Brines Fluids and Filtration

Brines and Other Workover Fluids
Purposes Selection Filtration needs Placement Fluid Loss Control Cleanup and Displacement of Muds Limitations Alternatives
George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com 1
3/14/2009
Purposes of Brines
1. Mud displacement prior to cementing, 2. Debris removal, 3. Controlling formation pressures during completion and intervention operations, 4. Enabling repair operations as a circulating or kill fluid medium, 5. As packer fluids,
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George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com
Purposes of Brines (cont.)

6. In some stimulations as base fluids; 7. Enable cleanup of the zone prior to running screens; 8. Reduce friction while running screens & equipment; 9. Avoid damaging the well after completion, stimulation, or repair; 10. Allow other well operations to be conducted.
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Will Circulating a Well Really Clean It Out? Not necessarily. Clean-out efficiency depends on:
Ability to remove the solids from returning fluids, Fluid hydraulics - the flow rates in every section, Ability to disperse, then lift solids out of the well, Ability to effectively remove the dope, mud cake, residues, etc., from the pipe walls.
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Returns from a cleanout scraper run dope, wireline grease, rust, mud, etc., are common components.
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Selection of the Brine

Must Satisfy:
1. Well control at every phase of the operation. 2. Must be able to filter the brine to 5 to 10 microns with beta of 1000. 3. Compatibility with the formation, well equipment and all operations and fluids. 4. Corrosion and scale dropout must be controllable. 5. Cleanup requirements from the formation 6. Cleanup and disposal requirements at the surface 7. Cost and availability to fit the well.
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Brine Types and Respective Density Ranges

Brine Type Chloride Salt Chloride Salt Chloride Salt Bromide Salt Mix Formate Salt Formate Salt Formate Salt Formate Salt Formate Salt Chloride Salt Bromide Salt Mix Bromide Salt Mix 3/14/2009 Mix Brine Formula Density Range (ppg) NaCl 8.4 - 10.0 KCl 8.4 - 9.7 NH4Cl 8.4 - 8.9 NaBr 8.4 - 12.7 NaCl/NaBr 8.4 - 12.5 NaHCO2 8.4 - 11.1 KHCO2 8.4 - 13.3 CsHCO2 13.0 - 20.0 KHCO2/CsHCO2 13.0 - 20.0 NaHCO2/KHCO2 8.4 - 13.1 CaCl2 8.4 - 11.3 CaBr2 8.4 - 15.3 CaCl2/CaBr2 8.4 - 15.1 World Oil, Modern Sand ZnBr2 12.0 - 21.0 Face Completion, 2003 ZnBr2/CaBr2 E. King Engineering 12.0 - 19.2 George 7 GEKEngineering.com ZnBr2/CaBr2/CaCl2 12.0 - 19.1
Lower Density Fluids

Nitrogen gas water foam kerosene and diesel 20o crude 30o crude 0.1 to 2.6 lb/gal 3.5 to 8.3 lb/gal 6.7 to 7.1 lb/gal 7.8 lb/gal 7.3 lb/gal
Most low density fluids are not be usable because of migration, flash point, or stability issues.
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Displacement and Pill Design

The displacement must be designed to obtain effective mud removal (dispersement and lift) & water wetting of casing. Keys:
disperse and thin the drilling fluid compatibility with the following fluids (brine, acid, cement, etc. lift out debris and junk water wet pipe remove pipe dope effectively displace the mud
3/14/2009 George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com
Source: Wellcert
Brines for Displacement

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A thinning base fluid flush. An effective brine transition system must further thin and strip the mud and create wellbore displacement. A carrier spacer must sweep out the solids and clean any coating from the pipe or rock that could cause damage problems. A separation spacer must do the final cleaning and separate the residual mud from the brine. The brine must sweep the spacer out. At this point the well should be clean.
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Cleaning and Transition Spacers

Spacer Type Function Minimum Annulus Coverage 250 to 500 ft WBM OBM Base Fluid
Thin & mud condition start dispersement
Water, and some brines Viscous pill Water+ WBM surfactant Viscous pill
Base oil (composition varies) Viscous Pill Oil + OBM surfactant Surfactant gel? Some water gels if compat. Completion Fluid
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Transition Wash Separation
Mud to spacer, 500 to 1000 cuttings removal Clean pipe Separate wash from completion brine 500 to 1500 500 to 1000
Completion Fluid
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Completion fluid Fill

Completion Fluid
Brine Flush Contact Times

9-5/8 casing in 12-1/4 hole, annular area = 0.3 ft2
Pump Rate, bpm
Annular Velocity, ft/min 150
Barrels Pumped
Column Length, ft
Contact Time, minutes on one foot. 25
200
3743
10
187
400
7486
40
12
225
400
7486
33
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12
Flow profile in a well with decentralized pipe. Note That most of the flow comes along the top of the pipe. This affects cleanup and residence time of the fluid on the wellbore. The lower section of the wellbore may remain buried in cuttings and never have contact with any of the circulated fluids.
Major flow area
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Displacement of the annulus to displace fluids and mud cake depends partly on velocity. The annulus changes as casing replaces the drill string. As the annular space decreases velocity for any rate increases in the smaller area and the back pressure on the bottom hole may also increase.
Circulating down the casing and up the small annulus can produce very high friction pressure and raised BHP.
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Displacement Considerations
Well control is key consideration in selection of the pill sequence. In many cases, it is only possible to get thin, light fluids into turbulence Pumping fluids to displace oil based fluids without suitable surfactant/solvent packages to disperse the mud can result in sludges that are insoluble except in aggressive solvents For deepwater wells, low temperatures can impact surfactant effectiveness
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Carrying Capacity
Pills in turbulence lose carrying capacity if the annular velocity drops below that required for turbulence (e.g. entering larger diameter pipe such as a riser) In high mud weight, the risk of inducing barite sag needs to be considered if mud is thinned (displacement pills thin the mud to the point it can no longer support barite)
LEARNING
As depth and hole angle increase, the minimum pill volume (based on largest annular hole length) should increase to allow for contamination, e.g.:
If MD < twice TVD, annular fill length > 80 m (260 ft), If MD > twice TVD, annular fill length > 125 m (410 ft),
Contact time (the time that critical points in the well are exposed to the pill) depends on reaction of surfactant/solvent to mud. For surfactant pills, plan for contact times of greater than 4 minutes for best results.
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BEST PRACTICES AND DESIGN CRITERIA

Good mud thinning fluid is continuous phase of the mud: for water based mud pumping 50 bbl (8m3) of water as the first displacement pill will effectively thin mud, 50 bbl (8m3) of the mud base fluid can be pumped in the case of oil based muds. (check oil compatibility) Before any displacement, the compatibly of the spacers with the mud and the ability to water wet steel surfaces should be checked at ambient and bottom hole temp to confirm compatibility. In deep water, tests at lower temperature will be needed

All tests should be done on field mud samples to ensure mud is effectively sheared and has representative particles/cuttings Water wetting surfactants are generally effective >3% vol/vol concentration, little additional benefit is obtained above 10%. Solvents and mechanical or hydraulic agitation are required to remove sludges and pipe dope
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Displacement
Displacement of mud from an annulus is complex. The main driving forces:
time of contact flow rate and frictional forces density mechanical agitation pipe centralization
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RISKS AND ISSUES
Fluid Interface area increases w/ hole angle In deviated wells the eccentricity of the displacement string may reduce displacement. Pipe rotation and/or reciprocation is needed. At low temperature (<40oC/104oF), OBM is very viscous ( synthetic based muds are worst), circulating to warm the annular contents reduces the problem.
RISKS AND ISSUES

High circulation rates may be better (even in laminar flow), they reduce the boundary layer thickness on the casing wall. (Watch wash-out potential of soft sands) Turbulence is best, flow rate must be calculated allowing for pipe eccentricity. A complete wellbore hydraulics check is necessary. High rates (300 ft/min?) may reduce the fluff (80% of the outer layer of the filter cake that does not contribute to fluid loss control); sharply reducing the amount of solids in the well without reducing fluid loss control.
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High flow rates will always be better even if turbulence cannot be achieved Pipe movement will improve displacement efficiency. Multi-function circulating subs should be used, currently the best tools open by setting weight down, incorporating a clutch mechanism to allow rotation. Do not stop displacement once pills enter the annulus Circulate to warm mud and fine up shakers (increase screen mesh number) to reduce particles in the fluid when possible, condition mud (reduce rheology). Use reverse circulation if possible when displacing with lighter fluids.
Muds, Cakes, Breakers and Particles

Drilling mud is the best known particulate based fluid loss control system. Particles are sized to bridge on the face of the formation. Carbonate and salt are most common. Breakers are acid, oxidizers and enzymes. Filter cakes very effective in preventing losses as long as over-balance pressure is maintained. Cakes are very sensitive to swabbing, but are never completely removed.. Tool systems sensitive to plugging by particulates.
Particles Damage?
Dirty particles, unsized particles, debris and pipe dope are severe formation damage problems. Protecting the perforations with the right particles during a workover improves chances of well improvement afterwards. The type of carrier fluid and the gels are v. important Clear (no particles) brines are not always best solution
Particulate Pill Displacement

A spacer or displacement pill for displacing a polymer system carring sized particulates should be 0.2 to 0.25 ppg heavier and about three times the low shear rate viscosity (at 0.06 sec-1) of the fluid being displaced.
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Data from a set of Alaska wells where the perforations were not protected during a workover. No protection shows significant long term damage.
PI Change, Perfs Not Protected
40 20
0.3 0.5 PI of Wells 1.1 2.1 3.1 6 18.9
% Change in PI
11
13
15
-20 -40 -60 -80

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Short Term PI Change Long Term PI Change
-100
SPE 26042
27
When perfs were protected, that was little risk of long term damage.
PI Change After Workover - Perfs Protected

50 40 30
0.3 1.2 3.1 4.6 8.4 PI of wells
% Change in PI
20 10 0 -10 -20 -30 -40 3/14/2009

Short Term PI Change Long Term PI Change 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
SPE 26042
28
Sized particulates, particularly those that can be removed, are much less damaging than most polymers.
Kill Pills: Summary of Overall Effectiveness in Non Fractured Wells

10 5
Sized Borate Salts (4) Cellulose Fibers (3)
HEC Pills
Sized Sodium Chloride (12)
No Pills
No Near Perf Milling (8)
% Change in PI
0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25

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4
No Near Perf Milling (6)
Near Perf Milling or Scraping (3) SPE 26042

Near Perf Milling or Scraping (10)
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Formation Damage by Gels

Gels
Linear gels not recommended for high overbalance or high permeability formations too much depth of damage. HEC is not always clean breaking. Breaker selection is critical to removing the damage from a linear gel.
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Linear HEC Pill needed per ft of zone, 80 lb/1000 gal or 3.36 ppb
Pill Vol. Required, bbl per ft of zone
3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1000
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1 Darcy 500 md 250 md 100 md
750
500
250 Sandface Completion

Practices, 2003
31
World Oil, Modern
Overbalance Pressure, psi

Fluid Loss Rate vs. Pressure Differential for Various Permeabilities

6
1 cp fluid, s = +5
Loss Rate, bbl / hr / ft of zone height
5 4 500 md 250 md 100 md 50md
3 2 1 0 0 100 200 300

GEKEngineering.com
400
500
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Overbalance Pressure, psi George E. King Engineering
Modified from World Oil, Modern Sandface Completion Practices, 2003

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Breaker
Breaker must stay with the part of the gel that causes the damage
penetrate to the distance that gel penetrates, or stop at the wall with the gel wall cake.
Breakers:
Acid, internal breaker, or enzyme Many breakers adsorb or spend in the formation, before they work.
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Brine Stability
The stability of the brines at high salt loadings can be very touchy with temperature drops causing salt precipitation. Increases in temperature decreases brine density and may leave the brine under-saturated to salt. Additions of gas, alcohol, some surfactants, shear and reduction in temperature can lead to salt precipitation. Salt may affect the way polymers hydrate or disperse.
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NaCl Brine Density Variance with Temperature

17 16.8 16.6
20oC 100o C
Brine Density (lb/gal)
16.4 16.2 16 15.8 15.6 15.4 15.2 15 60

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The reduction of brine density as it comes to equilibrium in the well may explain why a well can go from a no-flow condition to flow within a few hours after being killed.
110
160
210 (F)
260
310
360
35 SPE 12490
GeorgeTemperature E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com
Temperature Changes
GOM Seafloor Temperature
Sea Floor Temperature, F 35 0 2000 40 45 50 55 60
Water Depth, ft
4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000
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George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.comComposite data from DTC
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Temperatures in the Well? Circulating or High Rate Injection?

30
0 Tubing Tbg Fluid 2000 Casing 1 Undisturbed 4000
40
50
60
70
80
90
100 110 120 130

0
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
Undisturbed Tbg Fluid 2000 Tubing Casing 1 4000
6000
6000
8000
8000
10000
10000
12000
BHST= 122*F
12000
BHST= 125*F
14000
14000
BHCT= 98*F
16000
BHTT= 86*F
16000
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Circulation pump rate = 8-BPM
Frac job pump rate = 35-BPM George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com 18000
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Salt-Out or Freezing Temperature of a Brine
Crystallization Temp
Adding salt lowers freezing point of water until the point at which additional salt precipitates
Eutectic Point
Salt Content
Composition Determines TCT (true crystallization temperature)
Density (ppg)* 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5

*1.50 SG
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CaCl2 (wt %) 34.40 32.20 22.84 00.00
CaBr2 (wt %) 10.80 13.13 20.55 41.55
TCT (OF / OC) 60/ 15.5 44/ 6.7 15/ - 2.8 - 33/ - 36
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Density Change with Temp Change

DDH = DS (1 + 0.000252 (TS - TDH)) What is downhole density (DDH) of a 16.4 lb/gal surface density (Ds) brine (60oF) when downhole temperature increases to 230oF? DDH = (16.4) (1 + 0.000252 (60-230) DDH = 15.7 lb/gal
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Formula from OSCA
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There is a slight increase in density with applied pressure, usually about 0.1 ppg.
Brine Density Change with Pressure

2.4 2.2
Brine Density (g/cc)
2 1.8 1.6
ZnBr2/CaBr2 (19% /wt) ZnBr2/CaBr2/CaCl2 (37% /wt) CaBr2 (45% /wt) NaBr (54% /wt)
1.4 1.2 1 0 1000 2000

GEKEngineering.com
CaCl2 (65% /wt)

Typical change was 0.0015 g/cc
NaCl (70% /wt)
3000
SPE 12490
41
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George E. Pressure, psiKing Engineering
Temperature and Pressure Effects on Completion Fluids
Temp Expansion of Fluids Expansion Coef. Fluid System Diesel NaCl CaCl2 NaBr CaBr2 ZnBr2/CaBr2/CaCl2 ZnBr2/CaBr2 Density, ppg 7 9.49 11.45 12.48 14.3 16.01 19.27 vol/vol/ Fx10 lb/gal/100 F 3.8 2.54 0.24 2.39 0.27 2.67 0.33 2.33 0.33 2.27 0.36 2.54 0.48 At 12,000 psi from 76F to 345F
o 4 o
Pressure Effect on Fluids Compression Coef. vol/vol/ Fx10

o 6
lb/gal/1000 psi
1.98 0.019 1.5 0.017 1.67 0.021 1.53 0.022 1.39 0.022 1.64 0.031 At 198F from 2,000 to 12,000 psi
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World Oil, Modern Sand Face Completion, 42 2003
Brine Selection Circulating Density

Match density needs on both static (ESD) needs, and circulating density (ECD) needs. Consider friction effects on BH press while circulating. Remember brine must exert pressures in a window between controlling pore pressure or shale heaving and fracturing the formation. Brine density changes with temperature (can drop by >1 lb/gal) and a small increase with pressure (0.1 lb/gal). Carried solids add density to the brine easily by 0.5 to 2+ lb/gal.
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Brines have small density changes due to temperature, pressure, and contamination; and larger density changes due to suspended solids.
CaCl2 Brine in a 14,000 ft Wellbore in 8,000 ft Water

ESD - (lb/gal)
11.35 11.40 11.45 11.50
Hydrostatic Pressure at TVD

BH Pre ssure - (psi)
0 0 5000 10000
Note: Fluid Density is Greater at the Mud line than at the Surface
True Vertical Depth - (ft)
2000
2000
4000
4000
True Vertical Depth - (ft)
6000
6000
8000
8000
10000
10000
12000
12000
14000
14000
3/14/2009 Courtesy of MI-LLC
16000
George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com ESD
16000 Pres s ure
44
Adding solids to any fluid, either at the surface or downhole increases it density. 0.5 to 2+ lb of solids are common in cleanout with circulated fluids.
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Completion Fluid - Checklist

Is the formation liquid sensitive to liquid relative permeability effects? Compatibility with formation? (clay and minerals) Compatibility with formation fluid? (emulsion, sludge, foam, froth) Tanks and surface equipment clean?(pumps, lines, hoses, blenders) Are polymers breakable? How is breaker added? Polymers, hydrated, sheared and filtered? Filter level? Beta rating? Minimize the pipe dope? Corrosion reactions understood? Erosion potential understood?
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Special Case - Horizontal Wells

Hole circulated to a large volume of fluid to stop losses. Minimum amount of solids can be used where internal tool sticking is a possibility Suspension of solids beyond 60o deviation is difficult. Penetration to furthest reaches of the well is required buckling considerations? Very sensitive to swabbing.
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Filtration and Cleaning

Brine and ? (tanks, lines, pumps, etc.) Pickle the tubulars? NTU or particle count as a measure? How clean is clean? = Avg pore throat x 0.2? Beta rating and micron rating important Tank arrangement when filtering (from dirty tank to clean, not in a loop) Filter type
DE or Cartridge (no resin coated cartridges)
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Filtration Ratings
NTU - a turbidity indicator - can be mislead by natural color of water. An NTU of 20 to 30 is generally clean. Nominal filter rating - estimate of the size of particle removed - dont trust it. Filtration efficiency improves with bed build-up Absolute filter rating - size of the holes in the filter. Filtration efficiency improves with bed build-up Beta rating - a ratio of particles before filtration to after. A good measure of filter efficiency. Suggestion use a 5 to 10 micron rating with a beta rating of 1000 for most clear brine applications.
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Beta Rating
Beta = number of filter rating and larger size particles in dirty fluid divided by number of those particles in clean fluid. Beta = 1000/1 = 1000 or 99.99% clean
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Filtration Considerations
Very clean fluids have high leakoff rates Fluids with properly blended fluid loss control materials added after filtration have a better chance of cleanup than with the initial particles in the fluid. Particles must be sized to stop at the face of the formation. All gelled fluids should be sheared and filtered even the liquid polymer fluids.
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Microgels or fisheyes Fisheyes andamicrogels filtered fromthrough a 200 mesh screen in a Solid polymer lumps or after straining liquid HEC dispersion liquid HEC polymer. shear and filter operation for gravel pack fluid preparation.
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Scrapers and Brushes Physically Cleaning the Well

Available tools Damage potential
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One very detrimental action was running a scraper prior to packer setting. The scraping and surging drives debris into unprotected perfs.
Effect of Scraping or Milling Adjacent to Open Perforations

20 10
Perfs not protected by LCM prior to scraping
% Change in PI
0 -10 -20 -30 -40 -50 -60

3/14/2009 George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com
Perfs protected by 2 LCM
Short Term PI Change Long Term PI Change

SPE 26042
56
Casing Scraper Designed to knock off perforation burrs, lips in tubing pins, cement and mud sheaths, scale, etc. It cleans the pipe before setting a packer or plug. The debris it turns loose from the pipe may damage the formation unless the pay is protected by a LCM or plug.
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Placement Methods
Circulating preferred watch effective circulation density (friction pressures) Spotting watch density induced drift 0.05 lb/gal difference can start density migration. Bullheading - next to last resort. Lubricating - last resort.
Consider coiled tubing for most accurate spotting and ability to circulate fluids into place with minimum contamination. Remember that fluid density differences of even 0.05 lb/gal will start density segregation.
Fluid Loss Control

Methods: viscosity, particulates, mechanical Best method? depends on application and options afterward.
Viscosity based methods often leave polymer debris Particulates must be sized with small, medium and large particles to build a tight cake at the surface. Dont use them in cased and perforated completions??? Mechanical methods preferred, but not always practical.
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Fluid Loss Control Systems fluid (pumped) gels (linear and x-link) bridging particulates micron particles resin particles larger mixed particles Removal methods? Removal methods? mechanical downhole valves plugs flappers (watch the throat size) ball checks
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In the Formation / At the Formation Face (Not in Perf)

Gels high vis. limits the fluid loss by pressure drop.
May not work in high perm (>0.5 darcy). Temperature greatly affects performance. Cleanup is a problem.
Particulates bridge at the formation face.

Particulates are very effective in controlling fluid loss, but are also very sensitive to George E. must be swabbing, dissolving in carrier fluids andKing Engineeringsized for the formation pores and 3/14/2009 62 GEKEngineering.com natural fractures.
Particulate Systems
Sized carbonates and salts are most common. Penetration depth = 0.125 (3mm) Do not use in most perforated completions unless the perforations have been packed with gravel. Gravel pack tools and tools with close clearances should not be exposed to particulate laden fluids. Gel carriers for particulates still require breakers.
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Considerations for Fluid loss Control Selection

BHT BHP Overbalance or underbalance Formation sensitivity to treatment fluids Treatment/completion fluid types Frequency and amount of surge/swab loads Onshore / Offshore / Deepwater Rig cost per day Rig equip available pumps, tanks, lines, All tubular sizes in the flow path Mobilization time available Regulations on use and disposal Natural or hydraulic fractures present
64
Vertical and horizontal Formation sand permeability variations strength Formation sand size and pore throat size Production rate Produced fluid types
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Sand production and presence of cavity Producer or injector Wellbore deviation George E. King Engineering through the pay GEKEngineering.com
SPE 54323
Areas for Fluid Loss Control

In formation matrix At the formation face Inside the perf tunnel On the fracture pack Inside the casing (on the perforation) On a sand-back plug In the gravel Inside the screen Above the screen or in the BHA Inside the tubing At the surface
Each location requires different plug construction methods and removal considerations.
65
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Cleanup
Gel break and damage issues Fluid imbibition effects Other fluid unloading issues
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Cleanup
How to remove from the reservoir (through the fractures or the matrix). Is a surface/interfacial reduction surfactant needed? Is gas needed? Is the formation initially undersaturated to water (yes, it can and does happen). From the wellbore effective unloading is plagued by well deviation and low flow rates from small coiled tubing and other non rotating strings.
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Problems - unwanted foams during backflow

Foam is an emulsion where gas is the internal phase (mist is an emulsion with gas as external phase). Foams are used to unload brines BUT the forms may cause a problem at the surface. Foaming conditions
some oils (ppm conc. of C6-C9organic acids and alcohols) diesel - (particularly bad and varies from lot to lot) some acid additives (emulsifiers, salts, inhibitors) XCD polymers (and others) Look for and destroy the stabilizer to break the foam.
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Brine Tankage Required

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Volume of prod. Casing annulus & below packer? Displacement volume of work string Displacement volume of producing string including packers Volume of manifolds, lines, hoses and pumps Volume of transport tankage (usable) Volume of filtering system (all tanks, lines and pods) Volume of pill tank Pickle flush volume Spare volume for safe operation
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Special Topics
Alternatives to a clear brine Gravel pack brines Brine handling and preparation Solids free gels Corrosion Hydrates Best Practice Learnings Toxicity
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Alternatives to a Clear Brine

Emulsions, Foams, Muds
Will it be stable? What will stop fluid loss? What will clean up or degrade? What will damage least? Can an oil be ever be used in a gas zone??
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Is mud a viable kill fluid for high temp and high pressure wells?
How much perm damage does it cause?
Against the formation? In the perforations? In a naturally fractured formation? Against a gravel pack or screen?
Is the damage reversible?

If you have high wellbore pressures, some of the mud damage is reversible - SOME!
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Fluids for Gravel/Frac Pack

Water - low viscosity brines, low molecular weight salts HEC - high molecular weight, water soluble polymer, straight chain Xanvis - high molecular wt bio polymer, water soluble. Branched chain, lower damage than HEC?
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Water
Advantages - no mixing, no breakers, high leakoff, easier to get turbulence Disadvantages - low gravel carrying capacity (+/- 2 ppg), more fluid lost, compatibility problems?
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HEC
Advantages: mixes easily??? (still must shear and filter), easy to break??? (weve had problems here), commonly available Disadvantages: lower leakoff rates, lower sand carrying capacity than bio-polymers
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XC
Advantages: shear thinning, higher leakoff, good carrying capacity Disadvantages: said to wet some formations (anionic), x-links with calcium and iron (water composition more critical), harder to mix, breaks rapidly above 125oF ?
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Brine Handling and Preparation

Brines
Min Filter Req 5 to 10 mu
HEC
10 mu
XC
10mu
Beta rating B=1000 B=10-100 B=10-100 Shear Req? N/A 2 bpm/1200 psi 2 bpm/600 Gravel Conc. 1-5 ppg 1-15 ppg 1-15 ppg Breaker N/A acid, enz, ox oxidizers Brine Compat? N/A <15.5 ppg KCl & NH4Cl Leakoff excellent fair good
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Solids Free Gels

Surfactant gel Requires clay control (early problems) Breaks with oil Not perfect, but generally better than gels.
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Breakers for HEC-Gelled Brines

Breaker BHT HCl 130 to 200F Ammonium hypochlorite 130 to 200F Enzymes below 130 F No Breaker Required? Above 200 F?
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Corrosivity
In oxygen free environment, CaCl2/CaBr brines exhibit very low corrosion rates if the pH is kept between 7 and 10. Lime and magnesium oxide are used to increase the pH of the brines. Use of sulfite oxygen scavengers in large concentrations can potentially cause CaSO4 precip. Use other methods. Biocide may not be needed in more concentrated brines.
Corrosion From Brines example from Materials,

Corrosion and Inspection: http://upstream.bpweb.bp.com/mci/default.asp
Material Low Alloy Steel 13 Chrome Super Cr 13, etc. Alloy 450 17-4PH Duplex Stainless Austenitic Super Austenitic Ni Alloys General Corrosion Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Pitting/Crevice Corrosion SSC Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y CL SCC Relative Failure Risk Low Low/Med High Med High High High Low Low
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George E. King Engineering 81 HPHT Production Operations, March 16, 2005, EPTG, BP GEKEngineering.com
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Hydrates and Freezing

Sea floor temperatures Gas expansion cooling Is the brine naturally hydrate formation resistant? Is it tolerant of antifreeze?
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Dense Brines Inhibit Hydrates

Hydrate inhibition by CaCl2 Brine
120.0 100.0 Hydrate Formation Temp F 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0
8.3 8.5 8.7 8.9 9.1 9.3 9.5 9.7 9.9 10.1 10.3 10.5 10.7 10.9 11.1 11.3 11.5 11.7
Hydrate equilibrium pressure for pure water calculated using CSMHYD, VK 917 gas
15 kpsi 10 kpsi 5 kpsi 2.5 kpsi
Solvent Needed
Maybe
Safe
-20.0 -40.0
3/14/2009
George Density lb/gal Brine E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com
83
LEARNINGS
Proper disposal required for all chemicals. Mixed displacement pills and mud have to be separated from the mud and packer fluid for disposal (zero discharge issues) Brine/Water/Acid pumped without surfactants/solvents to displace oil muds (e.g. for an inflow test) prior to clean up can form sludges, these will not be broken down by subsequent clean up pills Clean up pills containing surfactants can foam during mixing (particularly when put through a hopper) and during flowback.
Viscosifier Learnings
XCD/ biozan are preferred for mixing viscous pills but do not work in calcium brines, HEC will not support solids. Polymers should be checked for suitability at the anticipated temperature (thermal thinning an issue particularly >135oC/275oF).
3/14/2009
85
LEARNING
The use of a circulating sub to allow high flow rates is recommended. As steel surfaces water wet, pipe rotation may not be possible due to friction and displacement of solids becomes much more difficult. Displacement must exceed solids settling rate and (e.g. 0.18 ft/sec for 40/60 mesh sand in water) not stop once pills are in the annulus. Displacement optimized for smallest production casing ID can leave bypassed mud in larger ODs for tapered casing strings. Reverse circulation is most effective if packer fluid is lighter than mud (watch bridging potential)
Many Brines are Sensitive to Temperature When Viscosified

Brine type sensitive NaCl to ZnCl Temperature sensitivity is also affected by concentration Liquid vs. dry polymer makes a difference.
3/14/2009
87
Stability of Dry HEC in Socium Chloride

260
Precipitation, Separation or Lost Viscosity
240
Transition Zone
Temperature, F
220 200 180 160 140 8.6 8.8 9 9.2 9.4 9.6 9.8 10
SPE 58728
HEC Active and Soluble
10.2
88
3/14/2009
Sodium E. King Engineering George Chloride Density, ppg

GEKEngineering.com
Liquid HEC in Zinc Based Brines

260 240 220 Transition Zone
Temperature, F
200 180 HEC Active and Soluble 160 140 120 100 15 16 17
GEKEngineering.com
18
19
SPE 58728
20
89
3/14/2009
George E. King Engineering Zinc Brine Density, ppg
Brief toxicity data for standard test organisms.
SPE 27143
Species
Algae Invertibrates Fish
Acute Toxic Threshold Concentration (mg/l) Zinc Cesium Potassium Sodium bromide formate formate formate 0.32 1600 3700 2000 1.6 ? 340 260 300 1700 3900 6100
3/14/2009
90

Brines Fluids and Filtration

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Brines Fluids and Filtration

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Brines and Other Workover Fluids

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

Purposes of Brines (cont.)

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

Selection of the Brine

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

Brine Types and Respective Density Ranges

Lower Density Fluids

Displacement and Pill Design

Brines for Displacement

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

Cleaning and Transition Spacers

Transition Wash Separation

Completion fluid Fill

Brine Flush Contact Times

Pump Rate, bpm

Annular Velocity, ft/min 150

Contact Time, minutes on one foot. 25

Major flow area

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

BEST PRACTICES AND DESIGN CRITERIA

BEST PRACTICES AND DESIGN CRITERIA

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

RISKS AND ISSUES

RISKS AND ISSUES

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

BEST PRACTICES AND DESIGN CRITERIA

Muds, Cakes, Breakers and Particles

Particulate Pill Displacement

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

-20 -40 -60 -80

Short Term PI Change Long Term PI Change

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

PI Change After Workover - Perfs Protected

20 10 0 -10 -20 -30 -40 3/14/2009

Short Term PI Change Long Term PI Change 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Kill Pills: Summary of Overall Effectiveness in Non Fractured Wells

0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25

Near Perf Milling or Scraping (3) SPE 26042

Near Perf Milling or Scraping (10)

Formation Damage by Gels

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

1 Darcy 500 md 250 md 100 md

250 Sandface Completion

World Oil, Modern

Overbalance Pressure, psi

Fluid Loss Rate vs. Pressure Differential for Various Permeabilities

Loss Rate, bbl / hr / ft of zone height

5 4 500 md 250 md 100 md 50md

3 2 1 0 0 100 200 300

Overbalance Pressure, psi George E. King Engineering

Modified from World Oil, Modern Sandface Completion Practices, 2003

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

George E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

NaCl Brine Density Variance with Temperature

Brine Density (lb/gal)

16.4 16.2 16 15.8 15.6 15.4 15.2 15 60

GeorgeTemperature E. King Engineering GEKEngineering.com

4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000