SUEZ CANAL UNIVERSITY.

FACULTY OF PET & MIN ENGINEERING.

PETROLEUM DEPARTMENT

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS.
ACIDIZING
PROF.DR:
AHMED GAWISH

WORKING TEAM

Hossam Hamdy Abd Eltwab

Mohamed Adel Elsemary
Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Mohamed

SEC 2
SEC 3
SEC 1

Kareem Hassan Ahmed Elfarash

SEC 3

Contents
1-Overview of Acidizing
2-Types of Acidizing
3-Acid additives
4-Case study

Well Stimulation
Sometime, petroleum exists in a formation but is
unable to flow readily into the well because the
formation has very low permeability.

Natural low permeability formation.

Formation damage around the wellbore.

Well Stimulation overcomes low permeability by

creating new flow channels or enlarging old ones.
Wells are stimulated immediately after completion or
whenever production drops during the life of the
well.

Formation damage can occur during

any well operation including :
1-Drilling
2-Cementing
3-Perforartions
4-Production
5-Workover

Three ways for Stimulation

The oldest method is to use Explosives.
During 1930s, acid stimulation, became
economically viable.
Hydraulic Fracturing, the third stimulation method,
was introduced in 1948.

Acid Stimulation

If the formation is composed of rocks that

dissolve upon being contacted by acid then a
technique known as acidizing may be
required.

Reservoir Rocks most commonly acidized are

carbonate reservoirs (Limestone and Dolomite).

Acids that are strong enough to dissolve rock are

often strong enough to eat away the metal of the
pipes and equipment in the well. Therefore, Acidizing
involves a compromise between acid strength and
additives to prevent damage of equipment.

 Acidizing operation basically consists of pumping

from fifty to thousands of gallons of acid down the
well.
The acid travels down the tubing, enters the
perforations, and contacts the formation.

A hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution is generally the

most efficient and economic agent for acidizing
carbonate formations. It will dissolve Calcium
Carbonate (CaCO3), Dolomite (CaMgCo3), Siderite
(FeCO3), and Iron Oxide (Fe2O3). HCl is a strong and
hazardous acid, highly corrosive to iron and steel.

If the formation is extremely hot, above 250F or

when formation conditions make a weaker, lesscorrosive acid more desirable, the acidizing
contractor frequently uses a solution of acetic acid
and formic acid.

Other acids that are sometimes used include

sulfanic, nitric, and hydrofluoric acids. The last two
are costly and very dangerous.

Acids are diluted in water. The concentration ranges

from 3 to 28% acid by weight, depending on the
type of acid and factors such as reaction time,
corrosion hazard, and emulsion-forming properties
of the crude oil.

 The acid type and acid concentration in acid solution

used in acidizing is selected on the basis of minerals in
the formation and field experience.
For sandstones, the typical treatments usually consist of
a mixture of 3 wt% HF and 12 wt% HCl, preceded by a 15
wt% HCl pre-flush.
For carbonate matrix acidizing Weak acids are suggested
for perforating fluid and perforation cleanup, and strong
acids are recommended for other treatments.

 McLeod (1984) presented a guideline to the selection of acid

on the basis of extensive field experience. His
recommendations for sandstone and carbonate reservoirs
treatment are shown in Tables below

Acidizing types
There are three basic acidizing treatments:
a) Acid Fracturing
b) Matrix Acidizing
c) Spotting

The methods for both acid fracturing and matrix

acidizing are the same, except for the amount of
pressure applied.

1-Matrix Acidizing
Matrix acidizing ( also called acid matrix treatment) is a
technique to stimulate wells for improving well inflow
performance. In the treatment, acid solution is injected into
the formation to dissolve some of the minerals to recover
permeability of sandstones (removing skin) or increase
permeability of carbonates near the wellbore.
In Matrix Acidizing the acid injection pressure is below
formation fracture pressure
During matrix acidizing the acids dissolve the sediments and
mud solids within the pores that are inhibiting the permeability
of the rock.

 mostly used in sandstone formations.

Due to the extremely large surface area
contacted by acid in a matrix treatment,
spending time is very short. Therefore, it is
difficult to affect formation more than a few
feet from the wellbore.

2-Acid fracturing
The acid injection pressure is above the formation fracture
pressure . the reservoir is hydraulically fractured and then
the fracture faces are etched with acid to provide linear
flow channels to wellbore
the application of acid fracturing is confined to carbonate
reservoirs and shouldnt be used to stimulate sandstone,
shale, or coal-seam reservoirs.
It is a popular method because even injecting acid at a
moderate pumping rate in low permeability limestone and
dolomite formations usually results in fracturing.

 A major problem in fracture acidizing of carbonate

formations is that acids tend to react too fast with
carbonates and are spent near the wellbore so we
must retard acid reaction rate .

Retardation of acid
To achieve deeper penetration in
fracture acidizing, it is often desirable to
retard Acid reaction rate. This can be
done by
Gelling
Emulsifying
Chemically retarding the acid

a-Gelled Acid
The use of gelled acid for fracture acidizing has
increased to the point that it is now the most used
technique.
The introduction of more temperature-stable gelling
agents with ready application up to temperatures of
about 400F has been a major factor in selecting
gelled acid for acid fracturing. Two types of gelling
systems, polymers and surfactants, are in common
use.

b-Emulsified Acid
For many years the primary retarded acid for fracture
acidizing was an acid-in-oil emulsion. This type retarded
acid is very functional but is no longer the primary
fracture acid method used.
It has limited temperature range and stability, with high
viscosity and high friction loss.
It does, however, have the ability to restrict contact
between the acid and formation, to reduce fluid loss, and
to retain large quantities of the treating fluid in the
fracture.

c-Chemically-Retarded acid
Acid-Retardation of HCl is obtained by the addition of
unique surfactants to the acid which form protective
films on the surface of limestone or dolomite.
These films retard reaction rate in much the same
way that an acid corrosion inhibitor protects metal.
In addition to retarding acid reaction rate, chemical
retarders tend to promote non-uniform etching of
fracture faces, thus increasing fracture conductivity.

3-Spotting
Spotting acid means to pump a small amount of acid
into a particular spot in a well.
Spotting removes deposits on the face of the
producing formation. A rig operator may also spot a
well to free stuck drill pipe or to dissolve junk in the
hole. This works by corroding the metal.

Acid Additives
Acidizing can cause a number of well problems. Acid
may :
(1) release fines
(2) create precipitants
(3) form emulsions
(4) create sludge
(5) corrode steel
Additives are available to correct these and a
number of other problems

 Surfactants : should be used on all acid jobs to

reduce surface and interfacial tension, to prevent
emulsions, to water-wet the formation, and to
safeguard against other associated problems.
Suspending Agents: Most carbonate formations
contain insolubles which can block formation pores or
fractures if fines released by acid are allowed to settle
and bridge.
A suspending surfactant, such as Halliburton's HC-2, in
concentrations of about five gallons per 1,000 gallons
of acid may suspend fines for more than 24 hours, and
possibly as long as seven days. Suspending agents are
usually polymers or surfactants .

Anti-sludge agents

Some crudes, particularly heavy asphaltic crudes, form an

insoluble sludge when contacted with acid, with greater
problems experiences with high strength acid. Dissolved
Fe(III) in acid appreciably increases the possibility of sludge.
The primary ingredients of a sludge are usually
asphaltenes.
Sludges may also contain paraffin waxes, high-molecular
weight hydrocarbons, formation fines, clays, and other
materials.
The addition of certain surfactants can prevent the
formation of sludge by keeping colloidal material dispersed.
These sludge-preventing surfactants usually prevent an

Corrosion inhibitors
They are chemical additives that reduce the rate of
corrosion of steel by acid.
There are two primary reasons for using corrosion
inhibitors:
(1) to protect the acid pumping and handling equipment
(2) to protect well equipment.

Factors that govern the degree of acid

attack on steel are:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

type of steel including hardness

temperature
type of acid
acid concentration
acid contact time

Acidizing Method
After crew members pump in the acid under low, high, or no
pressure, they seal the well to allow the acid to react with the
rock.
The length of this shut-in time depends on how long it takes for
the acid and rock to react, or the reaction time. Reaction time may
be zero for HCL in a limestone formation because the acid is spent
by the time it is placed. Other acids and formations may require a
few hours to acidize.
Finally, the crew pumps in a fluid to displace the spent acid and
disposes of it.

Factors controlling the reaction rate

of acid are:
1- area of contact per unit volume of acid
2- formation temperature
3- pressure
4- acid concentration
5- acid type
6- physical and chemical properties of formation rock
7- flow velocity of acid

Case Study 1
Calculation of acid volume
Dissolving
power of Acids :
required

The dissolving power on a mass basis is called gravimetric

dissolving power and is defined as :

The dissolving power on a volume basis is called volumetric

dissolving power and is defined as

Where :
X = volumetric dissolving power of acid solution, mineral /
solution
= density of acid, /
= density of mineral,

Acid volume requirement

The acid volume should be high enough to remove near wellbore formation damage
and low enough to reduce cost of treatment.

The acid preflush volume is usually determined on the basis of void volume
calculations. The required minimum acid volume is expressed as

Where :
= the required minimum acid volume,
= volume of minerals to be removed,
= initial pore volume,
= radius of acid treatment, ft
= radius of wellbore, ft
= porosity, fraction
= mineral content, volume fraction.

Example :
A sandstone with a porosity of 0.2 containing 10 v% calcite (CaCO3)
is to be acidized with HF/HCl mixture solution. A preflush of 15 wt%
HCl solution is to be injected ahead of the mixture to dissolve the
carbonate minerals and establish a low pH environment . If the HCl
preflush is to remove all carbonates in a region within 1 ft beyond a
0.328-ft radius wellbore before the HF/HCl stage enters the
formation, what minimum preflush volume is required in terms of
gallon per foot of pay zone?
(given : density of CaC = 169 , Specific gravity of acid solution =
1.07 )

Case Study 2
Acid injection rate and injection pressure

injection rate :
Acid

The maximum injection rate limited by the breakdown pressure is expressed as

Where

= maximum injection rate, bbl/min

k = permeability of undamaged formation, md

h = thickness of pay zone to be treated, ft

= formation breakdown pressure, psia

= reservoir pressure, psia

= safety margin, 200 to 500 psi

= viscosity of acid solution, cp

= drainage radius, ft

= wellbore radius, ft

S = skin factor, ft.

formation fracture gradient , psi/ft
L = Total depth , ft

Acid injection pressure

The
surface injection pressure is related to the bottom-hole
flowing pressure by :

Where
= surface injection pressure, psia
= flowing bottom-hole pressure, psia
= hydrostatic pressure drop, psia
= frictional pressure drop, psia.
Specific gravity of acid
q = injection rate, bbl/min
= fluid viscosity, cp
D = tubing diameter, in.
L = Total depth , ft.

Example :
A 60-ft thick, 50-md sandstone pay zone at a depth of
9,500 ft is to be acidized with an acid solution having a
specific gravity of 1.07 and a viscosity of 1.5 cp down a
2-in. inside diameter (ID) coil tubing. The formation
fracture gradient is 0.7 psi/ft. The wellbore radius is
0.328 ft. Assuming a reservoir pressure of 4,000 psia,
drainage area radius of 1,000 ft, and a skin factor of 15,
calculate
(a) the maximum acid injection rate using safety margin
300 psi.
(b) the maximum expected surface injection pressure at
the maximum injection rate.

Reference :
Petroleum Production Engineering, A Computer-Assisted
Approach
Petroleum reservoir engineering practice