MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

PETE 434 Fall 2010

Design Procedure for Matrix Acidizing of Carbonates

Step 1. Calculate maximum allowable bottom hole pressure (formation fracture pressure), pfr

p fr = g f D (1)

Where
gf : fracture gradient, psi/ft
D : formation vertical depth, ft
pfr : maximum allowable bottom hole pressure

Step 2. Calculate maximum possible Injection rate without fracturing, qm

4.917 × 10−6 khp ( p fr − pR )

qm = (2)
µ[ln(re / rw′ ) − 0.75]

rw′ = rw exp(− s ) (3)

Where
hp : perforated interval, ft (use pay zone thickness for open hole completion)
k : average permeability, md
pR : reservoir pressure, psi
re : drainage radius, ft
rw : wellbore radius, in.
’
rw : effective wellbore radius, in.
s : skin factor
µ : acid viscosity, cp

The injection rate (qi) to avoid fracturing must clearly be lower than qm (qi<qm). As a practical matter, a
rate 10 percent lower is suggested.

qi = 0.9qm (4)

where qi: safe injection rate, bbl/min

Step 3. Determine acid volume, VA:

Inject from 50 to 100 gal of HCl per foot of interval perforated. Exact acid volume and strength
requirements cannot be predicted because of uncertainties in near-wellbore conditions and will vary
from formation to formation. In general, a larger volume of acid should be used in high temperature
wells or wells where deep damage is expected. When possible, use 28 %w HCl acid and an effective
acid fluid loss additive in zones where acid can be injected at a realistic rate (at least 0.25 to 0.5 bpm).
In high-permeability or naturally fractured formations, an emulsified acid often will give best result.

VA = η h p (5)
or
V A = 42qi t p (6)

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 MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Where
VA : acid volume, gal.
η : acid volume coefficient, 50 to 100 gal/ft
tp : pumping time, min.

Step 4. Calculate maximum surface injection pressure, psi

psi = p p + p fr + p f − ph (7)

0.2369q 2p ρ a
pp = q p = qi / n (8)
d p4α 2

ph = 0.052 ρ a D (9)

Where
dp : perforation diameter, in.
n : number of open perforations
pp : friction pressure drop through perforations, psi
pf : friction pressure drop in tubular goods, psi
ph : hydrostatic head of acid, psi
q : total injection rate, bbl/min
qp : specific injection rate, bbl/min-perforation
α : discharge coefficient, usually 0.9
ρa : density of acid, lb/gal

Step 5. Calculate penetration distance of acid, rA:

 r′ 
nf nf
 rA  33.6n f V A X
  − w  = e −p1 / 3 (10)
 3.28   3.28  (1 − φ )h

or
1/ n f
 n 33.6n f VA X 
rA =  rw′ f + −1/ 3
 Pe  (11)
0.3048 (1 − φ )h
nf
 

5.61q i
 Pe = (12)
DAhp

Χ = βa ( ρa / ρr )
(13)
β a = β100 wa
(14)
M wr Csr
β100 = (15)
M wa Csa

PETE 434 Well Stimulation/FALL 2010/Dr. İ. H. Gücüyener 2 of 6

 MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Where
Csa : stoichiometric coefficient of mineral, Csa=1 for HCl reaction with limestone and
dolomite
Csr : stoichiometric coefficient of acid, Csr=2 for Limestone+HCl; and Csr=4 for
dolomite+HCl
DA : acid diffusivity,
Mwa : molecular weight of acid (Table 1)
Mwr : molecular weight of mineral (Table 1)
NPe : Peclet Number:
nf : fractal dimensionality ( = 1.6 ± 0.1)
X : volumetric dissolving power of acid, (Table 3)
wa : acid concentration, wt%
βa : gravimetric dissolving power of “a” wt% acid (mass of rock dissolved per unit mass of
“a” wt% acid reacted).
β100 : gravimetric dissolving power of 100 wt% acid (mass of rock dissolved per unit mass
of 100 wt% acid reacted).
ρa : acid density, g/cc (Table 2)
ρr : rock density, g/cc, ρr =2.71 g/cc for limestone and ρr=2.87 g/cc for dolomite
φ : porosity

If NPe<1 no wormholes are created. Thus Eqs. 10 and 11 only apply whenever NPe>1.

Step 6. Calculate stimulation ratio, Js/Jd

J s ln(re / rw′ ) − 0.75

= (16)
J d ln(re / rA ) − 0.75

Step 7. Calculate after flush volume, Vaf

Flush the treatment with more than one tubing volume of water. Put the well on production as soon as
possible.

Table 1. Molecular weight of various acids and carbonate rocks.

Chemical Molecular
Compound
Formula Weight

Hydrochloric acid HCl 36.47

Formic acid HCOOH 46.03

Acetic acid CH3COOH 60.05

Calcium carbonate CaCO3 100.09

Calcium magnesium carbonate CaMgCO3 184.30

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 MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Table 2. Specific gravity of aqueous HCl acid solution.

wt% HCl Sp Gr wt% HCl Sp Gr

1 1.0032 22 1.1083
2 1.0082 24 1.1187
4 1.0181 26 1.1290
6 1.0279 28 1.1392
8 1.0376 30 1.1493
10 1.0474 32 1.15.93
12 1.0574 34 1.1691
14 1.0675 36 1.1789
16 1.0776 38 1.1885
18 1.0878 40 1.1980
20 1.0980

Table 3. Dissolving power of various acids.

Limestone, CaCO3 β100 5% 10 % 15 % 30 %

Hydrochloric acid, HCl 1.37 0.026 0.053 0.082 0.175

Formic acid, HCOOH 1.09 0.020 0.041 0.062 0.129

Acetic acid, CH3COOH 0.83 0.016 0.031 0.047 0.096

Sp. Gr. of CaCO3=2.71g/cc

Dolomite, CaMgCO3 β100 5% 10 % 15 % 30 %

Hydrochloric acid, HCl 1.27 0.023 0.046 0.071 0.152

Formic acid, HCOOH 1.00 0.018 0.036 0.054 0.112

Acetic acid, CH3COOH 0.77 0.014 0.027 0.041 0.083

Sp. Gr. of CaMgCO3=2.87 g/cc

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