SPE 143777

Increasing Oil Production without Increasing Water Cut in Wells in Ecuador

A. Boucher, SPE, C. Del Rio, SPE, F. Salazar, A. Milne, SPE, Schlumberger, and M. Robles, EP Petroecuador

Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE European Formation Damage Conference held in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 710 June 2011.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been reviewed
by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or
members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is
restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
An operator in Ecuador produces from the Napo U sandstone formation with permeability ranging from 90 to 2,000 mD. A
lateral aquifer supports the oil production coming from this zone. Water breakthrough in this formation is common in intervals
with high permeability streaks causing the water cut to increase substantially, thus affecting the oil producing zones. Besides the
onset of water, additional oil decline results from high pressure drawdown and high clay content (including kaolinite) in the
formation. The primary damage mechanism is identified as fines migration, a common problem in wells in Ecuador.
The main challenge is to increase oil production through stimulation in wells with high water cut and a strong aquifer, without
increasing the water cut. A treatment was proposed that would remove the damage in the intervals producing oil and good water
without stimulating the interval where water had already broken through. It consisted of combining a modified organic clay acid
(OCA) and a viscous disproportionate permeability modifier (VDPM) to maximize zonal coverage and minimize water production.
The first stimulation treatment using the modified OCA and the VDPM enabled the treatment to be diverted to the intervals where
water had not broken through. Post-treatment results showed production had doubled and water cut remained the same as it was
pre-treatment. Production then remained stable after more than 3 months. A nodal analysis model predicted that the well had a skin
of approximately 10 prior to the treatment, and this skin was reduced to nearly zero following the treatment.
A subsequent stimulation treatment performed in a horizontal openhole completion using coiled tubing increased oil production by
more than ten times the initial production. It was not known where in the openhole the water breakthrough had occurred in this
well, but through the use of the VDPM, the water cut was reduced.
An additional 13 wells with similar damage have been treated successfully using the same fluids resulting in an additional 2,100
BOPD of production. The combination of effective diversion, conformance control and modified OCA is an effective means of
selectively increasing oil production in mature fields without increasing the water cut.
Background
Many of the more prolific producing formations in Ecuador lie in the Oriente Basin, in the northeastern portion of the country
some 140 miles east of the Quito. The Napo U formation, consisting of the Inferior and Superior flow units, is part of the bigger
lower Napo formation. It is a Cretaceous deltaic sedimentary sandstone characterized by a stream mouth bar depositional
environment resulting in high permeability, good continuity, and strong aquifer water drive (Graue et al. 1992).
At depths ranging from 7,000 to 10,000 ft, the Napo U formation typically has permeability ranging from 90 to 2,000 mD and
temperatures ranging from 165 to 210 degF. It is an underpressurized reservoir with average reservoir pressures in the range of
1,800 psi, but the very active natural water drive mechanism present maintains this pressure well above the saturation pressure of
1,000 to 1,100 psi. The oil is typically between 22 and 35 API with a GOR of 230 to 340 SCF/STB. There are thousands of wells

SPE 143777

producing from the formation in the Oriente Basin, with wells producing anywhere from <10 BOPD to upwards of 2,000 BOPD.
However, due to the presence of the strong aquifer, water has broken through in many intervals across the formation resulting in an
average water cut of >50%, and >90% in some areas of the field (Ziritt, 2005).
Traditionally, wells producing from the Napo U formation are vertical, cased hole completions producing from one to four
perforated intervals each ranging from 5 to 70 ft. More recently, operators have tried some horizontal completions with 50 to 1,000
ft of horizontal openhole section, typically covered by some form of screen. Due to the reservoir being underpressurized and the
high water cut, wells are produced using electric submersible pumps (ESP), hydraulic pumps, or mechanical pumps.
The Napo U formation is known to have high clay content. The presence of the migratory clay kaolinite and HCl-sensitive clays
such as glauconitic and chlorite are common components of the overall clay content. Recall that the formation is also characterized
by moderate to high permeability, low reservoir pressures, and the rapid onset of water production as lateral and bottom water
aquifers breakthrough in both vertical and horizontal completions. As a result of these conditions, wells tend to have high
formation skin, up to 30 in many cases, due to two main factors:
Clay swelling and migration caused by the activation of clays due to losses of non-compatible drilling and completion
fluids.
Fines migration brought on by high drawdown during production, especially with ESPs and after the onset of water.
Key challenges to successfully stimulating these damaged wells through matrix acidizing include:
Obtaining deep live-acid penetration into the near-wellbore matrix to ensure desired stimulation/skin reduction.
Stabilization of remaining fines to prevent the onset of future fines migration causing a rapid decline in post-treatment
production.
Avoiding systems containing HCl due to the existence of HCl-sensitive clays.
Effective diversion to ensure the stimulation of the entire producing interval.
In wells with high water cut, effective diversion away from the high water cut intervals producing bad water so as not
to stimulate them and increase the water cut.
In the past, in order to stimulate the wells and increase production, many different types of stimulation fluids have been pumped,
both with and without diverter. Results have been inconsistent and generally not successful. Typically, no stimulation effect is
seen, or if it is seen, the initial production declines rapidly back to the initial pre-job production or lower. These results are
commonly associated with an increase in water cut. A solution that overcomes all the challenges above, providing effective
stimulation of the oil-bearing zones to increase oil production, without increasing water cut, was needed.
Fluid Design
Modified Organic Clay Acid
When choosing treating fluids for a specific formation, the main objective is to ensure that compatible fluids are used that are
capable of removing all or a sufficient amount of the damage while minimizing the quantity of reaction products that potentially
may precipitate and damage the formation. Mud acids, blends of hydrofluoric acid (HF) and hydrochloric acid (HCl), and organic
mud acids, blends of HF acid and acetic acid (C2H4O2) or formic acid (CH2O2), have been used in matrix acidizing treatments of
siliceous clay-containing formations for many years to improve productivity by removing formation damage. HF acid is the most
readily available, cost effective mineral acid able to dissolve the siliceous clays that are typically the cause of the formation skin.
The HF acid reacts with the clays as shown in Equation 1 (Economides and Nolte 2000).
HF + mineral (Al,Si) + H+ AlFx + H2SiF6 + H20+

(1)

The HCl:HF ratio of the mud acid, or acetic/formic:HF ratio in the case of organic mud acid, can be varied to accommodate the
solubility of dissolved mineral species present in the formation and address the potential precipitates that are products of nondesired primary, secondary, and tertiary reactions. Primary reaction precipitates can include calcium fluoride, alkali fluosilicates
and fluoalumiates which form in the presence of calcium, and sodium and/or potassium ions due to insufficient pre-flushes or
incompatible brines/formation water. Secondary reactions will precipitate hydrated silica gel onto the rock matrix face as nearly all
the HF is consumed, resulting in a reduction in post-treatment near-wellbore permeability. Tertiary reactions yield more hydrated
silica gel, fluosilicates, and aluminum fluoride precipitation, especially as the HCl/acetic/formic acid spends and the pH rises. Ironbearing minerals and clays, such as glauconitic and chlorite, can also introduce ferric iron to the system, resulting in colloidal
ferric hydroxide precipitates (Economides and Nolte 2000). Therefore, due to the complexity of the reactions involved with matrix

SPE 143777

acidizing of sandstones, it is important to choose the optimal fluid that will dissolve the formation damage, provide deep live acid
penetration to treat the entire near-wellbore matrix, be compatible with formation fluids and the formation, and minimize the
unwanted reaction by-products and precipitates.
Treatments performed in the Napo U formation using mud acid have performed inconsistently, typically yielding little to no
production gain. This is attributed to insufficient damage reduction, a high degree of incompatibility between the treatment fluids
and the formation and formation fluids, and subsequent damage by precipitates resulting from reaction by-products. The treatments
that do give some production gain are usually associated with a quick production decline attributed to plugging by migration of the
remaining kaolinite, which is present in high quantities in the formation. This is explained by the HF rapidly reacting with the high
concentration of clays in the formation within close proximity to the wellbore, resulting in insufficient deep live acid penetration.
When the well is put on production, clays migrate into the near-wellbore area, re-plugging the formation.
Therefore, mud acid does not address three key issues present in the Napo U formation: HCl compatibility issues due to the
presence of HCl-sensitive clays (glauconitic and chlorite), obtaining deep live acid penetration due to the high clay content
reacting quickly with and spending the HF acid, and the ability to stabilize clays and fines that remain in and around the nearwellbore matrix to prevent future plugging of the formation allowing sustained production following the treatment.
The HCl compatibility issue can be solved by using organic mud acids versus mud acids containing HCl. Due to the presence of
the HCl-sensitive clays glauconitic and chlorite in the formation, any HCl present in the treating fluids will spend quickly on these
clays, resulting in a higher pH and no control of secondary and tertiary reactions that produce hydrated silica gel and other
damaging precipitates. This can be controlled by replacing the HCl with organic acids, including acetic and formic acid. Citric/HF
mixtures have been introduced with the citric acid acting as a chelating agent for aluminum to prevent the formation of hydrated
silica gel (Rogers et al. 1998).
The issues of deeper live acid penetration and fines stabilization can be addressed by the use of fluoboric acid (HBF4) (Thomas and
Crowe 1978, 1981). The fluoboric acid hydrolyzes to a limited extent in an aqueous solution as shown in Equation 2.
HBF4 + H2O HBF3OH + HF

(2)

The equilibrium dictates that only a small amount of HF is present in the system at any given time. As HF spends in the presence
of clays, more HF is produced as the reaction equilibrium adjusts itself. Therefore, the system is effectively retarded. As the fluid
moves away from the wellbore and the HF reacts with the siliceous materials, more HF will be released into the system, allowing
deeper live acid penetration. One restriction in the Napo U formation is that even at 210 degF, the upper boundary of the
temperature seen in the formation, only approximately 0.15% HF is present in solution at any given time. This is very little to
effectively dissolve a significant portion of the formation damage in a reasonable time period. Another advantage of the HBF4
system is that it can control clay and fines migration. The reaction products from the hydrolysis of HBF4 react with clays, forming
a borosilicate which effectively fuses the clays to the surface of the pore spaces (Thomas and Crowe 1978, 1981). Due to this
feature, it is commonly referred to as clay acid.
Taking all of this into consideration, a potential solution for a treating fluid for the matrix acidizing of the Napo U formation is a
combination of the above described systems, a modified organic clay acid (OCA). A complete description of the development and
initial implementation of the modified OCA system is outlined in SPE 126719 (Jaramillo et al 2010) and will not be discussed
here. As its name suggests, it is a highly retarded, fluoboric acid system that provides deeper live acid penetration and fines
migration control in damaged sandstone reservoirs. Some key features and applications of the system that make it particularly
applicable in Ecuador are:
Initial concentration of free HF acid and available HF acid from hydrolysis of HBF4 acid with respect to clay mineralogy
and temperature can be adjusted by initial concentration and ratio of HF acid and boric acid to optimize the stimulation
effect, ensuring deep live acid penetration and sufficient HF available at reservoir temperature to remove damage.
Applicable for HCl-sensitive formations with high silt/clay content at temperatures ranging from 140 deg F to 350 deg F.
Utilizes organic acid as a chelant to minimize secondary and tertiary reactions, reducing the risk of damaging precipitates
forming in the critical matrix.
Stabilizes fines, providing long-term future fines migration control. An example of clay and fines stabilization by fusing
them to the pore spaces can be seen in Figure 1.
Since 2003, more than 120 successful treatments have been performed in multiple countries in a variety of reservoirs,
ranging from 105 degF to 250 degF and with clay contents up to 40% (Jaramillo et al 2010).

SPE 143777

Fig.1SEM photos showing a core before (right) and after (left) a modified OCA
treatment. Note the ability of OCA to dissolve the kaolinite and fuse what remains
to the formation face preventing future fines migration.

The modified OCA fluid used in Ecuador in the Napo U formation was chosen based on experience, core flow testing results,
and geochemical simulator results. It was designed to have a total available HF concentration of 3%, assuming complete
hydrolysis of the HBF4, with an initially available HF concentration of HF of 1 to 2% at bottomhole temperatures. The system was
tested in cores from an Ecuador formation with properties comparable to the Napo U formation to evaluate its ability to remove
formation damage and increase near-wellbore permeability, and to stabilize fines. The initial core permeability was 354 mD in the
production direction with brine with a critical velocity of <3 ml/min (Fig. 2). Following the injection of 7 pore volumes (PV) of
10% acetic acid preflush and 15 PV modified OCA, the permeability increased to 1,516 mD with a critical velocity of >6 ml/min,
clearly indicating the ability of the modified OCA to remove formation damage and stabilize clays and fines (Figure 3).

400

12

350
10
300
Perm to 5% KCl

Flow rate
200

150
4
100
2
50

0
0

50

100

150

200

Pore volumes flowed (1 PV = 5.935 ml, porosity = 17.5%)

Fig. 2Brine injection in production direction showing permeability of 354 mD at

1 ml/min and critical velocity of <3 ml/min.

250

Flow rate (ml/min) or DP (psi)

Permeability

DP

250

SPE 143777

1600

12
Crit Vel post
acid

1400

10

DP
1200

1000

Permeability

6
800
4
600
2
400

Flowrate(ml/min) orDP(psi)

200

-2
0

50

100

150

200

250

Porevolumesflowed (1PV=5.935ml, porosity=17.5%)

Fig. 3Following injection of 7 PV 10% acetic acid and 15 PV modified OCA

injection, permeability of 1516 mD and critical velocity of >6 ml/min.

Viscosified Disproportionate Permeability Modifier

A key to success when matrix acidizing sandstone formations is effective diversion to ensure the equal stimulation of the entire
producing interval(s). When acidizing in wells with high water cuts, it is also important to divert away from the intervals where
water has broken through to avoid stimulating them and further increasing the water cut.
Water breakthrough in the Napo U formation is common. In wells with multiple producing intervals, typically at least one of
them has water breakthrough. In wells with long producing intervals, including horizontal completions, often part of the interval is
watered out. However, it is rarely known exactly where the water is coming from. This makes things more difficult,
Aqueous-based treating fluids will tend to go to the intervals where water has broken through (highest water saturation) as this is
typically the most permeable interval in an otherwise heterogeneous reservoir, and because the treating fluids can more easily
displace water from the matrix than oil due to its higher mobility. Therefore, without proper diversion away from the water zones,
it is common to preferentially stimulate the water zones rather than the oil zones (Kennedy et al. 1990).
In the past, both foam diversion and viscoelastic surfactants have been pumped to try and effectively divert treating fluids away
from intervals with high water saturation. Neither technique worked particularly well, often resulting in ineffective diversion and
higher water cuts after the treatment than before. Eventually, due to perceptions of incompatibility and equipment/product
availability, both techniques disappeared. A diversion technique/fluid was needed that would provide effective zonal coverage to
allow the treatment fluids to stimulate the oil producing intervals, while at the same time diverting the treatment away from water
producing intervals with an end result of more oil production with a lower water cut.
A VPDM was implemented for this purpose. The development and initial implementation of the VPDM are discussed fully in
SPE 127827 (Jaramillo et al. 2010) and will therefore not be outlined in full here. The VDPM is based on a relative permeability
modifier (RPM), which can also be called a disproportionate permeability modifier (DPM). DPMs are intended to reduce the
formation relative permeability to water without affecting the relative permeability to oil. They are commonly a cationic
polyacrylamide polymer injected into the formation at a low viscosity, mixed in a monovalent brine to avoid hydration of the
polymer. Once in the formation, the polymer adsorbs onto the surface of the pore spaces, and once in contact with less saline
formation water, the adsorbed polymer hydrates. By effectively increasing the residual water saturation of the formation, the RPM
will reduce the relative permeability to water where there is water present in the formation.

SPE 143777

The advantage of viscosifying the DPM for matrix acidizing is that one also gains the advantages of the diversion effect brought
on by the increased resistance to flow of a more viscous fluid entering the near-wellbore matrix. By reducing the effective
permeability of the fluid entering the matrix, in this case by injecting a viscous fluid, subsequent treatment fluid stages pumped
after it will enter other non-stimulated intervals that now are more easily injected into. The diversion effect from the viscosity will
only last for the time that the fluid is in the near-wellbore matrix and depends on the volume and viscosity of the diverter fluid.
The technique of pumping alternating stages of a Newtonian treating fluid and a viscous diverter is a commonly employed
diversion technique used in the oilfield still today.
Therefore, a VDPM used as a diverter for a matrix acidizing treatment has multiple advantages over just using a VPM or a viscous
diverter used on its own. When the viscous fluid enters the formation, it will lower the effective permeability of that particular
interval, thus helping divert the next treating fluid stage to other intervals. Now, the RPM in the VDPM will adsorb onto the
surface of the pore spaces and decrease the permeability to water of the near-wellbore matrix in this interval, thus diverting
subsequent aqueous-based treating fluids. Therefore, there are two mechanisms ensuring effective zonal coverage. When the well
is flowed back and put on production, excess polymer will flow back, leaving the adsorbed polymer on the walls of the pore spaces
of the near-wellbore matrix, thus reducing the effective permeability to water and limiting water production.
As mentioned above, the initial aqueous-based fluids pumped will tend to go to the intervals with high water cut. Therefore, in
wells where water has broken through in some intervals and are producing at a high or uneconomical water cut, regardless of
where the water is coming from, the VDPM can be pumped as the first stage of the treatment. In this role, it will divert the
following treatment stages away from the water zone and help limit water production following the treatment by reducing the
effective permeability to water in the near-wellbore matrix in that particular interval.
Some features of the VDPM system include:
Easy field preparation.
Effective in permeability ranging from 50 to 2,000 mD and temperatures up to 220 degF.
Diverts treatment fluids away from intervals with high water cut and reduces their effective permeability to water.
Ensures complete zonal coverage of oil-producing intervals.
Applicability to treatments bullheaded from surface or pumped through coiled tubing.
The proprietary viscosity enhancer package (VEP) used to viscosify the DPM initially enabled the viscosity to be controlled
between 30 and 150 cp at 100s-1 up to 200 degF, However, the upper temperature limit has been successfully extended to 250 degF
for use in Ecuador. The fluid is insensitive to shear rates seen during matrix treatments and more stable than an equivalent
viscosified conventional polymer (guar) (Jaramillo et al 2010). Results of a lab tests done on a typical sandstone core seen in
Figure 4 show the ability of the VDPM, when pumped with acid, to reduce the permeability to water by up to 50%, while at the
same time allowing the permeability to oil to increase due to the effect of the acid.

Fig. 4Injection of acid and VDPM in a core (Jaramillo et al 2010).

SPE 143777

Case History #1
The first case study well was treated in March 2010. This is a vertical well completed in the Napo U Inferior sandstone at almost
9,000 ft TVD. The formation in this part of the field is approximately 40 ft in height, and this particular well has three perforated
intervals totaling 24 ft. The permeability of the intervals ranges from 90 to 300 mD. The formation is slightly under-pressurized
and maintains some pressure support from a lateral aquifer. In September 2008, with the well producing 1,200 BFPD, the side
water broke through in one or more of the intervals with high permeability streaks, causing the water cut to increase rapidly and
stabilize at close to 60%.
Due to a high drawdown, the onset of water, and the presence of high clay content, including kaolinite, in the formation,
production consistently declined down to 600 BFPD at 66% water cut. The primary damage mechanism was identified as fines
migration and the secondary mechanism as an emulsion caused by losses of non-compatible completion fluids during workover
operations.
A treatment was needed that could remove the damage in the intervals producing oil and good water, without stimulating the
interval where water had already broken through. The proposed treatment was:
1. Brine with mutual solvent and de-emulsifier to break the emulsion.
2. VDPM to divert away from intervals with high water cut and high permeability streaks.
3. Acetic acid preflush and modified OCA main treatment fluid to remove the damage caused by fines migration.
As seen in Figure 5, while pumping the treatment, a 300 psi pressure drop was observed due to the breaking of the emulsion when
the first brine stage arrived on formation. A 200 psi pressure increase was observed when the VPDM arrived on formation
showing its ability to divert, in this case, away from the high permeability layer with high water saturation. Finally, when the
acetic acid and modified OCA arrived on formation, a drastic pressure drop was observed that allowed a rate increase prior to the
end of the job.

InjectionTest

Brinew/mutualsolvent
anddeemulsifier
breakingemulsion.

VDPMinjectioninto
formation.200psipressure
increaseshowsitis
successfullydiverting.
ModifiedOCAinjectioninto
formation.Pressuredrop
allowedrateincreasefrom
0.4to1.1bpm.

Fig. 5Matrix acidizing treatment plot for case study #1.

SPE 143777

As seen in Figure 6, the production after the treatment increased back to above the original 1,200 BPD seen in September 2008,
with 64% water cut, virtually the same as 1.5 years earlier and lower than the 66% seen just prior to the treatment.

Fig. 6Production of case study #1 well beginning just prior to the treatment and
showing sustained production increase for 3 months following the treatment.

The VDPM fluid allowed the stimulation treatment to be diverted to the intervals where water had not broken through. A nodal
analysis model ( Fig. 7), predicts that the well had a skin of approximately 10 prior to the treatment, and this skin was reduced to
nearly 0 after the treatment. The production remained stable for over three months during the monitoring period, indicating that the
modified OCA was successful in stabilizing fines and preventing future fines migration.

Fig. 7Nodal analysis model of case study well #1 showing skin reduction from
10 prior to the treatment to nearly 0 after.

SPE 143777

Case History #2
The second case study well was treated in July 2010. This was a high water cut (95%) horizontal well with 75 ft of openhole
completed with wire wrapped screens in the Napo U formation. It was at 7,000 ft TVD, with permeability in the range of 300 to
500 mD. Production has been decreasing in the well for a long period of time, due primarily to fines migration brought on by the
rapid onset of formation water (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8Production of case study well #2 for the four months leading up to the
treatment showing production decline due to fines migration and production for
3 months following the treatment showing oil increase and a slight decrease in
the water cut.

The objective of the stimulation treatment was to increase the oil production, which had fallen to 12 BOPD, without increasing the
water cut, which had climbed to 95%. Because it was not known where in the horizontal section the water had broken through, it
was decided to begin the treatment with the VDPM fluid to divert the subsequent modified OCA stages away from the high water
cut interval to avoid stimulating it. The treatment was pumped through coiled tubing, as the well was completed with an ESP and a
Y-tool, using a rotating jetting tool. The coiled tubing was cycled up and down the openhole section during each stage. The
treatment was pumped as follows:
1. Solvent to expose the rock matrix for better performance of the VDPM and modified OCA.
2. VDPM to enter and divert away from the higher permeability watered out sections of the openhole.
3. Acetic acid preflush and modified OCA main treatment fluid to remove the fines migration damage and stabilize
remaining fines.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for better diversion and complete coverage of the treatment interval.
As the treatment was being pumped, the circulating pressure could clearly be seen rising when the VPDM was being injected into
the formation, indicating it was successfully diverting the treatment (Fig. 9). The pressure also fell substantially both times the
modified OCA stages were injected into the formation, indicating that it was removing the fines migration damage.

10

SPE 143777

Fig. 9Treatment plot treatment pumped in case study well #2, a high water cut
horizontal well treated with coiled tubing. Diverting effects of VPDM and
stimulation effects of modified OCA can clearly be seen from pressure response.

Following the VPDM and modified OCA treatment, the oil production increased from 12 to 200 BOPD before finally stabilizing at
140 BOPD, while the water cut went from 95 to 94%. The VDPM fluid was able to successfully divert the modified OCA away
from the high water cut sections, allowing it to successfully stimulate the oil-producing intervals.
Results
Pre- and post-treatment production and water cut results from 15 wells treated with the modified OCA and VDPM, including the
two case study wells, are shown in Figure 10 and 11, respectively. The total oil production gained was 2,100 BOPD, and the
average water cut reduction was almost 15%.
2500
PreProduction(BFPD)

PostProduction(BFPD)

2000

1500

1000

500

0
1

10

11

12

13

14

15

Fig. 10Production before and after matrix acidizing treatments with modified
OCA and VDPM.

SPE 143777

11

PreWaterCut
PostWaterCut

100

75

50

25

0
1

10

11

12

13

14

15

Fig. 11Water cut before and after matrix acidizing treatments with modified
OCA and VDPM.

Conclusions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Moderate to high water cut wells in Ecuador can be successfully stimulated using modified OCA as the main treating
fluid and the VDPM fluid as a diverter.
The results from 15 wells gave a total increase in oil production of 2,100 BOPD with an average water cut reduction of
15%
Modified OCA provides deep live acid penetration and sufficient damage removal in moderate temperature, high clay
content, and HCl-sensitive sandstones.
Modified OCA provides clay and fines stabilization, resulting in sustained increased production following matrix
acidizing treatments.
VDPM fluid is capable of providing effective diversion away from intervals with high water saturation and complete
zonal coverage during matrix acidizing in high water cut wells, resulting in increased oil production and decreased water
cut.

References
Graue, D.J., Larsen, W. 1992. Libertador Field: An Integrated Approach to a Development Plan. Paper SPE 23648 presented at the
Second Latin American Petroleum Engineering Conferenrence, II LAPEC, of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Caracas,
Venezuela, 8-11 March.
Economides, M.J. and Nolte, K.G. 2000. Reservoir Stimulation, third edition, 13.14-13.17. Baffins Lane, Chichester, England:
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Jaramillo, O.J., Romero, R., Lucuara, G., Ortega, A., Milne, A., and Lastre, M. 2010. Combining Stimulation and Water Control in
High-Water-Cut Wells. Paper SPE 127827 presented at 2010 SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage
Control, Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.A., 10-12 February.
Jaramillo, O.J., Romero, R., Ortega, A., Milne, A., and Lastre, M. 2010. Matrix Acidizing Systems for Formations with High Clay
Content. Paper SPE 126719 presented at 2010 SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control,
Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.A., 10-12 February.
Kennedy, D.K., Kitziger, F.W., and Hall, B.E. 1990. Case Study on the Effectiveness of Nitrogen Foams and Water Zone
Diverting Agents in Multistage Matrix Acid Treatments. Paper SPE 20621 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., 23-26 September.

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SPE 143777

Rogers, B.A., Burk, M.K., Stonecipher, S.A. 1998. Designing a Remedial Acid Treatment for Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Turbidite
Sands Containing Zeolite Cement. Paper SPE 39595 presented at the Formation Damage Control Conference, Lafayette,
Louisiana, U.S.A., 18-19 February.
Thomas, R.L., and Crowe, C.W. 1978. Single-stage Chemical Treatment Provides Stimulation and Clay Control in Sandstone
Formations. Paper SPE 7124 presented at the SPE California Regional Meeting, San Francisco, California, U.S.A., 12-14 April.
Thomas, R.L., and Crowe, C.W. 1981. Matrix Treatment Employs New Acid System for Stimulation and Control of Fines
Migration in Sandstone Formations. Paper SPE 7566 presented in Journal of Petroleum Technology, August: 1491-1500.
Ziritt, J.L. 2005. Mature vs. Unknown, Where Are We Really? An Ecuadorian Field Case. Paper SPE 97636 presented at the
SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20-23 June.
SI Metric Conversion Factors
mD x 9.869 233 E-4
bbl x 1.589 873 E-1
mi x 1.609 34
ft x 3.2048 E-1
(F 32)/1.8
psi x 6.894 757
ft3 x 2.831 685 E-2
gal x 3.785 412 E3
cp x 1.0 E-3
in. x 2.54
gal x 3.785 412 E-3

= m2
= m3
= km
=m
= C
= k.Pa
= m3
= ml
= Pa.s
= cm
= m3