Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

Mud filtrate invasion reduces effective p permeability y near wellbore. Mud filtrate may cause formation clays to swell, causing damage. Mud design is critical to avoid formation damage

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

In an oil reservoir, , pressure p near well may y be below bubblepoint, p , allowing free gas which reduces effective permeability to oil near wellbore. In a retrograde gas condensate reservoir, pressure near well may be below dewpoint, allowing an immobile condensate ring to build up, which reduces effective permeability to gas near wellbore. llb

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

Injected j water may y not be clean - fines may yp plug g formation. Injected water may not be compatible with formation water may cause precipitates to form and plug formation. Injected jec ed water a e may ay not o be co compatible pa b e with c clay ay minerals e a s in formation; fresh water can destabilize some clays, causing movement of fines and plugging of formation.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

Consider an undisturbed formation of thickness h and permeability k. Assume that something (drilling the well, producing fluid from the well, injecting fluid into the well) changes the permeability p model of this effect is to assume near the wellbore. One simple that this altered zone has uniform permeability ka and radius ra, and that the rest of the reservoir is undisturbed. For generality, we allow the permeability in the altered zone to g than the p permeability y in the be either smaller or larger undisturbed formation.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

Pressure p profile with a damage g zone p presents an additional pressure drop due to SKIN. This is represented by delta p due to skin.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

We define the skin factor in terms of the additional pressure p drop due to damage. As defined, the skin factor is dimensionless -- it has no units. Nomenclature k h q B ps = = = = = = md ft STB/D bbl/STB psi cp

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

The skin factor equation q may y be rearranged g to g give the additional pressure drop caused by a given skin factor.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

The skin factor may y be calculated from the properties p p of the altered zone. If ka < k (damage), skin is positive. If ka > k (stimulation), skin is negative. If ka = k, k skin is 0 0.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

10

The equation q on the p previous slide can be rearranged g to solve for the permeability in the altered zone. If we know the reservoir permeability and the skin factor and can estimate the depth of the altered zone, we can estimate the permeability of the altered zone using this equation.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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If the p permeability y in the altered zone ka is much larger g than the formation permeability k, then the wellbore will act like a well having an apparent wellbore radius rwa. The apparent wellbore radius may be calculated from the actual wellbore radius and the skin factor.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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The minimum skin factor p possible ( (most negative g skin factor) ) would occur when the apparent wellbore radius rwa is equal to the drainage radius re of the well. Drainage radius of the well: Related to well spacing.Semisteady state flow: all wells in the reservoir drain from areas proportional p opo o a to o the e wells e s flow o rates a es

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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For a circular drainage g area of 40 acres ( (re = 745 feet) ) and a wellbore radius of 0.5 feet, this gives a minimum skin factor (maximum stimulation) of -7.3.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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When a cased wellbore is p perforated, , the fluid must converge g to one of the perforations to enter the wellbore. If the shot spacing is too large, this converging flow results in a positive apparent skin factor. This effect increases as the vertical permeability decreases, and decreases as the shot density increases. To get ready of this geometric skin a redesign should be done and re-shooting h ti th the well ll will ill d decrease thi this effect. ff t

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

15

When a well is completed p through g only yap portion of the net p pay y interval, the fluid must converge to flow through a smaller completed interval. This converging flow also results in a positive apparent skin factor. This effect increases as the vertical permeability decreases and decreases as the perforated interval as a fraction of the total interval increases.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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Damage g skin= true damage g skin= sd Combined effect is worst than damage skin by itself

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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These equations q were developed p by y Papatzacos p ( (SPE 13956) ) It provides very good estimate of sp if rw/hp sqrt(kv/kh) 0.2

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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When a well p penetrates the formation at an angle g other than 0 degrees, there is more surface area in contact with the formation. This results in a negative apparent skin factor. This effect decreases as the vertical permeability decreases, and increases as the angle from the vertical increases.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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Angle g units is DEGREES, , and the equation q g given above for s is valid if 75 degrees, and presented by Cinco-Ley et al. JPT (Feb. 1975).

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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Often to improve p p productivity y in low-permeability p y formations, , or to penetrate near-wellbore damage or for sand control in higher permeability formations, a well may be hydraulically fractured. This creates a high-conductivity path between the wellbore and the reservoir. If the fracture conductivity is high enough relative to the formation permeability and the length of the fracture, there will be virtually no pressure drop down the fracture fracture. This distributes the pressure drop due to influx into the wellbore over a much larger area, resulting in a negative skin factor.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

21

Often to improve p p productivity y in low-permeability p y formations, , or to penetrate near-wellbore damage or for sand control in higher permeability formations, a well may be hydraulically fractured. This creates a high-conductivity path between the wellbore and the reservoir. If the fracture conductivity is high enough relative to the formation permeability and the length of the fracture, there will be virtually no pressure drop down the fracture fracture. This distributes the pressure drop due to influx into the wellbore over a much larger area, resulting in a negative skin factor.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

22

If the fracture conductivity y is high g enough g relative to the formation permeability and the length of the fracture, there is virtually no pressure drop down the fracture, and the apparent wellbore radius and the fracture half length are related by the equations shown on this slide. If the fracture conductivity is lower, there is still a negative skin factor, but a longer fracture half-length is required to give the same apparent wellbore radius as a high conductivity fracture. A high-conductivity fracture is one where the dimensionless fracture conductivity Cr is greater than 100.
Cr = wk f > 100 kL f

This is not a conversion of the area of the fracture open to flow to an equivalent circumference. It is a rigorous equation that applies whenever the fracture is high conductivity and the pressure transient has moved some distance beyond the tips of the fracture.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

23

For a well that has been perforated, there is an additional pressure drop across a zone surrounding the perforations. This pressure drop may be calculated using the radial flow form of Darcys law. NOTE: This expression does not include the effects of non-Darcy flow, which may be extremely important, especially in high-rate gas wells! Nomenclature: sp- geometric skin due to converging flow to perforations sd - damage skin due to drilling fluid invasion sdp - perforation damage skin kd - permeability of damaged zone around wellbore, md kdp - permeability of damaged zone around perforation tunnels, md kR - reservoir permeability, md Lp - length of perforation tunnel, ft n - number of perforations h - formation thickness, ft rd - radius of damaged zone around wellbore, ft rdp - radius of damaged g zone around p perforation tunnel, , ft rp - radius of perforation tunnel, ft rw - wellbore radius, ft
MOnur Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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When a well is gravel packed, there is a pressure drop through the gravel pack within the perforation. GRAVEL IS JUST COARSE SAND!!! NOTE: This expression does not include the effects of non-Darcy flow, which may be extremely important, especially in high-rate gas wells! GRAVEL PACK SKIN MAY BE VERY LARGE- greater than 10.GRAVEL PACKED WELLS MAY SHOW SKINS > 50 50 Comparing this with FRACK PACKING usually is from zero to 5.It does not show a stimulation . Paper written @ Holditch about Trinidad fields comparing SKIN for FRACPACKS and GRAVEL PACKS Nomenclature sgp - skin factor due to Darcy flow through gravel pack h - net pay thickness kgp - permeability of gravel pack gravel, md kR - reservoir permeability, md Lg - length of flow path through gravel pack, ft n - number of perforations open rp - radius of perforation tunnel, ft

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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The p productivity y index is often used to p predict how changes g in average pressure or flowing bottomhole pressure pwf will p affect the flow rate q. The productivity index is affected by Reservoir quality (permeability) Skin factor

DARCYs Law applies.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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We can express p the degree g of damage g on stimulation with the flow efficiency. For a well with neither damage nor stimulation, Ef = 1. For a damaged well, Ef < 1 For a stimulated well well, Ef > 1

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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We can use the flow efficiency y to calculate the effects of changes g in skin factor on the production rate corresponding to a given pressure drawdown. qnew qold ld Efnew Efold = Flow rate after change in skin factor = Flow rate before change in skin factor = Flow efficiency after change in skin factor = Flow efficiency before change in skin factor

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - WTA

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MOnur

Sept. 2013

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MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - PTT Interpretation and Analysis

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Exercise 12 Damage and Skin Factor Calculations

p s

141 . 2 qB = s kh

2. Calculate the flow efficiency for the well in Problem 1, if the average reservoir pressure is 1,800 psi and the flowing bottomhole pressure is 1,600 psi.

3. Calculate the apparent wellbore radius for the well in Problem 1, if the bit diameter is 8 in.

4. Calculate the new skin factor if we create a 100-ft fracture in the reservoir in Problem 1.

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - PTT Interpretation and Analysis

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p s

141 . 2 qB s = kh

MOnur

Sept. 2013

Skin Factor and Its Components - PTT Interpretation and Analysis

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p s

141 . 2 qB s = kh

MOnur

Sept. 2013