Well Stimulation Selection via Skin Profile Analysis

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Hydrocarbon wells experience productivity decline due to skin damage over time, leading to premature depletion and increased production costs, with current remediation methods being expensive and time-consuming.

Innovation Solution

Developing a method to select hydrocarbon wells for remediation based on historical skin profiles, determining a skin increase threshold, collecting historical production data, and conducting acid injection stimulations to reduce skin damage, optimizing remediation operations by calculating marginal production costs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If remediation operations such as acid injection are conducted to reduce skin damage, then production performance is improved, but operation cost and time consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduction performanceVSAvoidtime consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of skin profiles and production data to identify wells that would benefit from remediation operations before conducting the operations. This allows for proactive planning and optimization of remediation timing and scope, reducing unnecessary operations and associated time costs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses automated data collection, skin profile determination, and candidate well identification processes that reduce manual intervention. The electronic processing and analysis systems perform self-service functions in evaluating which wells need remediation, reducing overall operational time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Productivity

If remediation operations such as acid injection are conducted to reduce skin damage, then production performance is improved, but operation cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduction performanceVSAvoidoperation cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system determines skin profiles for specific intervals of the wellbore and identifies localized zones of reduced permeability. Remediation operations are targeted to specific candidate wells and intervals based on the skin increase threshold, rather than applying uniform treatment to all wells, thereby optimizing resource allocation and reducing overall operation costs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses skin increase threshold as a critical parameter to determine which wells qualify for remediation. By monitoring changes in skin values over time and comparing against the threshold, the system objectively identifies wells where remediation will be cost-effective, avoiding unnecessary expenditures on wells that would not benefit significantly.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Stability of the object's composition

If production rate is held at inappropriate level for extended period, then short-term production stability is maintained, but risk of premature well depletion increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduction stabilityVSAvoidwell life

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors production data and skin profiles over time, providing feedback on well performance and degradation trends. This feedback mechanism allows operators to adjust production rates and schedule remediation operations at optimal times, preventing both premature depletion and unnecessary interventions that would extend well life unnecessarily.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This approach identifies optimal wells for remediation, enhancing production flow rates while minimizing costs, thereby improving hydrocarbon well productivity and reducing operational expenses.

Implementation Method 1

a well operator may conduct an acid injection type stimulation to dissolve elements, such as drilling mud or formation particles, that are plugging pores of the formation lining the wellbore

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectDissolution:

Data Source

PatentUS11692415B2Hydrocarbon well stimulation based on skin profiles

Publication Date: 2023.07.04 SAUDI ARABIAN OIL CO

AI summary

Techniques for developing a hydrocarbon well that include: determining a skin increase threshold; collecting historical production data for hydrocarbon wells; determining, based on the data, skin profiles for the wells; identifying, in response to changes in skin that exceed the threshold, wells as candidates for stimulation; for each of the candidate wells: determining an observed production rate; determining a predicted production rate that corresponds to a skin of zero; determining a cost of stimulation to remediate the well; determining, based on the observed and predicted production rates, a predicted increase in production attributable to stimulation; and determining, based on the cost of stimulation and the predicted increase, a marginal production cost for increased production; selecting, based on the marginal production costs of the candidate wells, a well to be stimulated; and conducting a stimulation of the well selected.