In the Name of God

Reservoir Formation Damage

By: Dr. Mohammad Simjoo

Sahand University of Technology

Spring 2025

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Formation Damage:
• References
❖ Reservoir Formation Damage:
by F. Civan (2015; 1042 pages)

❖ Formation Damage during Improved Oil Recovery:

Fundamentals and Applications (2018; 676 pages)
By: Bin Yuan, David A. Wood

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 Formation Damage:
• References

• Other relevant books (reservoir stimulation etc)

• Relevant scientific papers

• SPE Formation Damage Control Conference

• SPE European Formation Damage Conference

• Review papers on formation damage

• Relevant MSc/PhD thesis

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Formation Damage:
• Some of the relevant Thesis in SUT:
• Induced formation damage due to low salinity water injection (A. Khani)
• Effect of nanoparticles on asphaltene precipitation (A. Mashouf)
• Modeling of low salinity water by considering geochemical effect
between rock and fluid (E. Kalantari)
• Interaction of rock and polymer solution (T. Heidari)
• Experimental study of the effect of low salinity water on the reservoir
rock and fluid properties (M. Rayhani)
• Experimental study of rock and fluid interaction in presence of polymer
solution with low salinity water using micromodel (B. Shahmohammadi)

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 Formation Damage:
• References
• Reservoir Formation Damage:
by F. Civan (2015; 1042 pages)

Key features of the book:

❖ Petroleum engineers and managers get critical material on evaluation, prevention,
and remediation of formation damage which can save or cost millions in profits
from a mechanistic point of view
❖ State-of-the-Art knowledge and valuable insights into the nature of processes and
operational practices causing formation damage
❖ Provides new strategies designed to minimize the impact of and avoid formation
damage in petroleum reservoirs with the newest drilling, monitoring, and detection
techniques

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Formation Damage:
• References
• Reservoir Formation Damage:
by F. Civan (2015; 1042 pages)

Contents:
❖ Characterization of Reservoir Rock for Formation Damage (Reservoir Formations,
Description and Characterization, Damage Potential, and Petrographics)
❖ Characterization of the Porous Media Processes for Formation Damage (Porosity and
Permeability, Mineralogy Sensitivity, Petrophysics, Rate Processes, Rock-Fluid-Particle
Interactions, and Accountability of Phases and Species)
❖ Formation Damage by Particulate Processes—Single- and Multi-Phase Fines Migration,
Clay Swelling, Filtrate and Particulate Invasion, Filter Cake, Stress Sensitivity, and
Sanding

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 Formation Damage:
• References
• Reservoir Formation Damage:
by F. Civan (2015; 1042 pages)

Contents:
❖ Formation Damage by Inorganic and Organic Precipitation Processes—Chemical
Reactions, Saturation Phenomena, Dissolution, Precipitation, and Deposition
❖ Laboratory Assessment of the Formation Damage Potential—Instrumental Techniques,
Testing, Analysis, and Interpretation
❖ Field Diagnosis and Mitigation of Formation Damage—Measurement, Assessment,
Control, and Remediation
❖ Modeling and Simulation of Formation Damage

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Formation Damage:
• References
• Formation Damage during Improved Oil Recovery:
Fundamentals and Applications (2018; 676 pages)
By: Bin Yuan, David A. Wood

Key features of the book:

❖ Presents the first complete reference addressing formation damage as a result
of enhanced oil recovery
❖ Provides the mechanisms for formation damage issues that are coupled with
EOR
❖ Suggests appropriate preventative actions or responses
❖ Delivers a structured approach on how to understand the fundamental theories,
practical challenges and solutions
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 Formation Damage:
• References
•Formation Damage during Improved Oil Recovery:
Fundamentals and Applications
By: Bin Yuan, David A. Wood
Contents:
❖ Low-Salinity Water Flooding: From Novel to Mature Technology
❖ Formation Damage by Fines Migration: Mathematical and Laboratory Modeling, Field
Cases
❖ Using Nanofluids to Control Fines Migration in Porous Systems
❖ Formation Damage by Inorganic Deposition
❖ Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
❖ Formation Damage During Chemical Flooding
❖ Formation Damage Problems Associated With CO2 Flooding
❖ Formation Damage by Thermal Methods Applied to Heavy Oil Reservoirs
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Formation Damage:
• References
•Formation Damage during Improved Oil Recovery:
Fundamentals and Applications
By: Bin Yuan, David A. Wood
Contents:
❖ A Special Focus on Formation Damage in Unconventional Reservoirs: Dynamic
Production
❖ A Special Focus on Formation Damage in Offshore and Deepwater Reservoirs
❖ Formation Damage Challenges in Geothermal Reservoirs
❖ Formation Damage in Coalbed Methane Recovery
❖ Special Focus on Produced Water in Oil and Gas Fields: Origin, Management, and
Reinjection Practice
❖ Integrated Risks Assessment and Management of IOR/EOR Projects: A Formation
Damage View
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 Formation Damage:
• Course evaluation

❖ Class activity (Q&A / Quiz / HW / Mid term): 7

❖ Class project (report and presentation): 3 (+ Bonus)

❖ Final: 10

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Overview of Formation
Damage

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 Formation Damage: Basic Concepts
• Formation damage
• is generally referring to impairment of the permeability of
petroleum-bearing formations by various adverse
processes.

• is an undesirable operational and economic problem that

can occur during the various stages of oil and gas
recovery from subsurface reservoirs including drilling,
production, hydraulic fracturing, and workover operations.

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Formation Damage: Basic Concepts

• Formation damage
• assessment, control, and remediation are among the most
important issues to be resolved for efficient exploitation of
hydrocarbon reservoirs.

• Properly designed experimental and analytical techniques,

and modeling and simulation approaches can help
understanding, diagnosis, evaluation, prevention,
remediation, and controlling of formation damage in oil and
gas reservoirs.
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 Formation Damage: Basic Concepts
• Objective of formation damage study:
• understanding of damage processes via laboratory and
field testing.
• development of mathematical models via the description
of fundamental damage mechanisms.
• optimization for prevention and/or reduction of damage
potential of the reservoir formation
• development of formation damage control strategies and
remediation methods.

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Formation Damage: Basic Concepts

• Formation damage processes
• Fundamental processes causing damage in petroleum-
bearing formations are:
• Physico-chemical processes
• Chemical processes
• Hydrodynamic processes
• Thermal processes
• Mechanical processes
• Biological processes
• These processes are triggered during the drilling,
production, workover, and hydraulic fracturing operations.
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 Formation Damage: Indicators
• Formation damage indicators
• include permeability impairment, skin damage, and
decrease of well performance.

• Consequences of formation damage are:

• Reduction of oil and gas productivity of reservoirs
• Non-economic operation.

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Formation Damage: Indicators

•Pressure drop and skin:

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 Formation Damage: Indicators
•Formation damage and skin factor:

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Formation Damage: Indicators

• Formation damage indicators
• According to Porter (1989):
• Formation damage is not necessarily reversible”.
• “What gets into porous media does not necessarily
come out.”

• Therefore, it is better to avoid formation damage than to

try to restore it,

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 Formation Damage: Potential Sources
• Potential sources of formation damage during well history
• Drilling (emulsion block, wettability change, mud damage,
mechanical damage)
• Cementing (pH change, scale formation)
• Perforating
• Completion
• Workover
• Gravel packing
• Production
• Stimulation
• Fluid injection Challenge the future 21

Formation Damage: Conditions

• Conditions affecting formation damage
• According to Amaefule (1988)
• Type, morphology, and location of resident minerals.

• In situ and extraneous fluids composition.

• In situ temperature and stress conditions and properties of

porous formation.

• Well development and reservoir exploitation practices.

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 Formation Damage: Factors
• Various factors affecting formation damage
• According to Amaefule (1988)
• Invasion of foreign fluids, such as water and chemicals used
for improved/enhanced oil recovery, drilling mud invasion,
and workover fluids.
• Invasion of foreign particles and mobilization of indigenous
particles, such as sand, mud fines, bacteria, and debris.
• Operation conditions such as well flow rates and wellbore
pressures and temperatures.
• Properties of the formation fluids and porous matrix.

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Formation Damage: Mechanism

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 Formation Damage: Mechanism
• Summary of formation damage mechanisms
• Fluid–fluid incompatibilities, for example emulsions generated
between invading oil-based mud filtrate and formation water.

• Rock–fluid incompatibilities, for example contact of potentially

swelling smectite clay or deflocculatable kaolinite clay by
nonequilibrium water-based fluids with the potential to severely
reduce near wellbore permeability.

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Formation Damage: Mechanism

• Summary of formation damage mechanisms
• Solid invasion, for example the invasion of weighting agents or
drilled solids.

• Phase trapping/blocking, for example invasion and entrapment

of water-based fluids in the near wellbore region of a gas well.

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 Formation Damage: Mechanism
• Summary of formation damage mechanisms
• Chemical adsorption/wettability alteration, for example
emulsifier adsorption changing the wettability and fluid flow
characteristics of a formation.

• Fines migration, for example the internal movement of fine

particulates within a rock’s pore structure resulting in the
bridging and plugging of pore throats.

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Formation Damage: Mechanism

• Summary of formation damage mechanisms
• Biological activity, for example introduction of bacterial
agents into the formation during drilling and the subsequent
generation of polysaccharide polymer slimes which reduce
permeability.

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 Formation Damage: Example
• Formation damage by mineral and particles
• Mineral matter and fine particles loosely attached to the
pore surface are at equilibrium with the pore fluids.

• However, variations in chemical, thermodynamic, and

stress states may create non-equilibrium conditions
and induce the salinity, velocity, and thermal shock
phenomena and particle detachment and precipitate
formation.

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Formation Damage: Example

• Formation damage by mineral and particles
• The equilibrium condition existing between pore surface
and fluids could be disturbed during reservoir production
by primary and enhanced recovery processes,

• As a consequence,
• mineral matter may dissolve and generate many
different ions in the aqueous phase.
• fine particles could be unleashed from the pore surface
into the fluid phases.
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 Formation Damage: Example
• Formation damage by mineral and particles
• Once these ions and particles are introduced into the
fluid phases, they become mobile.

• Thus, the mobile ions and fine particles in the pore space
may interact freely with each other in many complicated
ways to create severe reservoir formation damage
problems.

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Formation Damage: Mechanism

Task: Reading review paper

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 Mineral Sensitivity of Petroleum
Formation

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Mineral Sensitivity of Petroleum

Formation
• Main objectives:
• Description of mineral content and sensitivity of typical
sedimentary formations

• Relevant formation damage mechanisms involving clay

alteration and migration

• Effects of clay swelling on the permeability and porosity

of clayey porous rocks
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 Constituents of Sedimentary Rocks
• Constituents of oil and gas-bearing rocks
• Classified in two broad categories:
• Extraneous or foreign materials
• Indigenous materials

• Extraneous materials are externally introduced through

wells completed in petroleum reservoirs, during drilling
and workover operations, and improved/enhanced oil
recovery processes.

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Constituents of Sedimentary Rocks

• Constituents of oil and gas-bearing rocks
• Two groups of indigenous materials:
• Detrital materials
• Diagenetic materials

• Detrital materials originate during formation of rocks and

have restricted formation damage potential, because they
exist as tightly packed and blended minerals within the
rock matrix.

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 Constituents of Sedimentary Rocks
• Constituents of oil and gas-bearing rocks
• Diagenetic materials
• are formed by various rock–fluid interactions in an existing
pack of sediments.

• located inside the pore space as loosely attached pore-

filling, pore-lining, and pore-bridging deposits.

• have greater formation damage potential because of their

direct exposure to pore fluids.

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Constituents of Sedimentary Rocks

• Constituents of oil and gas-bearing rocks
Description of typical clastic deposits

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 Composition of Petroleum Formations
• Composition of oil and gas-bearing rocks
• Mineral oxides (SiO2, Al2O3, etc. which are detrital and
form the porous matrix)

• Swelling and non-swelling clays (detrital and diagenetic

clays)

• Other substances at near- wellbore formation (mud,

cement, and debris)

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Composition of Petroleum Formations

• Clay minerals:
• Crystalline minerals described as hydrous aluminum
silicates.
• Clay minerals occupy a large fraction of sedimentary
formations.
• Clay minerals are extremely small (micron size), platy-
shaped materials that may be present in sedimentary
rocks as packs of crystals.

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 Composition of Petroleum Formations
• Clay minerals:
• Swelling and non-swelling clays (detrital and diagenetic
clays)
• Detrital clays form the skeleton of the porous matrix
and are of interest from the point of mechanical
formation damage.

• Diageneric clays are loosely attached to pore surface

and are of interest from the point of chemical and
physico-chemical formation damage.

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Composition of Petroleum Formations

• Diagenetic clay minerals are classified in five groups:

• Kaolinite group

• Chlorite group

• Smectite (or Montmorillonite) group

• Illite group

• Mixed-layer clay minerals formed from several of the

above three basic groups

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 Composition of Petroleum Formations
• Diagenetic clay minerals:

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Composition of Petroleum Formations

• Major reservoir formation damage caused by diagenetic
clay minerals:

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Amaefule, primary factors affecting mineralogical
sensitivity of sedimentary formations (like clay) are as follows:

• Mineralogy and chemical composition determine the

• dissolution of minerals,
• swelling of minerals
• precipitation of new minerals

• Mineral size plays an important role, because mineral

sensitivity is proportional to the surface area of minerals.

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Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Amaefule, primary factors affecting mineralogical
sensitivity of sedimentary formations are as follows:

• Mineral morphology is important, because

• mineral morphology determines the grain shape, and
therefore the surface area to volume ratio,
• minerals with platy, foliated, acicular, filiform, or bladed
shapes, such as clay minerals, have high surface area
to volume ratio.

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Amaefule (1988), primary factors affecting
mineralogical sensitivity of sedimentary formations are as
follows:
• Location of minerals is important from the point of their
role in formation damage.
• Diagenetic minerals are especially susceptible to
alteration because they are present in the pore space
as porelining, pore-filling, and pore-bridging deposits
and they can be exposed directly to fluids injected into
near-wellbore formation.

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Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Mungan (1989), clay damage depends on:
• type and amount of the exchangeable cations, such as K+,
Na+, Ca2+
• layered structure existing in the clay minerals

• Accordingly:
• Kaolinite has a two-layer structure, K+ exchange cation,
and a small base exchange capacity, and is basically a
non-swelling clay but will easily disperse and move.

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Mungan (1989), clay damage depends on:
• type and amount of the exchangeable cations, such as K+,
Na+, Ca2+
• layered structure existing in the clay minerals

• Accordingly:
• Montmorillonite has a three-layer structure, a large base
exchange capacity of 90 to 150 meq/100 g and will readily
adsorb Na+, all leading to a high degree of swelling and
dispersion.
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Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Mungan (1989), clay damage depends on:
• type and amount of the exchangeable cations, such as K+,
Na+, Ca2+
• layered structure existing in the clay minerals

• Accordingly:
• Illites are interlayered. Therefore, illites combine the worst
characteristics of the dispersible and the swellable
clays. The illites are most difficult to stabilize.

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 Mineral Sensitivity

❖ 1:1 layer structure

consists of the repetition
of one tetrahedral (T)
and one octahedral sheet
(O).

❖ in the 2:1 layer structure,

one octahedral sheet is
sandwiched between two
tetrahedral sheets.

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Mineral Sensitivity

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Rogers (1963), Sodium-montmorillonite swells

more than calcium-montmorillonite.

• This is because that calcium cation is strongly adsorbed

compared to sodium cations.

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Mineral Sensitivity
Expansion of calcium and sodium montmorillonite by hydration

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• When clays are hydrated in aqueous media:
• Calcium-montmorillonite platelets remain practically
intact, close to each other.
• While, sodium-montmorillonite aggregates readily
swell and the platelets separate widely.
• Therefore, water can easily invade the gaps between
the platelets and form thicker water envelopes around
the sodium-montmorillonite platelets than the calcium
montmorillonite platelets.

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Mineral Sensitivity
Expansion of calcium and sodium montmorillonite by hydration

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 Mineral Sensitivity
Effect of cation size on the cation migration into a clay interlayer.

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Mineral Sensitivity
• Clay damage can be prevented by maintaining high
concentrations of K+ cation in aqueous solutions:
• At high concentrations of K+ cation, clay platelets
remain intact.
• Because the small size K+ cation can penetrate the
interlayers of the clay easily and hold the clay platelets
together.

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 Mineral Sensitivity
Effect of cation size on the cation migration into a clay interlayer.

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Mineral Sensitivity
• It has been widely reported that some degree of
permeability impairment occurs in clay-containing cores
when aqueous solutions are flown through them. This
phenomenon is referred to as the “water sensitivity.

• To investigate formation damage mechanism, Reed (1977)

conducted laboratory core tests by flowing various aqueous
solutions through cores extracted from micaceous sand
formations.

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 Mineral Sensitivity
Comparison of permeability damages by deionized water, calcium
chloride and sodium chloride brines in micaceous sand cores:

Reed postulated that formation damage in micaceous sands is a result of

mica alteration and fines generation.
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Mineral Sensitivity
• Based on the severeness of formation damage
(permeability reduction), Reed concluded that mica
alteration is a result of exchange of K+ cations with
cations of larger sizes.

• Also, deionized water caused the most damage, CaCl2

solution made the least damage, and damage by the NaCl
solution is in between. Thus, the cations involved can be
ordered with respect to the most to least damaging as
H+>Na+>Ca2+.

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• When clays are exposed to aqueous solutions containing
no or small amounts of K+ cation or larger cations such as
H+, Ca+2, and Na+:
• K+ cation diffuses out of the clay platelets according
to Fick’s law, because there are more K+ than the
solution.
• In contrast, the larger cations present in the aqueous
solution tend to diffuse into clays because there are
more of the larger cations in the solution compared to
the clays.
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Mineral Sensitivity
• continue-.-.-.
• Because larger cations cannot fit into the interplanar
gap depleted by the K+ cations, the edges of the friable
mica flakes break off into small pieces.

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• Mechanism of formation damage
in micaceous sand:

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Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Mohan and Fogler (1997), three processes
leading to permeability reduction in clayey sedimentary
formations:
• Under favorable colloidal conditions, nonswelling clays,
such as kaolinites and illites, can be released from the
pore surface and then these particles migrate with the
fluid flowing through porous formation.
• Whereas swelling clays, such as smectites and mixed-
layer clays, first expand under favorable ionic
conditions, and then disintegrate and migrate.
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 Mineral Sensitivity
• According to Mohan and Fogler (1997), three processes
leading to permeability reduction in clayey sedimentary
formations:
• Also, fines attached to swelling clays can be dislodged
and liberated during clay swelling. This phenomenon is
referred to as fines generation by discontinuous jumps
or microquakes.

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Mineral Sensitivity
• Consequently, formation damage occurs in two ways:
• Permeability of porous formation decreases by
reduction of porosity by clay swelling.

• Particles entrained from pore surface by the flowing

fluid are carried towards the pore throats and captured
by a jamming process. Thus, permeability decreases
by obstruction and or plugging of pore throats.

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 Home work
Developments in Clay Science:
Including 9 book volumes on the different
aspects of the clay science

Different scientific journals on Clay:

❖ Clay Minerals
❖ Clays and Clay Minerals
❖ Applied Clay Science

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Home work: Paper reading

❖ Wilson, M.J., Wilson, L. and Patey, I., 2014. The influence of individual
clay minerals on formation damage of reservoir sandstones: a critical
review with some new insights. Clay Minerals, 49(2), pp.147-164.

❖ Wilson, L., Wilson, M.J., Green, J. and Patey, I., 2014. The influence of
clay mineralogy on formation damage in North Sea reservoir
sandstones: a review with illustrative examples. Earth-Science
Reviews, 134, pp.70-80.

❖ Gkay, D.H. and Rex, R.W., 1966. Formation damage in sandstones

caused by clay dispersion and migration. In Clays and Clay Minerals
(pp. 355-366). Pergamon.

❖ Zhou, Z.J., Gunter, W.O. and Jonasson, R.G., 1995, Controlling

formation damage using clay stabilizers: a review. In Annual Technical
Meeting. Petroleum Society of Canada.

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• Critical salt concentration (CSC)
• According to coreflood test of Khilar and Fogler (1983)
through Berea sandstone cores, there is a “critical salt
concentration” of the aqueous solution below which
colloidally induced mobilization of clay particles is initiated
and the permeability of the core gradually decreases.

• This was discussed a result of the expulsion of clay

particles from the pore surface due to the increase of the
double-layer repulsion at low salt concentration.

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Mineral Sensitivity
• Critical salt concentration (CSC)

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 Mineral Sensitivity
• Critical salt concentration (CSC)
Let us raise a question:
• What is the reason for the expulsion of clay particles
from the pore surface?
• How can we describe double-layer repulsion at low
salt concentration?

• First we need to talk about the concept of double layer

theory!

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Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
❖ An electric double layer is a
phenomenon that plays a
fundamental role in the
mechanism of the electrostatic
stabilization of colloids.
❖ Consider clay particles with
negative surface charges.
❖ Negatively charged clay particles
attract the surrounding positive
counterions.

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Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
❖ An EDL is formed around a
clay particle with two layers:
✓ one layer with ions adsorbed
on the clay surface (Stern
layer)
✓ the other one a film of the
countercharged dispersion
medium (diffuse layer).

❖ The electric double layer is

electrically neutral.
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Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
Thus EDL consists of three parts:
❖ Surface charge: negative
charged ions adsorbed on the
clay surface.

❖ Stern layer: counterions

(charged opposite to the
surface charge), attracted to
the clay surface and closely
attached to it by the
electrostatic force.

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Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
An electric double layer consists of
three parts:
❖ Diffuse layer: a film of the
dispersion medium (solvent:
water) adjacent to clay particle.
Diffuse layer contains free ions
with a higher concentration of the
counterions.
Ions of diffuse layer are affected
by the electrostatic force of the
negatively charged clay.
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Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
❖ Electrical potential within the
EDL has a maximum value on
the clay surface.

❖ Electrical potential drops with

the increase of distance from
the surface and reaches 0 at
the boundary of the electric
double layer.

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 Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
❖ When a colloidal particle moves in the dispersion medium, a layer
of the surrounding liquid remains attached to the particle.
❖ Boundary of this layer is called the slipping plane (shear plane).
❖ Value of the electric potential at the slipping plane is called the zeta
potential, which is a very important parameter in the theory of
interaction of colloidal particles.

-
-
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Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
❖ Effect of zeta potential on the stability of particle suspension

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 Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
❖ Thickness of EDL depends on the salinity (ionic strength):

❖ B: clay surface in contact with high salinity water

❖ C: clay surface in contact with low salinity water

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Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
❖ Thickness of EDL is described by Debye Length

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 Quick review on
“Electrical double layer (EDL) theory”
❖ Thickness of EDL is described by Debye Length

❖ Decreasing of Ionic strength (lower salinity)

❖ Increasing Repulsive Forces

❖ Expanding EDL

❖ Expulsion of Clay Particles from Pore Surface

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❖ More Clay Swelling

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

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 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
Example: Story of the Montmorillonite Clay Swelling
• Structure of dry montmorillonite (MT) is a layered alumino-silicate
mineral.
• Succession of TOT or 2:1 layers comprised of two tetrahedral (T)
sheets, sandwiching an octahedral(O) sheet.
• The layers which are bonded together through week van der
Waals and electrostatic forces bear a net negative charge due to
isomorphic process- whereby an ion is replaced by another one
with less charge.
• For example, Al3+ by Mg2+ and Fe2+in octahedral sheet and Si4+ by
Al3+ and Fe3+ in tetrahedral sheet.
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Mechanism of Clay Swelling

Example: Story of the Montmorillonite Clay Swelling
• The resulting negative charge is balanced by cations such as
Na+ and Ca2+ intercalated between two TOT layers.
• MT is referred to sodium-MT when the charge-balancing cations
are mainly sodium.
• Swelling capacity of MT is strongly related to the type, size and
charge of the chargebalancing cations.

Paper: A triterpenoid saponin as an environmental friendly and biodegradable clay swelling

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inhibitor

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 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
Example: Story of the Montmorillonite Clay Swelling
• MT swelling is a phenomenon during which water molecules
encompass clay crystal structure and increases d-spacing, i.e. the
distance from the top of a TOT layer to top of the one above it.

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Mechanism of Clay Swelling

Example: Story of the Montmorillonite Clay Swelling
• Swelling happens under two categories of (inner)crystalline and
osmotic.
• Innercrystalline phase involves limited and incremental adsorption
of water in the interlayer spacing.
• Water molecules orient their negative dipoles toward charge
balancing cations whereby the cations find a volume increase,
forcing the TOT layers apart.

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 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
Example: Story of the Montmorillonite Clay Swelling
• Osmotic swelling refers to unlimited and continuous adsorption of
water into the MT layers because of the difference between the ion
concentrations near the MT surface and the one in the water in the
pores.
• Distance between the TOT layers is in the range of 9 Å to 20 Å for
innercrystalline swelling, while it is about 20Å to 130Å for that of
the osmotic

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Mechanism of Clay Swelling

• In swelling clays, such as smectite, the negative charge of
clay platelets is balanced by means of the positive charge of
cations present in interlayer locations, including K+, Na+,
Ca2+,or Mg2+. This feature helps keep the stack of clay
platelets together.

Challenge the future 94

45
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• When swelling clays exposed to low ionic-strength aqueous
solutions, interlayer cations adsorb water molecules from the
aqueous solution to form thick envelopes of water films over
clay platelets. This process causes expansion of interlayer
and thus clay swelling.

Challenge the future 95

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

• Clay shrinks by a reverse process when swelling clay is
exposed to high ionic strength aqueous solutions. For
example, this process for smectite can be represented
according to the following equation:
swell

shrink

Challenge the future 96

46
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• According to Zhou (1995), clay swelling is a result of the
increase in interlayer spacing [d(001)-spacing] in clay particles.

• Distance between two structure layers is dependent on the

nature (type) of exchangeable cation (Mz+), composition of
solution, and clay composition.

Challenge the future 97

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

Challenge the future 98

47
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• Clay swelling occurs when clay is exposed to aqueous
solutions having a brine concentration below the critical salt
concentration (CSC).

• Clay swelling is controlled primarily by the composition of

aqueous solutions with which the clay comes into contact.

• According to Norrish (1954), clay swelling occurs by

crystalline and osmotic swelling processes.

Challenge the future 99

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

Challenge the future 100

48
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• Crystalline swelling occurs
• at high concentrations above critical salt concentration.
• also when clays are exposed to concentrated brine or
aqueous solutions containing large quantities of
divalent or multivalent cations.

• It is caused by the formation of molecular water layers on

the surface of clay minerals.

• This leads to less swelling and less damage.

Challenge the future 101

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

• Osmotic swelling occurs
• at low concentrations below critical salt concentrations.
• also when clays are exposed to dilute solutions or
solutions containing large quantities of Na+ cations.

• It is caused by the formation of an electric double layer on

the surface of clay minerals.
• It leads to more swelling and more damage.
• These phenomena create repulsive forces to separate the
clay flakes from each other.

Challenge the future 102

49
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• According to Mohan and Fogler (1997)
• crystalline and osmotic swelling regions can be
distinguished by a sudden jump or discontinuity in the
value of the interplanar spacing which occurs at the
critical salt concentration.

Challenge the future 103

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

Challenge the future 104

50
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• According to Mohan and Fogler (1997)
• crystalline and osmotic swelling regions described by a
sudden jump in interplanar spacing at CSC.
Swelling of montmorillonite in Swelling of montmorillonite in
sodium chloride brine various brine

Reduction in salt
concentration

Challenge the future 105

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

• Clay swelling chart
• obtained by X-ray diffraction method.
• to determine compatibility of clays with mixed-
electrolyte solutions.

Challenge the future 106

51
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• Clay swelling chart
• to identify cation compositions that will lead to
formation damage in the region of the osmotic swelling.

• For example: swelling chart of montmorillonite in

presence of NaCl/CaCl2 solutions.

• provides some guidance as to the amount of Ca2+

necessary in the presence of Na+ cations to prevent
montmorillonite swelling in NaCl/CaCl2 solutions.

Challenge the future 107

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

• Clay particle expansion and pore space reduction by
swelling:
• Clayey porous formations containing swelling clays can
absorb water and expand inward to reduce its
porosity and permeability.

Challenge the future 108

52
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• According to Ladd (1960):
• Exchangeable cations are attracted to the clay particles
by the negative electric field arising from the negative
charge on the particles.

• Hence, the electric field acts as a semi-permeable

membrane in that it will allow water to enter the
double layer but will not allow the exchangeable
cations to leave the double layer.

Challenge the future 109

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

• Now let us consider that total ion (cations plus anions)
concentration in double layer between clay particles is higher
than that in aqueous pore fluid, this leads to water in pore fluid
diffuses into the double layer to dilute its ion concentration.

• This phenomenon creates an osmotic repulsive pressure

between the clay particles. As a result, the interparticle distance
increases causing the clay to expand and swell.

Challenge the future 110

53
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• According to Ladd (1960):
• Driving force for osmotic repulsive pressure:
• Difference of the total ion concentrations between
clay double layer, cc, and surrounding pore fluid, cf

• For very dilute aqueous solution: Π= RT (cc-cf)

Mechanism of osmotic pressure generation

between two clay particles in water.

Challenge the future 111

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

• Water absorption rate in a swelling rock:
• Assume water diffusion through a solid matrix based on
Fick’s 2nd law over a short distance near the surface of
solid exposed to aqueous solution:
• 1D transient diffusion equation:

c: instantaneous water conc.

c0: initial water conc.
c1: water conc. of aqueous solution
z: distance form pore surface
t: exposure time
k: film mass transfer coefficient
D: diffusion coefficient of solid matrix

Challenge the future 112

54
 Mechanism of Clay Swelling
• Water absorption rate in a swelling rock:
• Analytical solution of cumulative amount of water diffusing
into the solid surface:

• Rate of water absorption:

• where, h=k/D: ratio of film mass transfer coefficient to

diffusion coefficient.
Challenge the future 113

Mechanism of Clay Swelling

• Water absorption rate in a swelling rock:
• If film mass transfer coefficient k is large enough so that

It means that instantaneous water conc. = water conc. of aqueous solution.

• Cumulative water absorption and its rate becomes:

Challenge the future 114

55
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate:

• where, f swelling- dependent property (like porosity and

permeability, interlayer spacing etc.) of clayey formation; fo
and ft initial and final value of f; kf rate constant of property f;
S’ water absorption rate and t is time.
Challenge the future 115

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate:

Analytical solution

Rearrangement of eqs.

f or g: any swelling- dependent

property (like porosity and Without involvement of
permeability) time variable (like S)!

Challenge the future 116

56
 Clay Sensitivity
Comparison of permeability damages by deionized water, calcium
chloride and sodium chloride brines in micaceous sand cores:

Reed postulated that formation damage in micaceous sands is a result of

mica alteration and fines generation.
Challenge the future 117

Clay Sensitivity
• Mechanism of formation damage
in micaceous sand:

Challenge the future 118

57
 Clay Sensitivity
• According to Grim (1942) the order of replaceability of the
common cations in clays from most to least easy cations as:
Li+>Na+>K+>Rb+>Cs+>Mg2+>Ca2+>Sr2+>Ba2+>H+

• Hughes (1951) states:

• “hydrogen will normally replace calcium, which in turn will
replace sodium”.
• generally, “the firmness with which cations are held in the
clay structure increases with the valence of the cation.”

Challenge the future 119

Clay Sensitivity
Cation replaceability in clays depends on:
❖ Valence (main factor): higher valence cations can
replace cations of lower valence

Li+>Na+>K+>Rb+>Cs+>Mg2+>Ca2+>Sr2+>Ba2+>H+

Challenge the future 120

58
 Clay Sensitivity
Cation replaceability in clays depends on:
❖ Ion size: cations with larger ionic radius (non-hydrated
radius) have greater replacement power

❖ Note that differece between ionic radius (non-hydrated

radius) AND hydrated radius

❖ The smaller ionic radius, the lager the hydration

enthalpy.

Challenge the future 121

Clay Sensitivity
Cation replaceability in clays depends on:
❖ The solvated ion consists of an ion in the middle
surrounded by aligned solvent molecules surrounding
the ion in a spherical shell. When the solvent is water,
we also call this a hydrated ion.

Challenge the future 122

59
 Clay Sensitivity
Cation replaceability in clays depends on:
❖ Hydration enthalpy: Heat energy is released when new
bonds are formed between water molecules and ions
called ion hydration enthalpy ions.
❖ Hydration enthalpy decreases down the group
because down the group size of the atom increases
because of the addition of extra valence shells.

Challenge the future 123

Clay Sensitivity
Cation replaceability in clays depends on:
❖ In alkali metals the hydration enthalpies decreases
with the increase in ionic sizes.
❖ Since lithium is the smallest (in size) among all the
alkali metals, it is known to have the highest hydration
energy among all alkali metals.

Challenge the future 124

60
Clay Sensitivity

Challenge the future 125

Clay Sensitivity
Cation replaceability in clays depends on:
❖ Ion size: cations with larger ionic radius (non-hydrated
radius) have greater replacement power

Li+>Na+>K+>Rb+>Cs+>Mg2+>Ca2+>Sr2+>Ba2+>H+

Challenge the future 126

61
 Clay Sensitivity
Cation replaceability in clays
depends on:
❖ Ion size: cations with larger
ionic radius (non-hydrated
radius) have greater
replacement power

Challenge the future 127

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Let’s consider variation of K and φ in the form of power-law
equation:

• where, kK and kφ are rate coefficient (parameters of the

kinetic model) of permeability and porosity reduction by
swelling.
• kK and kφ can be determined from experimental data.
Challenge the future 128

62
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Let’s consider the equation representing cumulative water
absorption S.

tD: water diffusion dimensionless time

Best estimate of
model parameters
by LSR of test data
on semi-log scale
Challenge the future 129

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Let’s consider variation of φ.

Porosity variation by swelling

Challenge the future 130

63
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Let’s consider variation of K.

Permeability variation by swelling

Challenge the future 131

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Permeability reduction due to clay swelling.

More
reduction

Sea water injection in a sandstone Brine injection in a micaceous sand

containing trace amount of clay Challenge the future 132

64
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Let’s consider variation of interlayer spacing:

• The interlayer spacing of clay

varies by crystalline and osmotic
swelling when clay contacts with
aqueous solutions.
• Transient salt concentration range.

Challenge the future 133

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Let’s consider variation of interlayer spacing:

• where, X and X* are instantaneously clay interlayer spacing

and clay plate thickness; kx rate coefficient.

• The equation shows that rate of interlayer spacing increase

proportionally to water absorption rate.
Challenge the future 134

65
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Let’s consider variation of interlayer spacing:

• According to Civan (2001): rate of decrease of salt

concentration of aqueous solution (due to the exchange of
cations between clay and aqueous solution) is
proportionally to water absorption rate and salt
concentration:

Challenge the future 135

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Let’s consider variation of interlayer spacing:

Rearrangement of eqs.

Analytical solution

Challenge the future 136

66
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Analysis of swelling- related properties of clayey formation
can be described by a kinetic equation similar to that of water
absorption rate.
• Variation of interlayer spacing of smectite clay vs. different
concentration of NaCl solution:

Challenge the future 137

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Variation of interlayer spacing of smectite clay vs. different
salt concentration:

NaCl KCl CaCl2

• Existence of a transition salt concentration range instead of a

distinct critical salt concentration.

Challenge the future 138

67
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Variation of interlayer spacing of smectite clay vs. different
salt concentration:

NaCl KCl CaCl2

•At salt concentration below transition range, destabilization of

swelling clays occurs.

Challenge the future 139

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Variation of interlayer spacing of smectite clay vs. different
salt concentration:

NaCl KCl CaCl2

• Data below and above transition salt concentration range

can be fitted separate straight lines, with different slopes,
indicating different values for rate coefficients ratio kx/kc
Challenge the future 140

68
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Variation of interlayer spacing of smectite clay vs. different
salt concentration:

NaCl KCl CaCl2

Salt kx/kc @ crystaline kx/kc @ osmotic

swelling regime swelling regime

NaCl 0.36 3.1

KCl 0.091 0.34
CaCl2 0.17 -
Challenge the future 141

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Variation of interlayer spacing of smectite clay vs. different
salt concentration:
Less clay Significant
damage clay damage

Salt kx/kc @ crystaline kx/kc @ osmotic

swelling regime swelling regime

NaCl 0.36 3.1

KCl 0.091 0.34
CaCl2 0.17 -
Transition range
extends to very
low concentration;
Ca+2 effective clay
stabilizer at low
salt conc. Challenge the future 142

69
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:

Challenge the future 148

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Coreflooding set-up

Challenge the future 149

70
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:

Challenge the future 150

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Experimental design

Challenge the future 151

71
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Effect of NaCl concentration

Challenge the future 152

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Binary effect of NaCl/CaCl2 concentration

Challenge the future 153

72
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Effect of CaCl2 concentration

Challenge the future 154

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:

Challenge the future 155

73
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
❖ Effect of salinity shock

Challenge the future 156

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Binary effect of NaCl/MgCl2 concentration

Challenge the future 157

74
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Effect of MgCl2 concentration

Challenge the future 158

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:

Challenge the future 159

75
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Dominant formation damage mechanisms

Challenge the future 160

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Dominant formation damage mechanisms

Challenge the future 161

76
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Dominant formation damage mechanisms; DLVO theory
DLVO theory: interaction between two particles , atoms , Surface ,…

Challenge the future 162

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Dominant formation damage mechanisms; DLVO theory
DLVO theory: interaction between two particles , atoms , Surface ,…

Fine particles could be transported through porous media due to the

different forces such as gravitational, drag forces along with van der
Waals and electrostatic double-layer interactions.

❖ Attractive forces

❖ Repulsive forces

Challenge the future 163

77
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Dominant formation damage mechanisms; DLVO theory
DLVO theory: interaction between two particles , atoms , Surface ,…

Fine particles could be transported through porous media due to the

different forces such as gravitational, drag forces along with van der
Waals and electrostatic double-layer interactions.

❖ Attractive forces: simplified form

❖ Repulsive forces: simplified form

Challenge the future 164

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Dominant formation damage mechanisms; DLVO theory

Total energy is positive; Total energy is negative;

✓ Higher repulsive forces than ✓ Higher attractive forces than
attractive forces repulsive forces
✓ Lower chance for attachment on ✓ Higher chance for attachment
Challenge the future 165
the rock. on the rock

78
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Dominant formation damage mechanisms; DLVO theory

Challenge the future 166

Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties

• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Effect of NaCl concentration

Challenge the future 167

79
 Analysis of Swelling- Related Properties
• Experimental study by Khani and Simjoo:
❖ Binary effect of NaCl/CaCl2 concentration

Challenge the future 168

Formation Damage Induced by

Asphaltene (Organic Deposition)

Challenge the future 169

80
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Constituents of the crude oil:
• Volatile saturates (paraffins) and aromatics
• Nonvolatile saturates (waxes) and aromatics
• Resins
• Asphaltenes

• Determination of Saturates, Aromatics, Resins, and

Asphaltenes present in oil is referred to as the “SARA
analysis”

Challenge the future 170

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

• Classification of the crude oil constituents based on lab
fractionation:

Challenge the future 171

81
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Asphaltene description:
• highly condensed polyaromatic structures containing
heteroatoms (i.e., S, O, N) and metals (e.g., Va, Ni).
• exist in petroleum in an aggregated state in the form of
suspension surrounded and stabilized by resins.
• known to carry an electrical charge, and thought to be
polydisperse.
• Insoluble in paraffebic solvent such as n-pentane or n-
heptane.

Challenge the future 172

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Resin description:
• aromatic and polar molecules, also often containing
heteroatoms and metals.
• surround the asphaltene structures.
• dissolved in oil phase and help keep asphaltenes in
suspension.
• to be surface active and may form their own reversible
micelles.
• to be polydisperse and have a range of polarity and
aromaticity.
Challenge the future 173

82
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Wax description:
• aliphatic hydrocarbons, both straight and branched chain
• change state from liquid to solid during conventional oil
production and processing operations as temperature
decreases below a certain value (cloud and pour points).
Asphalt description:
• residual (nondistillable) fraction of crude oil that contains
suspended asphaltenes, resins, and the heaviest
aromatic and paraffinic components of oils.

Challenge the future 174

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

A proposed model for asphaltenic oil:
• Asphaltene particles disperse in the liquid phase of oil
(maltene) due to the presence of resins.

Challenge the future 175

83
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
• According to Leontaritis (1992), when enough amount of
resin is present in the oil phase, an asphaltenic oil will not
necessarily cause asphaltene problems during oil recovery.

• Boscan crude of Venezuela: no asphaltene problems,

with a large fraction of 17% by weight of asphaltenes.
• Hassi-Messaoud oil of Algeria: severe asphaltene
problems, with only a small fraction of 0.1% by weight
of asphaltenes.

Challenge the future 176

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Mansoori’s mechanism of asphaltene deposition
• Mansoori (1997) stated that asphaltene deposition may
occur by one or several following mechanisms:
• Polydispersivity effect
• Steric colloidal effect
• Aggregation effect
• Electrokinetic effect

Challenge the future 177

84
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Mansoori’s mechanism of asphaltene deposition
• Polydispersivity effect :
✓ A stable state of a polydispersed oil mixture can be
attained for a certain proper ratio of “polar to
nonpolar” and “light to heavy constituents” in the crude
oil at given temperature and pressure conditions.

Heavy organic in petroleum crude:

▪ Straight/curved line: paraffin molecules
▪ Solid ellipse: aromatic molecules
▪ Open ellipse: resin molecules
▪ Solid blocky forms: asphaltene molecules

Challenge the future 178

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Mansoori’s mechanism of asphaltene deposition
• Polydispersivity effect:
✓ When composition, temperature, or pressure is varied,
the system may become unstable and undergo several
processes.
✓ When polar miscible compounds are added into the
system, micelle-type aggregates of asphaltene is formed.

Challenge the future 179

85
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Mansoori’s mechanism of asphaltene deposition
• Polydispersivity effect:
✓ When more paraffinic hydrocarbons (nonpolar miscible
solvent) are added into the system, separation of
asphaltenes as a solid aggregate phase will occur.

Challenge the future 180

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Mansoori’s mechanism of asphaltene deposition
• Steric colloidal effect:
✓ At high concentrations, asphaltenes tend to associate in
the form of large particles.
✓ In the presence of resins, these particles can adsorb the
resins and become suspended in the oil.

Challenge the future 181

86
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Mansoori’s mechanism of asphaltene deposition
• Aggregation effect:
✓ When resin concentration is not sufficient to occupy the
asphaltene particles surface completely, asphaltene
particles can combine to form bigger particles. This is
called asphaltene flocculation.

Challenge the future 182

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Mansoori’s mechanism of asphaltene deposition
• Aggregation effect:
✓ When asphaltene particles become sufficiently large and
heavy, they tend to deposit out of the liquid oil phase.

Challenge the future 183

87
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Some practical remarks:
• Light to medium crudes containing small amounts of
asphaltenes may create more asphaltene precipitation
problems during oil production.

• Heavier crudes that contain a larger amount of asphaltene

have little asphaltene precipitation problems as they can
dissolve more asphaltene.

• Asphaltene flocculation can be prevented by addition of

resins and aromatics.
Challenge the future 184

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Organic deposition-induced damage
• Organic deposition can occur both on the surfaces of well
tubing and reservoir formation pores to reduce the flow
efficiency and eventually to clog the flow paths completely.

• Asphaltenes, resins and paraffins are the primary sources

of organic deposition in wells, pipelines, and reservoir
formation during petroleum production.

• According to Mansoori (1997), paraffin deposition primarily

occurs by temperature decrease.
Challenge the future 185

88
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
• Asphaltene and resin deposition occur because of a
number of complicated phenomena, including the
polydispersivity, steric colloid formation, aggregation, and
electrokinetic deposition processes.

• According to Leontaritis (1992), probable causes of

asphaltene flocculation are:
• Drop in the reservoir pressure below pressure at which
asphaltenes flocculate and begin to drop out.
• Mixing of solvents,CH4 and CO2 with reservoir oil
during EOR.
Challenge the future 186

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

• After flocculation, asphaltenes show a strong tendency to
attach to negatively charged surface, such as clays and sand.

• Reservoir formations containing clays of large specific

surfaces such as kaolinite can initially adsorb and retain the
polar asphaltenes and resins rapidly.

• As a result, multilayer molecular deposits are formed over

the pore surface.

Challenge the future 187

89
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
• Asphaltene adsorption may cause to multilayer molecular
deposits are formed over the pore surface.

• However, as long as “asphaltene precipitates suspended in

the oil phase” combine and form sufficiently large aggregates,
these particles cannot pass through and are captured at the
pore throats.

• As a result, pore throat plugging causes the severest

permeability loss.

Challenge the future 188

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

• According to Minssieux (1997), Once, well in asphaltenic
reservoirs begin to produce:
• organic deposition begins within upper section of the
well over which pressure drops to below the asphaltene
flocculation pressure.
• then, organic deposition zone gradually progresses
toward the bottomhole.
• eventually organic deposition enters the near wellbore
formation.

Challenge the future 189

90
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
• According to Leontartis (1998), the region of organic
damage induced by asphaltene deposition may extend
over large distances from the wellbore, especially during
miscible EOR methods.

• Note that wax (paraffinic) deposition is rather limited to a

short distance (less than 1 feet) from the wellbore, because
wax deposition in the near wellbore region usually occurs by
the cooling of the reservoir oil.

Challenge the future 190

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

• Decline of well productivity in asphaltenic reservoirs is
usually attributed to reduction of oil effective mobility:

λo = (K. kro) / µo
• According to Leontaritis (1998), mechanisms involved in
asphaltene- induced damage:
• Increase of oil viscosity by the increase of the
asphaltene particle concentration in the near-wellbore
region; or increase of fluid viscosity by formation of a
water-in-oil emulsion stabilized by asphaltene particles.

Challenge the future 191

91
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
• Decline of well productivity in asphaltenic reservoirs is
usually attributed to reduction of oil effective mobility:

λo = (K. kro) / µo
• According to Leontaritis (1998), mechanisms involved in
asphaltene- induced damage:
• Change of reservoir formation wettability from water-
wet to oil-wet by adsorption of asphaltene over the
reservoir pore surface.

Challenge the future 192

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

• Decline of well productivity in asphaltenic reservoirs is
usually attributed to reduction of oil effective mobility:

λo = (K. kro) / µo
• According to Leontaritis (1998), mechanisms involved in
asphaltene- induced damage:
• Impairment of reservoir formation permeability by the
plugging of pore throats by asphaltene particles; it is
the most probable mechanism.

Challenge the future 193

92
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
• How to avoid or minimize organic deposition- induced
formation damage:
• Deposition phase envelope concept can provide
some guidance.

• For example by choosing operating conditions such

that reservoir oil follows a thermodynamic path outside
the deposition envelope.

Challenge the future 194

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Asphaltene phase behavior
• In general, asphaltene phase diagrams (phase envelope) can
be developed by simulation with a limited number of actual
data required for tuning and calibration.

• According to Nghiem and Coombe (1997), above the

saturation pressure, asphaltene precipitation is solely due to
pressure, while below the saturation both pressure and
composition affect the precipitation behavior.

Challenge the future 195

93
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Asphaltene phase behavior:
• Typical Asphaltene Deposition Envelope (ADE); in the
following figure the ADE refers to locus of thermodynamic
conditions for asphaltene flocculation

Challenge the future 196

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Modeling of formation damage by asphaltene
• Different modeling procedures are presented such as:
• Algebraic model in single phase
• Plugging-nonplugging pathways model in single phase
• Single porosity and two-phase model (for simultaneous
asphaltene- paraffin deposition)
• Two-phase and dual porosity model (for simultaneous
asphaltene- paraffin deposition)

Challenge the future 198

94
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase
• This model is mainly according to Wojtanowicz et al. (1987,
1988) analytic models for the case of single phase formation
damage by fines migration and clay swelling.

• Note that majority of the formation damage models were

developed for single phase fluid system.

• Wojtanowicz et al. analyzed various formation damage

meachnisms assuming that one distinict mecahnim dominates
at a time under a cetrain condition.
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Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase
• Wojtanowicz et al. considered a core length average
representation of the preferential fluid path through a porous
media using a bundle of capillary tube realization.

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95
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase
• Formation damage due to permeability impairment is
assumed to occur by three basic mechanisms:
1. gradual pore reduction (pore narrowing, pore lining) by
surface deposition.
2. single pore blocking by screening (pore throat plugging).
3. pore volume filling by straining (filter cake formation by
the snowball effect).
* Straining is a purely physical removal process governed by the
size of pore throats and the size of moveable particles.

Challenge the future 201

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase
• Formation damage due to permeability impairment is assumed
to occur by three basic mechanisms:

Pore surface Pore throat Filter cake formation in a

deposition in plugging in core including combined
a core. a core. effects of external and
internal filter cakes.

Challenge the future 202

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 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase
• Formation damage due to permeability impairment is
assumed to occur by three basic mechanisms:
✓ Gradual pore reduction is assumed to occur by
deposition of particles smaller than pore throats on the
pore surface to reduce the cross-sectional area of the
flow tubes gradually.

Pore surface
deposition in
a core.

Challenge the future 203

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase
• Formation damage due to permeability impairment is
assumed to occur by three basic mechanisms:
✓ Single pore blocking is assumed to occur by plugging of
a pore throat by a single particle.
✓ Thus, cross-sectional areas of the individual tubes do not
change, But, number of tubes open for the flow is
reduced.

Pore throat
plugging in
a core.

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 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase
• Formation damage due to permeability impairment is
assumed to occur by three basic mechanisms:
✓ External cake formation occurs near the inlet face of the
core when a suspension of high concentration of particles
in sizes larger than the size of the pore throats is injected
into the core.
✓ Internal cake formation occurs when smaller than pore
throat size particles at sufficiently high concentrations
approach the pore throats.
Challenge the future 205

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase
• Diagnostic equations for typical permeability damage
mechanisms:

Challenge the future 206

98
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Permeability Impairment Model: Simple example of how to
describe variation of cross sectional area
✓ When a suspension of fine particles (also oil containing
asphaltene particles) flows through porous media simplified by
a capillary bundle tube model.
✓ Tubes having narrow pore throats will be plugged. So, total
number of tubes, Nh, available is:
Nh= Np+Nnp ; p:plugged and np=non-plugged

✓ Area open for flow is: Af= Nnp Ah

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Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Permeability Impairment Model:
✓ Cross-sectional area of the hydraulic tubes:
✓ Tortuosity factor:
✓ Darcy and Hagen–Poiseuille equations:

Af= Nnp Ah

✓ By combining above equs, the relation between permeability

and open flow area is:

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99
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Permeability Impairment Model with Gradual Pore Reduction:
✓ Assume it occurs by deposition of particles smaller than pore
throats on the pore surface to reduce the cross-sectional area
(A) of the flow tubes gradually. Thus number of tubes open for
flow, Nnp, at any time remains the same as the total number of
tubes, Nh, available.
Nh= Nnp and Np = 0

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Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Permeability Impairment Model with Gradual Pore Reduction:
From the following equs, we have:
✓ Area open for flow is : Af= Nnp Ah

✓ Permeability eq:

✓Thus relation between permeability and open flow area:

and

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100
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Permeability Impairment Model
Now coupling formation damage and flow through capillary
tubes:
• ɸo and ɸ denote initial and instantaneous porosity values.
• εp is fractional bulk volume of porous media occupied
By deposited particles.
• Afo and Af initial and instantaneous open-flow areas
• Ap cross-sectional area of the flow tubes covered by particle deposits

Challenge the future 211

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Permeability Impairment Model
✓ Particle mass balance equation for a thin core slice is:

• (cp)in and (cp)out particle mass concentration in flowing phase at inlet

and outlet of the core.

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101
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Permeability Impairment Model
✓ Wojtanowicz et al. (1987, 1988) simplified above eq. by
omitting the accumulation of particles in the thin core slice.
Thus we have eq. to describe concentration of particles leaving
a thin section by:

Retention
(deposition) term

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Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Permeability Impairment Model
✓ Rate of particle deposition on pore space is assumed to be
proportional to particle mass concentration in flowing phase

• Net rate of deposition is given by difference between retention

and entrainment rates.

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102
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Permeability Impairment Model

• Rate of particle deposition on • Rate of entrainment (mobilization,

pore space is assumed to be pore surface sweeping) of surface-
proportional to particle mass deposited particles by flowing
concentration in flowing phase. phase is assumed proportional to
mass of particles available on pore
• kd rate coefficient for pore surface
surface deposition of particles.
• ke rate coefficient for entrainment
from pore surface.

Challenge the future 215

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Permeability Impairment Model with Gradual Pore Reduction:
• Gradual pore reduction is assumed to occur when particles
of injected suspension are smaller than pore constrictions.

• Assume that surface deposition is dominant mechanism

compared to the entrainment, that is, kd >> ke.

Pore surface
deposition in
a core.

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103
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Permeability Impairment Model with Gradual Pore Reduction:
• Thus from mass balance eq. we have:

• The above eq. is obtained if one considers that that particles

are retained mainly in thin core section near the inlet face, thus
in this region concentration of flowing phase is assumed the
same as the injected fluid (i.e., cp ≈ cpin)
Challenge the future 217

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Permeability Impairment Model with Gradual Pore Reduction:
• Thus from mass balance eq. we have:

Pore surface
deposition in
a core.

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104
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase
• Diagnostic equations for typical permeability damage
mechanisms:

Challenge the future 219

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase:
• Experimental study of Asphaleten- induced formation damage.

• According to Minssiuex observation, asphaltene precipitates

existing in injected oil can pass into porous media without
forming an external filter cake.

• Test condition is as follows:

Challenge the future 220

105
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase:
Core flooding conditions
Oil properties

Core flooding analysis

Challenge the future 221

Formation Damage by Organic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase:
• Experimental analysis: only the (K/K0)^1/2 vs. PV (pore volume)
data yields a straight line plot, indicating that damage
mechanism is gradual surface deposition.

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106
 Formation Damage by Organic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase:
• Experimental analysis: only the K0/K vs. PV (pore volume)
data yields a straight line plot, indicating that damage
mechanism is in-situe cake formation by pore filling.

Challenge the future 223

Formation Damage by Inorganic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase: Filter cake model

Yerramilli et al., SPE J 2014: A novel

water injectivity model and experimental
validation with CT- scanned corefloods

Yerramilli et al., SPE J 2014. Challenge the future 224

107
 Formation Damage by Inorganic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase: Filter cake model

Yerramilli et al., SPE J 2014. Challenge the future 225

Formation Damage by Inorganic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase: Filter cake model

Yerramilli et al., SPE J 2014. Challenge the future 226

108
 Formation Damage by Inorganic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase: Filter cake model

Yerramilli et al., SPE J 2014. Challenge the future 227

Formation Damage by Inorganic Deposition

Algebraic model in single phase: Filter cake model

Yerramilli et al., SPE J 2014. Challenge the future 228

109
 Formation Damage by Inorganic Deposition
Algebraic model in single phase: Filter cake model

Yerramilli et al., SPE J 2014. Challenge the future 229

In the Name of God

Reservoir Formation Damage

By: Dr. Mohammad Simjoo

[email protected]

Sahand University of Technology

Spring 2021

Challenge the future 230

110