A new way to revive old gas wells

Bert Lugtmeier, Kees Veeken, Rodger Lacy • Nov 1, 2011

As gas wells mature and the produced gas becomes less able to carry
water from the well, a decline in flow rate and production to rates below the
anticipated decline curve often results. Bert Lugtmeier and Kees
Veeken from Dutch operator NAM along with Weatherford’s Rodger
Lacy describe how a newly devised system makes it possible to
continuously inject production-enhancing chemicals into the well through the
safety valve while maintaining full control of the surface and subsurface
safety equipment.
Typically, production-enhancing chemicals can be injected into a well to
restore production. However, when a surface-controlled subsurface safety
valve (SCSSV) is in the well, as is the case in most offshore wells, there is
no way to get the chemicals into the well below the SCSSV at the
perforations.
Working closely with Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM),
Weatherford International has developed the Renaissance Weatherford
Capillary System (WCS) Opti-Chem safety system, which makes it possible
to continuously inject production-enhancing chemicals into a well through
the safety valve while maintaining full control of the surface and subsurface
safety equipment. The new system incorporates a capillary string inside the
tubing and uses the company’s RENGATE wellhead penetration, which
creates a continuous injection conduit from the surface to the production
bore of the well.
NAM recently used the system in one of its North Sea wells to restore
production of nearly 3.18mmcf/d without an expensive workover.
:
 Addressing liquid loading
The well, located in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, was originally
completed in 1976 and side-tracked in 1996 and completed with a 5in
production string with a 3.81in safety valve landing nipple installed in the
tubing string at 541ft depth. The christmas tree is a solid block 71/16in x
41/8in, 5000psi, installed with a 4in backpressure valve profile in the tubing
hanger. The total depth of the well is 11,000ft.
The well was completed as a high-rate gas producer, but by 2008, it was
producing intermittently because of liquid loading.
Liquid loading occurs when the inability of the produced gas in a well to
remove produced liquids from the wellbore causes the liquid to accumulate
in the well, leading to an eventual reduction in production. The phenomenon
can occur very suddenly, sometimes causing production to drop to zero in
less than 24 hours.
Liquid loading is typically alleviated through deliquification applications, in
which a foamer or surfactant is added to the produced fluid to reduce its
density and surface tension. The surfactant can be delivered by soap sticks,
batch treatments or continuous injection. In wells with packers, continuous
injection takes place through a capillary string, which is usually made up of
a chemical injection valve, a capillary string (usually 1/4in or 3/8inOD) and a
capillary hanger at surface. The capillary line is snubbed into the well
similarly to a coiled-tubing snubbing job. This method has not been
applicable in wells with functioning SCSSVs because the capillary string
could not be run through the safety valve.
In 2008, NAM launched a project to appraise several deliquification
techniques and select the most effective one for eventual use offshore. The
techniques included automated intermittent production, velocity string
production, and continuous foam injection.
Continuous foam injection was subsequently validated in onshore
operations, and a pilot offshore installation was designed.
To address North Sea regulations that mandate use of a full safety system,
including both surface and subsurface equipment, the design team
researched systems that would allow continuous foam injection to the
perforations without compromising the integrity of the safety valves.
:
 The first system installed offshore was designed to have foam injected via
the safety valve control line using a backpressure valve to maintain injection
pressure at the SCSSV operating pressure.
Two different approaches were tried. The first method used a foam insert
sleeve incorporating a bypass to the capillary line below and a safety valve
landing nipple into which a smaller size standard safety valve could be
landed. The second approach used a safety valve with a built-in bypass to
the capillary line below, which involved modifying the existing safety valve.
Although both systems worked, restrictions on foamer choice and system
reliability and repair frequency led NAM to decide that future installations
should be based on a through-tubing foam injection system that would
provide a corrosion-resistant route to the top of the perforations, completely
separated from the safety valve system. This approach would allow for a
wider choice of foamers, improve system reliability, and significantly reduce
required foam injection pressure since it would not have to operate at
SCSSV hold-open pressure.
Anatomy of a solution
Working closely with NAM, Weatherford designed the WCS safety system to
meet all stated requirements. The system, to be conveyed on conventional
slickline, would be installed in the existing safety valve landing nipple and be
operated using the in situ control line. It would provide a flow path for
chemicals through the safety valve, totally independent of the safety valve
control system. It would permit the upper section of the capillary string
above the SCSSV to be connected and disconnected repeatedly.

Meeting the design criteria meant using two separate control/capillary lines.
Dual lines would help avoid potential contamination and corrosion damage
to the safety valve system. They would also help maximize safety and
control installation costs by allowing the existing emergency shut-down
system at surface and at the wellhead to remain undisturbed.
The design of the new system was based on the field-proven, retrofit
Renaissance Weatherford Damaged Control Line (WDCL) damaged-
control-line safety valve, which incorporates a control line inside the tubing
string. A WDCL system installed in a NAM offshore well in 2009 continues to
:
 function satisfactorily, and the system has also been run for an affiliate
company in the UK North Sea.
The WCS system incorporates a 1/4in or 3/8in capillary line that runs down
the center of the tubing to a pod in the wireline retrievable safety valve that
directs the flow of chemicals through the valve to the injection line below. At
the end of the capillary line is a centralized stinger with a hydraulic wet-
connect that joins the capillary to the mating connection in the pod. A bi-
directional barrier incorporated into the wet-connect can be opened only
when the male and female components are mated, which allows the
capillary line to be snubbed into a live well as in a coiled-tubing snubbing
job.
A hazard and operability (HAZOP) study conducted by NAM confirmed the
suitability of the wet-connect as a barrier device under all possible well and
operating conditions.
The wet-connect can be both mated and unmated, enabling the capillary to
be removed if necessary. It is locked in place when pressure is applied to
the capillary string. The wet-connect design eliminates complications and
additional leak paths that a hydraulically operated latch would create. A
unique capillary hanger is used to hang the capillary line from the modified
wellhead and the safety valve. The control-line hanger lands in the tubing
hanger backpressure valve profile and seals in the modified lower master
valve. Its bypass area is similar to that of the safety valve.
Surface access to the capillary line is provided by modifying the wellhead in
a way that also provides the correct profile for the capillary hanger. The
company developed a new wellhead penetration, the system that is installed
in situ without changing the original wellhead geometry. The design allows a
penetration to be made through the lower master valve (LMV) bonnet and
lower seat, which does not affect either the functionality or pressure rating of
the LMV. There is no need to lift the wellhead or insert spool pieces, or
otherwise modify the surface installation, which results in a quick, cost-
effective procedure.
The valve rebuild can be installed by a qualified service technician.
Once the control-line hanger has been landed in the tubing hanger profile
and sealed in the modified wellhead, a conduit for continuous chemical
:
 injection exists from the surface to the chemical injection valve on the
bottom of the capillary string at the perforations.
In addition to facilitating installation of a capillary line for continuous
chemical injection, the modified wellhead concept is applicable to existing
wells that have a damaged or blocked control line. The entire system can be
removed after the well has been depleted.
First offshore installation
The first offshore installation of the WCS system took place in November
2010. The wellhead modification was the first operation of the installation
sequence. The well was secured with multiple barriers in accordance with
NAM and North Sea policy. The LMV was disassembled and the modified
pairs installed. The LMV was then reassembled and tested.
Next the capillary tubing was run to the calculated depth to place the
injection point at the desired depth in the well. The capillary tubing was cut
and the safety valve was connected to the capillary string. The final run to
the safety valve landing nipple was performed on slickline.
The control line stinger that connects the capillary tubing to the safety valve
was picked up and run in the hole with the capillary string. The safety valve
was tagged and space out was calculated. The capillary tubing was then cut
and the control line hanger connected to the capillary tubing.
The final run to land the control line hanger in the modified wellhead was
carried out on slickline, and the safety valve was function tested.
After installation, the well was suspended until the surface chemical
injection system could be installed on the platform. Surface equipment
installation was completed in March 2011, and NAM then began pumping
the surfactant. The well responded very favorably and has been on line,
producing at nearly 3.18mmcf/d since the startup of continuous chemical
injection.
The reliability of the third party chemical injection valve is critical to the
success of the system, and after months of successful production, the
pressure to inject the chemical started to increase. This indicates a possible
plugging of the chemical injection valve at the bottom of the capillary
injection string.
:
 Weatherford and NAM are working closely to develop a more robust
chemical injection valve to solve this issue.
Because of the initial success, the companies have continued their close
working relationship.
Major milestone
NAM has ordered more of these chemical injection systems as part of an
on-going campaign to increase gas production by dewatering older gas
wells, and Weatherford has begun the installation of a five well campaign on
the Vulcan platform in the UK sector of the North Sea. The entire installation
process represents a major milestone in moving continuous chemical
injection offshore in Europe. OE

Once the control-line hanger has been landed in the tubing hanger profile
and sealed in the modified wellhead, a conduit for continuous chemical
injection exists from the surface to the chemical injection valve on the
bottom of the capillary string at the perforations.

Bert Lugtmeier is a senior production technologist with NAM. His current

technical interest is gas well deliquification and well completion innovation in
general. He has a BSc in mechanical engineering and worked for Shell both
in the Netherlands and the UK for 30 years, focusing on reservoir
engineering IT, drilling and production equipment engineering, well services,
production programming and production technology.
:
 Kees Veeken is a principal production technologist for offshore gas wells
with NAM. His current technical interests include gas well deliquification and
tight gas development. He has worked for Shell as a production technologist
for 25 years both in R&D in the Netherlands and the US and in operations in
Oman, Malaysia and the Netherlands. He earned a PhD in molecular
physics at the Radboud University, Nijmegen.

Rodger Lacy is the global product line manager for the Weatherford
Renaissance Safety Valve, having been involved with the development of
this new tool system since it NAM first suggested it. He has 35 years’
industry experience under his belt, all of it in completions, and served as
Weatherford International’s country manager in Nigeria prior to being
stationed in the Netherlands in 2006.
Europe Production

We use cookies to improve your website

experience.
© ByInc
2024 AtCoMedia. continuing to use our
Ok
site, you accept our use of cookies,
revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
: