Chemical stimulation of gas condensate reservoirs: An experimental and simulation study

Well productivity in gas condensate reservoirs is reduced by condensate banking when the bottom hole flowing pressure drops below the dewpoint pressure. Several methods have been proposed to restore gas production rates after a decline due to condensate blocking. Gas injection, hydraulic fracturing, horizontal wells and methanol injection have been tried with limited success. These methods of well stimulation either offer only temporary productivity restoration or are applicable only in some situations. Wettability alteration of the rock in the near well bore region is an economic and efficient method for the enhancement of gas-well deliverability. Altering the wettability of porous media from strongly water-wet or oil-wet to intermediate-wet decreases the residual liquid saturations and results in an increase in the relative permeability to gas. Such treatments also increase the mobility and recovery of condensate from the reservoir. This study validates the above hypothesis and provides a simple and cost-efficient solution to the condensate blocking problem.; Screening studies were carried out to identify the chemicals based on structure, solubility and reactivity at reservoir temperature and pressure. Experiments were performed to evaluate these chemicals to improve gas and condensate relative permeabilities. The improvement in relative permeability after chemical treatment was quantified by performing high pressure and high temperature coreflood experiments in Berea sandstone, Texas Cream limestone and reservoir cores using synthetic gas mixtures at reservoir conditions. Experiments were done at high flow rates and for long time periods to evaluate the durability of the treatment.; Single well simulation studies were conducted to demonstrate the performance of the chemical treatment in the field. The experimental relative permeability data was modeled using a trapping number dependent relative permeability model and incorporated in the simulations. Effect of connate water saturation, drawdown pressure, skin, treatment radius and the timing of the treatment during the life of the reservoir were investigated using a compositional simulator.; Spectroscopic studies using a scanning electron microscope, neutron magnetic resonance and time of flight-secondary ion mass spectroscopy were used to determine the structural and reactive chemistry of the chemicals used and to evaluate the extent of treatment on the rock surface. The study allows us to postulate and partly verify a detailed mechanism of interaction between the rock surface and the chemical.