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Completing wells in unconsolidated formations

a well and formation technology, applied in the direction of fluid removal, wellbore/well accessories, sealing/packing, etc., can solve the problems of increased expense and substantial downtime, premature wear of well tubing and other production equipment, and severe erosion

Inactive Publication Date: 2002-06-13
EXXONMOBIL CORP (US)
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] Once the resin has hardened, a fracturing fluid is pumped under pressure down the wellbore and out through the same respective sets of opposed openings in the casing to thereby create a fracture through the respective consolidated zones and thereby establish fluid communication between the untreated area of the formation outside of the zones and said wellbore. Preferably, the fracturing fluid contains proppants which are resin-coated so that once the proppants are placed in the fractures by the fracturing fluid, the resin on the proppants sets and cures to bind the proppants together into a consolidated, permeable mass within the fractures. This permeable mass of bonded proppants allows fluids from the untreated areas of the formation to flow into the wellbore while acting as a filter in preventing flow of sand therethrough.

Problems solved by technology

This "sand production" routinely causes a variety of problems which result in added expense and substantial downtime.
For example, the produced sand may cause (1) severe erosion and premature wearing of the well tubing and other production equipment; (2) clogging of the flow from the well which requires a workover of the well; (3) extra processing of the produced fluids at the surface to remove and dispose of the sand; (4) caving of the formation, etc.
While such techniques have been widely used, unfortunately, they experience some major drawbacks.
For example, since this type of consolidation treatment is usually carried out in a well having an "open hole" completion (i.e. wellbore is uncased adjacent formation to be treated), there is always uncertainty of whether or not the resin has uniformly penetrated into the formation which surrounds the wellbore.
In other words, there is no assurance that the bulk of the resin did not merely flow into the formation at one point adjacent the wellbore (i.e. path of least resistance) while leaving the areas around the wellbore virtually untreated.
This is obviously undesirable, if not unacceptable, since substantial amounts of sand may still be produced from the untreated areas of the formation abutting the wellbore thereby significantly defeating the overall benefits of the consolidation treatment.
Further, the actual amount of permeability which exists in the consolidated matrix once the resin has cured is difficult to predict and is often substantially less than expected and, in some cases, is not adequate for commercial production.
Further, by subsequently fracturing only the treated zones within the formation, only the desired production fluids can flow from the untreated areas of the formation into the wellbore.

Method used

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  • Completing wells in unconsolidated formations
  • Completing wells in unconsolidated formations

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Embodiment Construction

[0017] Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional, plan view of wellbore 10 which has been drilled from the surface (not shown) through an unconsolidated production formation 11. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, wellbore 10 has been cased and cemented with casing 12 and cement 13 through formation 11. In carrying out the method of the present invention, openings 14 are formed through casing 12 and cement 13 at point(s) adjacent formation 11 to thereby provide fluid communication between the formation and wellbore 10. Openings 14 comprise two set of openings which are formed diametrically-opposed from each other in casing 13 and are positioned to lie substantially on the natural fracture plane of the formation.

[0018] Preferably, these openings are perforations which are formed by a standard 180.degree. perforating gun which, in turn, has been oriented with respect to the fracture planes of formation 11 by commercially-available...

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Abstract

A method of completing an unconsolidated formation by first injecting a curable resin into diametrically-opposed zones within the formation and then allowing the resin to set to form a consolidated mass in these zones. Once the resin has set, the consolidated zones are hydraulically fractured to establish fluid communication between the untreated area of the formation outside these zones and the wellbore. Preferably, the fracturing fluid carries resin-coated proppants which, when set, form a permeable mass within the fractures to thereby allow flow of fluids through the fracture while preventing flow of sand.

Description

DESCRIPTION[0001] 1. Technical Field[0002] The present invention relates to a method for completing a well in an unconsolidated formation and in one of its aspects relates to a method for completing a well in an unconsolidated formation wherein a zone within the formation is consolidated by injecting a curable resin and then fractured once the resin has set to thereby provide fluid communication between the untreated formation and the wellbore.[0003] 2. Background of the Invention[0004] In producing hydrocarbons or the like from loosely or unconsolidated subterranean formations, it is not uncommon to produce large volumes of particulate material (e.g. sand) along with the formation fluids. This "sand production" routinely causes a variety of problems which result in added expense and substantial downtime. For example, the produced sand may cause (1) severe erosion and premature wearing of the well tubing and other production equipment; (2) clogging of the flow from the well which re...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): E21B43/26
CPCE21B43/261
Inventor NGUYEN, PHILIP D.
Owner EXXONMOBIL CORP (US)
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