SPE Production & Operations
Volume 24, Number 1, February 2009, pp. 60-65

SPE-106227-PA

Fluid-Loss Control Improves Performance of Viscoelastic Surfactant Fluids

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DOI  More information 10.2118/106227-PA http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/106227-PA

Citation

  • Huang, T. and Crews, J.B. 2009. Fluid-Loss Control Improves Performance of Viscoelastic Surfactant Fluids. SPE Prod & Oper  24 (1): 60-65. SPE-106227-PA.

Discipline Categories

  • 1 Drilling and Completions
  • 5 Production and Operations

Summary

Viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fluids have been widely used as gravel-packing, frac-packing and fracturing fluids for more than a decade because the fluids exhibit excellent rheological properties and maintain low formation-damage characteristics compared with crosslinked-polymer fluids (Nehmer, 1988; Brown et al. 1996). Because of its non-wall-building property, VES fluid has much higher fluid leakoff into the reservoir matrix than wall-building polymer fluid. For frac-packing, this high-leakoff property has limited VES fluid’s application to reservoirs with permeability of less than 400 md. Excessive fluid leakoff also significantly increases the cost of treatment.

This paper will introduce new technology for controlling the fluid loss of VES fluids to approximately 300°F. New fluid-loss control agents have been developed that, through chemisorption and surface-charge attraction, associate with VES micelles to produce a pseudo-filter-cake of viscous VES fluid that significantly reduces the rate of fluid loss. Use of this technology will reduce the VES fluid volume required for a given treatment by up to two-thirds and extends the permeability range of VES fluids to approximately 2000 md. The fluid-loss control agents are tiny particles that are used at relatively low concentrations. The tiny particles will be flowed back with the production fluid after VES micelles are broken by internal breakers. The rate of the pseudo-filter-cake cleanup is enhanced by use of internal VES breakers. The results of rheology, leak-off, and core flow tests will be presented for the VES fluid systems at temperatures 150°F and 250°F.

© 2009. Society of Petroleum Engineers

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History

  • Original manuscript received: 7 December 2006
  • Meeting paper published: 28 February 2007
  • Revised manuscript received: 21 May 2008
  • Manuscript approved: 19 June 2008
  • Published online: 2 March 2009
  • Version of record: 26 February 2009