COMPLETION STRATEGIES FOR GAS TIGHT

RESERVOIRS
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Formation damage has been a main important in the reservoirs and has
thoroughly affected drilling mud, testing, cementing, perforating, acidizing and
stimulation.

Current completion methods being used in tight (low permeability) reservoirs
in the Austin Chalk near Pearsall, Texas, the Canyon sand near Sonora and Ozona,
Texas, and the Morrow Gas Sand of New Mexico will be distinguished in this
paper.

OBJECTIVES
To describe the completion practices being used for low permeability Austin chalk,
canyon sand and Marrow sand reservoirs.
To show different fracture treatment methods implemented in these reservoirs.
To show the estimated economics of using such methods.
METHODOLOGY
To enable this study, data from Austin Chalk near Pearsall, Texas, Canyon Sand near Sonora and
Ozona, Texas, and Morrow Gas Sand of New Mexico reservoirs have been used so as to envision
well completion strategies for gas tight or low permeability reservoirs.
.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Austin Chalk, Canyon sand and Marrow sand are low
permeability(tight) reservoirs, whereby producing from them is not
an easy task. Adding to that, the formation damage is another major
factor that strictly affects the drilling fluids, testing, cementing,
perforation and stimulation, that is, the drilling and completion
operations. Hence, special fracture treatment and completion
methods are needed.


RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
DRILLING
Formation damage is considered for all 3
reservoirs(Austin Chalk, Canyon Sands and
Marrow sands);
Both Austin chalk and Marrow sands, are
drilled through WBM with 2-5% KCL(to
avoid clay swelling), whereas canyon sands
uses air based mud so as to easily identify
gas pay zone when reached.
The adjustment of mud properties while
drilling the pay section, avoids the loss
circulation into the natural fractures of the
chalk reservoir.
The interception of more fractures in chalk
reservoir, deviated holes(20-40degrees
from vertical) are executed, which result in
excessive sucker rod and tubing wear.
Drilling at the top of the sand and use of
gas in the pay section, reduce the
possibility of down hole fire in case liquid
HCs are encountered in any of the sands.
When water productive sands are encountered,
water and soap are injected with the air to
remove the cuttings and maintain circulation.
CEMENTING
Sufficient cement slurry is pumped around the
production casing and a low water loss cement
with KCl reduces filtrate damage.
In case of Chalk, second cement job is done, thus
preventing fresh water contamination found
about 3200ft in Wilcox sands. Whereas, the
conditions for primary cementing are ideal in
Canyon Sands due to being drilled by air based
mud.
For canyon, casing can also be run in its dry air
drilled hole and water pumped towards the
cement to wet and wash the formation.
Water and cement are sufficiently needed for
avoiding gas from flowing into the well.
DV tools which used to be run in the casing string
were now replaced by sliding sleeve which
permits easy cementing across the pay section.




PERFORATING

For Austin Chalk, jet guns are mostly used and 40-60
holes(equally spaced) are done to ease the limited
entry technique of fracture treating the pay zone.
Logs are also used to locate the perforating points. Big
hole burr-free guns are used for perforations.

In Marrow Sands, 7-8 tubing with sufficient ID to
allow for deep penetrating and larger Diameter
perforating guns to pass.

To avoid formation damage, the tubing is swabbed
out of the fluids and it is then perforated with a
pressure differential into the wellbore.

Chalk is perforated in the lower section, then a bridge
plug is set above the lower zone so as to perforate
and treat the upper Zone(expensive procedure),
whereas in Marrow sands the hole is loaded with acid
and a clean fluid across the perforation zone.

With casing carrier guns, the perforation soaks in acid
while the tubing is installed to remove cement and
mud damage.



Fig.1 average daily rate vs. months an
acidized marrow well
Fig3. DST for Marrow Sand wells
Fig2. Schematic of Fractures due to injection
Fig.3 Perforation in gas tight reservoirs
FRACTURE TREATING
For Austin, oil water emulsions with 2ppg of
sand as frac treating method which was
replaced by gelled water were used in this
field.

Acid and ball sealers are also used to open
the perforations to allow for them to accept
the treatment.

Marrow uses very viscous KCl base water
with 4ppg sand and CO2 as energizer;
Gelled weak acid is used with 1ppg sand
and CO2 for rapid fluid removal.

Whereas canyon is more into multistage
baller sealers with Gelled fresh water,
which are diverted into each zone through
15 % HCl acid.

Edge wells of marrow sands, are frac
treated due to its low porosity and
permeability thus accruing the commercial
production.
Gel and other additives in the frac fluid are
mixed while pumped from plastic lined pits
into the well, this would create lumps and or
small balls of dry gel that may plug in the
fracture system.

Multistage needs about 30lb/min of
injection rate into each zone, hence it is
inexpensive. suitable for treating wells in the
Chalk.

Hydraulic Fracturing is vertically performed
in the chalk, thus, the natural fractures and
thin zones of porosity are connected, skin
damage(by cement and mud) is eliminated
and greater productivity is achieved due to
larger well hole effect.
The Marrow wells are also completed
naturally and with no treatment after
perforation.

All the operators are concerned with the
prevention of formation damage, thus a
good selection of completion and selection
methods are very crucial.


CONCLUSION
A careful analysis of the properties of these reservoirs must be carried out so as to to
reduce the cost while choosing the correct completion and treatment strategies.
There are two basic methods used to fracture treat the wells in the sands and chalk
reservoirs under the study, which are based on the concern for prevention formation
damage and based on the economics.
Most of the study area wells were drilled prior to the big concern over formation
damage, and convention drilling fluid, cementing, perforating and acid stimulation
were used.