SPE 54767

Role of Polymers on Formation Damage

Annie Audibert, Jean-Franois Argillier, Institut Franais du Ptrole, Hemant K J Ladva, Paul W Way, Schlumberger
Cambridge Research, Arvid O. Hove, Statoil

Copyright 1999, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 1999 SPE European Formation Damage
Conference held in The Hague, The Netherlands, 31 May1 June 1999.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
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Abstract
The filter cake is critical in preventing reservoir invasion by
mud filtrate. This is of particular importance in open hole
completions where damage cannot easily be bypassed.
However little is known about the selectivity of the filtercake
in controlling which components will invade the reservoir. An
EC funded consortium between Statoil, Schlumberger
Cambridge Research, and Institut Franais du Ptrole has
focussed on the fundamental mechanisms of formation
damage in order to design wellbore fluids for minimizing fluid
losses and optimizing reservoir productivity.
Polymer invasion of the reservoir has been shown to have a
great impact on permeability reduction. Possible damage with
a typical polymer based drilling fluid was evaluated in terms
of static and dynamic filtration, determining cake
permeability, filtrate composition, and oil permeability
reduction after mud exposure. The effects of polymers on
filtercake properties and filtrate composition were found to be
related to their incorporation into the filtercake and more
specifically to their interactions with solids and solutes present
in the fluid. Filtration conditions were also found to have
significant effects. Measurement of polymer adsorption and
retention in cores as a function of polymer structure, and
formation saturation were also made to characterise the effects
of mud filtrate on producing formations. This was correlated
to the observation of rock invasion and damage using
computed tomography (CT) imaging.
The improved understanding of formation damage caused by
polymers is used to discuss criteria for effective and non-
damaging fluid loss polymer architectures.
Introduction
Minimizing reservoir damage has recently become a
major issue for operators because of the maturation of the
existing reserves and the necessity to decrease the overall
drilling costs. Some operations also concern horizontal wells
or complex geometry wells such as extended reach drilling; in
which case, long open hole sections are drilled resulting in
long contact time of drilling fluid with the producing zone
under overbalanced conditions. This requires low damage
properties for drilling and completion fluids1-5.
It is now well accepted that the formation of an
impermeable filter cake is essential for minimizing the extent
of formation damage and as soon as it is formed, the filtration
process is controlled by the cake rather than the rock itself, but
there is a need to better understand filtercake5,6. But, in
different cases, a mud cake may be eroded under high shear
conditions or in deviated wells the mechanical action of the
drill string may remove the filter cake.
A European Commission (EC) funded consortium
between Statoil, Schlumberger Cambridge Research, and
Institut Franais du Ptrole has focussed on the fundamental
mechanisms of formation damage in order to design wellbore
fluids for minimized fluid losses and optimized reservoir
productivity.
The experience gained in the past by the different
partners was used in this collaboration to study the impact of
different polymeric additives on the filtration properties of
different mud formulations and their impact on permeability
reduction. The aim was to search for polymeric additives or
polymeric associations that would lead to minimal damage.
Polymeric additives in a drilling fluid not only act as
viscosifiers but also induce strong effects between mud solids,
filter cake and rock pores. They generally work in conjunction
with the bridging materials to form an efficient seal at the
borehole. It was previously shown that a bio-polymer such as
xanthan used as a viscosifier in the formulation has some
effect on filtration reduction by plugging the pores of the cake
network8. The incorporation of different polymers used
mainly as fluid loss reducers within the filter cake has been
studied as a function of polymeric structure and molecular
weight. Also the filtrate composition in terms of polymer
concentration has been determined as a function of shear rates
or filtrate volume. The study focuses on typical water based
2 ANNIE AUDIBERT, JEAN-FRANOIS ARGILLIER, HEMANT KJ LADVA, PAUL W WAY, ARVID O. HOVE
reservoir drilling fluids weighted with sized calcium carbonate
or API barite.
Experimental techniques
Mud types
All the tests were performed using a KCl/polymer mud with
various polymer additives used as fluid loss reducers. These
are respectively a classical poly anionic cellulose PAC (i.e.
formulation F1), a synthetic polymer TC proposed for HP/HT
applications (i.e. formulation F2) and a modified starch (i.e.
formulation F3). They were used as such (Fa) or weighted at
360 g/l with sized calcium carbonate (D50 41 m, specific
surface 4 m2/g) to a mud density of 1.2 (Fb) or API barite (D50
22 m, specific surface 4 m2/g) to a mud density of 1.3 (Fc).
High Mod Prima (HMP) was used in all the formulations to
simulate drilled solids. It is primarily composed of kaolinite
(56%). Mud formulations and properties are given in Tables 1
to 4.
Rock types
Clashach sandstone cores were used in the experiments. Its
mineralogy is 95 % quartz and a low fraction of clay (<1%
illite). The average permeability to brine was 600 mD and
porosity approximately 17%. The average pore diameter was
in the range of 20 m to 30 m. The cores were saturated with
brine NaCl 20 g/l and brought to residual water saturation
(Swi) by flow with Kerosene (o 1.45 mPa.s at 25C) in
opposite direction to filtration. The kerosene permeability at
Swi was measured at different flow rates and taken as the
undamaged initial permeability.
Equipment
Different equipment was used and has been previously
described 7, 9, 10:
a dynamic filtration cell with a cone/plate geometry on
filter paper or rock samples. Samples were 33 mm in
diameter and the rock core 60 mm in length. Experiments
can be performed with a pressure drop of up to 100 bars,
a temperature up to 140C and shear rate from 0 to 1200s-
1
. determined by carbon measurement (Shimatzu TOC 5050) but
A dynamic filtration set-up on rock samples 50 mm in
diameter and 60 mm in length. An impeller set at 4 mm
above the rock surface gave a maximum shear rate of 350
s-1.
a dynamic mud leak off equipment for long core samples
i.e. 50 mm in diameter and 40 cm in length. The core
holder cell is equipped with five pressure taps equidistant
along the core sample to monitor pressure drops during
mud invasion. The filtration is stopped when 30% of the
pore volume is collected. Kerosene is then backflowed
through the core without removing the filtercake if any.
Pressure differences are measured and kerosene return
permeabilities are calculated for the different sections of
the core and for the whole core.
SPE 54767
In spite of the differences in equipment, similar
filtration/invasion behaviour was observed for the same mud
type. Under static conditions, filtration curves are linear as a
function of square root of time (Vf = Vs + A .b.t 0.5). The
values of b are consistent with the values obtained with API
tests independent of the filtration medium i.e. filter paper or
core.
For CT experiments, Clashach sandstone cores (3.8 cm in
diameter and 6.8 cm in length) were used in the experiments.
The polymer solution comprised xanthan (4 gl-1), starch (11.4
gl-1), poly anionic cellulose (5.1 gl-1) and potassium chloride
(20 gl-1). The concentrations are the same as typically used in
a KCl/polymer drilling fluid.
The cores were vacuum saturated with 5% potassium iodide
(KI) solution to provide a contrast to the invading polymer
and then mounted vertically in a Hassler cell so allowing the
imaging of the longitudinal cross section in real time. The
baseline permeability to KI solution was measured with an
imposed constant flowrate of 400, 300, 200, and 100 cm3 h-1.
Pressure transducers fitted to the cell inlet were used to
measure the pressure drop across the core at constant
backpressure. The cores were then invaded to quarter, half and
full length with the polymer at 4 cm3 h-1 flowrate (in the
opposite direction to permeability measurement). After the
polymer invasion, KI was backflowed at 100 cm3 h-1 until a
steady state was reached. A constant polymer concentration in
the invaded area was defined as steady state. The CT image
data was used to evaluate the normalised polymer
concentration in the invaded area both during polymer
invasion and cleanup. The permeability to KI was again
measured at the same flowrates as used for baseline
permeability measurement.
Experimental
For each mud formulation the amount of free polymer in the
mud i.e. non adsorbed polymer is determined by depletion
method after mud centrifugation. Fluid loss is sampled as a
function of time. Polymer content within the filtrate is
it only gives global evaluation of polymer content. This
amount is compared to the amount of free polymer in the mud.
When the TC polymer is used as fluid loss reducer the
respective amounts of TC and xanthan within the filtrate can
be determined using the Alliance analyzer which gives the
amount of acrylamide and by calibration the TC content.
Moreover, when a concentration plateau in the filtrate is
obtained at the end of the filtration process, the amount of low
molecular weight species is determined using ultrafiltration
through a membrane with a cut off of 20 000 daltons and
compared to the initial one.
SPE 54767 ROLE OF POLYMERS ON FORMATION DAMAGE
Results and discussion
Adsorption behaviour
The adsorption level of polymers used as fluid loss reducers in
the formulation were determined on carbonate particles, barite
particles or crushed Clashach sandstone at initial polymer
concentration of 500 ppm and varying solid-to-liquid ratio
(Fig.1-3). The accessible surface for polymer is similar for all
the minerals used. Results are expressed in mg/g and not in
mg/m2 since flocculation may influence the accessible surface
to polymer. The adsorption levels extrapolated at zero solid-
to-liquid ratio are in the same order of magnitude independent
of particle type. The adsorbtion level are ranked starch >
xanthan PAC > TC. The adsorption values for starch only
give global information since this polymer may not be
completely soluble. Different parameters have to be taken into
account to explain these results i.e. polymer structure, charges
and molecular weight. Even if xanthan chains are more
charged than PAC chains, at low polymer concentration,
adsorption levels are in the same order of magnitude. This has
been already observed on montmorillonite particles8.
Moreover in this case, the accessible surface is quite low.
During adsorption tests, it has been observed that starch
induces strong particle flocculation resulting in
adsorption/retention of more than 100 mg/g. This may be due
to the granular structure of starch or the presence of residual
impurities. As expected from the presence of sulfonated
groups on the polymer chains, the level of TC adsorption is
lower i.e. in the order of 10 mg/g.
These different data have to be taken into account in order to
explain the behaviour of a hydrosoluble polymer as a fluid
loss reducer. It was previously reported that the polymer
adsorbed onto the particles is used as a bridging agent to form
a regular particle network and that during the filtration process
the free polymer in solution is further retained within the
network pore thus reducing the cake permeability8, 9. This
characteristic is strongly dependent on the polymer structure.
Filtration properties
Static filtration tests were performed on filter paper at room
temperature and 110C for weighted and unweighted muds.
Results are given in Figures 4 to 6 and summarized in Tables
3 and 4. No spurt volume is observed on filter paper. The
filtration volume expressed as a square root of time does not
go through zero due to the dead volume at the outlet of the
filtration cell.
The efficiency of different polymeric additives as fluid loss
reducers can be ranked as: starch > PAC TC and this is
independent of the fluid temperature. Varying the polymer
concentration within the formulation would be required to
confirm this ranking.
The addition of solid particles to a drilling fluid generally
improves fluid loss behaviour, especially under static
conditions (Fig. 4 and 5). An impermeable filtercake is more
3
effectively formed under static conditions due to the
deposition of particles.
Spurt loss is independent of temperature as expected from the
phenomenon of pore bridging with solid particles. The fluid
loss characteristics of the polymer remain unchanged up to a
critical temperature, but at 110C and above there is
significant deterioration of fluid loss control when some
polymer degradation occurs (Fig.6). This could result in
permeability impairment in the reservoir at elevated
temperatures.
Tests were performed under dynamic conditions at 30C, a
pressure drop of 35 bar and a shear rate of 600 s-1. Results are
given in Figure 7. Previous results are confirmed i.e. the
starch gives a lower filtration rate.
It was previously suggested that under dynamic conditions
polymer/particle flocs are larger, making deposition and
capture into filtercake more difficult. Based on a comparison
of weighted and unweighted muds, the filtercake does not
form with the same efficiency when compared to static
conditions. This was observed for muds containing bentonite
8, 9
. The effect of shear rate would be mainly to disperse
particles/polymer aggregates thus leading to a low filtration
rate. Here, based on a comparison of weighted and
unweighted muds, a shear rate of 600 s-1 is not sufficient to
disperse such aggregates (cf Fig 4, 5, 7).
Filtrate composition
Filtrate analysis for a range of polymers shows that after
initial high value during spurt phase, the polymer
concentration drops to a plateau once a reasonable filtercake is
established 8, 9. The plateau appears to be independent of shear
conditions. Synthetic polymers such as TC which have poor
associations seem to be present at high concentration (Fig. 4
and 5) up to 20% of free polymer in the mud. In unweighted
muds, PAC gives plateau concentrations around 200 ppm (ca
5% of free polymer in mud), probably due to higher polymer
interactions and retention within the filter cake leading to less
polymer content within the filtrate8. In weighted formulations
Starch leads to the lower polymer content within the filtrate
probably due to the strongest interactions between polymer
and particles as observed during filtration tests. This
corresponds to 5% of free polymer in the drilling fluid (Fig. 4,
5, 7). Furthermore starch is only partially soluble.
Solids in the drilling fluid tend to increase the concentration of
polymer in the filtrate, as adsorption competes for the fluid
loss polymer and reduces its effectiveness, especially under
static conditions (Fig.8). This result is quite surprising, and
different from what has been previously observed with
bentonite muds. This effect is particularly evident for PAC
and TC. The presence of carbonate particles in the formulation
containing TC seems to slightly affect the cake permeability
but surprisingly increases the free polymer within the filtrate
(Fig 8). This behavior is the same when barite is present
instead of carbonate and can be related to the low amount of
adsorbed polymer on both substrates.
4 ANNIE AUDIBERT, JEAN-FRANOIS ARGILLIER, HEMANT KJ LADVA, PAUL W WAY, ARVID O. HOVE
Fig 9a shows that Xanthan is the main polymer in the filtrate,
since it interacts poorly with the mud solids. The level of
starch in the filtrate is low and the same, independent of the
mud density (Fig.4 and 5). This is probably due to the specific
structure of starch i.e. swollen gel particles are insoluble
species that are retained within the cake.
At 110C, polymer content in the filtrate is dependent on the
fluid loss polymer (Fig.6 and 10). Analysis of the filtrate
shows that as previously xanthan is the main component of the
filtrate (Fig.9b) and in this case its concentration increases
with the filtrate volume. This is due to a beginning of
degradation of xanthan molecules with temperature and
indicates that degradation products pass through the filtercake
(Table 4). For PAC, a beginning of degradation is also
observed resulting in a thicker cake.
Filtrate analysis shows that for starch (Tables 3 and 4) the
filtrate contains up to 60% of low molecular weight species
(lower than 20 000 daltons) and only 20% for TC. This would
have a strong impact on rock permeability since large
molecular weight species are known to have a detrimental
effect on rock plugging by adsorption and retention
phenomena3, 11.
The ranking of polymers in order of effective fluid loss
control and content within the filtrate is starch > TC PAC >
xanthan. The filtrate composition depends on polymer
structure and molecular weight and will strongly influence the
reservoir properties.
Core flow experiments
Core flooding tests with polymer solutions were performed to
evaluate the impact of polymer on core permeability (kr)
during invasion and back production (Fig. 11). Experiments
have been performed on water wet Clashach sandstone under
two saturation conditions; residual water saturation Swi and
100% brine saturated.
The tests follow a standard procedure outlined below:
- initial core saturation (100% brine or residual water
saturation and permeability determination to brine or
kerosene)
- core flooding of test polymer solution
* measurement of polymer concentration in the
filtrate (polymer adsorption/retention)
* measurement of pressure drop during invasion
- measurement of final permeability and saturation end points.
The specific polymer solutions tested were:
- PAC at 0.5 and 3 g/l.
- Starch at 0.5 g/l
- Xanthan at 1g/l
The results are summarised in Tables 5-7. In all tests we
observed a steady increase of the differential pressure during
invasion related to the accumulation of polymer adsorbed
and/or retained within the core (see for example Figure 12).
SPE 54767
The results in Tables 5-7 show that polymer strongly reduces
the permeability to brine, and to kerosene, although the effects
on kerosene permeability are less. For these polymers, an
increase in the residual water saturation occurs as a result of
polymer retention. This leads us to conclude that the
permeability reduction is due to a combination of polymer
plugging and a change of water saturation. Starch causes a
very strong permeability reduction possibly due to cell debris
in the unpurified solution. Xanthan also causes a strong
permeability reduction that may arise from the high molecular
weight and the rigidity of the polymer.
CT scan experiments
The depth of invasion of polymers was measured in real time
using a CT, and this was correlated with permeability damage.
The normalised concentration of polymer with time profile
was evaluated as previously described in Ref 12 from the
imaged data collected during invasion and flowback.
A plug-type flow behaviour with little dispersion of polymer
was observed during invasion. A sequence of CT images
taken during flowback of KI through a fully invaded rock is
given in Figure 13. It shows the cleanup of polymer with time
and the channelling flow of KI through the invaded area. The
normalised average concentration of polymer in the invaded
area with time profile during cleanup of cores with different
invasion depth is shown in Figure 14. In all three tests more
than 95% of the polymer was removed at steady state however
the low level of residual polymer caused significant damage.
This damage correlated linearly with depth of invasion and is
shown in Figure 15.
Formation damage tests
A static filtration test was performed on a core having a
gas permeability Kg of 570 mD, porosity 16% and water
permeability 450 mD. The filtration end of the core holder
was designed to allow the build-up of an external filtercake.
The drilling fluid composition was xanthan (4 gl-1), starch
(11.4 gl-1), poly anionic cellulose (5.1 gl-1), sodium chloride
(20 gl-1), potassium chloride (20 gl-1), HMP (28.5 gl-1) and
barite (230 gl-1). Mud properties are given in Table 8. Pressure
taps along the core length allow the measurement of pressure
drop along the core and the determination of kerosene
permeability reduction within each zone.
The filtration behaviour was linear with square root of
time as shown in Fig. 16. The return permeabilities as a
function of core length are shown in Fig. 17. Results show
that when an external mud cake is built the complete filtration
process is controlled by the external filter cake. The return
permeability was 73%, this is a good result for a water based
formulation 7, 10. There is also evidence of the role played by
the mud solids i.e. in limiting polymer invasion and possibly
damage. Normally when damage level is reported it refers to a
combination of the solids, polymer and filtrate damage. With
SPE 54767 ROLE OF POLYMERS ON FORMATION DAMAGE
data sets of this sort we can quantify damage contributions
individually.
Tests were performed to study the effect of mud temperature
on spurt loss, fluid loss and return permeability. Brine
saturated Clashach cores had their permeability to kerosene
measured at ambient temperature and set pressures of 2,5 and
10 PSI. Cores were then exposed to a weighted polymer fluid
for 4 hours under static filtration conditions at a differential
pressure of 300 psi. Filtration was performed at 20, 50, 75 and
95C. After cooling return permeability levels were measured.
Results (Table 9) show the spurt loss appears independent of
temperature up to 75C, implying the process is controlled by
the solids present in the fluid. Total fluid loss increases with
temperature. Return permeability levels up to 50C are
independent of temperature. Above 50C return permeability
drops and this is most marked at the lowest pressure (2 PSI).
This is consistent with the increased fluid loss at high
temperature carrying polymer further through the core. At the
2 psi pressure it is more difficult to move material back out of
the core than it is at 10 psi. This is reflected in the larger %
reduction in permeability recorded. We see a 3-fold reduction
in return permeability at 2 psi when the temperature is
increased from 20C to 95C and less than a 2-fold reduction
at 10 PSI.
Different experimental equipment can be complementarily
used, all under representative oil and water saturation
conditions: dynamic filtration apparatus on short length core,
core flood experiments and mud invasion on long length core.
Data obtained with different experimental configurations are
consistent i.e. equivalent filtration rate as a function of the
surface of filtration and equivalent permeability impairment
for a given fluid. It is also very important to consider different
experimental conditions (such as static and dynamic
filtrations, filtrate analysis, core flood experiments,...) in order
to get a correct interpretation of the mechanisms of formation
damage.
Conclusions
The improved understanding of formation damage caused
by polymers can now be used to propose criteria for effective
and non-damaging fluid loss polymer architectures. Polymers
should contribute in the building of the filtercake and ensure
its low permeability. The structure of the polymer should
ensure that most of the polymer chains are trapped within the
cake. It is important to control the fraction of polymer chains
that invade with the filtrate therefore minimising permeability
damage. Filtrate composed of low molecular weight and non
aggregated chains are less damaging.
After initial high values during the spurt phase, the polymer
concentration drops to a plateau once a reasonable filtercake is
5
established. Results show that polymers can deeply invade the
reservoir. These results have been combined with the results
of polymer adsorption or retention in core floods of varying
wettability where changes of residual water saturation and
permeability damage have been determined. Core flood tests
indicate that most polymers cause damage through pore
plugging and elevation of residual water saturation. This is
mainly due to the high molecular weight species or strongly
aggregated species that are able to plug rock pores.
Nomenclature
Swi connate water saturation,
Vf filtration volume,
Vs spurt volume.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the management of Schlumberger
Cambridge Research, Institut Franais du Ptrole and Statoil
for granting permission to publish this paper. We also thank
Louise Bailey, Paul Howard, Daniel Longeron, and Egil
Sunde for fruitful discussions, Franois Lamy, Philippe Le
Minter and Lionel Rousseau for performing experiments.
Support of this work from The EC Joule Programme is
acknowledged.
References
[1.] Krilov Z, Wojtanowicz A K, Romic M, Formation
damage in horizontal wells caused by polymer mud,
International Symposium on Formation Damage Control,
SPE31135, 14-15 February 1996, Lafayette, Louisana
[2.] Francis P; Dominating effects controlling the extent of
Drilling-Induced Formation Damage; SPE 381182, European
Formation Damage Conference, The Hague, The Netherlands,
2-3 June 1997
[3.] Jiao D and Sharma M M, Formation Damage Due to
Static and Dynamic Filtration of Water-Based Muds;
International Symposium on Formation Damage Control,
SPE23823, 26-27 February 1992, Lafayette, Louisana
[4.] Leerloijer K, Kuijvenhoven C A T, Francis P A;
Filtration control, mud design and well productivity, SPE
31079, International Symposium on Formation Damage
Control, SPE31135, 14-15 February 1996, Lafayette,
Louisana
[5.] Experts share view on formation damage, JPT, 936-
940, November 1994.
[6.] Understanding the role played by filter cake in open
hole completions, Ali S. , Bailey L., Ladva H., Fraser L., Oil
and Gas J., January 25, 1999.
[7.] Ladva H.J., Parlar M., Price-Smith C., Fraser L.J., Ali
S.A., Mechanisms of sand control screen plugging from drill-
6 ANNIE AUDIBERT, JEAN-FRANOIS ARGILLIER, HEMANT KJ LADVA, PAUL W WAY, ARVID O. HOVE SPE 54767

in fluids and its cleanup using acid, oxidizers and enzyme Table 3
breakers, SPE paper 39439, Formation Damage Control API filtration properties of polymer mud
Symposium, Lafayette, LA, 18-19 February 1998.
[8.] Loeber L., Durand C., Lecourtier J., Rosenberg E., F1a F1b F2a F2b F2c F3a F3b F3
Relationship between composition, structure and c
permeability of drilling filter cakes, Revue de lInstitut FV 30 8.5 5.9 8.4 6.7 6.3 6.4 3.7 -
Franais du Ptrole, 51, 6, 777-788, 1996. ( ml )
[9.] Li Y.D., Rosenberg E., Argillier J-F, Static and F rate 0.04 0.028 0.04 0.03 0.034 0.03 0.02 -
dynamic filtration properties of aqueous suspensions of clays ( cm/min0.5 2
and electrolytes, Revue de lInstitut Franais du Ptrole, 52, )
Cake 1.6 1.6 2.4 1.5 1.4 1.8 1 -
2, 207-218, 1996.
thickness
[10.] Longeron D., Argillier J-F, Audibert A. An at 120
integrated approach tfor evaluating formation damage due to ( mm )
drilling and completion fluids, SPE paper 30089, European, Cpf / 0.035 0.22 0.15 0.33 0.5 0.03 0.05 -
Formation Damage Control Symposium, The Hague,
Cfpm *
Netherlands, 15-16 May 1995.
Polym < - 33.3 - 20.4 22 - 59 -
[11.] Chauveteau G., Lecourtier J., Propagation of 20E3
polymer slugs through adsorbent porous media, published in in F ( % )
The role of polymers in Enhanced Oil Recovery, Schulz * Filtrate polym Cc / Mud polym Cc
D.N., and Stahl G.A.,Eds. Plenum 1987.
[12.] Hove, A.O., Birovljev, A., Nilsen, V.: CT-scanner Table 4
Experiments on Tracer Dispersion and Diffusion in 110C filtration properties of polymer mud
Homogeneous and Fractured Chalk. Forth North Sea Chalk
Symposium, Deauville, France 1992. F F1b F2 F2b F2c F3 F3b F3c
1 a a
a
Table 1 FV 30 - 21.4 - 40.1 26 - 12.8 11.7
Composition of polymer mud ( ml )
F rate - 0.11 - 0.21 0.13 - 0.06 0.06
Component Composition (g/l) (cm/min0.5)
Xanthan 4 Cake thickness - 11 - 5.5 3.7 - 2.7 4
at 120 ( mm )
PAC or TC or starch 5.1 / 5 / 11.4
Cpf / Cfpm * - 0.24 - 0.3 0.45 - 0.1 0.07
Drill solids 28.5
E
NaCl 20 Polym < 20 3 - 46.6 - 20 22 - 59 59
KCl 20 in F ( % )
NaOH to pH 9.5 Filtrate polym Cc / Mud polym Cc

Table 2
Properties of polymer mud

F1a F1b F2a F2b F2c F3a F3b F3c

PV - 16 10 15 12 - 16 16
( mPas )
YV - 32 20 24 24 - 24 26
( lb/100 ft2 )
Gel 0 - 12 9 10 10 - 10 10
( lb/100 ft2 )
Gel 10 - 16 18 17 16 - 13 12
( lb/100 ft2 )
Nomenclature :
F1 (PAC) ; F2 (TC) ; F3 (starch)
a (none), b (carbonate), c (barite)
SPE 54767 ROLE OF POLYMERS ON FORMATION DAMAGE 7

Table 5 : Table 7:
Influence of PAC solution invasion on permeability Influence of starch solution invasion on permeability

Sw Kw Krw Ko Kr Sw Kw Krw Ko Kro

(%) (mD) (%) (mD) o (%) (mD) (mD)
(%) Starch Initial 100 1110 1
Initial 100 597 1 0.5 g/l Kerosene 15.8 930 1
Kerosene 22,8 383 1 Polymer 36.6
Polymer flood 53,1 25 0,05 flood
Kerosene 24,5 344 0.9 Kerosene 16.2 151 0.16
0.5
g/l
PAC
Initial 100 702 1
Polymer flood 100 Table 8
brine 100 341 0,49 Properties of KCl/ polymer mud

Kerosene 24,5 344 1

Polymer flood 54 6 0,01 PV 21
( mPas )
Kerosene 32,2 177 0.5
3 g/l YV 32
( lb/100 ft2 )
PAC Initial 100 678 1
Gel 0 10
Polymer flood ( lb/100 ft2 )
Brine 100 229 0,34 Gel 10 13
( lb/100 ft2 )
API FL ( ml ) 3.2
d 1.24
pH 9.6
Table 6:
Influence of xanthan solution invasion on permeability

Sw Kw Krw Ko Kro Table 9

(%) (mD) (mD)
Initial 100 730 1
T Mud Fluid loss Recovered
Kerosene 21,9 530 1 C Spurt @4 hours permeability
Xanthan Polymer 53,2 g g
flood 2PSI 5PSI 10PSI
1 g/l Kerosene 52,8 198 0,37
20 0.39 2.16 42 52 63
Initial 100 1140 1 50 0.24 2.48 41 53 66
Polymer 100 75 0.35 7.86 25 44 57
flood 95 (n/a) 13.89 14 37 48
Brine 100 72 0,06
8 ANNIE AUDIBERT, JEAN-FRANOIS ARGILLIER, HEMANT KJ LADVA, PAUL W WAY, ARVID O. HOVE SPE 54767

Figure 1 :
Adsorption on calcite Figure 4 :
API filtration
24

pH = 9.0 20 F1a
PAC F2a
100 XANTHAN 16 F3a
TC
STARCH 12
10
8

4
1
0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0.5
Solid liquid ratio Square root of time ( min )

1600

1200
Figure 2 :
Adsorption on barite 800

400
PAC
XANTHAN
100 0
TC 0 4 8 12 16 20 24
STARCH

10 A.P.I filtrate volume ( ml )

pH = 8.0
1

0.001 0.01 0.1 1

Solid liquid ratio

Figure 3 :
Adsorption on crushed Claschach

100

Initial concentration 0.5 g/l

Initial concentration 3.0 g/l
10

0.1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1
Solid liquid ratio
SPE 54767 ROLE OF POLYMERS ON FORMATION DAMAGE 9

2000

1600

1200
Figure 5 :
API filtration for weighted formulations 800
24

20 F1b 400
F2b
16 F3b 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
12
A.P.I filtrate volume ( ml )
8

0 Figure 7:
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0.5 Dynamic filtration (600s-1)
Square root of time ( min )
1600
60 F1b
F2b
50 F3b
1200
Without Fluid loss
40
800
30

20
400
10
2
Filtration area : 42 cm
0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
A.P.I filtrate volume ( ml ) Elapsed time ( minutes )

Figure 6 :
110C filtration for weighted formulations 400 F1b
F2b
350
100 F3b
300 Without Fluid loss
F1b
80 250
F2b
F3b 200
60
150
40 100
50
20
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
0 HP/HT filtrate volume ( ml )
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Square root of tim e ( m in0.5 )
10 ANNIE AUDIBERT, JEAN-FRANOIS ARGILLIER, HEMANT KJ LADVA, PAUL W WAY, ARVID O. HOVE SPE 54767

2000

C TC
1600
C Xanthan
1200

800

400

0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24
A.P.I filtrate volume ( ml )

Figure 8 :
API filtration for F2 formulation

24

20 F2a 9b)
F2b
16 F2c
2000
12 C TC
1600
8 C Xanthan
1200
4

0 800
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0.5
Square root of time ( min ) 400

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
A.P.I filtrate volume ( ml )
1600

1200

800 Figure 10 :
110C filtration for weighted formulations
400
100
0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 F2b
80
F2c
A.P.I filtrate volume ( ml ) F3b
60 F3c

40
Figure 9 :
Filtrate composition 9a API, 9b 110C 20

9a) 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0.5 )
Square root of time ( min
SPE 54767 ROLE OF POLYMERS ON FORMATION DAMAGE 11

2000

1600

1200

800
Figure 12 :
Polymer (PAC) solution flushing
400

0 500 20
0 20 40 60 80 100
A.P.I filtrate volume ( ml ) Pressure
400
15

300

10
Retention
200

Formulation
IDFLR-XL 3 g/l 5
100
NaCl 40 g/l
Figure 11 KCl 5 g/l
Core flow set up
0 0
0 50 100 150 200
PUMP Filtrate volume ( ml )
BRINE/OIL/POLYMER SOLUTION

Differential PC
Pressure ACQUISITION

VITON SLEEVE
for confining pressure
HASSLER CELL

PLUG

TOC
ANALYSIS
12 ANNIE AUDIBERT, JEAN-FRANOIS ARGILLIER, HEMANT KJ LADVA, PAUL W WAY, ARVID O. HOVE SPE 54767

Figure 13:

Sequence of CT images shows the polymer (dark area) cleanup and channelling of potassium iodide (light area)
during flowback (from bottom direction) through a fully invaded rock.
SPE 54767 ROLE OF POLYMERS ON FORMATION DAMAGE 13

70

Permeability damage %
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Depth of invasion %

Figure 16
Static filtration of KCl/ polymer mud

Filtrated volume
18,00

(cm3)
8,00
-2,00
0,00 20,00 40,00 60,00
Square root of time (mn**1/2)

Figure 14:
Normalised polymer concentration with time profile for rocks Figure 17
invaded to different depths of invasion Return permeability versus distance after static filtration of
KCl/ polymer mud

1.2
concentration of polymer
Normalised average

1
0.8
1/4
0.6 1/2
0.4 Full

0.2
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time /minutes

Figure 15:
Linear correlation of permeability damage with depth of
polymer invasion
14 ANNIE AUDIBERT, JEAN-FRANOIS ARGILLIER, HEMANT KJ LADVA, PAUL W WAY, ARVID O. HOVE SPE 54767

100
85%
90
Return Permeability (% init)
75% 82% 82%
80
70
60
50
36%
40
30
20
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 27,6
Distance from inlet face (cm)