Flow Restrictor and Plugging Devices for Uniform Well Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In well treatment operations, long intervals in subterranean wells often experience uneven fluid flow distribution due to limited pumping capacity, leading to inadequate treatment of certain sections, as a small number of perforations may dominate fluid flow, hindering uniform treatment across the entire interval.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dividing the well interval into sections and using a downhole tool assembly with a flow restrictor and plugging devices to control fluid flow, allowing for individual treatment of each section by positioning the flow restrictor and deploying plugging devices to isolate treated sections and ensure uniform treatment across the entire interval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pumping capacity is increased to treat long intervals, then treatment coverage is improved, but equipment complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The well interval is divided into multiple discrete sections, with each section treated independently using sequentially deployed plugging devices. This segmentation allows the existing pumping system to treat one section at a time rather than requiring high-capacity equipment to treat the entire long interval simultaneously, thus maintaining treatment coverage while avoiding equipment complexity increases.
2Device complexity
If pumping capacity is limited, then equipment complexity is reduced, but treatment uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Plugging devices are deployed in advance into specific perforation clusters before fluid injection begins. This preliminary action ensures that when treatment fluid is injected with limited pumping capacity, the flow is pre-directed to specific untreated sections, preventing dominance by high-permeability zones and ensuring uniform treatment distribution across the entire interval despite equipment limitations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts fluid flow distribution by sequentially plugging treated sections and redirecting flow to untreated sections. As treatment progresses down the well interval, the active treatment zone shifts dynamically, allowing limited pumping capacity to achieve uniform treatment across the entire interval by adapting flow distribution to treatment progress.
3Productivity
If fluid flow is increased to treat faster, then productivity is improved, but sanding-out issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The well interval is divided into multiple sections that are treated sequentially rather than simultaneously. This segmentation allows each section to receive high-rate treatment without causing sanding-out, because the treatment volume and pressure are concentrated in a smaller zone. After each section is treated, it is plugged off before moving to the next section, maintaining high productivity while preventing sanding-out.
4Productivity
If a small number of perforations dominate fluid flow, then treatment speed is improved, but treatment uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Perforation clusters are pre-identified and targeted for plugging after treatment of each section. By preliminarily directing flow to specific clusters and then plugging them after treatment, the system prevents dominant clusters from continuously stealing flow. This ensures that subsequent treatment volumes are distributed more uniformly across different clusters while maintaining high treatment speed through focused sequential treatment.
Data Source
AI summary
A method can include positioning a flow restrictor in a wellbore that penetrates a formation interval, then displacing the flow restrictor along the wellbore away from the surface, thereby permitting flow into an interval section from a wellbore section between the flow restrictor and the surface, blocking the flow from the wellbore section into the interval section, and displacing the flow restrictor away from the surface, thereby permitting flow from the wellbore section into another interval section farther along the wellbore from the surface. A system can include a flow restrictor that restricts flow through an annulus surrounding the flow restrictor, and plugging devices disposed in a wellbore section positioned between the flow restrictor and a surface of the well. Flow from the wellbore section into a formation interval section is permitted prior to being blocked by the plugging devices.