SPE Drilling & Completion
Volume 25, Number 3, September 2010, pp. 372-379

SPE-122817-PA

Hydrajet Testing Under Deep-Well Conditions Points to New Requirements for Hard-Rock Perforating

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DOI  More information 10.2118/122817-PA http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/122817-PA

Citation

  • Surjaatmadja, J.B., Bailey, A., and Sierra, S. 2010. Hydrajet Testing Under Deep-Well Conditions Points to New Requirements for Hard-Rock Perforating. SPE Drill & Compl 25 (3): 372-379. SPE-122817-PA. doi: 10.2118/122817-PA.

Discipline Categories

  • 1.4 Drilling Equipment and Operations

Keywords

  • hydrajetting, perforating, abrasive, deep-well, hard-rock

Summary

The use of hydrajetting for perforating wells has been common since the 1960s. During those early years, wells were relatively shallow, and jetting success was demonstrated consistently. However, as wells were drilled to depths where rock formations were harder, performance of hydrajetting became less dependable because subsequent stimulation failures occurred more often from the lack of fracture initiation.

To help prevent this situation, a series of tests was performed to define new best practices for hydrajet perforating of rock under high ambient pressure. Various rocks were subjected to the tests that were conducted using different jetting pressures and abrasives. To understand the jetting behavior better, the mechanical characteristics (such as Young's moduli, Poisson's ratios, and compressive strengths) were also evaluated.

This paper discusses various tests results, and new constraints for jetting are defined and presented.

© 2010. Society of Petroleum Engineers

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History

  • Original manuscript received: 11 September 2009
  • Meeting paper published: 15 April 2009
  • Revised manuscript received: 17 February 2010
  • Manuscript approved: 27 March 2010
  • Published online: 19 August 2010
  • Version of record: 13 September 2010