A technique to fight against formation damage via turbulence control for saltwater disposal

Abstract

Due to environmental concerns, operators are often required to dispose their produced saltwater into disposals, i.e., SWD wells. The key challenge is that the saltwater contains varieties of damaging species with compositions varying batch-wise. In addition, the compelled turbulence during pumping worsens the situation further. As the results of constant formation damage and lack of turbulence-taming measure, SWD wells frequently experience rapid pressure escalation during operation, which is a major hurdle holding back this industry. In this report, we walk through the identification of key issues facing SWD, followed by the proposal of a prospective solution. The solution consists of primarily a real-time well stimulation via turbulence control with a non-damaging friction reducer that works essentially in all common oilfield brines. The qualification and screening of this friction reducer, as a technique to fight against formation damage via turbulence control, is described, followed by the corroboration with field results.