--> ABSTRACT: Origins and Mechanisms of Formation Damage, by A. C. Riese, R. S. Schechter, and W. C. Riese; #91030 (2010)

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Origins and Mechanisms of Formation Damage

A. C. Riese, R. S. Schechter, W. C. Riese

Formation damage is a result of debris clogging the pore spaces thereby impeding the flow of hydrocarbon fluids into the well bore or a change in the wettability of the rock which reduces the permeability to hydrocarbons.

In this paper we review those mechanisms which give rise to formation damage and define precautionary measures which can help avert it.

Debris in the form of fine particles can originate from within the formation itself either by the disruption of particles initially present or by the precipitation of minerals not originally present. The mechanisms associated with the reaction or liberation of fines are varied and complex but it is shown that the fluid composition plays a crucial role and formation damage can be reduced by judicious choices of drilling, completion, and treatment fluid compositions.

It is not possible to entirely avoid mobilizing some fine particles which may be damaging whenever fluids are injected into or produced from a permeable formation. Thus, the strategy must be to avoid particle trapping in the narrow pore throats and to promote redeposition on pore walls. The mechanisms of particle redeposition are reviewed and the role of fluid composition again emphasized.

The wettability of formation materials is a key factor governing the ease with which hydrocarbons are produced. The wettability is related to both Van der Walls forces and the electrostatic forces which control the stability of thin liquid films on solid surfaces. These factors may be substantially altered by changing the solution, pH, the water composition, the quantity of adsorbed surfactant molecules, or the subsurface mineralogy. The roles of mineralogy and surfactant adsorption in adjusting the wettability are reviewed with the essential approach being to relate the site complexation model of surfactant adsorption to the wettability.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91030©1988 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, 20-23 March 1988.