Agenda

What is Perforating

Perforating methods/ techniques

Choosing a perforating program

Perforating guns and functions

Perforating parameters

Planning a perforating job

Perforating clean up consideration

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 What Is Meant By the Term
Perforation?
Inthe context of oil and gas wells, a
perforation is a hole punched in the casing or
liner of the well, which allows the reservoir to
connect with the wellbore in order to influence
flow and allow hydrocarbon recovery.

2
 Why Perforate?
Perforating a well is done in order:

To createa channel between the pay zone and

the wellbore.

To allow oil and gas to flow to the wellbore

easily.

For future stimulation. example: Hydraulic

fracturing
3
Perforation Techniques

Perforation techniques/ strategies spans on a

wide range and thus the method used
primarily depends on the type of well
completion.

4
 Completion Methods
Basically there are two methods of completing a
well, cased hole and open hole in which
either can be natural, stimulated and sand
control type completion method, each having
different perforating requirements.

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 Completion Methods
Stimulated Completion
Hydraulic fracturing and matrix acidizing a small angle
between shots are critical to effectively create hydraulic
fractures and link perforations with new pathways to the
reservoir

Sand Control Completion

In gravel packing, many large diameter perforations effectively
filled with gravel are used to keep the typically
unconsolidated formation from producing sand and creating
damage that would result in large pressure drops during
production.
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 Natural completion
In natural completion (in which perforating is
followed directly by production) many deep
shots are most effective.

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Basic Perforating Methods

Cased holes may be perforated using several devices:

1. Conventional casing guns which are run into the well on electric
wire-line with or without wire-line pressure control equipment

2. Through-tubing guns which are run into the well after the tubing
has been installed, again via wire-line pressure control
equipment.

3. Tubing-conveyed guns which are run on the bottom of the tubing

string and detonated using mechanical, electrical or pressure-
activated firing mechanism

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9
 Perforatingcan be done either overbalanced,
with a higher pressure in the wellbore than in the
formation, or underbalanced, with a wellbore
pressure lower than formation pore pressure.

Depending on the option chosen and the degree

of pressure differential, completion fluid will
flow into the formation, or formation fluids will
flow into the wellbore when perforations are
created in a productive reservoir.
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 Considerations for Choosing a
Perforating Program
The relative importance of hole size, penetration, and
shot density (shots per unit length)

Thesafety issues related to the particular well site

conditions

The anticipated radial extent of formation damage due

to drilling fluid losses

The reservoir's pressure, permeability, and susceptibility

to damage from completion fluids
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 Thelength of the perforated interval, the size of the
completion string components, and the need to perform
specialized operations (e.g. sand control, stimulation)

The expected pressure, temperature, and timing

extremes for the perforating operation

Therelative economic importance of minimizing short

term costs versus maximizing longterm productivity

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 Types of Perforating Guns

Optimizing perforating requires best selection of

hardware best suited for the job.

Types of guns:
Retrievable steel hollow carrier guns
Semiexpendable wire or strip carrier guns
Fullyexpendable guns

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Fundamental of Shaped Charges

Figure 2 (Shaped
charge components)
illustrates the
relatively simple
construction of the
shaped charge.

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Shaped Charge

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19
Perforating using Shaped Charges

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 Figure 3

Figure 2

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22
Temperature limitation of
charges

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25
 Functions of
Perforating Guns

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 Types of Perforating Guns

Retrievable steel
hollow carrier guns
Semiexpendable
wire or strip carrier
guns
Fullyexpendable
guns

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 Retrievable Steel Hollow Carrier Guns

Withthe retrievable hollow carrier gun, the

charges are positioned within a steel cylinder.

Within the carrier, each charge is surrounded

by air at surface pressure, and is aligned with
a threaded port plug or a thinner portion of the
carrier wall (scallop gun).

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Upon detonation, the jet
pierces the plug,
providing a positive
indication of firing when
the gun is
retrieved. The carrier
cylinder may expand
slightly due to the
explosive force, but most
of the debris is recovered
within the gun.

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 Other types of hollow carrier guns include:

1. Port plug gun

2. High shot density gun
3. The high efficiency gun system (HEGS)

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 Advantages and Disadvantages of the
Retrievable Steel Hollow Carrier Guns
Advantages

High reliability because all components are protected

within the carrier (generally gas tight and chemical
resistant)

Generally higher temperature and pressure ratings

Very little debris left in well

Explosiveforce is retained within carrier to eliminate

casing deformation
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Disadvantages

May have trouble running through tubing - retrievable

guns in buckled tubing due to rigidity of carrier.

Mayhave smaller charge components than comparable

expendable guns, with some resulting
reduction in penetration

Weight may limit length of assembly and, therefore, of

perforation interval that can be shot with single gun run

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 Expendable Guns
Expendable guns are designed to partially or completely
disintegrate upon firing. They typically consist of a
series of individually sealed charge cases constructed of
a frangible material (aluminum, ceramic, glass, or cast
iron).

Afterfiring, only the wire line remains to be retrieved

from the well.

Semiexpendable guns are designed with a strip or wire

carrier that is retrieved after firing.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Fully Expendable Guns

Advantages

Generally cheaper and easier to assemble at the well

site

Lighterand more flexible than steel hollow carrier

guns, facilitating longer perforation intervals

Sizefor size, these offer more penetration than

comparable retrievable guns (up to 25% increase for
very small diameter guns)
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Disadvantages

Can deform casing when detonated

Leave substantial amounts of debris in well

Charge cases may not be leak proof, allowing gas or liquid to enter casing
and reduce performance

Guns are not as sturdy (by design) as retrievable guns and premature
breakage may result in fishing operations; running speed usually is limited to
168 ft/min

Pressure and temperature limits usually are lower than those of retrievable
guns
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 Advantages and Disadvantages of
Semi-Expendable Guns
Advantages

Same as fully expendable

Some reduction in amount of debris left in wellbore

due to recovery of linkage system and carrier frame

With a metal strip or wire carrier, ceramic or glass

charge cases can be used, reducing the size of debris
particles and increasing resistance to chemicals and
gas leakage
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Disadvantages

Generallythe same as fully expendable, although

ceramic casings are somewhat sturdier and wear
resistant

Debris or a loose charge casing can cause gun to lodge

in tubing while running in, causing further breakage
and jamming; fishing can be difficult and may require
that the tubing be pulled or casing drilled out

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 Application
Gun System Wireline Wireline
Tubing
through- through-
conveyed
tubing casing
Exposed Strip x
Guns Pivot x
Scallop x
Port plug x
Hollow High
x x
Carrier Guns efficiency
High shot
x x x
density

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 Casing Guns
Both retrievable and expendable guns are used.
(Retrievable hollow carrier guns normally range from
3 1/8 up to 5.
Expendable and semi-expendable casing guns are
generally available in sizes from 3 1/8 to 4)
Due to small clearance, the guns do not require
positioning against the casing.
Phasing can be employed to minimize geometrical
skin effects during flow.
Any shot density can be employed to minimize
geometric effects.
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 Through Tubing Guns

Smaller diameter than casing guns.

Often equipped with positioning devices
(magnetic or mechanical) to set the gun
against the casing.
Charges are often positioned for in-line
firing (zero degrees phasing).
Well can be flow immediately after
perforating.

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 Calculating Mud weight for
Overbalance perforating
Overbalance = Hydrostatic Formation
pressure
Estimate reservoir pressure
Use the following equation to determine the
weight of fluid required to obtain the
overbalance:
P 0.052 * MW * TVD

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 Calculating Mud weight for
Underbalance perforating
Underbalance = Formation Pressure -
Hydrostatic
Estimate reservoir pressure
Use the following equation to determine the
weight of fluid required to obtain the
underbalance:
P 0.052 * MW * TVD

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Perforating
Techniques
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 Perforating Techniques
1. Through-Tubing wire line perforating
technique
2. Tubing-Conveyed perforating technique
3. Positive-Pressure/ Reverse surge technique
4. Perforating for gravel packing
5. Perforating for fracturing
6. Highly overbalance perforating
7. Electric wire line perforating
8. Positioned or oriented perforating

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 Through-Tubing wire line Perforating Technique

The tubing and packer are run and set in the well.
Pressure control equipment is installed and tested.
A differential pressure is obtained by circulating
fluids into the tubing
The gun assembly is then run into the tubing on
smalldiameter cable (0.18 to 0.22 in.)
After firing, the well is typically flowed for 15 to
30 minutes before the gun is recovered

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 Tubing-Conveyed Perforating (TCP) Technique

A largediameter casing gun is run into the

well on a tubing string that includes a packer
Since a largediameter gun is used, gun
phasing can be designed to reduce "skin" (90
to 120)
The tubing may be run dry or partially filled
with a fluid cushion to establish the proper
level of underbalanced pressure.
A packer is then set.
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 After positioning, a vent is opened to equalize
the pressure below the packer with the tubing.
One of a variety of firing devices may be used
to detonate the charges, after which flow is
established through the vent.
The gun may be dropped into the rat-hole.

This technique also permits the perforating of

long intervals in highly deviated wells
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Compared to throughtubing perforating, we can say that
tubingconveyed perforating (TCP):

Allows greater penetration and multi-phasing

Permits a greater degree of underbalanced pressure
without risk of blowing the gun up in the hole
Demands operational rig time equal to or less than wire
line perforating, particularly in deviated holes with long
pay intervals
Generally costs about 25% more than wire line
perforating (without accounting for possible time savings)
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49
 Positive-Pressure/ Reverse Surge Technique

(PACT or Positive Action Completion Technique) involves first

perforating the well under conventional overbalance conditions
using largediameter casing guns.

The tubing and packer are then run into the hole with some type
of sheardisc assembly included in the tubing string.
With the disc, the tubing may be run dry or with a water cushion
Using a drop bar or casing pressure operated mechanism, the
disc is sheared, exposing the perforation to a sudden drawdown
or "surge.
A tubing plug may be run immediately above the disc and
recovered using a slick-line once the packer has been set

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 Perforating for Gravel Packing

In an ideal gravelpacked completion, the perforation

tunnel is filled with a clean, evenly sorted, high
permeability sand or "gravel."
Gravelpack completions are typically shot with large
hole diameters (0.6 to 0.8 in.) and high densities (8 to
12 SPF).
Perforator size may also be limited by packer bore
diameter in cases where guns are run on tubing.

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 Perforating for Fracturing

Perforation parameters
Casing entrance hole size 0.375 to 0.5

Effective shot density - Shot density requirements are

based on maintaining reasonably low breakdown,
treating and initial shutin pressures. Typical
treatments employ 48 shots per foot.

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 Gun phasing - it is important to minimize the
angle between the perforations and the plane
normal to the minimum farfield stress. For
typical fracture treatments, a phasing of 20 o to
60o is recommended.
Character of perforations in the formation - An
intermediate penetration of about 4 to 6 inches
is generally adequate

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 Highly Overbalance Perforating

The pressures applied to the perforations are equal to or

greater than formation fracture pressure, represents
an alternative to conventional techniques.

Advantages
Stabilization of the tunnel walls resulting from
prolonged application of high pressure.
The initiation of fractures at the tips of the
perforations.

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 Before perforating, pressure is applied to the
wellbore using an allgas, allliquid or combination
gas-liquid fluid column.
The highest bottomhole pressure will be attainable
through tubingconveyed perforating assemblies.
If the overbalance is high enough, the rate of fluid
displacement will exceed the capacity of the
perforations to accept fluid.
Additional fluid can be pumped into the formation to
enhance breakdown.
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 Electric wire line Perforating

The primary components of the system are:

The perforating tools (gun cable head, collar

locator, weights)
The cable
The sheave and tension indication apparatus
The logging truck (including cable winch and
control panels)
The pressure control system
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 The perforating guns are run into the hole along with
a device for detecting the position of each casing
collar.
The casing collar locator is a simple magnetic device
that responds to the increase in metallic mass
associated with a casing collar coupling.

Such weights may have an electrical conductor built

into them to transfer firing power to the guns

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58
Positioned or Oriented Perforating

Oriented perforating may be undertaken for two

reasons:
Perforating the upper zone through tubing in a
multiple completion (between packer
perforating)
Perforating a single string in a multiple
tubingless completion

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Reason 1

As the gun passes alongside the adjacent tubing

string, the arm ensures that the gun is positioned at
an angle away from the tubing.

A switch within the tool gives an indication at the

surface that the gun is facing correctly.

A retrievable hollow carrier gun is used to prevent

damage to the adjacent tubing and to prevent debris
from settling inside the casing on top of the lower
packer.
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A mechanical
orienting tool
is often used.
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Reason 2

A motorized orienting tool is used.

This tool uses a focused source of gamma rays
and a focused detector to measure the density
of the material between them.
When displayed on coordinate plot, the
correct compass direction for firing is
determined.

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63
 Perforation Productivity
Consideration
In a perforated completion there are basically four geometrical
parameters that affect productivity.

Shotdensity (SPF or number of flowing perforations per unit

length)

Perforation depth (penetration into formation)

Gun phasing (angular displacement between adjacent

perforations)

Perforation diameter (within the formation).

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 Perforation Parameters

Perforating parameters include - shot density,

penetration, hole size, and phasing

These parameters depends on the type of formation,

the expected productivity, and the degree of damage.

High shot density-anisotropic or laminated reservoirs

Penetration becomes more important than shot
density the farther that drilling damage extends into
the formation.
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 Some type of angular phasing is important
when high rates are expected and, in general,
phasing will improve productivity by 10 to
20%, although the angle (90, 120, 180) is
not critical.
Hole size is relatively unimportant beyond a
minimum diameter of about 0.25 in. unless the
well must be gravel packed or fractured, in
which case hole size becomes critical
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 Planning a Perforating Job

The first step in planning a perforating job is to

accumulate the necessary data.

Casing and/or liner size and weight, tubing size and

weight
All tubing restrictions, their ID and location
The type of packer and the pressure it can withstand
without unsealing

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 The specifications of the wellhead or blowout
preventer connection, flange and type
Pressure test specifications for tubing, casing,
and wellhead equipment
The condition of the casing or tubing,
excessive wear, crooked tubing, corrosion

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Other well conditions that must be specified or
estimated include:

The expected bottom-hole temperature

The type of fluid in the wellbore and in the
formation
The fluid level in the tubing or casing
Pressure and rate specifications of surface
facilities if well is to be flowed
Anticipated H2S concentration, if any
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When choosing a perforating company, consider the
following points:

Record of service in the area

Experience and training of operators
Equipment quality
Testing, certification, and maintenance procedures
Thorough and accurate record keeping
Accurate depth control procedures

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Perforating Cleanup Consideration

According to Bell (1982), the factors

influencing the number of clean, open
perforations are:

Type of formation
Quality of the charge
Type of completion fluid
Flow time for cleanup
Level and direction of differential pressure
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 Conclusion

Oil and gas well can be perforated via many

techniques with the use of several different types of
perforating hardware (guns).

It is important to choose the correct perforating

strategy for each individual well, as each well is
distinct with varying characteristics.

Perforating a well, will allow production, and can

also provide future work such as simulation.
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