Foamer application to optimize the production of ... - 2... · Nalco І An Ecolab Company ... •Sci-FoamTM Technology Development ... implied, with respect to the presentations and/or

Gas Well Deliquification Workshop

Sheraton Hotel, Denver, Colorado

February 17 – 20, 2013

Fenfen Huang, Lawrence Thomas

Energy Services Division

Nalco І An Ecolab Company

Foamer application to optimize the production of horizontal gas wells

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop

Denver, Colorado

2

Outline

• Background

• Sci-FoamTM Technology Development

• Foamer recommendation

• Foam stability evaluation and defoamer

screen

• Field performance

• Summary

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013

2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop

Denver, Colorado

3

High oil price drives drilling and production campaign in oil rich shale play


Denver, Colorado

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Horizontal wells

• Liquid holdup can severely impact production from horizontal wells

• Complex and undulating trajectory cause earlier onset of liquid

loading in horizontal wells

• Wellbore trajectory is major contributor to liquid holdup

Complex

Toe down

Undulating

Toe up

D. Jackson et. Al “Investigation of Liquid Loading in Tight Gas Horizontal Wells With a Transient Multiphase Flow

Simulator” Canadian Unconventional Resources Conference, 15-17 November 2011, Alberta, Canada


Denver, Colorado

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Background

• The customer operates horizontal wells in a liquid-rich shale

play

• These horizontal wells produced 2 – 3.5 MMCF/day of natural

gas, and 600 -1200 bopd when first completed

• These packered wells suffered from liquid loading and had

dramatic decrease in gas rate (100 - 500 mcf/day) and oil

rate ( 5- 200 bopd) and some even ceased production

• Due to presence of H2S and packer, lack of gas lift mandrels,

there are limited artificial lift options

• Frequent swabbing had to be done to keep these wells

producing and cost $13,000 – 26,000/swab


Denver, Colorado

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Foamer technology development

Used a statistical design approach to design robust combinational

foamer formulations (foamer + corrosion inhibitor + scale inhibitor) to

take advantage of the synergistic effect of different surfactants

* F. Huang, et.al. “Optimized foamers for natural gas well deliquification: A statistical design approach”, Fuel, Vol. 97, 2012

Foaming performance of

combinational foamer blends *


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Performance evaluations in the lab

Gas

Frit

Glass

Column

Condensing

Arm

Balance

Foam

ReceiverPC

Unloaded %

Time

Gas

Frit

Glass

Column

Condensing

Arm

Balance

Foam

ReceiverPC

Unloaded %

Time

Nalco Deliquification Unloading Rig – Modified ASTM 892


Denver, Colorado

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WELL

Y_OIL

(bbls/day)

Y_WATER

(bbls/day)

Oil Cut (%)

Well 1 280.6 47.5 85.52%

Well 2 5.3 3.4 60.92%

Well 3 70.8 0 100.00%

Well 4 199.7 0 100.00%

Well 5 52.5 0 100.00%

Mature wells

Water salinity: 25,000- 60,000 ppm TDS


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Foaming test results - 100% oil well 3


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Foaming test results – water/oil well 1


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Foaming test results – water/oil well 2


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WELL Oil CUT

(%)

RECOMMENDED

FOAMER

RECOMMENDED

FOAMER DOSAGE (PPM)

Well 1 85% Foamer 1 29,000

Well 2 60% Foamer 1 29,000

Well 3 100% Oil Foamer 48,000

Well 4 100% Foamer 1 58,000

Well 5 100% Oil Foamer 48,000

Foamer recommendations


Denver, Colorado

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• Laboratory testing simulating foam tendency on the

topside indicated low foam tendency on the surface

• However, the best-in-class defoamer was made

available as start-up contingency during field trial

Simulating topside

• Selected the well candidates for field trial (ROIs,

priority etc.)

• Static fluid levels were obtained within 3 days prior to

field trial to calculate the needed amount of foamers

• 50 gallons (1.2 bbls) – 2 bbls of foamers were batched

down the tubing followed by 2 bbls of KCl flush, the

wells were shut in, allowed to soak and build up

pressure

• Reopened the well and monitored the flow back fluids

• Monitored oil rate, gas rate and topside separation

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Technology execution in the field


Denver, Colorado

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013


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“a repeat load-up offender, has required multiple

swabs to kick off following previous load up” - operator

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013


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Central compressor

went down and well

was shut in causing

well to load up again

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013


Denver, Colorado

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Liquid loading/

slugging

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013


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Feb. 27 - Mar. 2, 2011 2011 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop Denver, Colorado 19

Well C

KPIs

• 6 out of 8 treatments were successfully (75% success rate to date)

• Regain/stabilization of production from “dead” wells: 200 - 400 bopd /200 - 800 MCFD

• Achieved significant cost savings: $ 7,500-21,000/treatment saving was realized as a result of using foamer as alternative to swab

Swab Equipment/Job: $15,000 – 26,000

Foamer Job: Chemical Cost: Approximately $1200

Project Lead and Misc.: $4500

Foam Job Estimated Total Cost: $5700.00

• No topside upset and no need to apply defoamer

• Some foamer-treated wells had more than one month sustained production

• Foamer treatment minimized well-down time and maximized both oil and gas productions

20 Feb. 17 – 20, 2013


Denver, Colorado

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013


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Path forward

• Evaluation of more treatments in progress

• Obtain better understanding of

unsuccessful treatments (well candidates,

and foamer selection)

• On-going optimization and field monitoring

• Evaluate potential for continuous treatment

for wells with proven benefits from the Sci-

FoamTM program

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013


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Summary

• Tailored chemical foamers were applied in many

horizontal gas wells with high oil cut ( 60 -100%) suffering

from liquid loading and successfully unloaded the liquid

• Uplifts in both oil rate and gas rate were observed

• No upset on the topside (no emulsion, foam residual)

• These foamers are refinery friendly thus no impact on the

value of the oil and refinery process

• Cost saving of $7,500-21,000/treatment was realized

compared to previous artificial lift remedy

• Chemical foamer is a proven cost –effective option for

deliquifying high H2S packered horizontal wells


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Acknowledgements

• Zach Braden, Nalco

• Judy Jones, Nalco

• Nalco, An Ecolab Company

Sci-FoamTM, Nalco and the logo are trademarks of Nalco Company, an Ecolab Company.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Feb. 17 – 20, 2013


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Questions or Comments?


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Copyright

Rights to this presentation are owned by the company(ies) and/or author(s) listed on the title page. By submitting this presentation to the Gas Well Deliquification Workshop, they grant to the Workshop, the Artificial Lift Research and Development Council (ALRDC), and the Southwestern Petroleum Short Course (SWPSC), rights to:

– Display the presentation at the Workshop.

– Place it on the www.alrdc.com web site, with access to the site to be as directed by the Workshop Steering Committee.

– Place it on a CD for distribution and/or sale as directed by the Workshop Steering Committee.

Other use of this presentation is prohibited without the expressed written permission of the author(s). The owner company(ies) and/or author(s) may publish this material in other journals or magazines if they refer to the Gas Well Deliquification Workshop where it was first presented.


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Disclaimer

The following disclaimer shall be included as the last page of a Technical Presentation or Continuing Education Course. A similar disclaimer is included on the front page of the Gas Well Deliquification Web Site.

The Artificial Lift Research and Development Council and its officers and trustees, and the Gas Well Deliquification Workshop Steering Committee members, and their supporting organizations and companies (here-in-after referred to as the Sponsoring Organizations), and the author(s) of this Technical Presentation or Continuing Education Training Course and their company(ies), provide this presentation and/or training material at the Gas Well Deliquification Workshop "as is" without any warranty of any kind, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information or the products or services referred to by any presenter (in so far as such warranties may be excluded under any relevant law) and these members and their companies will not be liable for unlawful actions and any losses or damage that may result from use of any presentation as a consequence of any inaccuracies in, or any omission from, the information which therein may be contained.

The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in these presentations and/or training materials are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sponsoring Organizations. The author is solely responsible for the content of the materials.

The Sponsoring Organizations cannot and do not warrant the accuracy of these documents beyond the source documents, although we do make every attempt to work from authoritative sources. The Sponsoring Organizations provide these presentations and/or training materials as a service. The Sponsoring Organizations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the presentations and/or training materials, or any part thereof, including any warrantees of title, non-infringement of copyright or patent rights of others, merchantability, or fitness or suitability for any purpose.

Documents

Foamer application to optimize the production of ... - 2... · Nalco І An Ecolab Company ... •Sci-FoamTM Technology Development ... implied, with respect to the presentations and/or