Simulation of Drilling Fluid Filtrate Invasion Near an Observation Well
- Authors
- Romain L. Chassagne (Schlumberger Cambridge Research) | Paul Hammond (Schlumberger Cambridge Research)
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2118/154014-PA
- Document ID
- SPE-154014-PA
- Publisher
- Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Source
- SPE Journal
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 04
- Publication Date
- December 2012
- Document Type
- Journal Paper
- Pages
- 1,047 - 1,055
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1086-055X
- Copyright
- 2012. Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Disciplines
- 5.5 Reservoir Simulation, 5.6.1 Open hole/cased hole log analysis, 5.2.1 Phase Behavior and PVT Measurements, 1.11 Drilling Fluids and Materials, 1.8.5 Phase Trapping, 5.4.1 Waterflooding
- Downloads
- 1 in the last 30 days
- 493 since 2007
- Show more detail
- View rights & permissions
SPE Member Price: | USD 12.00 |
SPE Non-Member Price: | USD 35.00 |
Summary
We used a commercial reservoir simulator to study, first, the dissipation of aqueous drilling fluid filtrate invasion around a cased observation well in an oil-saturated formation under the action of capillary pressure and, second, the interaction of a waterflood front with the cased well and remaining invaded zone. Hysteretic behavior of the capillary pressure and relative permeabilities is critically important to these processes and is taken into account by the use of the Carlson model, with the various bounding drainage and imbibition curves computed from a pore network model.
Filtrate invasion into a hydrocarbon formation influences the readings of well-logging tools. Although this phenomenon has been known, and corrected for, for many years, uncertainty remains with regard to the long-time behavior of invasion around observation wells where no flow in or out of the formation occurs after completion, and with regard to the influence of formation wettability. We find that after sufficient time, the invaded zone dissipates completely in a water-wet formation, but some invasion always remains in the oil/mixed-wet case. Nonwetting-phase trapping, manifested through relative permeability hysteresis, is the cause. Because trapping affects the values and the endpoints of the relative permeability curves, a waterflood front passing across an observation well is more distorted in the oil/mixed-wet case. The simulation results allow us to understand how logging-tool measurements made in cased observation wells are influenced by drilling-fluid invasion and will therefore lead to improved interpretation. This study shows strong links between the wettability of the formation and the persistence of invaded zone saturation and between invaded zone saturation and the distortion of subsequent flood fronts.
File Size | 932 KB | Number of Pages | 9 |
References
Bezemer, C. and Havenaar, I. 1966. Filtration Behavior of CirculatingDrilling Fluids. SPE J. 6 (4): 292-298. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/1263-PA.
Bilardo, U., Alimonti, C., Chiarabelli, A. et al. 1996. Formation WaterSaturation From Drilling Fluid Filtrate Invasion: Comparison of DisplacementModelling and Induction Well Log Response. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 15(2-4): 251-259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0920-4105(95)00079-8.
Blunt, M.J. 2000. An Empirical Model for Three-Phase Relative Permeability.SPE J. 5 (4): 435-445. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/67950-PA.
Campbell, W.M. and Martin, J.L. 1955. Displacement Logging--A NewExploratory Tool. Pet. Trans. AIME 204: 233-239.
Carlson, F.M. 1981. Simulation of Relative Permeability Hysteresis to theNonwetting Phase. Paper SPE 10157 presented at the SPE Annual TechnicalConference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 4-7 October. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/10157-MS.
Chilingarian, G.V. and Vorabutur, P. 1981. Drilling and DrillingFluids. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Dewan, J.T. and Chenevert, M.E. 2001. A Model for Filtration of Water-BaseMud During Drilling: Determination of Mudcake Parameters. Petrophysics 42 (3): 237-250.
Ferguson, C.K. and Klotz, J.A. 1954. Filtration of Mud During Drilling.Pet. Trans. AIME 201: 29-42.
Fordham, E.J., Ladva, H.K.J., and Hall, C. 1988. Dynamic Filtration ofBentonite Muds Under Different Flow Conditions. Paper SPE 18038 presented atthe SPE Annual Conference, Houston, Texas, 2-5 October. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/18038-MS.
Fordham, E.J., Hall, C., Hammond, P.S. et al. 1991. Full-scale Experimentson Drilling Mud Filtration. In Advances in Filtration and SeparationTechnology, Vol. 3, 234-237.
Geffen, T.M., Owens, W.W., Parrish, D.R. et al. 1951. ExperimentalInvestigation of Factors Affecting Laboratory Relative PermeabilityMeasurements. Pet. Trans. AIME 192: 47-56.
Killough, J.E. 1976. Reservoir Simulation With History-Dependent SaturationFunctions. SPE J. 16 (1): 37-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/5106-PA.
Kjosavik, A., Ringen, J.K., and Skaeveland, S.M. 2002. Relative PermeabilityCorrelation for Mixed-Wet Reservoirs. SPE J. 7 (1): 49-58.http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/77328-PA.
Kovscek, A.R., Wong, H., and Radke, C.J. 1993. A Pore-Level Scenario for theDevelopment of Mixed Wettability in Oil Reservoirs. AIChE Journal 39 (6): 1072-1085. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aic.690390616.
Lane, H.S. 1993. Numerical Simulation of Mud Filtrate Invasion andDissipation. Paper presented at SPWLA 34th Annual Logging Symposium, Calgary,Canada, 13-16 June.
Marle, C.M. 1981. Multiphase Flow in Porous Media. Houston, Texas:Gulf Publishing Co.
Phelps, G.D., Stewart, G., and Peden, J. 1984. The Analysis of the InvadedZone Characteristics and Their Influence on Wireline Log and Well-TestInterpretation. Paper SPE 13287 presented at the SPE Annual Conference,Houston, Texas, 16-19 September. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/13287-MS.
Valvatne, P.H., and Blunt, M.J. 2004. Predictive Pore-Scale Modeling ofTwo-Phase Flow in Mixed Wet Media. Water Resources Research 40: W07406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2003WR002627.
Van Duijn, C.J., and de Neef, M.J.1998. Similarity Solution for CapillaryRedistribution of Two Phases in a Porous Medium With a Single Discontinuity.Advances in Water Resources 21 (6): 451-461. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0309-1708(97)00012-2.
Wu, J., Torres-Verdín, C., Sepehrnoori, K. et al. 2005. The Influence ofWater-Base Mud Properties and Petrophysical Parameters on Mudcake Growth,Filtrate Invasion, and Formation Pressure. Petrophysics 46 (1):14-32.