Abstract
Completion of cased and cemented wells by shaped-charge perforation results in damage to the formation, which can significantly reduce well productivity. Typically, underbalanced conditions are imposed during perforation in an effort to remove damaged rock and shaped-charge debris from the perforation tunnel. Immediately after the shaped-charge jet penetrates the formation, there is a transient surge of fluid from the formation through the perforation and into the well bore. Experimental evidence suggests that it is this transient pressure surge that leads to the removal of damaged rock and charge debris leaving an open perforation tunnel.
We have developed a two-stage computational model to simulate the perforation process and subsequent pressure surge and debris removal. The first stage of the model couples a hydrocode with a model of stress-induced permeability evolution to calculate damage to the formation and the resulting permeability field. The second stage simulates the non-Darcy, transient fluid flow from the formation and removes damaged rock and charge debris from the perforation tunnel. We compare the model to a series of API RP19B section 4 flow tests and explore the influence of fluid viscosity and rock strength on the final perforation geometry and permeability.
