Stimulation of Water-Disposal Wells
Using Acid-in-Diesel Emulsions:
Case Histories
H.A. Nasr-El-Din, SPE, H.A. Al-Anazi, SPE, and S.K. Mohamed, Saudi Arabian Oil Co.
Summary
Two wastewater disposal wells in a carbonate reservoir in Saudi
Arabia suffered loss of injectivity due to severe formation dam-
age. A thorough experimental study was conducted to evaluate the
use of acid-in-diesel emulsions to stimulate these wells, which had
several tight zones. The emulsified acid consisted of 70 vol% of
15 wt% HCl, 30 vol% diesel, and an emulsifier. This is the first
time emulsified acid has been used to stimulate disposal wells.
Experimental results indicated that the acid-in-diesel emulsion
behaved as a shear-thinning fluid. The stability and reaction rate
of the acid with reservoir rocks were found to be a function of
emulsifier concentration. Coreflood results showed that the emul-
sified acid formed wormholes in tight carbonate cores. Permeabil-
ity ratio 共final/initial兲 of reservoir cores increased exponentially
with the acid injection rate.
The acid-in-diesel emulsion was used to acidize both disposal
wells. The treatment included an in-situ gelled acid stage for acid
diversion, and an emulsified acid stage to create deep wormholes
in the reservoir. The treatment was very successful and the injec-
tivity of both wells has significantly increased. Field data indi-
cated that longer soaking times were needed to stimulate disposal
wells. This is to ensure complete acid spending.
Introduction
It is well known that water disposal wells lose their injectivity
with time. Waste water usually contains oil, suspended solids, and
chemicals used in the water-oil separation plants. These chemicals
include demulsifiers, corrosion inhibitors, and biocides. The rate
of injectivity loss is a strong function of the concentration and size
of suspended oil and solids present in the disposed water.1 A
major source of suspended solids in the waste water is corrosion
products. For example, iron sulfide particles are present in waste
water in cases where the crude oil is sour.2
The injectivity of disposal wells can be partially restored by
flowing back the well. This method can only be used in cases
where the reservoir pressure is high. This procedure, however,
does not fully restore the injectivity of the damaged wells. In
reservoirs where the pressure is low, there is a need to stimulate
these wells using a suitable acid treatment.
In carbonate reservoirs, the case of interest in the present study,
hydrochloric acid 共up to 28 wt%兲, formic acid 共up to 10 wt%兲,
acetic acid 共up to 10 wt%兲, and combinations of these acids, can
be used to remove formation damage and enhance well injectivity.
However, the reaction rate of hydrochloric acid with calcite is
very fast.3,4 In conventional acid treatments, where 15 wt% HCl is
used at low-injection rates, the acid reacts with the carbonate rock
and causes surface washout only.5 This means that the acid will
not penetrate the damaged zones and, as a result, the efficiency of
the stimulation treatment will be low. One way to overcome this
problem is to use acid-in-diesel emulsions.6,7 Diesel acts as a dif-
fusion barrier between the acid and the rock.8-10 Thus, the reaction
rate of the acid with carbonate rocks becomes slower. This gives
Copyright © 2000 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper (SPE 65069) was revised for publication from paper SPE 50739, presented at
the 1999 SPE International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry held in Houston, 16–19
February. Original manuscript received for review 10 May 1999. Revised manuscript re-
ceived 1 December 1999. Manuscript peer approved 9 December 1999.
176 SPE Prod. & Facilities 15 共3兲, August 2000
the acid the ability to penetrate deeper into the formation by cre-
ating wormholes 共i.e., channels with high permeability兲, which
enhances well performance.11-14
Acid-in-diesel emulsion has several advantages besides its slow
reaction rate with the rock. It has a relatively high viscosity,
which results in a better sweep efficiency that will improve acid
distribution in heterogeneous reservoirs.15 Also, the live acid does
not come in contact with the well tubulars. Therefore, there is
minimum corrosion to well casing and tubing. As a result, the
concentration of iron in the live acid reaching the formation will
be low.16 The presence of iron in the acid is a major concern
because it will precipitate once the acid is spent.17-19
Emulsified acid has been successfully used to stimulate oil
wells,16 high-temperature gas wells,20 and horizontal wells.21
However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this acid was
never used to stimulate wastewater disposal wells. Therefore, the
objectives of this study were to: 共1兲 improve the injectivity of
wastewater disposal wells using acid-in-diesel emulsions, and 共2兲
evaluate the treatment in the field.
Experimental Studies
Laboratory Testing. Acid-in-diesel emulsions were prepared in
the laboratory according to the formula given in Table 1. The
volume ratio of HCl 共15 wt%兲 acid to diesel was 70:30. Diesel
was mixed with the emulsifier 共a cationic surfactant兲 in a Waring
blender at medium speed, while a corrosion inhibitor 共a filming
amine兲, a chelating agent 共EDTA兲, and a reducing agent 共sodium
erythorbate兲 were mixed with 15 wt% HCl acid in a separate
beaker. The acid was gently added to diesel in the blender. The
two phases were mixed in the blender for 10 minutes at high
speed. It is worth mentioning that a cationic surfactant was used to
prepare the emulsified acids tested in the present study. However,
emulsified acids can also be prepared using suitable anionic or
nonionic surfactants.22 A cationic surfactant was used in the
present work to minimize surfactant loss due to adsorption.
The acid-in-diesel emulsion was evaluated for field application.
Experimental tests included rheology, thermal stability, compat-
ibility, reactivity with reservoir rocks, and coreflood experiments.
The apparent viscosity of the acid-in-diesel emulsion was mea-
sured as a function of shear rate using a Brookfield viscometer
Model DV-II. To conduct thermal stability tests, acid-in-diesel
emulsions were prepared in a 100 cm3 graduated cylinder and
placed in an oil bath at 130°F 共close to the bottomhole tempera-
ture兲. The volume of the separated acid 共lower phase in the gradu-
ated cylinder兲 was monitored as a function of time.
The reaction rate of the acid-in-diesel emulsion with reservoir
rocks was measured at 75°F and atmospheric pressure. Core plugs
from the same reservoir were cut into cylindrical slices of 1.5 in.
diameter and 0.3 in. thickness. The rock slices were immersed in
tested acids and their weight loss was measured as a function of
time. The acid was continuously mixed using a magnetic stirrer
set at 300 rpm. The effect of emulsifier concentration 共2 to 20
gal/1,000 gal of 15 wt% HCl兲 on the reaction rate of the acid-in-
diesel emulsions with reservoir rocks was also investigated using
the above method.13,16
Several coreflood experiments were performed on reservoir
cores at an overburden pressure of 2,500 psig and temperatures of
130 and 203°F. These two temperatures represent the bottomhole
temperatures of water disposal wells 共or injectors兲 and oil produc-
ers in this field, respectively. Core plugs examined were 1.5 in. in
diameter and nearly 2 in. in length. A new core plug was used in
1064-668X/2000/15共3兲/176/7/$5.00⫹0.50
 TABLE 1– FORMULA OF THE ACID-IN-DIESEL EMULSION
TESTED IN THE LABORATORY

Component Quantity/1,000 gal

15 wt% HCl 700 gal

Diesel 300 gal
Emulsifier 2 to 20 gal
Corrosion inhibitor 7.5 gal
Chelating agent 50 lbm
Reducing agent 10 lbm

each experiment. The core was first saturated with the formation
brine under vacuum. The brine 共Table 2兲 was injected until the
pressure drop across the core became constant (⫾10%). Then,
the acid was injected and was followed by a post-flush of the
formation brine. The effect of the acid injection rate on acid
propagation was studied over the range of 0.5 to 12.0 cm3/min.
During each experiment, the injection rate was kept constant and
the pressure drop across the core was monitored. The volume of
the emulsified acid used in these tests was kept constant at nearly
1 pore volume.
Analysis of Field Samples. Emulsified acids were used to acidize
two wells in a carbonate reservoir. To ensure that diesel was the
external phase, the conductivity of acid-in-diesel emulsion was
measured using a Myron 532T1 DS meter. Samples of the well
flowback were collected and the concentrations of key ions were
measured. Calcium, magnesium, sodium, and total iron concentra-
tions were measured by inductively coupled argon plasma emis-
sion spectroscopy. Chloride ion was measured by titration with a
0.1 N silver nitrate solution using a Mettler DL 70 ES autotitrator.
Sulfate ion was measured turbidimetrically following precipitation
with a 0.1 N barium chloride solution. Acid concentration was
measured by titration of a known volume of the acid with a 0.1 N
NaOH solution to an endpoint pH of 4.2. To measure pH, an
Orion model 720A meter and Cole Parmer Ag/AgCl single-
junction pH electrode were used.
Results and Discussion
Apparent Viscosity. Fig. 1 shows the apparent viscosity of an
acid-in-diesel emulsion as a function of shear rate at 75°F. This
emulsion was prepared using 20 gal of emulsifier/1,000 gal of
acid. The apparent viscosity decreased as the shear rate was in-
creased. This result indicates that the acid-in-diesel emulsion is a
shear-thinning fluid. The apparent viscosity ( ␮ ) can be predicted
over the shear rate ( ␥˙ ) range examined using the power-law
model given by Eq. 1:
␮ ⫽K 共 ␥˙ 兲 n⫺1 . 共1兲
Eq. 1 gave good predictions for the apparent viscosity, as
shown in Fig. 1. The model parameters are needed to calculate the
Fig. 1–Apparent viscosity of an acid-in-diesel emulsion.
pressure required to pump this emulsion. The parameters n and K
were found to be 0.63 and 338 cpsn⫺1 , respectively, for the emul-
sion examined in Fig. 1.
Emulsion Stability. Thermal stability of the acid-in-diesel emul-
sion plays an important role in field applications. If the acid sepa-
rates from the emulsion before it reaches the formation, the acid
reaction will not be retarded. Therefore, it is very important to
make sure that the emulsion reaches the formation without phase
separation. Stability of the emulsified acid was found to be a
function of emulsifier concentration. The acid-in-diesel emulsion
was stable for a long period of time at high emulsifier concentra-
tions. For example, the emulsion was stable for more than 72
hours at an emulsifier concentration of 20 gal/1,000 gal of acid at
room temperature. However, at lower emulsifier concentrations
共less than 5 gal/1,000 gal of acid兲, the emulsified acid was not
stable. This was evident from the conductivity measurements
共greater than 5000 ␮S兲 and visual examination.
Reaction with Reservoir Rocks. Fig. 2 shows the weight loss of
reservoir rocks by acid-in-diesel emulsions of various emulsifier
concentrations as a function of time at 75°F. It is evident from
these results that lower weight losses were obtained at higher
emulsifier concentrations. At lower emulsifier concentrations, and
before the rock was immersed into the acid, the acid was not
completely emulsified. This was inferred from the electrical con-
ductivity of the emulsion 共greater than 5000 ␮S at emulsifier con-
centrations less than 5 gal/1,000 gal of acid兲. As a result, the
reaction rate was fast and the weight loss of the rock was high.
Weight loss decreased as the acid was completely emulsified. It is
worth noting that the concentration of the emulsifier will affect the
number and size of acid droplets present in the emulsion, which
will also affect the rate of acid reaction with the rock.
Coreflood Tests. Coreflood experiments were conducted to deter-
mine acid injectivity and propagation in reservoir cores. X-ray

TABLE 2– CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE FORMATION

BRINE*

Ion Concentration, mg/L

⫹ 26 300
Na
Ca⫹⫹ 16 200
Mg⫹⫹ 1 450
Cl⫺ 73 008
HCO3⫺ 440
SO4⫺ 303
TDS 117 701

*pH⫽6.8. Fig. 2–Effect of emulsifier concentration on weight loss of res-

ervoir rocks.

Nasr-El-Din, Al-Anazi, and Mohamed: Stimulation of Water-Disposal Wells SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 15, No. 3, August 2000 177

Fig. 3–Permeability ratio as a function of cumulative core vol-
ume.
diffraction analysis indicated that the reservoir cores examined
were calcite. The result of coreflood tests indicated that the acid
could be injected into tight zones 共less than 50 md兲 without en-
countering any problems. To assess the effectiveness of the emul-
sified acid, the permeability ratio k r was calculated as a function
of the cumulative core effluent using the following equation:
k cated that the length of wormholes increased with the acid injec-
k r⫽ , 共2兲
k0
where k 0 is the initial core permeability and k is the final core
permeability. Both permeability values were determined using
Darcy’s law for linear flow.
Emulsified acid was found to enhance the permeability ratio of
cores saturated with the formation brine. Fig. 3 shows the perme-
ability ratio as a function of the cumulative pore volume injected.
The emulsified acid used in this experiment was prepared using 2
gal of emulsifier/1,000 gal of acid. The flow rate was kept con-
stant throughout the experiment at 2 cm3/min and the experiment
was performed at 130°F. The acid was soaked in the core for 2
hours to allow complete acid reaction with the reservoir rock. As
can be seen in Fig. 3, the final permeability ratio increased as a
result of acid injection by 11%.
Another set of coreflood experiments were performed on dif-
ferent reservoir cores and a temperature of 203°F, but the acid
injection rate was varied from 0.5 to 12.0 cm3/min. Fig. 4 shows
the final permeability ratio as a function of the acid injection rate.
The final permeability ratio increased exponentially with the in-
jection rate. For instance, the final permeability ratio improved by
more than 600-fold at 12 cm3/min.
Fig. 4–Effect of acid injection rate on final permeability ratio.
178 Nasr-El-Din, Al-Anazi, and Mohamed: Stimulation of Water-Disposal Wells
TABLE 3– DESCRIPTION OF ACID TREATMENTS
PERFORMED ON WASTEWATER DISPOSAL WELLS
Parameter
Acid type* and volume, gal Well A Well B
Regular acid 4,074 8,484
Emulsified acid 23,310 21,882
In-situ Gelled acid 3,864 1,722
Low-sulfate water,** bbl 400 350
Soaking time, hr 20 48
Flowback time, hr 3 to 4 3 to 4
*The three acids contained 15 wt% HCl.
**Low-sulfate water had a total dissolved solids content of less than 1500 mg/L.
Visual examination of the cores after the acid treatment indi-
cated that there are several wormholes at the injection face of the
core. The number and size of these wormholes increased as the
injection rate was increased.16
Additional coreflood tests were conducted using longer core
plugs 共nearly 3 in. in length and 1.5 in. in diameter兲. These tests
were done to determine the propagation of wormholes in reservoir
core plugs. The volume of the injected acid was limited to a
fraction of the core pore volume. The results of these tests indi-
tion rate.23 Based on these results, it is recommended to inject the
acid-in-diesel emulsion at the highest possible injection flow rate,
below the fracture pressure of the formation, to achieve better
permeability enhancement.
Field Application. Acid treatments using an acid-in-diesel emul-
sion were applied at two wastewater disposal wells in a carbonate
reservoir in Saudi Arabia. These two wells will be referred to as
Wells A and B in the rest of this paper. Both wells have an
openhole completion 共hole diameter⫽8.5 in.兲 with a target zone
thickness of approximately 230 ft. The bottomhole static tempera-
ture ranges from 120 to 150°F.
The field treatment comprised three acids: regular, emulsified,
and in-situ gelled acid. The regular acid was used as a preflush
and consisted of 15 wt% HCl and additives 共a corrosion inhibitor,
a water-wetting surfactant, and mutual solvent, ethylene glycol
monobutylether兲. This acid was used to remove external filter
cake and reduce the skin factor. The emulsified acid was used to
create deep wormholes. The in-situ gelled acid was used to im-
prove sweep efficiency during acid injection. Proper acid diver-
sion is important in both wells because of the length of the target
zone, and the heterogeneity of the reservoir.
The formula of emulsified acid used in the treatment was simi-
lar to that given in Table 1. However, no iron control agents were
added to the acid. The concentration of the emulsifier used to
prepare the acid was 8 gal/1,000 gal of 15 wt% HCl. This con-
centration was based on the type of corrosion inhibitor used, and
the bottomhole temperature of the two wells. In addition, this
value was found to produce an acid-in-diesel emulsion that was
stable for more than 24 hours at ambient conditions. This amount
of time is needed for practical field applications.
Table 3 gives the volumes of the three acids used in each
treatment. The acids were bullheaded in both cases and were dis-
placed from the wellbore into the formation using a low sulfate
content water. The volumes of the displacement fluids are given in
Table 3 and are equivalent to the wellbore volume of each well.
Table 4 gives the chemical analysis of the regular and in-situ
gelled acids used in both treatments. A portion of the regular acid
was used to prepare the emulsified acid. The acids were prepared
using low-sulfate-content water. This is to minimize precipitation
of calcium sulfate in the formation. The crosslinker used in the
SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 15, No. 3, August 2000
 TABLE 4– CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ACIDS USED
TO STIMULATE WELLS A AND B „FIELD SAMPLES…
Analysis Regular Acid* In-Situ Gelled Acid
Calcium, mg/L 170 123
Chloride, mg/L 156 935 162 638
HCl, wt%/vol% 15.7 16.5
Iron (total), mg/L 252 392
Magnesium, mg/L 52 37
Potassium, mg/L 23 19
Sodium, mg/L 2 275 322
Sulfate, mg/L 236 381
*A portion of this acid was used to prepare the emulsified acid.
in-situ gelled acid contained iron. This resulted in a higher iron
content in the in-situ gelled acid, as shown in Table 4.
One of key factors that determines the success of emulsified
acid treatments is mixing in the field.21 If the acid is not properly
mixed, or the amount of emulsifier is not enough, the acid will not
be completely emulsified. Emulsified acid loses its advantages if it
breaks down before it reaches the target zone. Therefore, it is
extremely important to ensure that the acid is well mixed before
the onset of treatment. A simple method to confirm complete
emulsification is to measure the electrical conductivity of the acid
using a conductivity meter. If the acid is completely emulsified,
then diesel is the external phase and the electrical conductivity of
the emulsion should read zero. If the acid is not completely emul-
sified, then its conductivity is greater than zero. A second method
to determine the nature of the continuous phase is to mix a few
drops of the emulsion with water. The shape of the droplet once it
contacts water will determine the nature of the continuous phase.
However, the conductivity method is more accurate. The emulsi-
fied acid was prepared in the field using a clean frac tank 共500 bbl
capacity兲. Nearly one batch of acid was needed for each of the
two treatments. The electrical conductivity of the emulsified acids
used was measured before pumping and was less than 2 ␮S at
ambient conditions.
Chemical Analysis of Acid Return Samples. Well A was
acidized using regular, emulsified, and in-situ gelled acids, as
shown in Table 3. The three acids were soaked in the formation
for a period of nearly 20 hours. The well was allowed to flow back
after the treatment to recover the spent acid. Samples of the return
fluids were initially collected every 5 minutes, then every 10 min-
utes. Fig. 5 shows the variation of pH in the flowback samples as
a function of time. The pH was zero in the initial samples, then
gradually increased to nearly 7 and remained at this value for the
rest of the samples. The initial low pH values were due to the
presence of live acid at concentrations up to 1.6 wt%/vol%, as
Fig. 5–pH of the well flowback samples of Well A.
Nasr-El-Din, Al-Anazi, and Mohamed: Stimulation of Water-Disposal Wells
Fig. 6–HCl concentration in flowback samples of Well A.
shown in Fig. 6. The presence of live acid in the flowback
samples indicated that the soaking time was not enough and a
longer soaking time was recommended for the acid treatment con-
ducted on Well B. The fast return of live acid suggests that there
is a high-permeability streak in this well. A large volume of acid
flowed into this streak during injection. A portion of this live acid
was mixed with the formation water while flowing the well back.
A caliper was run in this well after the treatment. The results
confirmed that there was a large washout 共19 in. in diameter兲 just
below the casing shoe.
Chloride ion concentration was high in the initial return
samples, Fig. 7. It monotonically decreased in the subsequent
samples due to dilution of the spent acid with the formation water.
The acid did react with the reservoir rock 共mainly calcite and
some dolomite兲. As a result, the concentrations of calcium and
magnesium ions were high in the initial samples, Figs. 8 and 9,
respectively.
One of the major advantages of using emulsified acids is that
the live acid does not come in contact with well tubulars. As a
result, the concentration of the iron reaching the formation is
low.16 The concentration of the total iron in the samples collected
from Well A confirmed this point, as shown in Fig. 10. Iron
concentrations were very low considering the fact that this is a
wastewater disposal well. In addition, an iron compound was
added to the in-situ gelled acid as a crosslinker 共Table 4兲. Based
on previous studies where regular 15 wt% HCl was used,24 the
total iron concentration in the spent acid should be at least one or
two orders of magnitude higher.
Fig. 11 shows the concentration of the sodium ion in the return
samples. Initial samples contained sodium at 15 000 mg/L. So-
dium concentration increased to 20 000 mg/L as a result of influx
Fig. 7–Chloride ion in well flowback samples of Well A.
SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 15, No. 3, August 2000 179
 Fig. 8–Calcium ion in well flowback samples of Well A. Fig. 10–Total iron in well flowback samples of Well A.

of the formation water. The low initial values were obtained due
to the low sodium content of the injected acids 共Table 4兲.
Well B was stimulated in a way similar to that of Well A,
except that the soaking time was increased to 48 hours. This was
to ensure complete acid spending in the formation. Analysis of the
flowback samples indicated that this was the case. Fig. 12 shows
that the pH was 6.8 in the first sample. The pH values were in the
range of 7 to 7.4 in the rest of the samples. Moreover, no live acid
was detected in the return samples. These results indicated that the
acid was completely spent in the formation and a soaking time of
48 hours was adequate.
It is worth noting that the soaking time needed for Wells A and
B was longer than that needed for oil producers. In a previous
study where an emulsified acid was used to stimulate an oil pro-
ducing well,16 a soaking time of 1 to 2 hours was found to be
adequate. However, a soaking time of 48 hours was needed in Fig. 11–Sodium ion in well flowback samples of Well A.
Wells A and B. This difference in the soaking time is the result of
temperature. The bottomhole temperatures for oil producing wells
in this field are 220 to 240°F, whereas those of the wastewater
disposal wells are 120 to 150°F. Higher temperatures will break
the emulsified acid in shorter times, enhance the rate of mass
transfer of the acid by diffusion processes,25 and increase the re-
action rate of the acid with the rock. These factors will result in
complete acid spending over a shorter period of time. It is impor-
tant to note that diffusion processes are important under the con-
ditions encountered in the current treatments. This is because of
the high viscosity of the emulsified acid.
Figs. 13 through 17 show that the concentrations of key ions
in the return samples of Well B were similar to those obtained in
Well A. These results confirmed that the three acids did react with
the rock in a similar way as noted in Well A.
Treatment Evaluation. Post-treatment evaluation of both wells
indicated that the acid treatment removed the damage and im-
proved well performance. The injection rate of Well A increased Fig. 12–pH in well flowback samples of Well B.

Fig. 9–Magnesium ion in well flowback samples of Well A. Fig. 13–Chloride ion in well flowback samples of Well B.

180 Nasr-El-Din, Al-Anazi, and Mohamed: Stimulation of Water-Disposal Wells SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 15, No. 3, August 2000

Fig. 14–Calcium ion in well flowback samples of Well B.
Fig. 15–Magnesium ion in well flowback samples of Well B.
Fig. 16–Total iron in well flowback samples of Well B.
Fig. 17–Sodium ion in well flowback samples of Well B.
Nasr-El-Din, Al-Anazi, and Mohamed: Stimulation of Water-Disposal Wells
from 10,660 to 15,300 BWPD. Its skin decreased from ⫺1.6 to
⫺3.2. The average permeability of the target zone has increased
from 75 to 95 md. Finally, its injectivity index increased from
26.6 to 36.9 BWPD/psi. Well B had a skin factor of ⫹6.6 before
the treatment and ⫺3.6 after the treatment. The injectivity index
of this well increased from 42 to 104 BWPD/psi due to the treat-
ment.
Conclusions
An acid-in-diesel emulsion was used to stimulate two wastewater
disposal wells in a carbonate reservoir in Saudi Arabia. The fol-
lowing conclusions were obtained from laboratory testing and
field treatments.
1. Rheological measurements indicated that the acid-in-diesel
emulsion behaved as a shear-thinning fluid.
2. The stability and reaction rate of the emulsified acid were
found to be a function of emulsifier concentration.
3. Very low reaction rates were obtained at an emulsifier con-
centration of 20 gal/1,000 gal of acid at room temperature. These
results indicated that a longer soaking time will be needed to
stimulate disposal wells. This time is required to ensure complete
acid spending.
4. Coreflood results showed that the emulsified acid formed
wormholes in tight carbonate cores (⬍50 md), and that the core
permeability increased after the treatment.
5. Permeability ratio 共final/initial兲 of reservoir cores increased
exponentially with the acid injection rate.
6. Field application of the emulsified acid in two disposal wells
indicated that both wells responded favorably to the treatment.
The injectivity of both wells has increased significantly after the
treatment.
7. Low total iron concentrations in the flowback samples indi-
cated that the emulsified acid reduced corrosion of well tubing and
casing compared to that of a regular acid.
Nomenclature
K ⫽ consistency factor, cp•sn⫺1
k ⫽ injected fluid permeability, md
k0 ⫽ initial permeability, md
kr ⫽ permeability ratio, dimensionless
n ⫽ power-law index, dimensionless
␥˙ ⫽ shear rate, s⫺1
␮ ⫽ apparent viscosity, cp
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the Saudi Arabian Ministry of
Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Saudi Arabian Oil Co.
共Saudi Aramco兲 for granting permission to publish this paper. The
authors would like to thank M. Al-Jawfi, J. Selim, and A. Al-
Zahrani for performing most of the experimental work. The
Chemistry Unit of the LR&DC of Saudi Aramco was helpful in
their analysis of the spent acids.
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182 Nasr-El-Din, Al-Anazi, and Mohamed: Stimulation of Water-Disposal Wells
23. Lynn, J.D. and Nasr-El-Din, H.A.: ‘‘Formation Damage Associated
With Water-Based Drilling Fluids and Emulsified Acid Study,’’ paper
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Conference, The Hague, The Netherlands, 31 May–1 June.
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Measures Amount and Type of Iron in Spent Acids,’’ paper SPE
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istry, Houston, 16–19 February.
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leans, 25–28 September.
SI Metric Conversion Factors
bbl ⫻ 1.589 873 E⫺01 ⫽ m3
cp ⫻ 1.0* E⫺03 ⫽ Pa•s
ft ⫻ 3.048* E⫺01 ⫽ m
°F 共°F⫺32)/1.8 ⫽ °C
gal ⫻ 3.785 412 E⫺03 ⫽ m3
in. ⫻ 2.54* E⫹00 ⫽ cm
lbm ⫻ 4.535 924 E⫺01 ⫽ kg
psi ⫻ 6.894 757 E⫹00 ⫽ kPa
*Conversion factors are exact. SPEPF
Hisham Nasr-El-Din is a research science consultant with
Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. e-mail:
nasrelha@mail.aramco.com.sa. His research interests include
well stimulation, formation damage, two-phase flow, flow
in porous media, enhanced oil recovery, rheology, con-
formance control, interfacial properties, and adsorption.
Nasr-El-Din holds BS and Ms degrees from Cairo U. and a
PhD degree from the U. of Saskatchewan. He is a member
of the International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry Commit-
tee. Hamoud Al-Anazi currently is a PhD candidate in the
Petroleum Engineering Dept. of the U. of Texas, Austin.
e-mail: anazi@mail.utexas.edu. He previouly was a labora-
tory scientist at Saudi Aramco’s R&D Center in Dhahran,
where he worked on stimulation, formation damage, and
conformance-control projects. Al-Anazi holds a BS degree in
chemical engineering from King Fahd U. of Petroleum and
Minerals and an MS degree in petroleum engineering from the
U. of Texas, Austin. Safwat Mohamed is a senior production
engineer with Saudi Aramco in Dhahran. e-mail:
mohamesk@mail.aramco.com.sa. He has more than 24 years’
experience in the oil industry, including work in drilling and
workover engineering and as a process supervisor of an off-
shore gas field in addition to his work in production engineer-
ing. He previously worked for Wepco and Agiba in Egypt. Mo-
hamed holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from
Cairo U.
SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 15, No. 3, August 2000