NEW AND NOVEL FRACTURE STIMULATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE REVITALIZATION OF EXISTING GAS STORAGE WELLS

Abstract

Gas storage wells are prone to continued deliverability loss at a reported average rate of 5% per annum (in the U.S.). This is a result of formation damage due to the introduction of foreign materials during gas injection, scale deposition and/or fines mobilization during gas withdrawal, and even the formation and growth of bacteria. As a means to bypass this damage and sustain/enhance well deliverability, several new and novel fracture stimulation technologies were tested in gas storage fields across the U.S. as part of a joint U.S. Department of Energy and Gas Research Institute R&D program. These new technologies include tip-screenout fracturing, hydraulic fracturing with liquid CO{sub 2} and proppant, extreme overbalance fracturing, and high-energy gas fracturing. Each of these technologies in some way address concerns with fracturing on the part of gas storage operators, such as fracture height growth, high permeability formations, and fluid sensitivity. Given the historical operator concerns over hydraulic fracturing in gas storage wells, plus the many other unique characteristics and resulting stimulation requirements of gas storage reservoirs (which are described later), the specific objective of this project was to identify new and novel fracture stimulation technologies that directly address these concerns and requirements, and to demonstrate/test their potential application in gas storage wells in various reservoir settings across the country. To compare these new methods to current industry deliverability enhancement norms in a consistent manner, their application was evaluated on a cost per unit of added deliverability basis, using typical non-fracturing well remediation methods as the benchmark and considering both short-term and long-term deliverability enhancement results. Based on the success (or lack thereof) of the various fracture stimulation technologies investigated, guidelines for their application, design and implementation have been developed. A final research objective was to effectively deploy the knowledge and experience gained from the project to the gas storage industry at-large.