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Foam Course
Foam Course
Foam Course
Deliquification Conference
GAS WELL DELIQUIFICATION
USING FOAMERS
Public
Craig Kelly & Victoria Shearer
24.09.2012
Todays Session
Liquid Loading
Foam Theory
Foamer Properties and Factors
Affecting Performance
Liquid Loading
Liquid loading is the inability of a gas well to produce liquids to surface
All gas wells which produced formation or condensed fluids will suffer
from liquid loading at some point in the lifetime
Liquid Loading
Liquid Loading
The Critical Velocity to lift a liquid can be calculated by the Turner equation (1969):
1.92
Velocity
String
Compression
Cycling
Downhole
Pump
Gas Lift
Plunger
Jet Pump
Foamer
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Todays Session
Liquid Loading
Foam Theory
Foamer Properties and Factors
Affecting Performance
Candidate Well Selection
Foamer Chemistries
Testing of Foamers
Foamer Application
Summary
11
What is Foam?
Foam is a collection of
bubbles....a collection of gas
bubbles separated by thin liquid
films
Several different types of foam
based on the interplay of the gas
and liquid phases:
- Gas dispersed in liquid foam
- Liquid dispersed in gas
aerosol
- Gas dispersed in solids solid
foam
- Solids dispersed in gas
smoke
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Foam Applications
Governed by bubble
sizeandfoam stability
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Detergents
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Personal Care
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Flotation
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Oilfield
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Fire Fighting
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Gravity
Drainage
Surface
Elasticity
Foam
Stability
Gas
Volume
Fraction
Bulk &
Surface
Viscosity
Electric
Double
Layer
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Todays Session
Liquid Loading
Foam Theory
Foamer Properties and Factors
Affecting Performance
Candidate Well Selection
Foamer Chemistries
Testing of Foamers
Foamer Application
Summary
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Brine Salinity
% Condensate
Condensate
Chemistry
% below Critical
Velocity
Temperature
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Todays Session
Liquid Loading
Foam Theory
Foamer Properties and Factors
Affecting Performance
Candidate Well Selection
Foamer Chemistries
Testing of Foamers
Foamer Application
Summary
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Todays Session
Liquid Loading
Foam Theory
Foamer Properties and Factors
Affecting Performance
Candidate Well Selection
Foamer Chemistries
Testing of Foamers
Foamer Application
Summary
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Foamer Chemistries
As discussed earlier, foamers are surfactants
- Non-ionic
- Cationic
- Anionic
- Amphoteric
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Foamer Chemistries
Non-Ionic Surfactants
Cationic Surfactants
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Foamer Chemistries
Anionic Surfactants
Amphoteric Surfactants
Betaines, Sulfobetaines
Easy to winterise
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Todays Session
Liquid Loading
Foam Theory
Foamer Properties and Factors
Affecting Performance
Candidate Well Selection
Foamer Chemistries
Testing of Foamers
Foamer Application
Summary
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Advantages
Disadvantages
Unrepresentative
No temperature control
Foam Test
No standard procedure
Rig
Atmospheric pressure
Blender
Sparge
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Blank Test.MPG
Foamed Test.wmv
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Defoamers
What is defoamer?
- Chemical chemical
- Causes rapid collapse of foam
- Injected at surface
- Mitigates downstream process upsets
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Defoamers
Mechanism:
- Defoamer droplet enters lamella
Bubble bursts
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Emulsion Tendency
Surfactants may hinder the effective separation of water and
hydrocarbon condensate
Need to understand any potential adverse effects
Especially important where environmental limitations exists on produced
water discharge
May require deployment of water clarification products
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Thermal Stability
12 hrs 28 day tests
Pressurised vessel
Measure before/during/after
- Appearance
- Viscosity
- pH
- Performance
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Thermal Stability
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Material Compatibility
Confirm that foamer will not adversely affect any metals & elastomers which it
contacts
Exposure of materials in neat solution at system temperature
Examine metals for general and localized corrosion
Elastomers for swelling / hardness / degradation
Some foamers can be corrosive to low chrome stainless steels, which are
susceptible to pitting corrosion
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Disadvantages:
- Potential for adverse interactions between foamer and other
components
- Removal of corrosion inhibitor film
- Performance compromise
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Todays Session
Liquid Loading
Foam Theory
Foamer Properties and Factors
Affecting Performance
Candidate Well Selection
Foamer Chemistries
Testing of Foamers
Foamer Application
Summary
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Advantages
Low cost to
implement
Simple set-up
Minimal
equipment
required
Disadvantages
Labour
intensive
Increased
chemical
consumption
compared to
other
techniques
Gas
production
declines
between
treatments
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Baseline
production data
Shut-in
Foamer
Overflush
Shut-in
1 hr/2000 ft MD + 2 hours
Monitor flow rate,
foam
Flow back FTHP,
volume, water
quality
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Advantages
Disadvantages
No well-head
modifications
required
Foamer
continuously
applied
Not possible in
wells with
packers
May be
challenging
penetrating
fluid column
Generally
higher
consumption
compared to
capillary string
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Advantages
Disadvantages
Precise
injection at
required
location
Generally
gives best
response
compared to
other methods
Can also be
used to deploy
other products
if required
CAPEX
Retro-fit
challenge
(DHSV & wellhead)
May be prone
to blockage
Must be
retrieved
before well
intervention
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Advantages
Disadvantages
Can work
synergistically
with gas lift
Allows DH
injection in
wells with
packers
without need
for cap string
Depending on
GL injection
valve, may not
reach bottom
of fluid column
Products must
be correctly
formulated to
prevent
gunking and
blockages
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Foam Squeeze
Not a commonly-used method for
deploying foamers
Advantages
Disadvantages
Longer
treatment life
compared to
batch
May provide
stimulation
effects
Potential for
formation
damage
Limited
knowledge or
experiences of
correct
application
technique
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Horizontal Wells
Becoming more common with
shale gas in North America and
Europe
Liquid loading generally less of a
problem in lateral sections
May cause issues depending on
heel-toe profile
Challenges
- Delivery of foamer to horizontal
- Capillary injection
- Adequate agitation in horizontal
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Todays Session
Liquid Loading
Foam Theory
Foamer Properties and Factors
Affecting Performance
Candidate Well Selection
Foamer Chemistries
Testing of Foamers
Foamer Application
Summary