On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

 

1	Understand key aspects of formation damage in different processes of oil production.
2	Explain reservoir physics of main formation damage mechanisms.
3	Describe the purpose of damage removal, prevention and mitigation, of well stimulation.
4	Understand the concepts and equipment required for water management in onshore and offshore developments.
5	Analysis of mathematical models for formation damage in different processes of oil production (waterflooding, pressure depletion, EOR).
6	Describe the applicability of different mathematical models of formation damage
7	Explain the process and importance of injected water treatment.
8	Utilise knowledge of formation damage reservoir physics in design of damage-free oil production technologies.
9	Describe processes associated with formation damage in injection and production wells and its uses in exploration and production.
10	Apply a critical-thinking and problem-solving approach towards the principles of damage-free oil production technologies.

 
The above course learning outcomes are aligned with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for the Professional Engineer.
The course is designed to develop the following Elements of Competency: 1.1   1.2   1.3   1.4   1.5   1.6   2.1   

The following two texts are an integral work book and reference for this course;

1. Civan, F.: Reservoir Formation Damage
(Fundamentals, Modeling, Assessment, and Mitigation), Gulf Professional
Publishing, 2nd ed (2007). Approximate cost = 150 US $

2. Tiab, D. and Donaldson, E.C., 2004, Petrophysics,
Gulf Prof Publishing, 2nd Ed. Approximate cost = 160 US $

Useful Reference Books

·        Schechter, R., 1987, Well stimulation, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, Engleswood, NJ, NY.

·        Khilar, K. and Fogler, S., 1998: Migration of Fines in Porous Media, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/London/Boston

·        Bedrikovetsky P.G., 1993, Mathematical Theory of Oil & Gas Recovery (With applications to ex-USSR oil & gas condensate fields),
         Kluwer Academic Publishers, London-Boston-Dordrecht, 600 p.

·        Bedrikovetsky P.G., 1999, Advanced Waterflooding, Textbook, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark, 450 p.

Additional lecture notes will be provided during the lecture.

PDF’s of lecture power points and additional material will be provided via MyUni

The lectures provide an outline to formation damage and associated problems, which is supported by problem-solving tutorials and practicals developing material covered in lectures.

All classes must be attended to gain the fullest knowledge in the subject. Pre-reading of the Lecture material from MyUni and recommended reference books will enable students to gain more depth of knowledge in the subject area of each lecture.

Topics to be treated in order of presentation

INTRODUCTION:                                                                                                       

General aspects of oil/gas production and water injection

Technical, economical and environmental aspects

Examples for water management: WESTERN SIBERIA, CAMPOS BASIN, NORTH SEA, GULF OF MEXICO, CASPIAN SEA

 
WATER MANAGEMENT IN OILFIELD EXPLOITATION:

Water Management cycle

The need of rate maintenance

Oil recovery with waterflooding

Directions for waterflooding project

Estimates for waterflood project

Skin effect in injection and production wells


FORMATION DAMAGE OF INJECTORS: PHYSICAL MECHANISMS

Sea water injection: pore size exclusion, fine migration, molecular forces, salinity, bridging, segregation

Produced water re-injection: adsorption, capillary sorption, deformation and mobilisation of trapped
particles

Aggregation of solid and liquid particles. Effects of wettability

Fines migration in oil and gas reservoirs: drag, electrostatic, adhesion and lifting forces.  Other forces acting on particles in porous
media


INJECTIVITY TESTS: COREFLOODING WITH FORMATION DAMAGE

Mathematical model for permeability impairment

Filtration coefficient and formation damage coefficient

Laboratory studies of deep bed filtration

Exercise: Filtration coefficient determination from laboratory measurements of outlet concentration

Exercise: Formation damage coefficient determination from laboratory measurements of pressure drop on a core

Simultaneous determination of both coefficients from pressure measurements in 3 core points

Results of laboratory tests treatment

 
WELL IMPAIRMENT WITH INJECTION OF WATER WITH SOLID PARTICLES

Prediction of well impairment based on laboratory test data

Direct recalculation of coreflood data to well impairment for the case of low filtration coefficient

Prediction of well impairment based on injection history

Exercise: predict injectivity decline based on coreflood data

Exercise: predict injectivity decline based on well data

Field case - already waterflooded field, Campos basin, Brazil

Field case - a young field, Campos basin, Brazil

 
EFFECTS OF PARTICLE AND PORE SIZES ON IMPAIRMENT

Mathematical model for deep bed filtration accounting for particle and pore size distributions

Calculation of flux reduction and accessibility factors

Analytical models for deep bed filtration for different particle and pore size distributions

Calculation of filtration coefficient for different particle and pore size distributions

Exercise: practical calculations for injected water filtering

 
EXTERNAL CAKE FORMATION DURING SEA WATER INJECTION

Mathematical model for external cake formation

Erosion of external filter cake.Mathematical model.Laboratory study.

Determination of cake permeability from routine coreflood data

Results of laboratory tests treatment

Exercise: extrapolate the injectivity index curve for a well

Field case - already waterflooded field, Campos basin

Exercise: explain the concave shape of injectivity index curve

Field case - a young field, Campos basin

 
WELL IMPAIRMENT WITH INJECTION OF OILY WATER (PRODUCED WATER REINJECTION)

Effects of remobilisation of oil droplets

Mathematical model for permeability impairment

Exercise: check whether oil drop would be mobilised at a given porous media and flow velocity

Laboratory studies of deep bed filtration for oily water

Results of laboratory tests treatment

Well impairment prediction, field examples

 
BACKFLOW IN INJECTORS

Removal of internal cake

Removal of external filter cake

 
IMPAIRMENT OF HORIZONTAL INJECTORS AND INJECTIVITY PROFILE CHANGE

Formation damage in horizontal injectors

How to use the formation damage in horizontal injectors in order to improve sweep efficiency

 
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CAKE FORMATION IN FRACTURED INJECTORS

PRODUCED WATER DISPOSAL - TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS                              

Reinjection of produced water into aquifers - technological schemas

Injector impairment problems

Environmental concerns

Mathematical model for produced water disposal into aquifers

Prediction of oily drops propagation and of injectivity decline

Field case: produced water disposal into aquifer A (Campos Basin, Brazil)

 
DRILLING MUD INVASION AND FORMATION DAMAGE REMOVAL

Basic equations for internal and external cake formation during drilling

Analytical models

How to determine particle size distribution in drilling mud that would provide minimum formation damage

 
FINES MIGRATION IN OIL AND GAS FIELDS

Physics of fines migration

Effects of fines migration on formation damage

Fines production. Sand production control

Gravel packs. Sand screens

 
OILFIELD SCALING IN PRODUCTION WELLS – LABORATORY STUDY

Physics of sulphate scaling.

Mathematical modelling. Analytical models for 1-D linear waterflood with sulphate scaling.

Laboratory modelling of barium and strontium scaling.Laboratory set-up.A new method for determination of chemical
kinetics in porous media.

Exercise: calculate barium and strontium sulphate precipitation in a core

Exercise: calculate sulphate deposition kinetics from outlet concentration

Exercise: calculate permeability reduction from pressure drop history

Results of lab data treatment

 
OILFIELD SCALING IN PRODUCTION WELLS – MODELLING, FIELD STUDIES

Analytical model for BaSO4 scaling in axi symmetric geometry. Productivity index reduction and skin factor due to scaling

Exercise: predict productivity decline based on lab test

Exercise: predict productivity decline based on well data

CaSO3 oilfield scaling. Thermodynamic conditions for productivity reduction.

BaSO4 scaling prevention. Inhibitors. Solvents.

Field cases: Alba (North Sea), B (Brazil, Campos Basin)

 
OILFIELD SCALING IN INJECTION WELLS

Sulphate scaling and injectivity decline during reinjection of produced water

Analytical model for produced water reinjection and injectivity impairment

 
INJECTION AND PRODUCTION WELL STIMULATION AND FORMATION DAMAGE REMOVAL

 
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FORMATION DAMAGE TO IMPROVE OIL PRODUCTION AND RECOVERY

Sweep efficiency increase due to distributed skin along the horizontal injector

Using fines migration to improve sweep during waterflooding

 
PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

Summary and Review Session.

Assessment Task	Weighting (%)	Individual/ Group	Formative/ Summative	Due (week)*	Hurdle criteria	Learning outcomes
Home Assignment	25	Individual	Formative	Weeks 2-12		1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 10.
Design Group Project	15	Group	Formative	Week 10		1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Class Participation Including Quizzes	10	Individual	Formative	Weeks 2-12		1. 2. 3. 4. 7. 8. 10.
Final Exam	50	Individual	Formative	Week 12		1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Total	100

* The specific due date for each assessment task will be available on MyUni.
 
This assessment breakdown complies with the University's Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy.
 

Individual assessment is based on marks awarded to tests and the final examination.

Group assessment is based on a group design report and assignment.

Submission of Work for Assessment

The assessment should be submitted with a completed copy of the assessment coversheet that is available from the school office. This should be signed to indicate you have read the above university policy statement on plagiarism, collusion and related forms of cheating.

 
Extensions for Assessment Tasks

Extensions of deadlines for the assessment task may be allowed for reasonable causes. Such situations would include compassionate and medical grounds of the severity that would justify the awarding of a supplementary examination. Evidence for the grounds must be provided when an extension is requested. Students are required to apply for an extension to the Course
Co-ordinator before the assessment task is due. Extensions will not be provided on the grounds of poor prioritising of time.

 
Penalty for Late Submission of Assessment Tasks

The assessment task must be submitted by the stated deadlines. There will be a penalty for late submission of assessment tasks. The submitted work will be marked ‘without prejudice’ and 10% of the obtained mark will be deducted for each working day (or part of a day) that an assessment task is late, up to a maximum penalty of 50% of the mark attained. An examiner may elect not to accept any assessment task that a student wants to submit after that task has been marked and feedback provided to the rest of the class.

 
Provision of Feedback to Students

The assessment will be returned to students within two weeks of their submission. The detailed analysis of exercises will follow each test.

Communication

It is important that all students maintain active communication channels throughout the year. The primary communication channels to students in this course are as follows.

MyUni:
Students should regularly check the MyUni website (http://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/).

Email:
Each student should regularly check his or her University-provided email account (firstname.lastname@student.adelaide.edu.au) for information from members of the academic staff concerning course work matters and other announcements as they arise. Make sure you clean up your Inbox regularly as if it is full you will not receive our email! We will regard an email message being sent to your
student email address or an announcement posted on the MyUni site as our having communicated with each member of the class. Not reading one’s University provided email or MyUni announcements will not be a valid excuse for missing important deadlines