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    Toughen Up: Mitigate Erosion For High-Volume Proppant Completions

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    Siver Abdullah
    WP Toughen Up Erosion

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    Toughen Up: Mitigate Erosion For High-Volume Proppant Completions

    Uploaded by

    Siver Abdullah
    42 views6 pages
    WP Toughen Up Erosion

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    WP Toughen Up Erosion

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    WP Toughen Up Erosion

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    42 views6 pages

    Toughen Up: Mitigate Erosion For High-Volume Proppant Completions

    Uploaded by

    Siver Abdullah
    WP Toughen Up Erosion

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 6

    Toughen Up

    Mitigate erosion for high-volume


    proppant completions
    New technology has steadily allowed operators to produce more from
    each well, all while improving operational efficiency.

    Longer laterals, higher proppant loads, tighter stage spacing and higher
    stage counts have all contributed to increased production per lateral foot.
    As with many advances, however, there are tradeoffs and tipping points.
    The same proppant that improves production can also severely erode
    downhole tools, as seen in numerous field studies.

    Erosion impacts all downhole systems. From limited entry plug-and-perf


    systems to ball-activated sliding sleeve systems and variations on each
    method, the result of failure is lost stages and lower production.

    However, erosion can be largely mitigated with a few simple but effective
    solutions:

    1. Tool design
    2. Finding and reinforcing vulnerabilities
    3. Quality control for precision and reliability

    These innovations offer operators confidence in delivering aggressive


    treatments to maximize production, understanding that steps and tools
    have been taken to mitigate failure due to erosion.  
    EROSION CHALLENGES
    No matter what completion method an operator chooses, the erosive
    power of high-proppant stimulations should be considered.

    Single Point Entry


    Sliding sleeve systems are at risk during high-proppant stimulations in
    different ways. The mechanical nature of these systems leaves them
    vulnerable to sand accumulation or erosion. Downhole keys for coiled
    tubing locating and shifting can be eroded to the point where neither can
    be done.

    During stimulation, a ball and seat combination must hold back thousands
    of pounds of pressure to effectively isolate one fracturing stage from
    another with only 1/16-in. of diametric difference between the ball and
    seat. For conventional systems, a 1/32-in. edge is the only overlap holding
    back differential pressure. This interference is even smaller for modern
    high stage count systems.

    Furthermore, the flow of fluid


    as it passes through a seat is
    briefly turbulent, which
    causes a slight increase in
    pressure. Although each
    seat contributes only a small
    amount of additional
    pressure, a completion Figure 1. A ball must pass through one ball seat without
    string of 40 to 50 sliding resistance, but land in the next with enough interference to
    sleeves can add thousands hold back thousands of pounds of pressure.
    of pounds of pressure of
    additional friction and is a source of operational concern.

    Limited Entry
    In plug-and-perf liners, once the slurry reaches perforations, a near-instant
    pressure drop decrease is observed. This phenomenon is due to
    proppant rapidly eroding the edges of the perforations1. Production
    logging also has shown that only 20-50% of the intended fracturing
    targets were producing at fracture-stimulated rates2.

    1
    Yuan, P., Zhang, H., Huang, X., Han, J., Zhou, Q., Mezzatesta, A., & Bao, J., 2017. Study of Proppant
    Erosion in Multistage Hydraulic Fracturing Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling. Society of
    Petroleum Engineers. doi:10.2118/183819-MS
    2
    Miller, C. K., Waters, G. A., & Rylander, E. I., 2011. Evaluation of Production Log Data from Horizontal
    Wells Drilled in Organic Shales. Society of Petroleum Engineers. doi:10.2118/144326-MS
    With the first set of perforations accepting most of the fluid, other
    perforations in the same interval receive minimal or no treatment. This
    inefficient use of proppant leads to lower than expected production and
    lower return on investment.

    On the other hand, ball-activated limited


    80-sleeve Limited Entry Lower
    entry systems are dependent on a ball
    Completion Unseats Plug-and-Perf
    holding pressure during stimulation, while
    being able to pass through to the next An operator working in the Permian Basin
    seat in the cluster. had been successfully using a standard
    hybrid completion for wells exceeding
    EROSION MITIGATION 20,000 ft of measured depth (MD).

    Technological innovation has led to These wells used 5 clusters of 4


    QuickPORT™ IV ball-activated sleeves at
    several solutions that strike a balance
    the toe, which eliminated the cost and
    between a high-proppant stimulation and
    risk associated with interventions at
    failure due to erosion.
    those depths, while gaining the
    advantage of eliminating entry point
    1. Tool Design erosion common to limited entry
    To mitigate the cumulative friction caused stimulation. The upper stages were
    by the turbulence of fluid passing through completed using plug-and-perf.
    ball-activated seats, sliding sleeves have For a particularly long well with a 23,300
    been redesigned. Using computational ft of MD, 20 sleeves were insufficient to
    fluid dynamics simulation, the reshaping cover the last 3,900 ft of the lateral. 80
    of the internal fluid path has reduced QuickPORT IV sleeves were installed,
    pressure drop (and thus fluid friction) by grouped into 20 stages.
    over 60%. All 20 stages were stimulated in under
    70 hours of pumping time.
    This design has been implemented
    throughout Packers Plus product lines The smooth operation proves the
    and has also provided a step change in effectiveness of the TREX™ QuickPORT
    stage count limitations by providing a IV limited entry system, not only in
    simple and reliable solution with smaller reducing operational risk for long laterals,
    seat increments. It has allowed single but in its ability to mitigate erosion and
    perform as a high stage count solution.
    entry point systems such as StackFRAC®
    HD-X to improve on the industry standard
    of 1/16-in. increments and move towards
    custom-sized increments.
    Figure 2. Mitigating fluid friction in high stage count sliding sleeve
    systems has become critical to their success. A reshaping of the
    fluid path has proven a significant improvement.
    These systems are capable of up to 70 single-point entry stages (on a 4.5-
    in. liner), where all seats are designed to withstand 6,000 psi of
    differential pressure.

    The TREX™ limited entry system uses a single actuation ball to pass
    through multiple QuickPORT IV seats. These sleeves have also been
    redesigned with 40% fewer moving parts than previous versions,
    mitigating the risk of sand fouling or erosion.

    2. Finding and Reinforcing Vulnerabilities


    With completions trending toward ever higher rates and proppant
    volumes, the 1/32-in. (or smaller) interference between ball and seat can
    erode significantly using conventional metallurgy.

    Using tougher materials to withstand heavy abrasion is an effective


    solution, although it is more costly. Harder alloys can reinforce specific
    areas along the slurry flow path. Ball seats can be reinforced with
    hardened anti-erosion coatings. For ultra-high proppant stimulations,
    coatings can also be applied on the inner surface of sleeves.

    For limited entry point systems, the QuickPORT IV ports are reinforced
    with tungsten carbide. This prevents entry point erosion typical of plug-
    and-perf, facilitating even distribution among the entry points in a stage.
    65-Stage Post-Completion Erosion Analysis
    An operator working in the U.S. Bakken wanted to increase stage counts
    to economically achieve the best reservoir coverage and production.
    Although the operator was already familiar with ball-activated systems,
    there was some concern about potential erosion in these systems.
    A 65-stage StackFRAC HD-X system was used in a well with a
    9,950 ft lateral.

    65 Stage StackFRAC HD-X Post-Job Erosion Analysis


    1.6% 35
    1.4% 30
    1.2%

    Rate (bbl/min)
    25
    1.0%
    20
    Erosion (%)

    0.8% Estimated Erosion


    15
    0.6% Max Design Limit
    0.4% Rate (bbl/min) 10
    0.2% 5
    0.0% 0
    1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65

    Stage
    The post-completion analysis confirmed that the estimated erosion for
    over half the seats were less than 0.5%, with none having lost more than
    0.9%. These were well below maximum design limits.

    3. Quality Control for Precision and Reliability


    Packers Plus is ISO 9001 and API Specification Q1 certified for
    manufacturing, operations, and engineering processes. From design
    through manufacturing, assembly, testing, shipping and installation, a fully
    integrated QA/QC process helps to ensure consistency on every well.

     To achieve consistent precision, all tools can be measured to


    within 0.0001 of an inch
     Automated torque testing and pressure testing up to 15,000 psi
     Balls are scanned using ultrasonic and 3D lasers for surface
    defects, ovality, thickness, and dimension with 0.003-in. tolerance
     For full traceability, each tool is imprinted with a unique bar code
    which stores data such as material and dimensions, test results,
    inspections, shipping, and downhole position
     Experienced field hands are on location to manually check the
    size and order of tools during installation and stimulation

    These precautions are intended to provide reliability that reduces the


    possibility of the cost and risk of downtime during operations.
    CONCLUSION
    As the industry recovers from the recent downturn, operators continue to
    seek better ways to get the most out of their wells. Since higher proppant
    volumes have been correlated to better production, stimulation programs
    in North America now routinely pump hundreds of thousands of pounds of
    proppant per stage.

    Packers Plus completion systems have been specifically designed to


    meet this challenge, striking the balance between a proppant-heavy
    stimulation and cost-effective solutions that prevent failure due to erosive
    tool damage.

    LOOKING FORWARD
    Innovation has always been critical to the success of Packers Plus, who
    have continually adapted to meet industry demand. These proven
    technologies have enabled operators to push the boundaries of
    unconventional oil and gas completions to increase well productivity.

    For more information on Packers Plus solutions, go to packersplus.com.

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