir (Fig. 1). The
workflow ensured the communication of
constraints and raised potential decision
interpreted as a sea-level rise shifting
the reservoir facies northwest. The ver-
tical rise in sea level coupled with the
program encompassed subsurface points for local dip on the Macae surface will con-
characterization, well planning, Reservoir characterization trol the lateral offset distance of reservoir
data acquisition, well controls, and Numerical modeling and facies from layer to layer, which, in turn,
surveillance to support efficient oil uncertainty assessment affects the local vertical communication
recovery. Drilling from a central Well planning (constraints and between reservoir layers. The expecta-
platform, extended-reach wells were data acquisition) tion is that there will be vertical perme-
necessary to access a structured series Well completion (integrity and ability barriers, at least locally.
of near-shore, laterally amalgamated sustained injectivity) The three layers of concern were
channel sands separated by variable Operational issues and called C_2, C_3, and C_4. The subsur-
barriers posing significant subsurface- surveillance tactics face team analyzed areas within well con-
modeling, well-design, and drilling Remediation and optimization trol to reduce risk on reservoir presence
challenges. A cross-discipline-team Robustness of proposed solutions is and distribution, preserve the benefit of
approach employed robustness particularly critical in terms of reservoir sand/sand and sand/shale character, and
measures to find a near-optimal solution characterization where certain geologi- support updip production while miti-
with controlled risk management. cal outcomes, such as fault transmissi- gating premature water out. The team
bility or sand/sand connectivity, can be investigated interlayer connectivity in
discrete in nature (sealing or not seal- the model, constrained by geophysical
Introduction ing). Therefore, capturing key geological and geological reservoir correlations,
The Polvo complex is a system of clastic assumptions in the CSS and communicat- for a number of mechanically plausible
(Upper Cretaceous) and Macae carbon- ing the critical decision points and possi- wellplacements.
ate (Lower Cretaceous) reservoirs in the ble outcomes across the team played piv- With early indications of pressure
Campos basin with 1822API oil. The otal roles in the workflow. depletion (based on 5 months of ramp-
clastics have been on production for 3 up production data from C_3) and a
years with natural waterdrive and water Reservoir Characterization downdip idle wellbore available for side-
injection. Development drilling started and Waterflood Design track, the subsurface team recognized
in mid-2008 for the Cretaceous sand sys- Detailed descriptions from core data the potential cost savings to sidetrack
tem (CSS) where wells were completed indicated that channels and lagoons are to the likely pressure-depleted sands at
with openhole gravel packs and electrical the primary depositional environments two drill locations. In the end, a complex
submersible pumps. for these reservoirs. Analysis of all the injection well (called I_1) was designed
Robust waterflood design and execu- data collected on the CSS reservoirs sug- to penetrate both stratigraphic intervals
tion require a proactive, risk-minimizing gested uniform layering, where each to confirm pressure and sand commu-
reservoir-management strategy. The sand-prone layer exhibits a high degree nication. If the C_4 interval showed vir-
team used a cross-discipline workflow of internal lateral continuity. Each sand- gin reservoir pressure, the well plan was
to achieve a near-optimal performance prone interval is capped by a shale layer to have sufficient permeability-thickness
product in the younger unit to support
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of the needed injectivity. However, if C_4
was drawn down, the optimal plan was to
paper OTC 22560, Production Optimization in a Campos Basin Reservoir: A Case
blank the younger unit and extend the toe
for Applying Robustness Measures to a Waterflood Project from Subsurface and
in the older unit to take advantage of baf-
Operational Design to Execution, by Ozan Arslan, SPE, Kyle Koerner, SPE, Stephen fled connections. The model outcome for
Knapp, Nate Biddle, Alwin Bok, SPE, and Paulo Chaves, BP, prepared for the 2011 the proposed plan indicated results simi-
Offshore Technology Conference Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, 46 October. The paper has lar to those for the I_0a location (Fig. 2)
not been peer reviewed. but that would save substantial cost and
mitigate risks of extended-reach drill-
Copyright 2011 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. ing, a costly pilot, and likely sidetracks

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

JPT JUNE 2012 121

 Production Performance and Uncertainties
Reservoir Interpretation
and Uncertainties
Remediation and Optimization
Fig. 1Robustness measures and workflow for planning a waterflood.
searching for reservoir (which may be
disconnected) when drilling far removed
from well control (uncertainty in veloc-
ity modeling beyond well control posed a
significant risk in positioning I_0a).
The practical solution from a sub-
surface perspective was to perform the
sidetrack, but this operation presented
significant drilling and completion chal-
lenges of its own.
Well Planning
The drilling design of the injector had the
primary objective of hitting and evalu-
ating all targets in C_3 and C_4 sands.
The opportunity to sidetrack out of the
9-in. casing from an idle wellbore
offered a chance for significant reduction
in total well cost but added significant
design and operational challenges.
The team called upon extensive les-
sons learned in torque-and-drag model-
ing from other wellbores drilled from the
platform. A friction factor of 0.25 was
assumed in the well model on the basis
of previous experience in drilling out of
9-in. casing with a water-based drill-in
fluid. Broad collaboration of the subsur-
face and drilling-engineering teams was
required for optimal choice of casing-exit
point and wellbore trajectory. The fluid
options were found to be limited because
of the low-formation-damage require-
ment to ensure successful injection
122
Well Planning and Constraints
Well Completion
ighlight Po
dH ten Integrity and Injectivity
an
tia
int
lD
Constra
ecision Poin
fine
De
Water Source and Quality
ts
and Produced-Water
Handling
Surveillance and Operations
after completion. The standard CSS-well completed CSS producers, which ben-
water-based drilling fluid (with an addi- efited from an external breaker spotted
tive of 2% Starglide plant-derived oil) after placing the gravel pack. The injec-
was chosen to maintain wellbore integ- tor completion was based on the typical
rity and increase lubricity. CSS producer, with a gravel-pack design
The bottomhole assembly (BHA) based on the 1000-m expected openhole
was designed to drill the entire 1100-m length. The potential design consider-
section in one bit/BHA run. The ability to ations were:
drill this section in one BHA run was con- Running the lower completion
tingent upon high rates of penetration through the casing-exit window
(ROPs) to minimize time in hole while also (potential for damage or inability
minimizing downhole shocks/vibrations. to get the screens to total depth)
Real-time shocks and vibrations were Predrill uncertainty concerning
monitored both on the rig and remote- exact openhole length; preferred
ly to make real-time changes to drilling completion interval required a
parameters. The geological team used combination of blank-pipe vs.
real-time logging data to increase ROP screen length
when resolution of the logs would allow Inability to backflow the injector
for identifying formationscorrectly. to minimize filter-cake effects
The decision to sidetrack and com- Requirement for minimized
plete the water injector from a pre- formation damage needed for
existing wellbore ultimately reduced sufficient injection rates to match
costs by more than 50% while also current and future reservoir
achieving all reservoir objectives. In voidage
addition to the cost savings, a slot from Impact of low fracture gradient
the platform was saved, allowing for an on the gravel-pack design
additional futurewell.
Startup Considerations
Well Completion and Operational Issues
The CSS-producer completions were An adequate voidage replacement re-
typically composed of 5-in. premium quired a high and sustained injectivity.
screens with a 12/20-mesh natural-sand No emulsion- or relative-permeability-
gravel pack. Field surveillance suggested related injectivity decline is expected
minimal formation damage (skin) for the because the injection interval is well
JPT JUNE 2012
 I_1 I_0b I_0a
(actual injector) (original plan) (original plan)
C_3 reservoir

C_2 reservoir
I_1

I_0b C_4 North OWC

I_0a C_4 reservoir

Appraisal well control

Lack of well control

Fig. 2CSS injector placement and risk assessment. OWC=oil/water contact.

below the oil/water contact. However,
the team recognized the risk of injec-
tivity loss from improper seawater fil-
tration and chemical treatment. Bot-
tle tests were performed to ensure that
mixing seawater samples with synthetic
formation brine would not cause scale
to form. No scale was observed when
mixtures of 25, 50, and 75% seawater
were used.
A monitoring plan was developed for
injection startup and continuous opera-
tions to control water quality and monitor
scaling tendency. Water quality is checked
daily at the facilities laboratory. Biocide is
injected on a weekly basis. Scale tenden-
cy is analyzed on a monthly basis. After
a period of field shutdown because of
an operational upset, the team was con-
cerned about the potential for sand pro-
duction or pack plugging that could hin-
der injectivity and potentially limit the life
of the completion. However, after injec-
tion restart, injectivity remained high.
Subsequent shutdowns likewise have not
affected the welladversely.
Injection-Performance Results
Injectivity and the responding-
production results for the waterflooded

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124
C_3 and C_4 reservoirs were very good
and exceeded the original flow-model
predictions. While drilling the injector,
two stratigraphic units came in as pre-
dicted, and both showed drawdown, con-
firming communication with producers.
Therefore, the team was able to act on the
best-case scenario.
Sustained injectivity over 2 years
at stable surface injection pressures has
proved the completion integrity and has
shown that the predrill water-quality
measures were robust in terms of filter-
ing and water-compatibility issues.
The CSS waterflood was very
successful in that the actual oil-
production response exceeded the pre-
drill modelpredictions.
Delayed water breakthrough and
lesser oil-decline rate compared with the
model prediction suggested that the CSS
must have a larger connected oil volume
than predicted (sand/sand connectivity
and improved facies distributions) and
a resulting improved sweep efficiency,
hence a requirement for a new reservoir
model. With the benefit of more produc-
tion history, renewed seismic reprocess-
ing, and continued development drilling,
a new reservoir model was constructed.
Conclusions
High-performing multidiscipline collab-
oration and communication provided
for the rapid evolution and application
of ideas in the development plans. The
asset team recognized the full ranges of
risks and uncertainties relating to mul-
tiple injector locations.
Effective risk- and uncertainty-
mitigating strategies were formu-
lated, with plans to maximize data
collection for current and future
reservoir-management decisions. The
team realized the best commercial out-
come for the field because of the simulta-
neous awareness of subsurface concerns,
wellbore utility, sidetracking, drilling,
and lower-completion work. The look-
back analysis on the injection placement
showed that the workflow successful-
ly eliminated nonrobust solutions. Sur-
veillance analysis on performance data
proved that I_1 injectivity and the pro-
ductivity of producers did not degrade
over time, clearly showing the effective-
ness of the planning and operation of the
water-injection system. JPT
JPT JUNE 2012
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 Comparative Analysis of Electromagnetic
Heating Methods for Heavy-Oil Recovery

T hermal methods are well-

known for enhancing oil
recovery by decreasing reservoir-oil
viscosity substantially by raising the
temperature. Although it is one of
the more popular thermal methods,
steam injection is not always applicable
successfully in real reservoir conditions
because of prohibitive heat losses
from injection wells and reservoirs,
low reservoir injectivity (especially
for bitumen deposits), steam leakage,
and other environmental problems.
Fortunately, a good alternative to steam
injection existselectromagnetic
heating (EMH), which includes a
variety of methods.
Introduction
Different physical mechanisms, accord-
ing to the frequency of the electromag-
netic (EM) field, are responsible for
the heating. For instance, low-frequen-
cy heating (LFH) is based on the Joule
effect. Inductive heating (IH) is the pro-
cess where Foucault (eddy) currents gen-
erated within a load also result in Joule
heating. Finally, high-frequency heating
(HFH) consists of in-situ dielectric heat-
ing from rotation with friction of polar
molecules in the EM field.
An EM field facility is installed nor-
mally in a wellbore; the EM power is
converted into heat inside the reservoir,
leading to an increase of local temper-
ature. The advantages of EMH meth-
odsavoidance of low-injectivity/-con-
nectivity and injection-pressure-related
problemsare complemented by in-situ
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of
paper SPE 150550, Comparative Analysis of Electromagnetic Methods for Heavy
Oil Recovery, by Igor Bogdanov, SPE, Jose Antonio Torres, SPE, and Arjan Kamp,
SPE, CHLOE, and Bernard Corre, CSTJF-Total, prepared for the 2011 SPE Heavy Oil
Conference and Exhibition, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 1214 December. The paper has not
been peer reviewed.
heat generation and, particularly, water
evaporation (e.g., during HFH).
The common physical nature of
the phenomena under consideration
explains similar features in the EM-field
distributions. Consider, for instance, that
each method has a nearly singular electric
field close to the source, which depends
on both the source geometry and the
frequency of EM waves. Another com-
mon point is that these techniques are
efficient only if some critical amount of
connate water is present initially in a res-
ervoir. Waters electric properties make
the methods applicable for a wide range
of reservoir conditions. LFH differs from
the other two methods in that its use is
limited by the existence of an effective
electrical circuitin other words, LFH
requires continuous conductive paths
for electric current between electrodes.
This means that the reservoir water must
always be liquid around the electrodes.
If it is not, the electrical circuit will be
disconnected, and no electrical current
means no heat. For IH and HFH, this is
not true because the EM waves propa-
gate (without absorption) through a dry
porous medium. However, as in LFH, no
heat is released in the dry medium.
So, the advantages of high-frequency
methods, including IH, include the capa-
bility of remote heating through a water-
free reservoir region (such as a steam
chamber) around the EM-energy source.
However, practical application may be
more expensive and at least requires a
separate study.
Because of the difficulty in find-
ing a dedicated reservoir simulator
that offered EM-field computations, a
research team developed a simulator
coupling model. This model launch-
es Computer Modelling Groups Steam,
Thermal, and Advanced Processes Reser-
voir Simulator (STARS) with a COMSOL
EM (radio frequency) module and ini-
tializes and controls the data exchange
between them. The main advantage of
the coupling code (called EMIR) is that
multiphase flow and EM-field calcula-
tions are performed on different tempo-
ral and space grids, which are adapted
to their specific solutions independent-
ly. The coupling idea realized in EMIR
enables direct modeling of the dynamics
of EMH coupled with fluid distributions
(mainly water) based on instantaneous
and precise EM computations. The team
used EMIR
To model 2D bitumen recovery
under EMH conditions
To estimate the role of connate-
water evaporation in oil recovery
To quantify the influence of the
heating zone and the fluid-flow
geometry and dynamics on
instantaneous and cumulative
production
To analyze the thermal efficiency
and recovery coefficient of
different EMH techniques applied
for the same reservoir conditions
The demonstrated potential of the
EMH methods is sufficient for success-
ful use in a wide range of real heavy-oil-
reservoir conditions.
Geometry, Physical
Formulations, and Problem
Parameters
2D radial and rectilinear geometries
have been used to model EMH-driven
bitumen production (Fig. 1). Hereafter,
they will be called 2DR and 2DC, respec-
tively. The corresponding equipment for
EM-energy injection may be installed
in a horizontal or a vertical well. Typi-

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

126 JPT JUNE 2012

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 2DR Geometry
(a)
Fig. 1Geometry and reservoir-simulator grid for (a) 2DR and (b) 2DC numerical problems under
consideration.
cally, a separate production well may be
set below the EM-field emitter because,
in the case of extraheavy oil, gravity
drainage, as the most reliable produc-
tion mechanism, is expected to produce
the oil. The principal difference between
2DR and 2DC problems is that the for-
mer uses the single-well pattern, which
results in fast production after a short
preheating period. In the 2DC case, the
distance between two horizontal wells,
one for heating and another for produc-
tion, makes the initial stage longer and
technically more involved.
Results and Discussion
of EMH Simulations
Preheating. As usual in bitumen recov-
ery, two periods can be distinguished
in the EMH history: preheating and
production. Physically speaking, there
exists a smallest amount of energy deliv-
ered to a reservoir before the production
of the first (bitumen) barrel happens.
Two ultimate regimes of preheating are
(1) strong local heating accompanied
by fast evaporation of connate water in
a relatively small volume, with further
expansion of the steam chamber driven
by shallow EMH (i.e., the heating local-
ized very close to the steam-chamber
surface) and with oil recovery by grav-
ity drainage as the principal mechanism,
and (2) slow quasihomogeneous heat-
128
2DC Geometry
ing of a reservoir region that is wide
enough and the subsequent oil recovery
(e.g., by a known secondary or tertiary
method). For natural reasons (such as a
singular power field initially around the
emitter), rapid heating usually follows
Scenario 1 and then gradually may turn
partially or totally to Scenario 2. Note
that, in Scenario 1, the fast evaporation
is useless without adequate heating of
theproducer.
Production and Thermal Efficiency.
The heat transfer by conduction is cru-
cially important for any EMH-based pro-
cess. This mechanism diminishes the
temperature difference inside the reser-
voir and may also be behind a thermal-
recovery process where energy injection
is performed without heating fluid.
Nevertheless, EMH is expected to be
more efficient than the conductive heat
transfer because of (1) instantaneous
energy injection and, consequently, fast-
er and more-efficient preheating; and
(2) the effect of the heating power sweep
from a dry reservoir region, which pro-
vides direct heating of the remaining oil
in place.
Power and Frequency Variations.
The production always increases with
injected-power augmentation. The ques-
tion is which power level will finally pro-
vide more (or less) efficient oil recov-
(b)
ery. Remember that, for all the cases
considered, the same initial viscosity of
bitumen is used, which is high enough
that cold production is impossible. This
means that rapid preheating at least is
required for each case except for conduc-
tive heating, where there is no distance
between the heat-injection and the oil-
production ends. It seems difficult, and
perhaps is not recommended technical-
ly, to reach the evaporation temperature
before the oil is made mobile at the pro-
duction end. To avoid early evaporation,
gradually increasing power was applied
during the first weeks of theprocess.
A power increase from 80 to 330kW
leads to a disproportionately growing
oil-production rate and, consequently,
to better thermal efficiency. The quick
improvement of the thermal efficiency
observed for lower powers at a frequency
of 1 MHz can be explained by faster heat-
ing of the bitumen near the production
sector of the well, a result of a greater
energy absorption length.
Water-Injection and Production-
Pressure Variations. Recovery results
have been obtained by gravity drain-
age taking place inside a steam-circula-
tion chamber developed by EMH. The
recovery mechanism can be enhanced
by stable gravity-assisted displacement
provided, for example, by gas injec-
tion from the upper section of the well.
JPT JUNE 2012
Water injection at a moderate rate (at In the case of EMH application Pure conductive heating is more
given bottomhole-pressure conditions) through a single vertical well efficient than EMH for rapid
was tried for two reasons: to limit the or with a SAGD-like horizontal- preheating and production.
temperature of hot spots near the EM- well pair, more-homogeneous Thermal efficiency of EMH-
field emitter and to enhance the oil pro- heating is advantageous for assisted bitumen recovery
duction by water vapor produced from bitumen recovery; this might be depends on total EM power
injected water. In two cases with average performed, for example, by the and can be improved by use
power of 107 and 343 kW, the water injec- appropriate choice or adaptation of the heating combined with
tion enhanced production substantially. of EMfrequency. gasinjection. JPT
Another idea for production
enhancement, from a variation of
production-well pressure, was also real-
ized. Two cases related to pressure
diminishing at 1 and 2 bar/yr (during the
first 2 years of the process) were stud-
ied. Both were successful, led to recovery
enhancement, and confirmed that com-
bining EMH with pressure operations
can improve the production rate and,
hence, the efficiency of the process.
Conductive Heating. Idealized
homogeneous heating over the whole
pay zone penetrated by a vertical well
is a convenient reference case. It gives
nearly perfect quick results: The pro-
duction starts almost immediately
and is most efficient during the first 4
years in the 2DR case (without pressure
maintenance/variations). However, the
energy-transmission rate and, there-
fore, the production rate are modest.
After this first favorable period, the heat
losses increasing roughly linearly with
time consume more and more generat-
ed energy and the production rate and
efficiency drop significantly. The total
time of favorable production is propor-
tional to the energy rate transmitted to
the reservoir and is limited in practice by
the temperature of the heating elements
installed inside the well.

Conclusions
The EMH power field and its
dynamics may be computed more
precisely and efficiently (than
with the Beer-Lamber-Bouguer
law or its modifications) by
use of the recently developed
dedicated simulator and coupling
in-housecode.
Numerical analysis shows that
EMH-assisted bitumen recovery
is a promising method, with
thermal efficiency comparable
with (and potentially better than)
that of steam-assisted gravity
drainage (SAGD).

JPT JUNE 2012 129

 Downhole Steam Generation Pushes
Recovery Beyond Conventional Limits

E nhanced oil recovery (EOR) is a

general term used for processes that
seek to improve recovery of hydrocarbons
CO2 Limitations. CO2 use is largely
dependent on the reservoirs proximity to
large natural sources or large refineries,
ity, combustion-front movement, and oil
productivity. Overinjection may cause
unwanted gas breakthrough; underinjec-
from a reservoir after the primary chemical plants, or gas plants that pro- tion may cause combustion quenching.
production phase. EOR is designed to duce nearly pure CO2. Because oil fields Even if stable combustion-front move-
increase the mobility of the oil, with are not necessarily near these sources, ment is achieved, it may overrun the
an objective of improving oil sweep pipelines have been the main source of oil-bank movement and reduce the oil-
efficiency or enabling lower residual-oil CO2, and their availability and cost limit production potential. Although optimal
saturation. Downhole steam generation applications of CO2 EOR. When reservoir coordination may be possible to achieve
(DHSG), which combines thermal and pressure is too low or oil gravity is too in the laboratory, it is difficult to imple-
nitrogen or CO2 EOR, offers several high, much of the CO2 does not dissolve ment in the field in the absence of accu-
benefits to accelerate the production of in the oil. However, at high pressure, rate front-movement information and in
oil. Moreover, the CO2 that is generated in enough CO2 (4060 mol%) dissolves in the face of geological variations.
situ can be usedelsewhere. the oil to improve heavy-oil recovery by
causing the oil to swell, reducing the oils Overcoming Conventional-EOR
density and improving mobility. Limitations
Conventional-EOR Limitations By overcoming the primary limitations
Surface-Steam-Injection Limitations. Conventional In-Situ-Combustion of conventional heavy-oil EOR, the com-
Steam that has 100% quality consists Limitations. In both light- and heavy-oil bination of technologies in DHSG could
entirely of vapor, whereas 0% steam reservoirs, burning some of the oil in situ expand applications of EOR.
quality is liquid water. Higher-quality creates a combustion zone that moves Elements in the proposed heavy-oil
steam, therefore, contains much more through the formation. In deep light-oil EOR include
energy than lower-quality steam, and reservoirs, in-situ combustion (ISC) (or Generation of high-quality steam
higher steam quality (generally great- high-pressure air injection) is a method downhole at the sandface from gas-
er than 60%) results in more-effective of generating an inert gas from spontane- fired DHSG, thereby overcoming depth
oil recovery. The steam vapor transfers ous combustion of the oil at temperatures limitations from wellbore heat losses
heat to the oil, lowering its viscosity, and, above 75C. This provides pressure main- Delivery of steam together with
when it condenses, the resulting water tenance to the reservoir. In heavy-oil res- inert or reactive gases
drives the oil toward the producer well. ervoirs, combustion creates a steam drive Higher-pressure reservoir
A simulation and field econom- (whose size depends on connate water conditions such as those used in current
ic model for a 2,000-ft-deep reservoir or the amount of injected water) and an gas-injection EOR projects
in California showed that steam quality inert-gas drive for the recovery of oil. Generation of CO2 for use in
drops to 50% or below at approximately Because this process involves the other projects
700 m (approximately 2,300 ft). There- movement of a chemical reaction, a dis-
fore, surface steam injection is gener- placement front of solvents, and the DHSG Technology
ally limited to reservoirs no deeper than flow of oil into the wellbore, ISC may The objective of DHSG is to produce
800m and, more typically, is applied in be difficult to control subsurface. It more oil faster, which is accomplished
reservoirs less than 500 m deep. requires coordination between injectiv- with high-quality steam delivered at
depth, injection of flue gas (N2 or CO2),
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of and higher-pressure reservoir manage-
ment (approximately 5001,500 psia). It
paper SPE 150515, Advancing Thermal and Carbon Dioxide Recovery Methods
must be understood that DHSG is suited
Beyond Their Conventional Limits: Downhole Innovation, by Laura Capper, SPE,
for deeper reservoirs (deeper than 700
CAP Resources; Myron Kuhlman, SPE, MK Tech Solutions; George Vassilellis, 760 m) where DHSG will be at higher
SPE, Gaffney Cline & Associates; M.J. Schneider, Global Marine Drilling Company; pressure than that found in shallower
and Nick Fitzpatrick, World Energy Systems, prepared for the 2011 SPE Heavy Oil reservoirs. A reservoir that would nor-
Conference and Exhibition, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 1214 December. The paper has not mally operate at low pressure (1550 psig
been peer reviewed. over 40 years) may need to be produced

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.

130 JPT JUNE 2012


Wellhead
Casing
Umbilical
Downhole
Steam Generator
Upper Tail Pipe
Thermal Packer
Lower Tail Pipe
Fig. 1Schematic of a downhole steam generator (right) and umbilical
configuration (left).
for only 20 years in a high-pressure res-
ervoir to achieve the same oil recovery.
Fig. 1 shows a typical DHSG umbil-
ical and a schematic of the generator.
The baseline DHSG tool is designed to
operate with natural gas and a combi-
nation of several oxidizer/diluent mixes
and stoichiometries. The tool is con-
nected to the surface by an umbilical,
which contains fit-for-purpose conduits
carrying fuel, inert gases, oxidizers, and
water as well as sensors and control-
systems communications. The tool is
designed to fit into standard casing and
be positioned just above the formation.
The steam generator requires a design
that ensures reliable performance over a
minimum 3-year operating period, with-
out intervention and across a range of
operatingconditions.
The generator is supported by three
major surface infrastructure systems:
the water-treatment plant (high-quality
water is needed to make steam, and pro-
JPT JUNE 2012
Air, Enriched Air,
or O 2 + CO2
Water Fuel
80%-quality steam +
flue gases
duced water is recycled and reused), an
air-separation unit to supply the oxi-
dizer, and product-treatment units that
clean produced oil for sale and dry pro-
duced gas for reinjection or use as fuel.
Excess CO2 (beyond that required to sup-
port DHSG application) may be vented,
sequestered, or sold to nearby fields as a
means to conduct miscible or immiscible
EOR projects.
DHSG Operating Modes
Steam+Nitrogen and Enriched Air
EOR (Fig. 2). A downhole steam gener-
ator is installed just above the reservoir
sand. It is fed by an umbilical from the
surface that carries natural gas, water,
and a mixture of gases, which might
include oxygen, nitrogen, or CO2 or some
combination of these. Such a configura-
tion could be implemented with vertical
injectors and producer wells or with pairs
of steam-assisted gravity-drainage wells.
The injected steam is at least 80% qual-
 O2-/Rich-Air Injection
Plant Well
Oxygen and
Inert Gas
NO HEAT
LOSS
Downhole Steam
Generator and Gas-
Injection System
Fig. 2Use of a downhole steam generator to recover oil in a steamdrive.
ity at the sandface because no heat loss-
es occur in the wellbore. The flue gases
(which could be nearly 10% CO2 to near-
ly 100% CO2) move ahead of the steam
front, dissolving into the oil and reducing
its viscosity and swelling it. The steam
front heats the oil, and the condensed
water drives the oil to the production
well. Because this process is operated at
a few hundred psig or more, the steam
chest and viscous forces are the primary
means of recovery, as opposed to gravity.
In this scenario, an air-separation
unit could be used to generate enriched
air (having 35% O2) for the downhole
steam generator. An on-site water-
treatment system fulfills a dual role by
providing clean water for the generator
and treating produced water for reuse or
disposal to nearby injection wells. Pro-
duced fluids and gases are separated at
the well pad, with separate streams piped
to central facilities for oil treatment and
gas treatment.
Steam+CO2+O2 for In-Situ Oxidation
(Fig. 3). DHSG enables a variety of dif-
ferent reservoir-operation scenarios.
One option is to use DHSG and associ-
ated reservoir processes for improved,
controlled, more-stable in-situ oxida-
tion for extra-heavy viscous oils. The
combination of high-quality steam and
surplus oxygen enables a larger, more-
stable steam front and prevents O2
132
Fuel Water Treatment/ Gas Treatment/
Import Recycle Vent
Fuel
Water
High-Quality
Steam Front
Inert Gas
(CO2 or N2)
80%-Quality
Steam
breakthrough. This scenario could use
CO2 as the primary cooling gas, injected
together with steam from the steam gen-
erator, and a supplemental 35% oxy-
gen stream.
While most of the equipment is
analogous to that used in nitrogen cases,
there are some notable differences,
including
The air-separation unit is used
to generate pure O2, which is used for
combustion in the downhole steam
generator and for the in-situ oxidation
process (following the steam front)
within the reservoir.
This process generates more CO2,
which is leveraged in two ways. After
treatment in the gas plant, most of the
CO2 is initially recycled for use at the
location to enhance oil recovery. Surplus
CO2 in excess of the amount reinjected
could be exported to nearby oil fields for
CO2-EOR programs.
Mechanisms of DHSG EOR
All directly fired downhole steam genera-
tors generate flue gas that is injected into
the reservoir. This gas has three benefi-
cial effects.
Effect of Gas on Heavy-Oil Viscosity.
Injected gas (CO2, N2, and flue gas) is
known to reduce heavy-oil viscosity. Dis-
solved gas increases the gas/oil ratio and
decreases the steam temperature. If dis-
Producer Produced-Oil
Well Treatment
and Storage
Mobilized
Reduced-
Viscosity
Oil
solved into the oil, the dissolved gas can
reduce oil viscosity as much as 90%,
significantly accelerating oilproduction.
Effect of Gas With Steam on Heavy-
Oil-Production Rates. Within a reser-
voir, gas moves much faster than steam
because steam can advance only when
the reservoir is heated to the steam tem-
perature. The first effect of the gas is to
reduce the viscosity in the oil ahead of the
steam front.
Steam+Injected Gas for Reservoir
Production Optimization. By injecting
both steam and CO2, a larger amount of
energy is delivered at a relatively lower
temperature because of a phase equilib-
rium shift by gases (a partial-pressure
effect). In addition, CO2 moves ahead of
the steam bank, mobilizing the oil ahead
of the steam front, which further lever-
ages the drive mechanisms of an engi-
neered steam front.
High-Pressure Reservoir
Management and Its Effect
onThermal EOR
In conventional heavy-oil projects using
surface-generated steam, reservoir pres-
sures typically range from 15 to 50 psig.
Heavy-oil production can be improved
with gas by operating at higher pressures
(500 to 1,200 psig). With DHSG, higher
pressures are maintained through the
JPT JUNE 2012
 8,000 feet. Sideways.
Complex shale reservoir.

In 2011, Baker Hughes successfully

installed the rst-ever 40-stage
ball-activated completion system
in the Williston Basin, saving
an estimated ve days over the
conventional approach.

Overall Pumping Time

4
Days

Welcome to the Pay Zone. 6.2 days

2
Complete the job.
1.2 days
To get the most value out of your unconventional pay 0
Plug and Perf FracPoint system
zone, you need a completion solution that matches completion

both your reservoir and operational requirements.

bakerhughes.com/pzm-shale
2012 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. 35512

Our multistage fracturing solutions include reliable

plug and perf services and advanced sleeve systems
that let you isolate and fracture up to 40 stages in a
single pumping operation. With extensive experience
in unconventional shale basins, our experts can design
and implement the right pay zone management
solution to achieve the best results from your well.
 O2-/Rich-Air Injection Fuel Water Treatment/ Gas Treatment/ Producer Produced-Oil
Plant Well Import Recycle Recycle Well Treatment
and Storage
Oxygen and Fuel
Inert Gas
Water

NO HEAT
LOSS

Residual-Oil
Oxidation
Front
High-Quality
Downhole Steam
Steam Front Mobilized
Generator and Gas-
Injection System Inert Gas Reduced-
(CO2 or N2) Viscosity
80%-Quality
Oil
Steam

Fig. 3Use of a downhole steam generator with excess oxygen for generation of CO2 and steam.

ARE YOU READY TO

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134 JPT JUNE 2012

use of backpressure at the producer well,
flow rate and composition of injectants at
the injector well, and combustion activ-
ity and combustion-byproduct flows into
the reservoir.
Operating at higher pressure pro-
vides the following benefits:
Delayed steam condensation in
the reservoir accelerates oil production.
High backpressure reduces gas
channeling.
Higher production rates reduce
heat losses to base rock and caprock.
Higher pressure allows larger
well spacing.
Higher backpressure allows
the use of inflow-control devices in
horizontal wells.
significantly, DHSG has the potential to
avoid detectable NOx emissions.
Field development with DHSG
is more energy efficient than that with
conventional steamfloods.
The use of DHSG is optimized
by managing the oil reservoir at
higher pressures than those used in
most steamfloods. This increases the
solubility of flue gases and reduces the
oils viscosity substantially ahead of the
steam front.
The temperature at which
steamcondenses is reduced by free
gas,so steam condenses farther
fromtheinjector and is used more
efficiently.
DHSG may provide a way to
extract a large amount of stranded
heavy-oil deposits economically
because it combines several known EOR
processes and makes use of the latest
advances in well design, completion,
monitoring, and control. JPT

Conclusions
DHSG combines the best of
several EOR technologies concurrently
and can be used to increase oil recovery
from deeper heavy-oil resources
where surface steam cannot be used
economically.
For DHSG, the steam/oil ratio
remains essentially unchanged with 2012 Petrolink. All rights reserved.

increasing depth. Therefore, depth is not

an obstacle for thermal applications.
DHSG has the flexibility to adjust
injectants, including fuel, oxidizer, and
diluent, to provide optimal configurations
for a variety of heavy-oil reservoirs,
combining thermal and partially miscible
recovery. Benefits include oil swelling,
reduction of viscosity, and reduced
interfacial tensions.
Excess CO2 generated by the
DHSG could be separated and used for
EOR in nearby light-oil fields.
Conducting thermal operations
with DHSG at higher pressures is
generally beneficial vs. low-pressure
steamfloods.
Smart wells may improve
DHSG performance by monitoring and
controlling the advance of different
fronts near the wellbore and possibly
through the reservoir.
Use of oxygen-rich mixtures with
DHSG helps heavy-oil extraction.
Although it requires high-quality
water, DHSG uses less water than surface
steam.
As compared with surface-
generated-steam developments, DHSG
generates lower CO2 emissions. More
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JPT JUNE 2012 135

 PEOPLE
KEVIN BRADY, SPE, was named president
of Multi Products Company. He will be
responsible for all business matters,
including sales, marketing, and opera-
tions. Brady joins Multi Products from Ver-
dande Technology in Houston, where he
was vice president of sales and marketing.
Before joining Verdande, he enjoyed a successful career with
Halliburton, Knowledge Systems, and Precision Drilling,
working primarily in the sales, marketing, and field engineer-
ing areas. He earned a BS degree in geology from Louisiana
State University and an MBA in marketing from the University
of Houston.
BPZ Energy appointed STEPHEN R.
BRAND, SPE, as an independent director.
He has extensive experience in the oil and
gas industry, starting his career in 1976 as
a geologist with Phillips Petroleum Compa-
ny. After that, he served in various roles of
increasing responsibility within Phillips
and its successor, ConocoPhillips, including president of its
Canada and Australasia businesses. Since 2011, Brand has
served as senior executive advisor and member of the advisory
board of Welltec A/S and as senior advisor to Clean Range Ven-
tures. He is also a member of the board of directors of SM
Energy, Accenture Global Energy, and the Australian Ameri-
can Chamber of Commerce. He received his bachelors degree
from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and his MS and PhD
degrees from Purdue Universityall in geology.
AKHIL DATTA-GUPTA, SPE, regents pro-
fessor and holder of the L.F. Peterson 36
Chair in the Harold Vance Department of
Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M Uni-
versity, was elected a member of the
National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
for developing the theory and practice of
streamline simulation for fluid flow in heterogeneous reser-
voirs. Datta-Gupta manages one of the most active industrial
research consortiums related to streamline simulation and its
applications. Among his honors are the 2009 SPE John Frank-
lin Carll Award for distinguished contribution in the applica-
Member Deaths
Thomas H. Cavanaugh, Santa Rosa, California
Knut Arne Dahl, Heggedal, Norway
Robert H. Friedman, Houston, Texas
Richard S. Prentice, Midland, Texas
William W. Weiss, Socorro, New Mexico
Jack C. Zarrow, Tulsa, Oklahoma
136
tion of engineering principles to petroleum development and
recovery, the 2003 SPE Lester C. Uren Award for significant
technical contributions in petroleum reservoir characteriza-
tion and streamline-based flow simulation, and two SPE Ced-
ric K. Ferguson Award certificates for the best peer-approved
paper of 2000 and 2006. He has been named an SPE Distin-
guished Member, Distinguished Lecturer, Distinguished
Author, and Outstanding Technical Editor. Datta-Gupta also
received the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and
Petroleum Engineers Rossitter W. Raymond Award and the
Tenneco Meritorious Teaching Award from the Dwight Look
College of Engineering at Texas A&M and served as a member
of the Polar Research Board of the National Academy of Sci-
ences (200104). He is also the recipient of the US Depart-
ment of Energy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Basic
Research in Geosciences in 2008. He is a coauthor of the SPE
textbook Streamline Simulation: Theory and Practice. Datta-
Gupta earned his masters degree and PhD from The Univer-
sity of Texas at Austin and his BS degree from the Indian
School of Mines in Dhanbadall in petroleum engineering.
ALI DOGRU, SPE, chief technologist of
EXPEC Advanced Research Centers com-
putational modeling technology and leader
of Saudi Aramcos GigaPOWERS gigacell
reservoir simulation technology, was
appointed as a visiting scientist by Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His
role is to provide lectures and expertise related to large-scale
reservoir simulation to MIT graduate students, post-doctoral
scholars, and industry representatives, as well as to discuss
the direction of future developments in high-performance
computing for multiphase flow through porous media, frac-
tures, and surface networks. Dogru joined Saudi Aramco in
1988 as a loanee from Mobil Oil Company in Dallas, Texas. His
industrial experience also includes a stint at Core Laborato-
ries/Engineering Numerics Company. He earned a combined
BS/MS degree in petroleum engineering at Istanbul Technical
University and a PhD in petroleum engineering with a minor
in applied mathematics from The University of Texas
atAustin.
Zilift appointed STUART FERGUSON,
SPE, as chairman of its board of directors.
He is an independent consultant at Flux
Oilfield Technology, specializing in advis-
ing oil industry clients on the develop-
ment, commercialization, acquisition, and
sale of technology. He is also a respected
industry leader and sits on the board of several companies
around the world. Ferguson previously spent 9 years at
Weatherford International, most recently as chief technology
officer and senior vice president of reservoir and production.
JPT JUNE 2012
Copy
Co
Copyrigh
pyri
righ
ht Tervit
Tervi
rvit
rv
v aCCorpor
rporatio
ati n 2012. EART
atio EARTHHM
MA
MATT
ATTERS an
andd the TE
ERVIT
RVITA
A log
goo are the
the trade
d mark
markss o
of Ter
Tervita
vita
v i Cor
Corpora
pora
o tion
ora tio
i . Al
Alll rights
rightss re
eserve
es e d.

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A N O R T H A M E R I C A N L E A D E R I N E N V I R O N M E N TA L A N D E N E R G Y S E R V I C E S
 PEOPLE
Before that, he worked as group marketing director with
Expro International Group, technical services director with
Petroline Wellsystems, senior well technology engineer at
Expro, and petroleum engineer with BP, where he began his
career. Ferguson earned an honors BS degree in chemical
engineering from the University of Birmingham.
FIKRI J. KUCHUK, SPE, fellow and chief
reservoir engineer with Schlumberger
Testing Services, Clamart in France, was
elected a member of the NAE for contribu-
tions in pressure transient analyses for
petroleum reservoirs. Previously, he was
chief reservoir engineer for Schlumberger
in the Middle East and Asia, before which he was senior scien-
tist and program manager at Schlumberger-Doll Research
Center in Connecticut. He was a consulting professor at Stan-
ford Universitys petroleum engineering department from
1988 to 1994 and taught advanced well testing. Before joining
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138
Schlumberger in 1982, he worked on reservoir performance
and management for BP/Sohio Petroleum Company. Kuchuk is
a member of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathemat-
ics and the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. He has been
a very active member of SPE, chairing many committees. He
has also acted as editor for several journals. The holder of sev-
eral patents, Kuchuk has published more than 150 papers in
science and engineering journals. He coauthored the SPE
monograph Transient Well Testing and a recent book titled
Pressure Transient Formation and Well Testing, Vol. 57: Con-
volution, Deconvolution, and Nonlinear Estimation. He
received the 1994 SPE Reservoir Engineering, 2000 SPE For-
mation Evaluation, and 2001 SPE Regional Service awards; the
Henri G. Doll Award in 1997 and 1999; and the Nobel Laureate
Physicist Kapitsa Gold Medal; and was conferred SPE honor-
ary membership in 2010. He earned an MS degree at the Tech-
nical University of Istanbul, and MS and PhD degrees at Stan-
ford University, Californiaall in petroleum engineering.
CHRIS REINSVOLD, SPE, joined Preng &
Associates as an executive search consul-
tant in the oilfield services and equipment
practice. He has more than 25 years man-
agement experience in the energy industry,
primarily in upstream oil and gas and the
oilfield equipment and services sectors.
Reinsvold has held senior positions in corporate strategy,
operations, marketing, and product management, working in
locations throughout the world for such companies as Shell,
Baker Hughes, Smith International, IHS/CERA, and A.T. Kear-
ney, most recently serving as chief executive officer of Deci-
sion Strategies. He earned a BS degree in mechanical engi-
neering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona,
and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.
Wireline Engineering appointed MAGNUS
WARDLE, SPE, as the first engineering
director in the Aberdeen companys 14-year
history, with overall responsibility for the
design and development of all products
supplied by the company. He re-joined
Wireline Engineering from Halliburton
Energy Services, where he spent the past 5 years as technology
manager and served as chief engineer before that. Before join-
ing Halliburton, Wardle held the role of design manager at
Wireline Engineering. He worked before that as development
engineer at Schlumberger, principal engineer at Elmar, project
engineer at Schoolhill, and as an intern engineer at British
Steel Tubes (now known as Corus), where he began his career.
Wardle earned an honors BEng degree in mechanical engi-
neering from Brunel University, London. He is a member of
the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and the Project Manage-
ment Institute.
JPT JUNE 2012
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140 JPT JUNE 2012

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JPT JUNE 2012 141

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142 JPT JUNE 2012

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JPT JUNE 2012

 SPE EVENTS
WORKSHOPS
2428 June La JollaSEG/SPE/AAPG
New Advances in Integrated Reservoir
Surveillance
2527 June IstanbulHorizontal and
Complex Wells: Reach Further, Recover More
2728 June Palos VerdesGlobal
Integrated Workshop Series: Produced
Water Handling
813 July Saint-Cyr-Sur-MerAAPG/
SEG/SPE Joint Hedberg Research
Conference: Fundamental Controls on
Flow in Carbonates
1112 July LuandaWater Flooding
1618 July VailWell Construction
AutomationPreparing for the Big
JumpForward
13 August Palos VerdesDistributed
Fiber-Optic Monitoring for Well, Reservoir,
and Field Management
2123 August San AntonioEagle Ford
Shale
45 September DubaiSPE/SEG Joint
Applied Technology Workshop: Giant
Fields MonitoringAre We Doing it Right?
1012 September DallasLost
Circulation and Wellbore Strengthening
1012 September DohaWell and
Reservoir Management: Oil and Gas
FieldMonitoring
1013 September BarcelonaPushing
the Envelope of Sand Control
1112 September Rio de Janeiro
SEG/SPE/SBGF Workshop: Global
Perspectives for Deepwater Presalt
Exploration and Production
1214 September BroomfieldSPE/SEG
Injection Induced Seismicity
1719 September IvernessCollision
Avoidance and Well Interceptions
1820 September Nizhnevartovsk
Hydraulic Fracturing
2326 September BaliIntelligent
Completions
2326 September XianHeavy Oil
2526 September Mexico City
Petroleum Reserves Estimation
Find complete listings of upcoming SPE workshops, conferences, symposiums, and forums at www.spe.org.
144
30 September3 October Penang
SPE PRMS Reserves and Resources
DefinitionsApplicable to Both
Unconventional and Conventional
Resources?
14 October PragueShale as a
Reservoir: Leveraging Formation
Characterization, Well Placement
and Unique Completions to Improve
Multi-Stage Stimulation
810 October Kuwait CityFractured
Reservoirs Development: Challenges
andOpportunities
1417 October PhuketFlow Assurance
2124 October CebuGeothermal
2224 October LondonClosing the
Loops: Geological Modelling, Reservoir
Simulation and Geophysical Measurements
47 November PenangBrownfield
Redevelopment
57 November CairoDeep Wells
Challenge
57 November ManamaUnconventional
Gas Fracturing: Leveraging Experience
from Success and Failure
57 November MuscatGlobal
Integrated Workshop Series: Produced
Water Handling
57 November HoustonComplex
Reservoir Fluids
1214 November StresaSubsea
Processing
13 November Abu DhabiBridging the
Expectation Gap
CONFERENCES
911 July TianjinIADC/SPE Asia Pacific
Drilling Technology Conference
68 August LagosNigeria Annual
International Conference and Exhibition
35 September IstanbulMathematical
Methods in Fluid Dynamics and Simulation
of Giant Oil and Gas ReservoirsConference
1113 September PerthSPE/APPEA
International Conference on Health,
Safety, and Environment in Oil and Gas
Exploration and Production
1920 September MidlandSPE Liquids-
Rich Basins Conference: New Technology
for Old Plays
2526 September Kuwait City
SPEInternational Professionals in
EnergyConference: Empowering
WomensLeadership
35 October LexingtonEastern
Regional Meeting
810 October San AntonioSPE Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition
1618 October MoscowRussian Oil and
Gas Exploration and Production Technical
Conference and Exhibition
2224 October PerthAsia Pacific Oil
and Gas Conference and Exhibition
30 October1 November Calgary
SPECanadian Unconventional
ResourcesConference
SYMPOSIUMS
2425 September Calgary
SPE Hydrocarbon Economics and
EvaluationSymposium
1820 February 2013 The Woodlands
SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium
810 April 2013 The WoodlandsSPE
International Symposium on Oilfield
Chemistry
FORUMS
510 August Park CityThe Future
of Horizontal Well Completions in
Unconventional Reservoirs
26 September DubaiImproving the
Healthcare of Oil and Gas FieldsSense,
Compute, and Act
2328 September AlgarvePreparing
for a $200 bbl World
30 September5 October Algarve
Designer Production Chemicals and Fluids
for the Oilfield
1419 October AlgarveNext Generation
Well Control
2126 October AlgarveManaging
Depleted Reservoirs and Extending the
Window of Opportunity
JPT JUNE 2012
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