Well index decline has been widely observed for oil, gas and artesian wells producing the reservoir fines. It has often been explained by the lifting, migration and subsequent plugging of pores by fine particles, which have been observed in numerous core flood tests. In this work, the basic equations for the detachment of fine particles, their migration and size exclusion, causing the rock permeability decline, have been derived. The analytical model, developed for the regime of steady state production with gradual accumulation of strained particles, show the linear skin factor growth vs time and vs the amount of produced reservoir fines.

Keywords:
flow in porous media, concentration, formation damage zone, fine particle, upstream oil & gas, particle, coefficient, detachment, well productivity decline, accumulation
Subjects:
Reservoir Fluid Dynamics, Flow in porous media
Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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