Acid Placement and Diversion

Behzad Hosseinzadeh

Spring 2015 Supervisor: Dr. Aghighi Number of slides : 33 1

Introduction
Acidization

2
Introduction
SandStone Vs. Carbonate

SandStone

Carbonate

3
 Introduction
Two Reason Why Acid Treatments Fail

Acid-removable damage is not present

If it is present it is not fully contacted
o Acid does not go where it needs to go

Before acid treatment After acid treatment (without diverter) 4

Introduction
Diverting

5
 Acid Placement
Objectives of Acid Placement and Diversion

1. Coverage of the production or injection interval(s)

targeted for acid treatment
2. Distribution (spread) of the acid treatment in the
formation.

6
 Acid Placement, In The WellBore
Methods

1. Bullhead injection
(MAPDIR Method)
2. Mechanical placement
3. Chemical diversion
4. Protective Injection

Maximize Coverage …
Minimize Volumes
7
 Methods
The MAPDIR Technique

• maximum pressure differential and injection rate

• This was first introduced by Paccaloni and Tambi
• Referred to as Paccaloni’s method
• limited zone height, length and permeability variation
• Openhole, or liner completions in single or multiple
zones, as well as in thin zones

8
 Mechanical Methods
Packer / Bridge Plug.

• The surest way to place fluid

• Earliest mechanical method
• Retrievable and Permanent
• Types
• Cup type packers
• Mechanical packers
• Inflatable packers
• Expensive
• Need kind of intervention,
such as a workover
9
 Mechanical Methods
Ball Sealers

• Most widely used

• More economic
• Overcome drag forces
• Suitable for high
permeability contrast
• Efficiently in vertical
wells.
• larger than perforation
• Rubber or Biopolymer
10
 Mechanical Methods
Ball Sealers

• Type
• Sinkers (non-buoyant balls)
• Floaters (buoyant balls)
• Neutral buoyant
Floaters
Neutral
Sinkers

11
 Mechanical Methods
Jetting

• The acid can be placed

directly at the point where
it is needed.
• Ease with which an acid
injection can be terminated
• Most completions
• With foam provides
excellent zone coverage
• Rotary action required
• For perforation coverage
• For screen or open hole
coverage 12
Chemical Methods
Chemical Diversion

13
 Chemical Methods
Chemical Diversion

• The more commonly used chemical diverters today

include:
1. Salt granules
• Low solubility in strong acid but soluble
in formation water
• Not be used in a formation that does
not produce water
• Combined particulates, such as
graded rock salt and benzoic
acid
• Work best in perforated casing
and with medium permeability
contrast.
14
 Chemical Methods
Chemical Diversion

2. Benzoic acid
• The most broadly applicable diverter type
• Has limited solubility in both oil and water
• It has the ability to sublime directly into its gaseous state,
above about +/- 230 °F.
• Benzoic acid particulates are typically added to water or acid-
based carrier fluids (a surfactant may be
required for dispersal)
• Removal is either by slow dissolution
in produced oil (preferred) or water, or
through sublimation at higher
temperatures.
15
 Chemical Methods
Chemical Diversion

3. Waxes
• These materials are usually removed from the well by either
the action of temperature, dissolution in liquid
hydrocarbons or both.
4. Oil-soluble resins (OSR)
• Are not as popular today as they used to be
5. Gilsonite
• Naturally-occurring asphalt material
6. Fiber
• Effective diverting agents for both matrix and fracture
treatments
16
 Chemical Methods
Chemical Diversion

6. Foam
• It is useful in gravel pack completions
7. Viscous pills
• Polymer gels, such as hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC)
• Which can provide sufficient diversion
• Remaining gel residue in perforations can block flow.
• A separate treatment may have to be conducted to remove
the gel.

The major benefit of foams and gels relative

to particulates is their reversibility.
17
Chemical Methods
Chemical Diversion

18
Diversion Methods
Protective Injection

19
 Diversion Methods
Acid Fracturing Treatments

• Many of the techniques described in the preceding sections

also can be applied to acid-fracturing operations.
• Mechanical isolation methods work particularly well,
although this often involves extra expense, such as for a
workover or for specialized completions.
• This often is accomplished
with the use of diversion
stages programmed into
the treatment schedule,
effectively breaking up a
large treatment into
several smaller ones.
20
 Acid Diversion in the Formation
In-situ diversion

• In-situ diversion is also necessary and quite important

in both matrix and fracture acid treatments.

21
 Acid Diversion in the Formation
Foam

• Foam is a two-phase, gas-in-liquid emulsion

consisting of a liquid external phase and a gaseous
internal phase.
• They observed that successful diversion can be
expected for permeability ratios less than 10:1.
• A surfactant is required to keep
the foam stable until it enters the
formation.
• Work better in higher-permeability formations.
• Oil tends to destroy foams
22
Acid Diversion in the Formation
Foam

23
Acid Diversion in the Formation
Foam

24
 Acid Diversion in the Formation
Self-Viscosifying Acids (SVA)

• Has three specific components:

1. Gelling agent
2. Crosslinking agent (Fe, Al, Zr)
3. Breaker
• no H2S and permeability greater than 50 md.

25
Acid Diversion in the Formation
Self-Viscosifying Acids (SVA)

partially
Live spent acid
neutralized,

26
Acid Diversion in the Formation
Self-Viscosifying Acids (SVA)

27
 Acid Diversion in the Formation
Viscoelastic surfactant systems (VES)

• VES systems designed for matrix or acid fracturing

operations exhibit viscosity as a function of acid
strength

28
Acid Diversion in the Formation
Viscoelastic surfactant systems (VES)

29
 Acid Diversion in the Formation
Comparing VES - SVA

• Why do we use VES instead of SVA?

1. No residue
2. Completion brines
3. No damage

30
 Acid Diversion in the Formation
Viscous Fingering

Relies on viscosity contrast between acid and non-acid fluids

31
Acid Diversion
Summarizes

32
 References

1. L.J. Kalfayan, The Art and Practice of Acid Placement and Diversion:
History, Present State and Future, 2009
2. Ragi Poyyara, Optimization of Acid Treatments by Assessing Diversion
Strategies in Carbonate and Sandstone Formations , 2014
3. Leonard J. Kalfayan, The Art and Practice of Acid Placement and
Diversion, 2005
4. Leonard Kalfayan, Production enhancement with acid stimulation, 2nd
ed, 2007
5. Javier Ballinas, Weatherfird, Viscous Fingering Stimulation Option
Applied on Heavy-Oil Carbonate Reservoirs, 2014
6. M.G. Bernadlner, Effect of Foams Used During Carbonate Acidizing, 1992
7. Liang Jin, Optimising Diversion and Pumping Rate To Effectively Stimulate
Long Horizontal Carbonate Gas Wells, 2007
8. G. Glasbergen, Design and Field Testing of a Truly Novel Diverting Agent ,
2006
33