SECTION 5
5. PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAGE
5.1 FORMATION DAMAGE
5.2 DAMAGE PREVENTION
1|Page
PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAGE
5. PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAGE
Damage to the formation can be caused by many mechanisms. Although some of these may
be due to well conditions, the majority are through contamination of the formation by foreign
substances not only during the drilling, completing and producing phases but also during the
servicing of a well. These damage mechanisms are described in Section 5.1 below.
To prevent damage which reduces the productivity of a well, it is essential to be able to
prevent or reduce formation damage by preferably isolating the formation from the
contaminants or, if not possible, reducing the amount of contaminants in the fluids or
conducting remedial stimulation operations. These are discussed in Section 5.2.
5.1 FORMATION DAMAGE
The types of damage which can occur during the different phases of a well’s life are
described in the following section. See Figure 5.1 for the effects of skin damage to the
well pressure profile.
Figure 5.1 - Formation Damage Pressure Drop
2|Page
PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAGE
5.1.1 Drilling/Casing
Drilling fluids usually contain chemicals and/or solids as bridging agents to control the loss of
drilling fluids. Fluid losses can lead to well control problems and are also expensive to replenish
especially when using the more exotic mud systems such as Pseudo or Oil based muds etc.
Drilling fluids cause the following types of damage:
• Solids plugging of pores or fractures both natural and induced.
• Clay swelling reducing permeability.
• Filtrate penetration detrimentally changing the relative permeability to producing fluids.
Similar damage can be caused during the casing cementing process for the production
casing by cement pre-flushes and cement slurries.
Non-damaging drilling fluids are often used to penetrate the producing formations when
the wells are to be completed with open hole, barefoot or gravel pack type completions.
In the main, however, damage done during the drilling is not a serious problem in most
wells as they are usually to be perforated. The perforating depths, under normal
circumstances, exceed the depth of any damage areas. They also generally have a total
flow area greater than the tubing area, hence there is little impediment to achieving
maximum production rates. Perforating is usually carried out in a clear non-damaging
fluid such as brine or fresh water so that minimal post perforating damage is caused.
When damage exceeds the perforating depth or occurs in an open hole type completion,
this may be reduced by acidizing or fracturing.
5.1.2 Completing
The damage caused during the completing phase, compared to drilling, is generally
minimal if good completion designs and practices are employed. Most damage caused
would be through contamination by fluids or pills used containing loss control materials
(LCM) and other foreign bodies.
Possible damage may be:
• Plugging of pores and fractures by LCM.
• Clay swelling due to incompatible well fluids.
• Deposition of mill scale, rust or thread dope.
• Perforating tunnels plugged by perforating debris from the shaped charges.
• Perforating tunnel compaction or crushing caused during the perforating process.
• Cleaning up at too high a rate causing movement of formation fines to plug pores.
With current technology it is easy to complete wells and displace to clean filtered brines or fresh
water before perforating, thereby reducing the risks of any damage occurring. Also, most
perforating is done with an underbalance pressure in the tubing which reduces the amount of
invasion. This underbalance is created by displacing the tubing (fully or partially) to a lighter
3|Page
PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAGE
gravity fluid such as diesel, base oil or fresh water. If a fluid cannot provide sufficient
underbalance or if a very high underbalance is demanded, nitrogen can be used although
is much more costly.
All completion and service equipment, especially the tubing should be
thoroughly cleaned before being installed and thread dope used sparingly.
If the well is to have an open-hole type completion, then the well fluids program should
be designed to prevent formation damage. However, in practice this is difficult and most
engineers acknowledge damage will be caused to some extent. In the situation where
LCMs need to be used to support the work-over fluid, the engineer must select a material
which can be easily removed afterwards. Sized salt or calcium carbonate are examples
where the former is cleared by flushing with water and the later with an acid wash.
5.1.3 Producing
Although it may be of some surprise, damage can occur during the producing phase of a
well. This is normally due to the production of asphalt, wax or scales but can also be due
to other chemicals contacting the formation.
Common types of damage:
• Reduced permeability if formation is in contact with corrosion, scale or
paraffin inhibitors.
• Formation or perforation blocking with precipitated scale.
• Asphalt deposition around the wellbore can cause plugging and oil wetting which
in turn can cause emulsion blocking.
• Permeability reduction due to movement of fines through the reservoir.
• Altering relative permeability detrimental to production due to increasing
water production.
• Clay swelling due to contamination with incompatible brines or water.
• Plugging due to contamination with fill, silt or crud.
Many of these can be remedied or reduced by clean-out or stimulation operations.
4|Page
PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAG
5.1.4 Well Intervention
Damage will be caused by some well interventions and most notably when fluids are
placed against the formation.
Typical damage is:
• Pore, vug or fracture plugging by solids in circulating or well kill fluids.
• Permeability reduction through filtrate invasion by circulating or kill fluids.
• Sand face/cement breakdown due to effects during acid stimulation.
• Permeability reduction due to insoluble precipitates formed during acid
stimulation with hydrofluoric acid.
• Formation blocking with long string molecules in high viscous fluids or diverting agents.
• Clay swelling from incompatible brine or water contamination.
• Pore plugging due to using non-damaging fluids.
• Pore or perforation plugging due to bull-heading with scale or debris in the tubing
and casing.
To prevent the risk of any of these occurring, it is obviously that well interventions
require thorough planning to minimize formation damage.
5.2 DAMAGE PREVENTION
It should be an aim in any program to prevent any damaging fluid from contacting the
formation, if possible. If this cannot be achieved, then the use of clear non-damaging filtered
brines should be adopted. In some cases where it is necessary to use LCM or similar materials
then a post servicing stimulation should be considered to reduce the damage.
5.2.1 Well Plugging
The best means of preventing formation damage is to isolate the fluids entirely from the
formation by installing a barrier in the form of a mechanical plug but this is only possible if
the well program does not require work below the lowest plugging point. The most common
method of installing a barrier is by setting a plug in a packer tailpipe nipple on wireline
leaving well fluid or gas across the formation. The plug can then be inflow tested to confirm
there is no leak. If the tubing is to be removed from the well, wireline plugs can only be
installed in completions with permanent or permanent retrievable style packers. An
alternative when working on monobore type completions, is to install a retrievable through-
tubing bridge plug close to the top of the formation. This has an advantage in that the packer
or liner hanger packer above can be removed without disturbance of the barrier.
Whatever type of device is used for plugging, it must be designed so that it can be recovered
from the well after the work is completed. The plug will likely be covered by some scale, rust
and other debris and although most of it can be removed by washing or bailing, some will
remain. Most devices used generally have a long mandrel with a fish neck which stands above
the plug enabling washing and latching with a pulling tool. Other devices such as pump-
through plugs, allow the plug to be opened by application of tubing pressure above it where
5|Page
PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAGE
after the well can be opened up to clean out the fill first before recovering the plug.
Once the tubing is successfully plugged and plug tested, the well can be circulated to the
work-over fluid, i.e. brine, etc.
5.2.2 Work-over Fluids
Fluids used in completing or servicing operations have many applications. They are
employed in perforating, cementing, fracturing, acidizing, well killing, re-completing,
milling, drilling, cleaning out and preventing fluid losses. They may also have an
important long term function as an annulus packer or completion fluid.
To provide the properties required for each of the above, many types of fluids are utilized, e.g.
drilling muds, milling fluids, brines (including seawater), salt saturated brines, diesel and dead oil.
Some like the drilling or milling fluids, must have cuttings carrying capability, cool the bit or mill
and reduce friction to deliver hydraulic energy down-hole. Others used, say for circulating
purposes or to provide an overbalance only, may be clear brines or seawater etc. Completion or
packer fluids are usually solids free to prevent drop out and sticking but are also dosed with
Biocide, corrosion and/or scale inhibitors for long term protection of the formation and
tubulars exposed to the fluid. However, one important function of them all, whether used
as a completion fluid or in a re-completion, is that they must provide an overbalance at
the packer depth in case of a leak to control well pressure.
Generally, the most economic fluid which meets all of the criteria is used and, if possible,
it should be solids free and non-damaging. This criteria would tend to result in clear
brines being used as they are cheap, readily obtainable, easily transportable and easily
filtered in normal weight ranges. However the points which makes them desirable are also
their worst features in that they have no bridging capability and are easily lost into the
formation (unless the well is plugged). In this case, an LCM pill is usually placed against
the formation to prevent or reduce the losses.
The solids in the LCM pill are often designed to be removed by post re-completion
flushing or acidizing. The use of a high viscous pill as an LCM is not recommended as the
long chain molecules which plugs the pores cannot be removed by these methods.
5.2.3 Clear Fluids
At one time it was felt that poor well performance was due to other reasons other than by
damage from drilling muds and other fluids. When it was recognized that some formations
were sensitive to invasion by foreign fluids and particles that operators began to look closely
at this subject, observing that fresh water was the biggest culprit. After this revelation, the use
of low water loss muds, cements and non-aqueous fluids became the norm.
Clear brines have become the commonest work-over fluids as they not only meet most of
the criteria but are also a good medium in which to run and install tools and equipment.
They are weighted by salts to achieve the desired densities.
Brines are available in weights ranges from 8.3 to 21.0 lbs./gal. The heavier brines can be very
corrosive to metals and hazardous to personnel, hence require special handling. Personnel
6|Page
PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAGE
must use appropriate safety PPE and be aware of the hazards.
They are also more difficult to prepare to prevent crystallization or freezing.
Composition of Brines
The following list shows the various types of brines, composition and weight ranges:
Potassium Chloride KCl 8.3 - 9.7 lbs./gal.
Sodium Chloride NaCl 8.3 - 10.0 lbs./gal.
Calcium Chloride CaCl2 8.3 - 11.8 lbs./gal.
Calcium Chloride CaCl2/ CaBr2 11.8 - 15.2 lbs./gal.
/Calcium Bromide
Calcium Chloride CaCl2/ CaBr2/ ZnBr2 14.5 - 19.2 lbs./gal.
/Calcium Bromide
/Zinc Bromide
Calcium Bromide CaBr2/ ZnBr2 14.5 - 19.2 lbs./gal.
/Zinc Bromide
Zinc Bromide ZnBr2 13.5 - 21.0 lbs./gal.
Brine Selection
Selection of the brine is not simply by picking the brine best fitting the particular weight
range required or by cost. For instance, the weight range of sodium chloride may provide
the hydrostatic pressure required in a well (say 9 ppg) but it causes shales and clays to
swell reducing permeability. Therefore if clays were present, as observed from cores etc.,
the brine selected should be potassium or calcium chloride. Potassium chloride is
corrosive and an inhibitor should be added to maintain a pH of 7 to 10.
Fluid compatibility is essential in the fluids design.
Preparation of Brines
Brines are normally supplied in stored liquid form at the higher end of the weight range
available and is transported in bulk to the well site. The density is normally adjusted by
adding water. In some rare circumstances where a higher weight was desired or if the
liquid had been accidentally contaminated with water, salt supplied in sacks would be
added to build to the correct weight.
Field mixing is not recommended as the handling systems usually are not able to meet the
high standard of cleanliness required to prevent contamination of the brine from
incompatible liquids or solids.
When brine densities reach saturation point, the salt will either crystallize or settle out and pose a
real hazard to operations. Temperature changes in the well can also cause crystallization
7|Page
PREVENTION OF FORMATION DAMAGE
or solids fall out. Crystallization is sometimes called freezing as it appears to form like ice.
Filtration and Cleanliness
Brines are usually filtered to a predetermined level of cleanliness, selected to meet the
demands, by a filtration unit or a centrifuge. There are two main types of filtration units
used are a DE Filtration Unit and a Cartridge Unit.
The former uses Diatomaceous Earth formed as a cake on the faces of plates pressed
together through which the fluid is pumped.
Health and Safety
The health of personnel and protection of the environment is paramount. The lower
density brines such as sodium chloride are not harmful but the higher density brines are
exceedingly toxic. These should be handled carefully and all personnel involved in
mixing, storage and handling should wear protective clothing and goggles. An emergency
dousing shower should also be easily accessible close to the workplace.
Some brines are also very corrosive to PPE such as leather boots and all precautions
should be taken to avoid contact or to ensure they are thoroughly washed after contact.
Pollution Control
In most countries, there is legislation regarding the use of hazardous materials, therefore,
disposal should be in accordance to the local laws and the well site appropriately
constructed to capture and retain leakage or spillage. All movement or spillage of these
materials should be recorded and the appropriate authorities notified.
8|Page
