SPE Journal
Volume 15, Number 3, September 2010, pp. 805-811

Summary

Foam has proved to be effective and economical in underbalanced operations and is gaining wider applications in many areas. Foam fluid has low density and high blocking ability. It can effectively reduce leaking of fluid into formation in low-pressure wells, protecting the oil formation and improving sand-cleanout efficiency. According to energy-conservation equations, mass-conservation equations, and momentum-conservation equations, a mathematical model for sand cleanout with foam fluid was established that considers the heat transfer between foam in the annulus and foam in the tubing. The model was solved by numerical method. Distributions of foam temperature, foam density, foam quality, pressure, and foam velocity in the wellbore were obtained. Calculation results show that temperature distribution is affected greatly by thermal gradient. As the well depth increases, foam pressure and foam density increase and foam quality and velocity decrease. Foam velocity at the well bottomhole is the minimum. Friction pressure loss of foam is less than that of water at the same volume flow rate. Site applications show that sand cleanout with foam fluid can prevent fluid leakage effectively. It can avoid damage of sealing agents and reduce pollution. The average relative error and standard deviation between model and field data on injection pressure are −0.43 and 2.55%, respectively, which proves the validation of the mathematical model.

© 2010. Society of Petroleum Engineers

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History

• Original manuscript received: 11 August 2008
• Revised manuscript received: 7 October 2009
• Manuscript approved: 17 October 2009
• Published online: 22 March 2010
• Version of record: 22 September 2010