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B. PRODUCTION PROBLEMS
Invaded
Virgin Zone
Zone
oil
oil
water
water
OIL
Matrix
B.2 CEMENTING
Cementing of the casing in place is one of the
P3
most vital operations in the drilling phase. It
is necessary to have a perfect seal between
zones to avoid unwanted fluid production or
Fig. B3: Crossflow from a lower zone to a higher one. reservoir contamination. Cement slurry is
This phenomena happens in any direction. pumped behind the casing to the required
height. It is left to set for some time before
In the case of a production well the thief any other operations.
zones are generally most noticeable when the
well is in a shut-in surface condition. In this The cement quality has to be evaluated before
condition the higher pressure zones will tend the completion and any repairs made at that
to feed fluid into the lower pressure zones.
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Schlumberger
time. It is also essential to properly evaluate life by providing a breakthrough into the
any measurement in cased hole. wrong zones.
One of the major difficulties in cementing is
the presence of gas zones. These will cause Channeling in producers can lead to the pro-
problems if precautions are not taken during duction of unwanted fluids; i.e., water from
the cement job. wet zones or gas from the gas cap or gas zone.
In some cases this unwanted production can
B.2.1 Channeling render a well totally nonproductive.
Channeling is generally defined as the ability
of fluids to move in the region of the produc- Channeling may occur in three conditions.
tion casing annulus because of a lack of hy-
draulic isolation between the casing and the These conditions are:
cement or the cement and the formation. Oil or gas well with water channeling up
from a lower zone
Oil or gas well with water channeling
down from a higher zone
Oil well with gas channeling down from a
higher zone
B.3 CORROSION
Corrosion encountered in the Oil Industry
involves several mechanisms, generally clas-
sified into three main categories:
Unwanted fluid
flow
Electrochemical Corrosion
Chemical Corrosion
Bad Cement Mechanical Corrosion
(01/97) B-3
Introduction to Production Logging
Conductor
_
e
Anode Cathode
Tubing
Leak
Packer
Metal ions (M+) Electrolyte Leak
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Schlumberger
Chemical
H2 S
Chemical C O2
Bacteria
Hydrogen
Stress
Mech.
Erosion
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Introduction to Production Logging
B.4.1 Conditions CO2 and about 400 times more corrosive than
Poor quality cementation: In a poor ce- H2S.
ment job, casing is exposed to saline forma- Borehole corrosive fluids: Spent acids,
tion water, acting as an electrolyte. Some brines, or H2S and CO2 in the production
shallow formation waters contain dissolved stream can promote chemical corrosion.
oxygen which accelerates corrosion rates.
Non-sulfate resistant cement (construction Fluid and solid flow: Erosion corrosion is
cement) breaks down rapidly and exposes the caused by high velocity fluids, turbulence,
casing to corrosive aquifer water. sand production.
Metal properties: Most casings show Bacterial growth: Anaerobic Sulfate Re-
variation in metallic properties, from joint to ducing Bacteria synthesize H2S and promote
joint, across the same joint, and from joint to chemical and pitting corrosion.
collar. This produces galvanic cells, and is
seen on electromagnetic logs as a variation in
joint conductivity and magnetic permeability. B.4.2 Measures to prevent or remedy
corrosion
Casing anomalies: localized casing anoma- Several measures are available to prevent or
lies can promote galvanic and pitting corro- remedy corrosion in completion strings. They
sion. are listed here for information and not dis-
Corrosion at collars: collars are normally cussed in any details as each one is the do-
stressed and distorted, and present gaps. They main of specialists:
often are starting points for galvanic, pitting,
and crevice corrosion. Engineering design
Casing stress: Stressed sections of casing Selection of materials and alloys
can accelerate corrosion because of their dis- Coatings
torted lattice structure. Hydrogen cracking Good cementing
occurs when hydrogen ions diffuse into the Choice of completion fluids
stressed metal.
Inhibitors and biocides
Saline formation fluids: they act as an Cathodic protection
electrolyte and promote electrochemical and
chemical corrosion. Notice that overall corro- Run tubing and casing patches
sivity of saline solutions increases with salin- Workover to replace tubulars
ity to about 5% NaCl, and then decreases be- Tie-back liners
cause of reduced oxygen solubility. Above Changes in completion
15% NaCl, the saline solution is less corro-
sive than fresh water.
Useful elements to design prevention and re-
Oxygenated fluids: either meteoric forma- medial programs can be obtained from corro-
tion waters or injection water not treated can sion evaluation and monitoring using wireline
cause electrochemical and chemical attack. logging tools.
Notice that, for carbon steel, oxygen dissolved
in water is about 80 times more corrosive than
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Schlumberger
STRESS
ACID
OXYGENATED/
SALINE FLUIDS POOR
CEMENT
CORROSIVE
ANNULUS FLUID
BIMETALLISM
H2S CORROSIVE
CO2
FORMATION
+ FLUID
STAGNANT H2O
FLUIDS
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