Scaling Field
Abstract Reducing water production is the primary problem in the oil and gas industry. There are a few flow control technologies with moving parts available on the market to choke back water. However, the main issue with those technologies is the potential of plugging and scaling. In this paper, we will introduce a novel passive flow control nozzle, which has no moving part inside. All the choking is implemented through its internal geometry. Therefore, the risk of plugging and scaling will be significantly mitigated. In this paper, a passive flow control nozzle designed specifically for water choking will be presented. Design philosophy in fluid mechanics will be introduced in detail. The results of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and physical flow loop testing will be shown to evaluate the performance of the technology. It is shown that a passive choking nozzle can choke back more than 40% of water compared to an orifice while maintaining oil production rates. We will also perform simulation case studies to compare conventional slotted liner completions with the completions equipped with a passive choking nozzle (PCN). We will show that the nozzle can effectively choke back water and promote oil production in a long horizontal well. Finally, we will briefly discuss how the passive nozzle can mitigate well-known issues such as scaling and plugging.
- Asia > Middle East (1.00)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.47)
- North America > Canada > Alberta (0.47)
- North America > United States > Texas > Fort Worth Basin > Scaling Field (0.89)
- North America > United States > Kansas > Silica Field (0.89)
Summary Cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) is one the most effective thermal recovery methods. It is widely used as the primary thermal recovery method to recover heavy oil fields in the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, and North and South America. In this paper, a novel dual-directional flow control device (FCD) will be introduced. This FCD technology can allocate accurate steam outflow into the reservoir formation and improve steam quality during the steam injection period and can mitigate steam breakthrough from the neighboring wells during the production period. In the first section, we give a brief introduction on CSS and the main issues encountered in the field operation. A multidirectional flow control nozzle specifically designed for CSS application will be presented. Design philosophy in thermodynamics and hydrodynamics of the nozzle will be discussed in detail. Field performance results, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and flow loop testing data will be shown to evaluate the performance of the technology. The application of the technology in steam-assisted thermal applications will be introduced. Well-known issues such as erosion and scaling on the FCD tools will be studied in the end.
- Europe (0.88)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.69)
- Asia > Middle East (0.66)
- North America > Canada > Alberta (0.47)
- North America > Canada > Alberta > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin > Cold Lake Oil Sands Project > Clearwater Formation (0.98)
- North America > United States > Texas > Fort Worth Basin > Scaling Field (0.89)
- North America > United States > Kansas > Silica Field (0.89)
Summary Cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) is one the most effective thermal recovery methods. It is widely used as the primary thermal recovery method to recover heavy oil fields in the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, and North and South America. In this paper, a novel dual-directional flow control device (FCD) will be introduced. This FCD technology can allocate accurate steam outflow into the reservoir formation and improve steam quality during the steam injection period and can mitigate steam breakthrough from the neighboring wells during the production period. In the first section, we give a brief introduction on CSS and the main issues encountered in the field operation. A multidirectional flow control nozzle specifically designed for CSS application will be presented. Design philosophy in thermodynamics and hydrodynamics of the nozzle will be discussed in detail. Field performance results, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and flow loop testing data will be shown to evaluate the performance of the technology. The application of the technology in steam-assisted thermal applications will be introduced. Well-known issues such as erosion and scaling on the FCD tools will be studied in the end.
- Europe (0.88)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.69)
- Asia > Middle East (0.66)
- North America > Canada > Alberta (0.47)
- North America > Canada > Alberta > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin > Cold Lake Oil Sands Project > Clearwater Formation (0.98)
- North America > United States > Texas > Fort Worth Basin > Scaling Field (0.89)
- North America > United States > Kansas > Silica Field (0.89)
Abstract Cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) is one the most effective thermal recovery methods. It is widely used as the primary thermal recovery method to recovery heavy oil fields in Middle East, Asia Pacific, North and South America. In this paper, a novel dual-directional flow control device (FCD) will be introduced. This FCD technology can allocate accurate steam outflow into the reservoir formation and improve steam quality during steam injection period and can mitigate steam breakthrough from the neighboring wells during production period. In the first section, we will give a brief introduction on CSS and the main issues encountered in the field operation. A multi-directional flow control nozzle specifically designed for CSS application will be presented. Design philosophy in thermodynamics and hydrodynamics of the nozzle will be discussed in detail. Field performance results, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and flow loop testing data will be shown to evaluate the performance of the technology. The application of the technology in steam assisted thermal applications will be introduced. Well-known issues such as erosion and scaling on the FCD tools will be studied in the end.
- North America > United States (0.46)
- North America > Canada (0.28)
- North America > Canada > Alberta > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin > Cold Lake Oil Sands Project > Clearwater Formation (0.98)
- North America > United States > Texas > Fort Worth Basin > Scaling Field (0.89)
- North America > United States > Kansas > Silica Field (0.89)
Abstract Flow Control Device (FCD) completions in steam assisted thermal applications have been implemented in several places: Canada, California, China, Oman and Colombia, among others. Such completion configurations have been more common in recent years to mitigate or avoid uneven and/or improper steam placement and steam breakthrough, which are some of the critical issues operators have experienced in these developments. This study presents different FCD technologies designed to optimize the steam injection and fluids production for diverse steam assisted applications including SAGD, CSS and Steam Flooding. Three FCD technologies are introduced: (i) supersonic steam injection FCD, (ii) steam choking FCD and (iii) multi-directional FCD. Extensive Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations, analytic near-wellbore simulations and flow loop testing were conducted to evaluate the performance of the three technologies: (i) the supersonic steam injection FCD showed a high pressure recovery (therefore, less upstream pressure requirements) and a reduction of the cumulative steam-oil ratio, (ii) the steam choking FCD demonstrated the highest steam choking capability for these type of devices and (iii) the multi-directional FCD showed promising results for CSS applications to allow for supersonic steam injection during the injection phase and steam choking capabilities during the production phase Common FCD deployment risks such as erosion, scaling potential and high pressure drops were reviewed to provide the reader with a high level understanding of the factors which could induce these issues. Finally, field data where FCD completions have been installed is presented to compare the FCD wells performance versus conventional well designs and illustrate the success of these completions strategies. Keywords: flow control devices, supersonic steam injection, steam choking
- North America > United States > California (0.34)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.28)
- Asia > Middle East > Oman (0.24)
- North America > Canada > Alberta > Athabasca Oil Sands > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin > McMurray Formation (0.99)
- North America > Canada > Alberta > Athabasca Oil Sands > Western Canada Sedimentary Basin > Alberta Basin > Grand Rapids Oil Sands Project (0.98)
- North America > United States > Texas > Fort Worth Basin > Scaling Field (0.89)
- North America > United States > Kansas > Silica Field (0.89)
SPE's publication for the Projects, Facilities, and Construction (PFC) technical discipline, Oil and Gas Facilities (OGF), has recently launched a monthly section which will feature synopses of editor-picked SPE technical papers on PFC topics. OGF Selection Editor Gerald Verbeek will pick three papers each month that are then synopsized by SPE editorial staff and published on the OGF website. Verbeek was previously the executive editor for peer-reviewed papers in OGF and was recognized as "A Peer Apart" honoree for peer-review of more than 100 technical papers. He has picked Corrosion and Scaling for the first selection, a topic that affects all involved in oil and gas facilities. "Early in my career I spent about a year as a corrosion engineer to learn the fundamentals, only to discover that without keeping scaling and corrosion in mind, it is impossible to a be a good facilities engineer," said Verbeek in his introductory article about the new section.
- Well Completion > Well Integrity > Subsurface corrosion (tubing, casing, completion equipment, conductor) (0.42)
- Management > Professionalism, Training, and Education > Communities of practice (0.42)
- Facilities Design, Construction and Operation > Pipelines, Flowlines and Risers > Materials and corrosion (0.42)
- Data Science & Engineering Analytics > Information Management and Systems > Knowledge management (0.42)
Abstract There is a direct relation between the amount of data and the quality of the Deep Learning models predictions. Most projects around Deep Learning (DL) on Geoscience start with limited datasets, since availability is still an issue even within major O&G companies. When large amount of data becomes available, models can be trained with ambitious accuracy and generalization targets, at that stage regular computing resources are overwhelmed and distributed training is needed. Our contribution is the analysis and scaling of DL models that allows Geoscience problems to be solved in reasonable time with high accuracy, even under computing pressure due to larger datasets or compound DL tasks. Our main message is that scalability is possible but not easily achieved if one only add more computing resources, the key is to carefully exploit the trade-offs between traditional HPC techniques and inner workings of DL, this we like to refer as High Performance Machine Learning (HPML).
Evaluation of the Scaling Resistance of Different Coating and Material for Thermal Operations
Fattahpour, Vahidoddin (RGL Reservoir Management Inc.) | Mahmoudi, Mahdi (RGL Reservoir Management Inc.) | Roostaei, Morteza (RGL Reservoir Management Inc.) | Cheung, Stephen (Calgary Rock and Materials Services Inc.) | Gong, Lu (University of Alberta) | Qiu, Xiaoyong (University of Alberta) | Huang, Jun (University of Alberta) | Velayati, Arian (University of Alberta) | Kyanpour, Mohammad (RGL Reservoir Management Inc.) | Alkouh, Ahmad (College of Technical Studies) | Strom, Raymond (Calgary Rock and Materials Services Inc.) | Fermaniuk, Brent (RGL Reservoir Management Inc.) | Zeng, Hongbo (University of Alberta) | Luo, Jing-Li (University of Alberta)
Abstract Several alloys and coating techniques have been used by industry for their anti-corrosion and anti-fouling properties in the industry. One of the major problems in thermal operation is related to silica and calcium carbonate scale. In this study, we intend to better understanding the relative scaling resistance performance of different coatings and alloys exposed to typical formation water in thermal operations. This paper provides a study on failed samples collected from various projects in Western Canada. Moreover, a review of research work on scaling properties of different materials in thermal applications will be presented. Different failed screens were collected from various projects in Western Canada. Thin section analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) joined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were performed on collected failed pipeline samples to determine the composition of the scale material. Obtained results revealed that the main scaling materials are silicates and carbonates. Chert, clays and carbonates act as cement to bind sand grains (mainly quartz). Later, a review was performed on an ongoing investigation regarding the materials and coatings for improving the anti-scaling properties. Bulk scaling tests, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and in-situ field trials were used to investigate the anti-scaling properties of two RGL proprietary grade materials, proRC05, and proRS06, as well as electroless nickel (EN) coating. Carbon steel L80, carbon steel 4140 and EN30B alloy steel were used for comparison. The microstructural change of the material surface was studied using complementary techniques (e.g., XRD, SEM, and EDX). The tests have been performed under a complex chemical environment that represents the chemistry of the near screen condition in thermal operation, to assess the relative performance of different coatings. Among proRC05, proRS06, 4140 carbon steel and EN30B alloy steel, the anti-scaling performance follows the order of proRC05 > proRS06 > 4140 carbon steel > EN30B alloy steel. Comparison between EN-coated and uncoated samples shows that the EN-coated carbon steel L80 provides better anti-corrosion and fouling resistance performance with a small amount of iron oxides and silica foulants. Field trials of EN-coated technology have been also proven to be effective. This work provides a detailed review on recent attempts on evaluating the anti-scaling properties of various materials and coatings to minimize the silica and calcium carbonate scale. Furthermore, field trials were reviewed for evaluating the scaling and corrosion properties in thermal production. The results of this study will help engineers select material for projects in which silica and calcium carbonate scaling could be a significant issue.
- North America > Canada > Alberta (0.70)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.47)
- Overview (1.00)
- Research Report > New Finding (0.54)
- North America > United States > Texas > Fort Worth Basin > Scaling Field (0.89)
- North America > United States > Kansas > Silica Field (0.89)
Material Selection for Thermal Inflow Control Device Manufacturing to Minimize the Silica and Calcium Carbonate Scaling Potential
Qiu, Xiaoyong (University of Alberta) | Pan, Minfei (University of Alberta) | Gong, Lu (University of Alberta) | Huang, Jun (University of Alberta) | Mahmoudi, Mahdi (University of Alberta) | Sabbagh, Reza (University of Alberta) | Fattahpour, Vahidoddin (University of Alberta) | Sutton, Colby (University of Alberta) | Luo, Jing-Li (University of Alberta) | Zeng, Hongbo (University of Alberta)
Abstract Application of inflow control devices (ICDs) in a thermal producer has proven to be an effective solution to increase the wellbore performance and reduce production problems such as steam breakthrough. In challenging areas where the potential for scaling is greater, there is concern that the ICD could plug. Often, operators face severe nozzle plugging nozzles with silica and calcium carbonate scales. This work is intended to investigate the relative resistance of various materials to silica or calcium carbonate scaling. Bulk scaling tests on four types of coupons (4140 carbon steel, EN30B alloy steel, and two proprietary grades, proRC05 and proRS06) were conducted in the solution with similar chemical composition of common produced water in steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), cyclic steam stimulation, and steamflood projects in Western Canada. Both silica scaling and calcium carbonate scaling tests were carried out to evaluate the anti-scaling performance of the material commonly used in manufacturing ICDs for these projects. The microstructure of the scale on the coupons after scaling tests were completed was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Force measurement using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) colloidal probe technique was applied to interpret the microscopic interactions between different substrate surfaces and silica or calcium carbonate particles. The detailed investigation on evaluating the scaling resistance of different materials provides useful insights into the selection of suitable materials for projects where scaling exists as a major problem.
- North America > United States (1.00)
- North America > Canada > Alberta (0.48)
- Europe > United Kingdom > Scotland (0.29)
- Europe > Norway > Norwegian Sea > Halten Terrace > Block 6507/8 > Heidrun Field > Åre Formation (0.99)
- Europe > Norway > Norwegian Sea > Halten Terrace > Block 6507/8 > Heidrun Field > Tilje Formation (0.99)
- Europe > Norway > Norwegian Sea > Halten Terrace > Block 6507/8 > Heidrun Field > Ile Formation (0.99)
- (8 more...)
Holistic Management of Calcium Carbonate Scaling in a Mature Field: A Case Study
Malik, Ankit (BG Exploration and Production India Ltd., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc group of Companies) | Tiwari, Amitosh (BG Exploration and Production India Ltd., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc group of Companies) | Fartiyal, Prashant (BG Exploration and Production India Ltd., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc group of Companies) | Lele, Sarang (BG Exploration and Production India Ltd., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc group of Companies) | Manickavasagam, Chandran (BG Exploration and Production India Ltd., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc group of Companies) | Sharma, Neel Mani (BG Exploration and Production India Ltd., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc group of Companies)
Abstract Calcium carbonate scaling within well tubing and surface piping leads to significant production loss in many oilfields across the world. Scaling tendency of produced fluids increases multi-fold in a mature reservoir with increase in water production and decline in operating pressures. This paper demonstrates the use of modelling to help anticipate scaling issues and convert predictions into operational decisionmaking which has prevented significant value erosion in a mature field. Majority of the efforts in tackling scaling related losses have traditionally been centered on performing scale treatment after observing a significant change in flow parameters. Although this approach delivers value, it is more reactive in nature and becomes challenging to address in a logistically constrained offshore environment. This paper presents a case study on a new proactive framework on Scale Management. This new framework is driven by P2P approach - Prediction to Prevention. Prediction of scale formation tendency in wells was carried out using a thermodynamic model. Once wells with scale formation tendency were identified using thermodynamic model, scale prevention was done by selection and application of scale inhibitor chemical along with progressively reducing number of surgical acid washes. The scaling behavior was compared against the operating conditions of wells and the findings complemented the understanding from thermodynamic simulations. Paper deliberates on the cost optimization while application of this approach so that it remains extremely cost efficient in comparison to traditional approach. It details the evolution of scale management strategy right from project initiation to field maturation spanning across 30 years of production. With periodic reviews of this framework, additional ~10% of available well stock was identified as new wells migrating into scaling envelope over the last one year and added to Scale Inhibitor dosage program. This prevented production losses and well integrity issues in these wells. Wells put on continuous scale inhibitor injection as per recommendations of this approach did not have down-hole safety valve failures, protecting 35% of field oil production volume and ensuring safer operations demonstrating strong business value. Overall, application of this P2P framework has helped asset to reduce yearly scaling related losses by more than 90%.
- Materials > Chemicals (1.00)
- Energy > Oil & Gas > Upstream (1.00)
- Water & Waste Management > Water Management > Constituents > Salts/Sulphates/Scales (0.91)