The Application of Novel Wax Divertor Technology to Allow Successful Scale Inhibitor Squeeze Treatment into a Sub Sea Horizontal Well, North Sea Basin

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents field results from two scale squeeze treatments carried out on the same sub sea horizontal well from a field in the North Sea, The initial squeeze was a bullhead application of phosphonate scale inhibitor to control a sulphate scale problem in a horizontal well. Ten months after the initial treatment a second bullhead squeeze treatment was applied in two stages. This utilised a thermally degraded pelted wax divertor to temporally impair injectivity in the heel region of the horizontal well thus allowing propagation of the second stage of the squeeze treatment into the mid section of the horizontal well. This paper will show the significance of production logging tool data toevaluate the location of deposited scale and water production prior to a squeeze treatment. Such data was used to design a novel two stage squeeze treatment in which an initial squeeze slug was applied to the heel region followed by application of a pelted thermally degraded wax divertor to prevent further loss of scale inhibitor to the heal region. The action of the divertor allowed a second scale inhibitor to the heel region. The action of the wax divertor allowed a second scale inhibitor slug to be placed further along the horizontal section of the well. Details of divertor selection and the squeeze design strategy implemented in this squeeze treatment will be presented. During the field treatment, physical (downhole pressure and temperature) data and chemical (non-radioactive tracers, inhibitor and ion Concentrations) data were recorded. This data will be used to indicate the success of diversion treatment by comparison with the first squeeze applied to the same well ten months previously. This is the first successful application of a thermally degraded wax divertor to a subsea horizontal well in the North Sea basin. The well was successfully treated with no process up set during flowback and no decline in well production whilst allowing the well bore to be protected from continued sulphate scale formation. This paper clearly shows that with the correct selection of both scale inhibitor, divertor agent together with the utilisation of all available information relating to the reservoir. It is possible to squeeze scale inhibitors into sub-sea horizontal wells without the need for expensive coiled tubing intervention from a diving support vessel. This technology is not limited to horizontal wells and could also be applied tovertical wells with significant cross flow problems to aid in selective placement during scale inhibitor squeezing. P. 633