Mitigating Liquid Loading in Gas Wells Using Thermochemical Fluid Injection: An Experimental and Simulation Study

Abstract

Liquid loading significantly hinders gas production in unconventional shale wells, restricting flow and causing productivity decline. This study presents a novel approach to address this challenge, utilizing thermochemical fluids to generate in situ pressure and heat and effectively mitigating liquid loading issues. Laboratory experiments were conducted using a specially designed flow loop system to evaluate the performance of thermochemical fluids in alleviating liquid loading. The key treatment parameters such as thermochemical volumes, injection rate, number of cycles, and optimum injection time were optimized to improve the removal efficiency. In addition, PIPESIM software (pipe simulation program) was used to validate the effectiveness of the thermochemical approach for removing the liquid loading issue. Both laboratory results and PIPESIM outcomes confirmed the efficiency of thermochemical fluids in handling liquid loading. Removal efficiency of more than 90% can be achieved using thermochemical injection. The liquid removal efficiency increases with the number of cycles due to the generation of more pressure and heat at later injection cycles. Increasing injection cycles from 1 to 3 resulted in liquid removal efficiency rising from 17 to 95%. Also, PIPESIM results indicated that the gas production rate can be improved by around 74% after applying thermochemical treatment. Overall, this study introduces an effective treatment for liquid loading mitigation with significant potential to enhance gas production. The proposed method offers several advantages, including ease of application and extended well life.