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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
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
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
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
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
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
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 *
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
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
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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Foaming test results - 100% oil well 3
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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Foaming test results – water/oil well 1
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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Foaming test results – water/oil well 2
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
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
14
Technology execution in the field
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013
2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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
2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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Central compressor
went down and well
was shut in causing
well to load up again
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013
2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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Liquid loading/
slugging
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013
2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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
2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013
2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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
2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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
2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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Questions or Comments?
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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.
Feb. 17 – 20, 2013 2013 Gas Well Deliquification Workshop
Denver, Colorado
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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.