PET 325

PERFORATI
ON
James A.
Craig

Omega
2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Shaped Charged Perforation
Explosives
Perforating Guns
Perforation Efficiency & Gun
Performance
Well/Reservoir Characteristics
Calculations
References

INTRODUCTION

Objective of perforation is to establish

communication between the wellbore &
the formation.
This is achieved by making holes
through the casing, cement & into
formation.
The inflow capacity of the reservoir
must not be inhibited.

Well productivity & injectivity depend

primarily on near-wellbore pressure drop
called Skin.
Skin is a function of:

Completion type
Formation damage
Perforation

Skin is high & productivity reduced when:

Formation damage is severe (drilling &

completion fluids invasion ranges from several
inches to a few feet)
Perforations do not extend beyond the invaded
zone.

Deep penetration:

Increases effective wellbore radius

Intersects more natural fractures if present
Prevents/reduces sand production by
reducing pressure drop across perforated
intervals.

High-strength formations & damaged

reservoirs benefit the most from deeppenetrating perforations.

SHAPED CHARGED
PERFORATION

The shaped charge evolved from the

WW2 military bazooka.

Perforating charges consist of:

A primer
Outer case
High explosive
Conical liner connected to a detonating
cord.

The detonating cord initiates the primer

& detonates the main explosive

The liner collapses to form the highvelocity jet of fluidized metal particles
that are propelled along the charge
axis through the well casing & cement
& into the formation.

The detonator is triggered by:

Electrical heating when deployed on

wireline systems or,
A firing pin in mechanically or hydraulically
operated firing head systems employed on
tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) systems

The jet penetrating mechanism is one

of punching rather than blasting,
burning, drilling or abrasive wearing.
This punching effect is achieved by
extremely high impact pressures

3 x 106 psi on casing

3 x 105 psi on formation.

These jet impact pressures cause steel,

cement, rock, & pore fluids to flow
plastically outward.

0
sec

4
sec

9.4
sec

16.6
sec

Elastic rebound leaves shock-damaged

rock, pulverized formation grains &
debris in the newly created perforation
tunnels.

Hence, perforating damage can consist

of three elements:

A crushed zone
Migration of fine formation particles
Debris inside perforation tunnels.

The crushed zone can limit both

productivity & injectivity.

Fines and debris restrict injectivity &

increase pump pressure, which:

Decreases injection volumes

Impairs placement or distribution of gravel
& proppants for sand control or hydraulic
fracture treatments.

The extent of perforation damage is a

function of:

Lithology
Rock strength
Porosity
Pore fluid compressibility
Clay content
Formation grain size
Shaped-charge designs

EXPLOSIVES

Explosives used in perforation are called

Secondary high explosives.

Reaction rate = 22,966 30,000 ft/s.

Volume of gas produced = 750 1,000 times
original volume of explosive.

These explosives are generally organic

compounds of nitrogen & oxygen.
When a detonator initiates the breaking of
the molecules' atomic bonds, the atoms of
nitrogen lock together with much stronger
bonds, releasing tremendous amounts of
energy.

Typical explosives are:

RDX (Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine)

HMX (Cyclotrimethylene tetranitramine)
HNS (Hexanitrostilbene)
PYX Bis(Picrylamino)-3,5-dinitropyridine
PS (Picryl sulfone)
Composition B (60% RDX, 40%
trinitrotoluene)

Chemical
Formula

Densi
ty
(g/cc)

Detonat
ion
Velocity
(ft/sec)

Detonat
ion
Pressur
e (psi)

RDX Cyclotrimethylene
trinitramine

C3H6N6O6

1.80

28,700

5,000,00
0

HMX Cyclotrimethylene
tetranitramine

C4H8N8O8

1.90

30,000

5,700,00
0

C14H6N6O12

1.74

24,300

3,500,00
0

C17H7N11O16

1.77

24,900

3,700,00
0

Explosive

HNS Hexanitrostilbene

PYX Bis(picrylamino)-3,5dinitropyridine

RDX is the most commonly used

explosives for shaped charges (up to
300 oF).

In deep wells when extreme

temperature is required & where the
guns are exposed to well temperatures
for longer periods of time HMX, PS, HNS
or PYX is used.

It is important to respect the explosives

used in perforating operations.
They are hazardous.
Accidents can occur if they are not
handled carefully or if proper
procedures are not followed.

PERFORATING GUNS

Perforating guns are configured in

several ways.

There are four main types of

perforating guns:

Wireline conveyed casing guns

Through-tubing hollow carrier guns
Through-tubing strip guns
Tubing conveyed perforating guns

Wireline Conveyed Casing Guns

Generally run in
the well before
installing the
tubing.

The advantages of casing guns over the

other wireline guns are:

High charge performance

Low cost
Highest temperature & pressure rating
High mechanical & electrical reliability
Minimal debris & minimal casing damage
Instant shot detection
Multi-phasing
Variable shot densities of 1 12 spf
Speed & accurate positioning using
CCL/Gamma Ray

Through-tubing Hollow Carrier

Guns
Smaller versions
of casing guns
which can be run
through tubing.

They have lower charge sizes &,

therefore lower performance, than all
other guns.
They only offer 0o or 180o phasing
Maximum shot density of 4 spf on the
2-1/8 OD gun & 6 spf on the 2-7/8 OD
gun.
Due to the stand-off from the casing
which these guns may have, they are
usually fitted with
decentralizing/orientation devices.

Through-tubing Strip Guns

Semi-expendable
type guns
consisting of a
metal strip into
which the
charges are
mounted.

Charges have higher performance.

They also cause more debris, casing
damage & have less mechanical &
electrical reliability.
They also provide 0o or 180o phasing.
By being able to be run through the
tubing, underbalance perforating can
possibly be adopted but only for the first
shot.
A new version called the Pivot Gun has
even larger charges for deep penetration.

A Pivot
gun
system

Tubing Conveyed Perforating

Guns (TCP)
TCP guns are a
variant of the
casing gun which
can be run on
tubing.

Longer lengths can be installed.

Lengths of over 1,000 ft are possible
(especially useful for horizontal wells).
The main problems associated with TCP
are:

Gun positioning is more difficult.

The sump needs to be drilled deeper to
accommodate the gun length if it is
dropped after firing.
A misfire is extremely expensive.
Shot detection is more unreliable.

PERFORATION EFFICIENCY &

GUN PERFORMANCE

Optimizing perforating efficiency relies

extensively on the planning &
execution of the well completion which
includes:

Selection of the perforated interval

Fluid selection
Gun selection
Applied pressure differential
Well clean-up
Perforating orientation

API RP 19B, 1st Edition (Recommended

Practices for Evaluation of Well Perforators)
provide means for evaluating perforating
systems (multiple shot) in four ways:

Performance under ambient temperature &

atmospheric pressure test conditions.
Performance in stressed Berea sandstone
targets (simulated wellbore pressure test
conditions).
How performance may be changed after
exposure to elevated temperature conditions.
Flow performance of a perforation under
specific stressed test conditions

Factors affecting gun performance

include:

Compressive strengths & porosities of

formations.
Type of charges used (size, shape).
Charge alignment.
Moisture contamination.
Gun stand-off.
Thickness of casing & cement.
Multiple casings.

It is necessary for engineers to obtain

as much accurate data from the
suppliers & use the companys historic
data in order to be able to make the
best choice of gun.

Due to the problem of flow restriction,

the important factors to be considered
include:

Hole diameter to achieve adequate flow

area.

Hole Size

The hole size obtained is a function of

the casing grade & should be as
follows:

Between 6 mm & 12 mm for natural

completions.
Between 15 mm & 25 mm in gravel packed
completions.
Between 8 mm & 12 mm if fracturing is to
be carried out & where ball sealers are to
be used.

Shot Density

Shot density is the number of holes

specified in shots per foot (spf).
An adequate shot density can reduce
perforation skin & produce wells at
lower pressure differentials.
Shot density in homogeneous, isotropic
formations should be a minimum of 8
spf but must exceed the frequency of
shale laminations.

A shot density greater than this is

required where:

Vertical permeability is low.

There is a risk of sand production.
There is a risk of high velocities & hence
turbulence.
A gravel pack is to be conducted.

Note: Too many holes can weaken the

casing strength.

Shot Phasing

Phasing is the radial distribution of

successive perforating charges around
the gun axis.
Simply put, phasing is perforation
orientation or the angle between holes.
Perforating gun assemblies are
commonly available in 0o, 180o, 120o,
90o & 60o phasing.

Carrier gun
arrangeme
nt

The 0o phasing (all shots are along the

same side of the casing) is generally
used only in small outside-diameter
guns.
60o, 90o & 120o degree phase guns are
generally larger & provide more
efficient flow characteristics near the
wellbore.
Optimized phasing reduces pressure
drop near the wellbore by providing
flow conduits on all sides of the casing.

Providing the stand-off is less than

50mm, 180o or less, 120o, 90o, 60o is
preferable.
If the smallest charges are being used
then the stand-off should not be more
than 25mm.
If fracturing is to be carried out then
90o and lower will help initiate
fractures.

Effect of
centralizati
on

Penetration

In general, the deeper the shot the

better, but at the least it should exceed
the drilling damage area by 75mm.
However, to obtain high shot density,
the guns may be limited to the charge
size which can physically be installed
which will impact penetration.

WELL/RESERVOIR
CHARACTERISTICS

Pressure differential between a

wellbore and reservoir before
perforating can be described by:

Underbalanced
Overbalanced
Extreme overbalanced (EOB)

Underbalanced Perforating

Reservoir pressure is substantially

higher than the wellbore pressure.
Adequate reservoir pressure must exist
to displace the fluids from within the
production tubing if the well is to flow
unaided.
If the reservoir pressure is insufficient
to achieve this, measures must be
taken to lighten the fluid column
typically by gas lifting or circulating a

The flow rates & pressures used to exercise

control during the clean up period are
intended to maximize the return of drilling or
completion fluids & debris.
This controlled backflush of perforating
debris or filtrate also enables surface
production facilities to reach stable conditions
gradually.
Standard differential pressure 200 400 psi.
Differential pressures up to 5,000 psi in low
permeability gas wells.

Overbalanced Perforating

Perforating when the wellbore pressure

is higher than the reservoir pressure.
This is normally used as a method of
well control during perforating.
The problem with this method is it
introduces wellbore fluid into the
formation causing formation damage.
Use clean fluid to prevent perforation
plugging.
Use of acid in carbonates.

Extreme Overbalanced
Perforating

The wellbore is pressured up to very

high pressures with gas (usually
nitrogen).
When the perforating guns are
detonated the inflow of high pressure
gas into the formation results in a
mini-frac, opening up the formation to
increase inflow.

CALCULATIONS

A mechanism to account for the effects

of perforations on well performance is
through the introduction of the
perforation skin effect, sp in the well
production equation.
For example, under steady-state
kh Pe Pwf
conditions:
q

re
141.2 B ln s p
rw

Karakas and Tariq (1988) have

presented a semi-analytical solution for
the calculation of the perforation skin
effect, which they divide into
components:

The plane-flow effect, sH

The vertical converging effect, sV
The wellbore effect, swb

The total perforation skin effect is then:

s p sH sV swb

The Plane-flow Effect

sH ln

rw

rw

l perf

rw

for 0

4
a r l
o w perf

for 0

rw = wellbore radius (ft).

rw() = effective wellbore radius (ft). It is
a function of the phasing angle .
lperf = length of perforation (ft)

bca12
12

Constant ao depends on the perforation

phasing.

The Vertical Converging Effect

sV 10a hDb 1rDb
a a1 log rD a2

rD

rperf
2hperf

kV
1

k
H

hperf

b b1rD b2

shot density

hD

hperf
l perf

kH
kV

a1, a2, b1 & b2 are obtained from the

table above.
kH = horizontal permeability

kV = vertical permeability

rperf = radius of perforation (ft)

sV is potentially the largest contributor

to sp.

The Wellbore Effect

swb c1 exp c2 rwD

rwD

rw

l perf rw

c1 & c2 are obtained from the table

above.

REFERENCES

Gatlin, C.: Drilling Well Completion,

Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey, 1960.
ENI S.p.A. Agip Division: Completion
Design Manual, 1999.
Halliburton: Petroleum Well
Construction, 1997.
Ott, W. K. and Woods, J. D.: Modern
Sandface Completion Practices
Handbook, 1st Ed., World Oil Magazine,
2003.

Schlumberger: Completions Primer,

2001.
Golan, M. and Whitson, C. H.: Well
Performance, 2nd Ed., Tapir, 1995.
Karakas, M. and Tariq, S.: SemiAnalytical Productivity Models for
Perforated Completions, paper SPE
18271, 1988.
Clegg, J. D.: Production Operations
Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
Handbook, Vol. IV, SPE, 2007.