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Frac Packing: Best Practices and Lessons Learned From More Than 600 Operations
Frac Packing: Best Practices and Lessons Learned From More Than 600 Operations
Frac Packing: Best Practices and Lessons Learned From More Than 600 Operations
Copyright V
C 2013 Society of Petroleum Engineers
Frac-Packing Downhole Tools and Procedure
This paper (SPE 147419) was accepted for presentation at the SPE Deepwater Drilling and Deepwater completions have constantly challenged placement
Completions Conference, Galveston, Texas, USA, 2021 June 2012, and revised for
publication. Original manuscript received for review 19 March 2012. Revised manuscript
design. Pumping rates have been increased to handle longer treat-
received for review 31 October 2012. Paper peer approved 19 November 2012. ment intervals or to maximize proppant placement. Therefore,
North America
frac-packing service tools must be designed to meet such high pipe and the gravel-pack packer assembly and below the sealbore
rates and high-pressure pumping demands. The downhole frac- extension. It allows for the emergency retrieval of the gravel-pack
packing assembly should be developed to minimize or eliminate packer without pulling the screen assembly.
fluid loss post-treatment, reduce risk through the simplicity of The crossover tool alternates the flow paths during gravel-
use, increase reliability, provide redundancy and contingency packing operations. It allows fluids pumped down the work string
planning, and reduce completion-cycle time. to cross over to the screen/casing annulus below the packer and
be squeezed to the formation. In circulation mode, the crossover
tool allows return fluid to flow up the washpipe from below the
Single-Trip, Single-Zone Frac-Packing System. As shown in gravel-pack packer and cross over to the work-string/casing
Fig. 3, a typical downhole assembly for frac packing consists of a annulus above the gravel-pack packer.
sump packer, seal assembly, gravel-pack screen, blank pipe, wash Various downhole frac-packing assemblies have been devel-
pipe, shear safety joint, crossover tool, gravel-pack packer, and oped that depend on the completion procedure. The following sec-
hydraulic setting tool. tion briefly introduces several completion systems.
The sump packer establishes the bottom base and provides the
depth correlation. It is set 10 ft below the lowest perforation and
is usually set on wireline. The blank-pipe section connects the Single-Trip, Single-Zone Perforating/Frac-Packing System.
gravel-pack screen to the gravel-pack extension and provides a This system allows for a combined one-trip perforating and frac-
reservoir of gravel-pack sand above the screen, thus ensuring packing operation that is aimed at minimizing completion time
screen coverage in the event of pack settling. Both screen and and improving productivity. The perforating and frac-packing
blank pipe need to be centralized for even gravel distribution in tools are run in the hole in a single trip with guns positioned on
the annulus. The wash pipe is internal to the screen and blank target depth. At post-detonation, the tool string is repositioned to
pipe, and it serves to create a flow path at the bottom of the screen place the screens opposite the perforations, and remaining opera-
during sand placement. The shear safety joint is between the blank tions are carried out as they would be for a single-trip, single-zone
system.
HRWP, 1.7%
SAS, 2.8%
Single-Trip, Multizone Frac-Packing System. This system pro-
CHGP, 15.4%
ESS, 1.0% vides the ability to frac pack multiple zones in a single trip with
OHHGP, 49.3% complete zonal isolation before and after treatment. In addition,
Frac-packing, 29.8% it provides the ability to provide selective or commingled
production.
Each zone contains isolated gravel-pack screens with integral
production sliding sleeves, a frac-packing sleeve for placing prop-
(a) pant, and an isolation packer. The equipment for all zones is
assembled at the rig floor, and then a single gravel-pack service
Total job # = 444
tool is installed below the lowermost screened interval and con-
OHHGP,
8.6% nected through a concentric inner work string to the primary work
HWRP,
19.6%
string above the top production packer. The entire assembly is
Frac-packing, 71.8% now run into the wellbore in a single trip. The service tool con-
tains shifting tools that will selectively open or close the produc-
tion sliding sleeves and frac-packing sleeves in each zone, thus
allowing selective zonal isolation, treatment, or production.
(b)
Computer Simulator for Frac Packing
Fig. 2(a) Percentage of various sand-control completions in Because of the complexity and challenges of frac packing, the
Campos basin; (b) percentage of various sand-control comple- ability to successfully model the TSO fracture volume and geo-
tions in GOM. metric shape and to design a proppant schedule to achieve an
optimized fracture proppant-concentration profile is intricate. To hole conditions. Its use results in better design, execution, and
address these issues, a computer simulator is used. Constant post-treatment evaluation of the frac pack.
changes in simulation-input parameters occur because of data
gathering. Data are usually collected from field tests, such as a
minifrac test, and on-site gauge readings. The simulation is then Overview of Frac-Packing Operations
calibrated to provide a more accurate estimation of overall frac- Between 1997 and 2006, job data from more than 600 frac-pack-
packing pumping volume, individual stage volumes, and fracture- ing operations were compiled into a database. The data include
growth behavior. Parameters that are accounted for include well details, reservoir data, formation-stress gradient, fracture
Stress gradient toughness, frac-packing pumping parameters, post-job reports,
Rock properties and job-problem reports. Well information and key frac-packing
Permeability and porosity parameters from the database mentioned previously are illustrated
Reservoir pressure in Figs. 4 through 13.
Leakoff coefficient Frac-pack completions generally have a much deeper envelope
Fluid properties than OHHGP. The latest well- depth world record for a frac pack
Wellbore configurations in an extended well was recorded at a total measured depth
Several software packages that assist in the design and execu- (TMD) of 30,880 ft and a total vertical depth (TVD) of 11,591 ft.
tion of sand treatments are available in the industry (Ott and The depth envelope for frac packing is plotted in Fig. 4.
Woods 2003). These software packages have several modules that Figs. 5 and 6, respectively, plot the well-completion depth at
perform various functions. Some of these functions are intended the top of perforation and the wellbore-deviation angle in both the
to GOM and Campos basin for three different sand-control methods
Calculate various engineering parameters [high-rate water pack (HRWP), openhole gravel pack (OHGP),
Simulate hydraulic-fracturing treatment and frac pack]. There is no significant difference in terms of well
Simulate the gravel-packing displacement in three dimensions vertical depth and deviation angles among the three different sand-
Consider the surface equipment, work string, downhole sand- control methods for the majority of wells. The deepest wellbore is
control assembly, and wellbore geometry/profile to conduct the approximately 27,000 ft for frac packing. The reservoir pressure
hydraulic calculation gradient in the GOM is relatively low and is less than 0.5 psi/ft for
Convert surface-treatment conditions to bottomhole conditions the majority of the completed wells (Fig. 7). It is necessary to pack
Allow users to analyze the minifrac and SRT results to deter- such wells fully across the production intervals at a high pump rate.
mine the fracture-closure pressure, fracture geometry, and fluid- The typical wellbore construction for the three different
leakoff coefficient gravel-packing completions in the GOM is usually composed of
Present log data to identify treated layers and zones. 5-, 5 1/2-, 7-, 7 5/8-, or 9 5/8-in. production casing (Fig. 8). The
The simulator is a powerful analytical tool that can characterize formation-stress gradient is depicted in Fig. 9, showing an average
the physical phenomena of frac packing while considering down- value of 0.79 psi/ft. The fracture toughness is between 800 and
5000
10,000 psi/in.0.5 (Fig. 10). For the majority of the wells, the frac- The pack factor or packed-proppant mass per linear measure-
ture toughness is 1,200 psi/in.0.5. The typical fluid-leakoff co- ment depth is less than 100 lbm/ft measured depth (MD) for
efficients range from 0.006 to 0.03 ft/min0.5 for sand and 0 to OHHGP and HRWP methods. However, the average pack factor
0.004 ft/min0.5 for shale sand. However, the fluid-leakoff coeffi- in frac packing is approximately 640 lbm/ft MD in the GOM and
cients are varied (Fig. 11). 1,120 lbm/ft in the Campos basin (Fig. 13). This indicates that the
As Fig. 12 illustrates, pump rates for OHHGP and HRWP are conductivity in frac-pack wells is higher than that in wells with an
much lower than those for frac packing. Pump rates for such OHHGP or HRWP completion.
applications are generally less than 10 bbl/min. In contrast, pump Fig. 14 shows the skin factors for the three different sand-con-
rates for frac packs can reach as high as 40 bbl/min. In the GOM, trol methods. In the GOM, the average skin factor for frac packing
pump rates are between 15 and 40 bbl/min, with an average pump with underbalanced perforating is 0.44, whereas the same parame-
rate of approximately 15 bbl/min. In the Campos basin, pump ter has an average of 2.9 in wells with overbalanced perforating.
rates are 10 to 40 bbl/min, with an average pump rate of approxi- Because the skin factor is not a linear parameter, it is converted to
mately 25 bbl/min. The frac-packing application envelope is con- the flow efficiency with a simple correlation between the skin fac-
stantly being enlarged in terms of pump rate and proppant volume. tor and the flow efficiency [efficiency 7/(7 skin)]. After the
Today, pumping jobs at rates of 30 to 50 bbl/min with 100,000 to skin factor is converted to the flow efficiency, the averaged flow
300,000 lbm of proppant are common. efficiency is then converted back to the skin factor. The average
30000
Frac-packing
OHHGP
Frac-packing
HRWP
25000
operation
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
2
26
50
74
98
2
6
0
4
8
2
6
0
4
8
2
6
0
4
8
2
6
0
4
12
14
17
19
21
24
26
29
31
33
36
38
41
43
45
48
50
53
55
Job #
Fig. 5Vertical depth at the top of perforation for different sand-control completions.
Frac-packing
Frac-packing
OHHGP
HRWP
90
80 GOM operation
Campos Basin
operation
70
Deviation angle, o
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
25
49
73
97
1
12
14
16
19
21
24
26
28
31
33
36
38
40
43
45
48
50
52
55
Job #
skin factors shown in Fig. 14 were calculated with the aforemen- tioned in the Introduction, TSO fracture treatments applied in the
tioned method. This indicates that perforations conducted with frac-packing process could bypass near-wellbore damage that was
underbalanced conditions could improve well production. How- caused by drilling fluids, perforating debris, fluid-loss pills, and
ever, individually, some wells with underbalanced perforating are completion-fluid losses. Therefore, the frac packing could result
still estimated to have skin factors that are higher than those in in a lower skin factor. Thousands of successful frac-packing jobs
wells with overbalanced perforating. More data are required to have been completed across the world with enhanced packing
show that underbalanced perforating is better than overbalanced technology and optimized through computer simulations. How-
perforating in frac-pack operations for well productivity (Neu- ever, every job has its challenges. Typical challenges and lessons
mann et al. 2002; Pourciau et al. 2005). The average skin factor learned in frac-packing operations are discussed in the following
for OHHGP is 6.4; for HRWP and frac packing, it is 2.8 and 0.74, four subsections.
respectively. This indicates that frac packing has a higher comple-
tion efficiency than the other two methods, and that OHHGP has Case Number 1Single-Trip, Multizone Frac Packing in
the lowest completion efficiency among these cases. Similarly, in Indonesia. In the Mahakham delta of Indonesia, wells are in rela-
the Campos casin, the averaged skin factors are 2.4, 2.1, and 24.1 tively shallow waters at a depth of 200 to 260 ft to seabed. With
for HRWP, frac packing, and OHHGP, respectively. As men- five zones to be completed, installing conventional gravel-pack
1.8
Frac-packing
OHHGP
HRWP
1.6
Reservoir pressure, psi/ft TVD @ perf
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
1
3
25
49
73
97
1
12
14
16
19
21
24
26
28
31
33
36
38
40
43
Job #
OHHGP
14
HRWP
12 Frac-packing
Case size, in 10
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Job #
completions would consume up to 30 rig days. To reduce the NPT during the total completion time. The average completion
cost, the operator applied the single-trip, multizone frac-packing time per treated zone is approximately 29 hours. The total com-
technology (Banman et al. 2008). In the case to be discussed, a pletion time is defined as the duration between deploying the
9 5/8 3 3/4-in. single-trip, multizone system was selected for sump packer with EL and laying down the service tools on the rig
the well completion. Since 2005, more than 20 wells were com- floor. For the analyzed jobs in this paper, 69 days were taken to
pleted with this technology. The longest bottomhole-assembly complete a total of 60 zones with the single-trip, multizone sand-
(BHA) length was 3,563 ft, completing up to six zones in one trip. control system. When compared with the conventional stacked
A trip is defined in this paper as a work string with any sand-control operation, 140 rig days (67%) were saved, resulting
BHA running in and pulling out of the hole. An electric-line (EL) in significant cost saving.
trip is defined as one-half of a trip. For a typical five-zone stack- A few lessons were learned during the frac packing of these
pack operation, described by Banman et al. (2008) and Suryanada wells. In the early stage, to complete one of the wells, the operator
et al. (2010), 14.5 trips are needed with the service string, whereas noticed that the debris plugged the holes around the hollow-steel
only 3.5 trips are needed with the single-trip, multizone system. carrier when deploying large and long tubing-conveyed perforat-
Fig. 15 shows the completion time per treated zone and the ing (TCP) guns. Computer modeling predicted that the TCP as-
nonproductive time (NPT) related to the single-trip, multizone sembly run in this well would create an underbalanced condition
system. The relative NPT is defined as the percentage of total inside of the hollow-steel carrier resulting from the displacement
1.2
1.0
0.8
Stress gradient, psi/ft
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
384 327 369 402 444
Job #
8000
4000
2000
0
126 150 174 198 222 246 270 294 318 342 366 390 414 438
Job #
of the air with the completion liquid. To reduce the risks associ- bris could plug the hollow-steel carrier if the hole is not clean. In
ated with this dynamic process, the completion fluid is now circu- addition, long TCP guns could generate considerable steel debris
lated into the casing annulus inlet and circulated out through the after firing (Banman et al. 2008). Cleaning this debris with a dedi-
casing annulus outlet while the TCP guns are deployed. The oper- cated tool is essential to ensure that subsequent operations are
ator now uses this method as a standard procedure to avoid plug- trouble-free. A scraper tool combined with a downhole-debris
ging the hollow-steel carrier. In addition, to mitigate formation magnetic tool, which is shown in Fig. 16, could be used to clean
influx and potential well-control issues resulting from detonation this type of debris. Sometimes, junk baskets are used to clean
dynamics and resultant fluid displacements, the work string is large rock chips, blowout preventers (BOP) annular-bag rubber,
reciprocated immediately after the guns are fired. Also, conduct- and metal chips. Debris could also cause the downhole service
ing a dynamic two-phase-flow analysis is a standard procedure to tools and seals to malfunction, resulting in higher NPT. In one
ensure that this dynamic underbalanced condition is manageable. frac-packing completion, damage to the service-tool collets was
Managing debris and keeping the hole clean during all stages observed, which led to unexpected downtime. Subsequent slick-
of the frac-packing process are crucial to completing the well suc- line operations revealed BOP annular-bag rubber debris, which
cessfully and minimizing NPT. As discussed previously, the de- was left during the drilling stage. As a result, the annular bags are
0.35
For sand
0.3 For shale sand
Campos Basin
operation
Fluid leakoff coefficient, ft/min0.5
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Job #
Frac-packing
OHHGP
Frac-packing
HRWP
45
40
Campos Basin
35 GOM operation operation
25
20
15
10
0
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
7
25
49
73
97
1
12
14
16
19
21
24
26
28
31
33
36
38
40
43
45
48
50
52
55
57
Job #
replaced for each single-trip, multizone completion as a standard In summary, after experiences with the first two wells, the
procedure. Higher NPT with both Well 6 and Well 9 (Fig. 15) overall NPT dropped from 40 to 7%. As shown in Fig. 15, the ma-
was a result of downhole debris. jority of NPT in the first well completion was associated with
As discussed by Banman et al. (2008) and Suryanada et al. pulling the service tool to the surface. In the second well, the ma-
(2010), the shearable safety joint above the isolation packer was jority of NPT was caused by the shearable safety-joint separation
separated resulting from shrinkage of the blank pipe in a long and subsequent remediation. The additional NPT in both Well 6
treated interval. A study indicated that the shearable safety joint and Well 9 was caused by downhole debris.
parted because the completion fluid cools the assembly, causing
shrinkage of the blank pipe; when combined with the effects of Case Number 2Single-Trip, Multizone Frac Packing in
differential pressure, the joint separated. To remediate this for India. This case study discusses two vertical offshore wells in
subsequent well completions, an extra isolation system is used in the Bay of Bengal, India. The water depth is approximately 2,300
a long zone. Tubing movement and force analysis are conducted ft. The wells were drilled and completed with a 9 5/8-in. casing
as a standard procedure to evaluate the temperature-change effect with the single-trip, multizone system. The system was intended
on the BHA length and to determine whether an extra isolation to frac pack five zones with a total BHA length of approximately
system is needed. 1,100 ft. The single-trip, multizone completion schematic for one
7000
Frac-packing
OHHGP
HRWP
6000
Campos Basin
GOM operation operation
5000
Pack factor, lbm/ft MD
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
7
1
5
9
3
7
25
49
73
97
1
12
14
16
19
21
24
26
28
31
33
36
38
40
43
45
48
50
52
55
57
Job #
20
10
0
1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 101 111 121 131 141 151 161 171 181 191 201 211
10
Well number
140
Completion time (Hours/zone), NPT, %
80 Magnet
60
40 Stablizer
20
0 Bit
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Well
4.1/2" Tubing
Zone 5
2160.22 Sump packer w/ Seal Locator Assy
Indexing Muleshoe
trips. The NPT exceeded 40% for both operations, caused by sig- obtained was valuable for the post-job analysis, helping identify
nificant wellbore debris, frac-sleeve malfunction, and downhole the TSO and net pressure, and for evaluation of the frac-packing
leaks. This is very similar to the NPT in Case Number 1 for the design. Furthermore, a tracer log was performed to identify frac
first two wells operation caused by the learning-curve period. geometries and to help further calibrate the frac simulation.
After the learning-curve period, NPT could be reduced
significantly.
Case Studies 1 and 2 indicate that wellbore-debris cleaning, Case Number 3Two-Zone Stack Frac Packing in GOM. A
leak diagnosis, and associated contingency planning are critical deviated well on the continental shelf of the GOM (with a 54-ft
aspects to the success of a single-trip, multizone operation. water depth) was drilled and completed with 5-in. casing. The
Pressure and temperature downhole memory gauges were in- total MD of the well was 10,650 ft. There were two perforated
stalled in the service tool for these two wells. Information zones at 10,372 to 10,434 ft (62 ft) and 10,256 to 10,296 ft (40 ft).
(a) (b)
Fig. 19Multilogs information before and after the calibration test for Campos basin operation. (a) Gamma ray and neutron-
density logs before the calibration test; (b) temperature logs after the calibration test.
case, the better permeability was read at the bottom of the inter- Fluid-loss control is critical to the installation of the tool sys-
val, where more fluid was injected. However, because this tem for frac packing post-perforating. Fluid loss should be mini-
sequence added 60 hours to the normal procedure, it became a mized but not necessarily stopped. The common methods for
special procedure, applied only when specific information about controlling fluid loss include reducing hydrostatic pressure and
the fracture-height propagation was necessary. spotting viscous polymer gels or acid-soluble graded solids par-
ticles. Some tool systems have mechanical isolation valves to
Best Practices From Field Cases for mechanically control fluid loss.
the Frac-Packing Process Polymer-based fluids (linear gel and crosslinked gel) are of-
ten used for the main frac-packing treatment. Their properties
Although it is important to effectively prevent sand production, it could significantly affect fluid-loss control, pumping hydraulics,
is equally important to do so in a way that does not hinder produc- proppant delivery, frac packing, and formation damage. The
tivity. The feasibility and success of frac packing a well depend crosslink time and stability time should be derived from the cool-
on wellbore cleanup, completion fluids, completion tools and est calculated work-string temperature. However, the crosslink
equipment, proppant and screen selection, work-string design, break time should be tested at a temperature closer to the bottom-
perforation, software/simulators, sand-control design/execution hole static temperature after pumping has ceased (Malochee and
and post-treatment evaluation, and field-personnel experience. Comeaux 2003). The proper gel load should be selected on the ba-
The best practices for frac packing are summarized in the follow- sis of the downhole temperature because of the gel degradation at
ing sections. high temperatures.
In some deepwater completions, multiple fluids are used, in
Completion Fluid which case each fluid should be evaluated individually. The fluid
Mechanical plugging is the most common cause of forma- that is considered fit for purpose should undergo evaluation
tion-permeability damage. To minimize its effect, clean fluids (Javora et al. 2006) with the proper laboratory equipment and pro-
must be used during drilling-fluid displacement, perforating, well- cedures for on-site maintenance and handling.
bore cleaning, and frac-pack treatment.
Dedicated filtration equipment must be used to filter the com-
pletion fluids before pumping them into the wellbore. Work String
Brine is a common completion fluid. Proper brine fluid must The work string is the hardware used to deploy packers and
be selected on the basis of its density for well control, compatibil- downhole tools, and it is the conduit to circulate fluids during the
ity with the formation rock matrix and other fluids, and the crys- frac-packing process. Similar to drillpipe-design criteria, work-
tallization temperature for maximal storage and optimal operating string design considers torque, drag, pipe stretch or buckling, and
conditions. casing wear caused by high metal-to-metal friction.
Deepwater environments often present conditions for the for- Hydraulic analysis (friction and pressure profile along well-
mation of gas hydrates. Computer models can be used to evaluate bore) for pumping various fluids throughout all completion proc-
the hydrate-equilibrium conditions for a variety of completion essesincluding cleanout, displacement, perforation, washout
brines. and frac packingshould be conducted for deep wells. This helps
Surfactants are often added to completion fluids to minimize ensure that the maximal pump rate for a specific application can
potential formation-damage problems associated with water block- be delivered without putting any added risk to the integrity of the
ing, oil-wetting, clay control, fines migration, and emulsions. They work string, surface equipment, and downhole tools.
must not be used indiscriminately, however, because they can In cases when dynamic or transient process conditions (pipe
cause additional damage as opposed to preventing it. moving, BHA switching from squeeze/circulation position to the