Well stimulation

Well stimulation is a well intervention performed on an oil or gas well to increase production by improving the flow of hydrocarbons from the drainage area into the well bore.

The assortment of drilling fluid pumped down the well during drilling and completion can often cause damage to the surrounding formation by entering the reservoir rock and blocking the pore throats (the channels in the rock throughout which the reservoir fluids flow). Similarly, the act of perforating can have a similar effect by jetting debris into the perforation channels. Both these situations reduce the permeability in the near well bore area and so reduce the flow of fluids into the well bore.

A simple and safe solution is to pump diluted acid mixtures from surface into the well to dissolve the offending material. Once dissolved, permeability should be restored and the reservoir fluids will flow into the well bore, cleaning up what is left of the damaging material. After initial completion, it is common to use minimal amounts of formic acid to clean up any mud and skin damage. In this situation, the process is loosely referred to as "well stimulation." Oftentimes, special interest groups that oppose oil and gas production refer to the process as "acidization," which is actually the use of acids in high volume and high pressure to stimulate oil production.

In more serious cases, pumping from surface is insufficient as it does not target any particular location downhole and reduces the chances of the chemical retaining its effectiveness when it gets there. In these cases, it is necessary to spot the chemical directly at its target through the use of coiled tubing. Coiled tubing is run in hole with a jetting tool on the end. When the tool is at its target, the chemical is pumping through the pipe and is jetted directly onto the damaged area. This can be more effective than pumping from surface, though it is much more expensive, and accuracy is dependent on knowing the location of the damage.

In cased hole completions, perforations are intended to create a hole through the steel casing so that the reservoir can be produced. The holes are typically formed by shaped explosives that perforate the casing and create a fractured hole into the reservoir rock for a short distance. In many cases, the tunnels created by the perforation guns do not provide enough surface area and it becomes desirable to create more area in contact with the wellbore.

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Wikipedia