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SPE
3PE 15764

<huff Gas Production Experience


=y M.A, Kasnick, Arabian American 011Co.
sPE Member

Copyright 1987, Society of Petroleum Engineers

Thie papar was prepared fc! presentation at the Fiflh SPE Middle East Oil Show held in Manama, Bahrain, March 7-10, 1987.

Thle peper was selected tor preaenlation by an SPE Program Commitlee !ollowing raview 01 information ccrdalned In en abstract eubmllled by the
author(s). Conlanfs of the paper, as presanled, have nof been raviewed by the Society of Palroleum Engineers and are subject 10 correction by the
author(s). The malarial, as praa.anted, does not neceasarlly reflect any paeition of the SOoiely of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers
presented at SPE meetings are aubjaoi 10 publication reviaw by Edllorial Commitlaas of the SOOiefy 0! Palroleum Engineers. Permlasion to COPY is
reafrlcted to an abstract of not more than 300 worde. Illuefrations may not be copied. The abatracl should contain ConaplCUC.Ue acknowlmlgmenf of
whera and by whom the paper is presented Write Publicaliona Manager, SPE, PO. Box 83383e, Richardson, TX 760N48W. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.

ABSTRACT OPERATINGCONDITIONS
The non-associated gas from the Khuff reservoirshas
been developedto provide supplementalfuel gee and The I(huffgaa is used aa a supplementwhenever gas
demand exceeds the supply of gas available from
petrochemzc.-. feedstock. The productionsystems are
centeredon t’~e‘Uthmaniyahand Shedgumareas of the crude production. Although the demand for Khuff
Ghawar field “>ecause of the close proximityto sour gas is greatest during the aumcoermonths, when
gas handlingplante. power consumption ia highest, high demand also
occurs during other times of th~ year as a function
Untreatedsour gaa is producedthrough~he gathering of crude sales. The combinationof demand varia-
systemsdirectlyto gas plants. The high rate, high tion, well test requirementsand epurious tripa
preaRuresour gaa productionis closelymonitoredso produce a condition where wells are frequently
th? system operates within acceptable guidelines. cycled between shut in and flowing conditions.
Figure 2 .iaa plot of the number of production/shut
Scale formation in tubulars, hydraulic limits of
surface cnd aubsurfttcepipes, and potentialcorro- in cycles for typical wells during the 1984-1986
sion/erosion problems in surface facllitiea are ttcneperiod.
typicalconcernsin this sour gaa producingsystem.
Well test,frequencywae initiallyset at one teat/
INTRODUCTION welllmonth. Testa are now done as a function of
production time with teat frequency decreaaed to
In 1982 MtAMCO began a program to auppleuiencthe once a quarter if a well has not been on produc-
associatedgas suppliesin Saudi Arabi~by producing tion more than 1 week per month. Modified
ths son-associatedgae sources in the Khuff reser- itaochronalteats are made on all welle once per
voirs, The Khuff gas producedfrom these reeervolrs year. This frequency will change if there ia
~S a high pressure sour gaa with typical analyaes evidence that the performance of a well has
shown in T~ble 1. Approximatewater productionis chan8edefgnificantly.
1.5 barrelsper millionSCF of gaa while the conden-
sate ra-- varies from 35 to 55 barrels/MMSCF, By Operations information la continually collected
December !983 the first well wae put on production. by a small SupervisoryControland Data Acquisition
The main Khuff Gas DevelopmentSyatemwent on atreerrt (SCADA) system, This system monitors wellhead
shortlythereafter. informationsuch ae preesures,control valve aet-
tin~s, and syetam alarms, At the manifold/test
Gas from each high preaeure sour gas well flowe trap area the eystem collects data on the well
through individual flowlinea to a rer,otemanifold tosta includingall fluid atre.smquantitieswhile
and then through trunkline to the gas plants. the manifold opera~ing condition are monitored.
Figure 1 Is a block flow dia8ram of a Khuff Finally the total flow and system pressure at the
productionsysatcm. gar plant are recordedalongwith alarm information.

‘l’he
main subjectof this paper ia the performanceof Safety eyatcma include multiple H S detectors et.
the surface gathering facilities with regard to each wellsite, There are 3 hydraufic and 1 manual
erosion and corrosion. The same concerns for safetyvalveaon each wallhead.The hydraulicayatem
do~ho~Q tubulars ae well as scale formationin tiie ie aet to protect the flowlinefrom excessivepres-
production tubing are alao addresacd. A brief sure or shut in the well in caae of a catastrophic
description of ayatem operating conditions is failure, At the manifold a relief vslve system
provided. protectsthe trunkline from exceesivepressure.
3
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2 KHUFF GAS PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE SPE 15764

Finally a total system shutdown can be initiated The task force selectedflowlinesfor two high rate
from the gaa plant, the manifoldarea, or the field Shedgum Khuff wells to be monitored along with a
operationsceuter, trunklinefrom the manifold ar+a to the gas plant.
The iates from the wells and the raanifoldpressure
Figure 3 is an exampleof an operatingwin<~w which were adjusted to correspondto C valusa of 105 and
is used as an aid in setting individualwell flow 120 in the flowlinea. The trunklinewas ~peratedat
conditions. The five factors which determine the a C value of 113. Au a point of comparisontha
shape of the window are 4$-inchtubing in one of the wells was operatedat a
C value of 305 and no erosionwas identif+.ed.The
1. Minimum fluidvelocity(> 10 ft/see) test period was 90 days. During this time weekly
2. Maximumfluid velocity [usually< 50
ultrasonic thickness measurements were made at
ft/see) points where restrictionsor flow directionchangea
3. Minimumprcaaureat manifold occur,and rate, temperature,and pressuredata were
4. Maximumpreesureat manifold gathereddaily.
5. Maximum flowlineinlet pressureat well.
Fluid velocities in the flowlines approached 55
Similar guidelines are used for controlling the ftfsecwhile the velocity in the trunklinereeched
velocity in the trunkline. Normal operating
60 ft/sec. The reason the actual velocitiesin the
proceduresare designed to keep velocitiesin well trunklineend flowlinesdo not directly correspond
tubingstringsbelow 50 ft/eecaleo.
to the C valuea is because operating pressure is
SURFACEFACILITIES lower at the trunklineend of the ayaceru.
This sectim presentsa summaryof an investigation
Ultrasonicreadinga ahowed no metal loss from the
of suspected erosion problems in the gathering wellheada up to the trunkline entry to the gaa
aystemq Although ultrasonic inspectionhad indi-
plant. However, readings taken at points on the
cated metal loss in the pipelinesentering the gas
trunklineimmediatelyupstreamof the slugcatcherin
planta, furtheranalynis proved none had occurred,
the plant appearad to show come loss when compared
However,croaionhas taken place in preaaurecontrol
to prior ultrasonicreadingstaken before the start
valves locatednear the wellhead.
of the test. A typicaltrace of thicknessmeasure-
ments for plant p~ping plotted against time is shown
ErosionAnalyaiain GatheringSystem
on Figure 5. For comparisona plot of fluid velo-
Increasedproductionratea required to meet demand city ve time ia included. The decreasein thickness
triggereda concernabout posaiiile erosiondamage in duringMay on severalof the meaaurementawas due to
surface piping. The concern became critical when a change in measurement technique. However this
manual ultrasonic thicknessmeasurementsindicated apparent d$:creasein thicknees prompted the gaa
metal loaa in elbows and Y braneheaat the entry to plant opert,torato impose a limit on Khuff gaa flow
the gas plant. A schematicof the trunklinewith into the plant. An area scanninginspectionayatem
commentsbased on ultrasonic(UT) readingaare shown was used to increaaesurveillanceof these suspected
in Figure 4. It is entphaaized that there were no metal loss areae. This system had a computerbased
existing original wall thickness measurements ultrasonicimagingand mapping tool capableof large
available on these pipe sec:!~na. A task force surfacearea coverage.
was setup to monitor the effectsof high velocities
on the gathering system and to recommend system This system verified the readinga obtained by the
operatinglimits. hand held ultrasonicdevices. These findingswere
supplementedwith color coded computer graphic?
The guidelineproposedin Section2,5 of API-RP-14E which illusti?ated
clasaic erosion patterns. Durfng
was selected to aet ratea for a field teat to the time this systemwas in use the gas production
determineoperatinglimits. This guidelinehad been had decreaaed substantially,but measurementsfrom
previouslyused in the design phase to size the both this system and the hand held instruments
surface piping in the Khuff syetem. The guideline continued to show the same rate of metal loss.
recommends that pipe used to traneport gae and Therefore,no relationshipbetween metal 10CS rate
liquid in two phase flow should be sized primarily and productionrate was establi~hed,
on the baais of flow velocity,and this flow velo-
city “should be less than some fluid erosional Based on ramaininglife calculation, several pipe
vtlocity”. The API-RP-14E equntion to determine sections were scheduled for replacementduring a
this velocitylimit is: planned shutdownperiod, Remaininglife was calcu-
lated at less than 3 yeurs. These calculationswere
V(4 - C/(Pm)‘i erroneouslyinfluencedby the previouslymentioned
where: Ve - fluiderosionalvelocitylimit in ft/sec change in measurementtechnique,
C - an eml>ir~c*~
constant
Pm - fluid”denaityin lb~/ftaat operating Resultsof Visual Inspection
pressureard temperature
After the sections of pipe were removed and
The conservativerecommendationfor a value for the measured,i. was still not clear whethermetal loss
constant C is 100 for continuous service. The had occurred. Sfnce there was no record of baae
guidelin~ pointa out. that solids production may line thickness measurementsmnde on these pieces
requireuso of a lower value of C for the erosional prior to initial Installation,nominal pipe WU1l
velocity calculation, Tt ie also noted that if thickncsawas used to indicatethe total extent of
corrosivefluids are producederosion,/corrosionmay metal loss, However,acceptablethicknesstolerance
cauac metal loss at velocitica much lower than for new oil field pipe is t 12,5%, A 16-inch
predictedby the erosionequation. diameterone-inchwall thickneaeelbow can vary from
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SPE 15764 M. A. Kasni.ck 3

0.875 to 1.125 inches in wall thicknessand still typicalvalve with the eroded areaa highlighted.
pasa inspection. It should be not=d that none of
the UT readingsmade.on any piece of pipe showed a The erosionis causedby the flakingand crackingof
thicknessthat wae outside the acceptablemanufac- the hard surface face which txpoaea the underlying
turing tolerance. Wall thicknesses measured by softer metal to the high velocity liquid. Liquid
caliperon a 16 inch elbow at a croee sect.tonwhere velocity through the presauce lat down in portione
severe metal loss was auapectedvaried from 0.88 to of the valve 16 estimated to be greater than 500
0.97 inchasfor a nominal l-inchthick pipe wall. ftlsec.

The visual obsenation of mill scale and manufac- In two Instanceathe erosion has penetratedthrough
turing surface marka conclusivelyshowed that no the seat and into the valve body. The problemwas
erosion had occurred. Mill ecale product (FQ O ) discoveredwhen all wells were shut in and the gae
waa present at points of suepectedhigh erosion3 in plant waa still recording a gaa flow. Every PCV
several of the suspact pipe pieces. Mill scale examined to date has exhibited the same erosion
usually only occurs during manufacturing. ExamLna- problem.
tion of the insida surfacaof the euspect 16” elbow
also showed striations around the entlra circum- The short term solution is to replace the plasma
ferance, even under the mill bcale, as shown in spray covered seats and plugs with cast seats and
Figure 6. These striationsare made by the irregu- weld overlay plugs. A rigorousmonitoringpro~ram
larities on a die when an elbow or other pipe will determine if this solution is effective, In
segment is drawn during manufacture, These marks, the meantimealternatevalve msnufactureraare being
usually about 0.03 inches in depth, showed that considered in case the r~~lacementparta do not
metal leas has not taken place, becausa the marka performsatisfactorily.
would have been erodedaway. Mill scale flakingoff
during operation in conjunctionwith the different DOWNHOLECORROgION
densityof the mill scale relativeto the pipe wall
probably gave the UT readinga which seemed to Iron sulfide scale formationwith pitting corrosion
indicatea metal leas, found only under scale has occurred in tubing
atringa in Khuff wells on production. This has
The replacement pipe thickness was base line cauaed no operationalproblems to date, but the
meaaured and La continuallymonitored, as is the poaaibilityof long term effects prompted thorough
rest of the gatheringeyatem. After 10 months there and continuing study of the phenomena, Downhole
haa been no evidenceof met[,lloss in the reg.ace- corrosionmonitoring is performed,but it has not
ment piping. Consequently,API RP 14E is not used been neceaaary to initiate a complete corrosion
to set operationlimits m xhe system with respect inhibitor program. The approach to potential
to erosionof surfacepiping. downholecorrosionproblemsin Khuff wells haa been
reactive;wait and see if there are problems,and
The systemis also routinelymonitoredfor corrosion then initiate corrective programs, To date no
and erosion/corrosion. Corrosion inhibitor is evidencehas been found to requi::ea change in this
injected into the flowline at every wellhead and approach.
inhtbitor concentrationie monitored at the gaa
plant end of the piping. Corrosion monitoring Detectionand Monitoring
facilitiesinclude a water sample pot, a removable
teet epool, and access connections. All materials Tha scale is moat prevalent at the bottom of the
found in the teat trap and other gas plant veasela tubingstringand completelydisappearsby one third
during cleanout are thoroughlyanalyzed for corro- to one half of the way up hole, There is probably
sion Impllcationa,The flowlinesand trunkline are some natural inhibition effect from the heavy
equipped for scrapingoperations, Finally external condensateswhich break out of the gas streamas the
corrosionla combattedby Impressedcurrentcathodic fluidmoves up the tubingstring, It is also likely
protection applied to well caeings and surface that the scale ia formedbv a combinationof corro-
piping, and all buried pipe Is externallycoated slon productand some leaaer amountof deposition.
with fueionbonded epoxy,
Scale samplea have been collected from tubing
Jhosion in PressureControlValves strings which were pulled during well workovara.
The primary corrosion monitoring haa been from
Several instancesof severe erosion in the wellhead detailed analyses of tubing recoveredduring work-
presaure control valvea (chokee) have been disco- over operations. Some corrosion product samples
vered. The function of theaa PCVa is to reduce have been gathered from tools during wireline
pressureto an acceptableoperatinglimitupon entry operationawhen mechanicalcalipersare run as part
to the flowline. Figures7 and 8 are photographsof of the corrosion monitoring program. Four wells
erosion which has taken place in these valves. have been worked over, all due to mechanical
Theee valves are multiple step labyrinthtype plug problemswhich are not aaaociatedwith scale forme-
and seat designed to reduce fluid velocities and tion or the accompanyingcorrosion.
noiaa generation. All parta of the valve exposedto
the high pressuresour gaa are 316 stainleassteel Downholecorrosionmonitoringis done by mechanical
coveredwith a hard surface facing, whila the valve caliper surveys and produced water sampling
body ie made of carbon steel, The hard surface analyaie. Water analysia hes yielded limited
facingwas appliedby a plaama spray technique. The informationwith no identifiablecorrosiontrends.
aeat ring and stem plug of this valve have suffered The results from geochemical analyses, dissolved
severeerosiondue to high velocityliquidimpinging iron and total iron countshave been randomwith
on these aurfacee, Figure 9 is a eketch of a

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4 KHUFF GAS’ PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE SPR 15764

ref3pectto iron concentrations. Ae a result the ?.xampleit 1s not clear that downhole corrosion
frequencyof analysishas been decrea(jed from twice treatmentcan extend the life of a tubing etring
monthlyper well to eix timee per year per well. under the existing conditions,while it can be
argued that variationin coats of workovera,parti-
Caliper surveys are performedon key wells in each cularly if ff.ahingoperations are required, cm
producing area. Over twenty eurveye have been significantlyshortenthe breakeventime.
performedand one fourthhave faileddue to mechani-
cal problemsassociatedwith the presenceof scale. Thus far it has not been possible tIIeimulatethe
The caliperecan be used to identifythe presenceof scale phenomena in the laboratory. Continuing
scalebut are not reliablecorrosionindicatorswhen studies of preserved aamplea has shown that the
scale is presentbecauee the scale masks the corro- unatable iron sulfide compoundssuch as mackenawite
eion and it is difficultto differentiatebreaks in (Fe S ) found in the scale downholerapidlyundergo
the scale from pits in the tubingwall. oxi8!
a ion reactionsin the atmosphereto FeS , FeS,
Since meckenawite can be foAl ed by
ScaleAnalysis precipia.ion
and ‘e$o?” or corroatonita presencemay indicate
that some of the scale ie not a product of tubing
TypicalKhuff well completionsketchesare given in corrosion.
Figures 10 and 11. The scale is present in the
bottom half or lower third of the tubing string. A
compositionanalysiaof the scale reveals it to be SUMMARY
primarily iron sulfide with some chlorides, and
traceamounteof other elementswhich are presentin After 30 monthe of experience,Aramco has acquired
drilling fluids and formation water were also considerableknowledge about operating high prea-
detectedas indicatedon Table 2. cure, two pheae, aour gas production facilities,
Overall, probleme have not been severe, and the
The ecale is stronglyadherent to the tubing wall project hae baen very successful. However, study
but usually loosens after exposure to air. Figure continues on problems related to valve erosion,
12 la a cross sectionanalyaisof the scale obtained downhole scale formation, and eroaionlvelocity
through the use of a scanning electron microscope relationah~pain piping. These effortsare made to
and an energy dispersingspectroscope. A signifi- Increaeereliabilityof the Khuff gae system,so it
cant result of this analyeia is that an iron chlo- can continue to supplementthe enargy supplies for
ride layer ie dominanton the pipe wall aide of the the Kingdomof Saudi Arabia.
scale layer. The chlorida Ions may contributeto
the initiationof the scale formation. However,the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
results of these analytical techniquesare quali-
tacive and almost nothing ia known about the kine-
Appreciationla given to the Saudi ArabianMinistry
tics or thermodynamicswhich cause the scale to
of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and to the
form.
Arabian Amarican Oil Company for permission to
publishthis paper.
ContinuingStudy Efforta

A large portion of the iron sulfideoccure in forma


other than FeS. Some of these compoundsare rela-
tively insolublein conventionalacids. Becausethe
scale masks the underlying corrosion from the
feelersof a mechanicalcaliper,an attamptwas made
in one well to remove the scale with 28% HC1 prior
to a caliper survey. The acid job was partially
auccesaful in removing scale but the insoluble
particleseroded over 50% of the pipe wall thickness
in two elbows on the flare Itne during the cleanup.
As a result the well cleanup procedure have been
revised.

During the last two workovers major efforts were


mada to preserve sections of ecaled up tubing so
that representativesamplesare availablefor future
study. Tubingwas pickledIn deoxygenatedbrine and
the containerssealed air tight. Many more eamplea
from the laat two workoverswere analysedthan were
possiblewith the tubing from the first two work-
overs, Corrosion pit dapth measurement found in
samplea of these tubing strings were recorded
and a statisticaltechnique (WeibullFunction)was
appliedto predictan expectedlife for these tubing
strings, The expected life baaed on this limited
sample la greater than 10 years, Economic calcu-
lations favor not treatingand eventuallyreplacing
the tubing rather than treating over the expected
life, It La recognizedthat an analyais of this
type ia incompleteas well ae eubjactive. For

626
;,
., .

TABLE 1-KHUF7 GAS COMPOSITIONS (mol%)

SDGM SDGM UTMN UTMN


B c B c
H2S 3.05 4.25 4.58 4.55
C02 3.83 3.73 3.60 3.51
N2 13.10 12.06 12.30 11.6$
c1 68.13 67.76 67.82 66.65
C2 4.93 5.03 5.20 5.50
C3 1.95 2.00 2.10 2.29
IC4 0.44 0.45 0.46 0.47
NC4 0.81 0.82 0.86 0.91
IC5 0.34 0.35 0.35 0.36
NC5 0,34 0.33 0.34 0.37
C6 0.45 0.47 0.41 0.48
c7+- 2.63 2.75 1.98 3.25

TABLE 2-TYPICAL SCALE ANALYSIS

IRON 57.3
SULFUR 18.9
CHLORINE 8.6
CALCIUM 4.9
BARIUM 3“4
SILICON 1.6
OTHERS * 5.3
* MINOR COMPONENTS(IF LESS
THAN 1 WT. PERCENTEACH

627
I

w
, MANIFOLD AREA
TEST
TRAP

r
KWH;:[
FLOWLINE

TRUNK LINE
I
SLUG
CATCHER
GAS PLANT

3 PHASE
AREA

GAS

SEPARATOR
tE

3
Cj
lb
FLOWLIKE IWLE7
PmssunE
CoNTouns

TO NEw CONDENSATE
TO CRUOE INJ
SOUR WATER
STRIPPER MANIFOLO INLET PRESSURE (=)

F@. l—Khuff system diagram. Fig. 3—Welllflowhne operating window.

A WAS. WIID% LOSS MAXIMUM LOSS OF 12% ~


~.<
lJGfE*L~~y2ymA4Py&f nN

WI BAND MU#L LOSS CM UP

-
SCiRAL WEAR PATTERN 10fNllFIEO AS ELWJW CWNWIS DIRECTION
METAL LOSS OF U? TO 11S KIE?ATMO SCANS S- AND 10-
..NWM wfAR ARIAS .Ro”m DOWNSTREAM OF llw5 fL80w INDICATED WEAR *ATTfnN CWITINUZS -J-l
BUT %FCOUFS WAOU4UY 1ES5 FVICfNT ● SCAM 8- uPSTRFAN
CIRCUMFSREWF W17H WFIA1
W THIS 61WW l?101CA7f0
A NARROW
!JP10 5%)m TMf 80 C<occmsmcm
8AND W WET*L LOSS W
w

m
*–
1 2 s e ,
V& NUM;RS 4

Fig. 4-%unkfine ultrasonic readings.


Fig. 2-Cycks {on ffow-off flow) per well, Aug. 19S4-June 19S6.
:
I

ULTRASONIC MEASUREMENTS VS TIME


Za
la- Tn. AIIEA 7 P7. 7 now 4

s __
z
_ ~g —--.==. =~— lS- TL AFKA 2 P?. S ROW 3
— — _________
m -\
G ‘--\- -_.--e-_===_?~TILIL AREA 4 PT. a SOUTH
5
X24 ‘ “-------- .. . .. . .. . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ...?!. ‘~ ARM 1 ‘T. 5 ‘ow 1
0 —-— -——-
—-—- —-— .—-— 16- Vi Nom 3 P7. e 70P
Z
1-
:22— ——____
s
24- lIL AREA 11 P7. 3 ROW 3
—. —. —. —._. _~:-— __________
—. —._. ._. —. —-. 24 7&, AREA 70 P7. 2 NORTH

20

FLUID VELOCITY VS TIME

~:~~p

> xl.
MAR APR - MAY ‘ JUN JUL

1985

(n Fig. S-Pipe wall thickness measurements. Fig. 7—Plug erosion in pressure control valve.
N
co

Fig. 8-18-in. elbow sea-on showing striations. Fig. 8-Seat rtng er--on in pressure control valve.
SPE 15764~

@ AREAS OF EROSION

WELD OVERLAY lzzz41 w


IN QOOD -

‘?zl--- SEAT RING

STEM PLUG

:~:
: METAL
! SPRAYED

L
! COATING ET ...., 7S HANGER W/TIW PSR
. (.
e m“, 63.6#, 996/sMf20.a
‘ WELD OVERLAY
~
IN GOOD CONDITION - - 7“, 36#, LOO

Fig. 9-Pressure control valve diagrsm.

.’ 24”, t7#1, X42


I PIPE l.D~
*II
?’ x 4-1/2’ X-OVER

43% Fe
25% s 67% Fe
14% (J 26% Cl
0% Ca
a

67% ~0 96% FO 66% Fe


s 132
38% 20% c1
63% c1 61%Fa 77% Fe
29% Ca 27% S lax c1 163
0% cl

23% Ba
B 6/0”, 63.5P, SOO/8M00.8 26% SI
66% Fe 10% Ga 83% Fe
J 4 1/2” H&NQER IQ*I$
cl loofi
s 12% cl QLM

ill
).<
:.?. ?“, 3S#, LOO
@%Fe
\? 6% Cl
~
.. .. .. . ,.. , f 1/2”, 13.6?, LoO, VAM LINER

Fig. 10-Wall aompletlon-7.ln, X 4%4n, Fig, 12-Scala deposition on tubing wall.

630

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