International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2018

RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

Matrix Acidizing of Carbonate Formations: A

Case Study
Huner Kareem Haias1, Pshtiwan Tahsin Mohammed Jaf2
1(Ministry of Natural resources, Erbil, Kurdistan Region-Iraq)
2 (Petroleum Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Koya University, Koya KOY45, Kurdistan Region-Iraq)

Abstract:
Formation damage is the impairment of permeability of rocks inside a petroleum reservoir occurs, during drilling,
production, workover, stimulation and enhanced oil recovery operations, by various mechanisms such as chemical,
mechanical, biological and thermal mechanisms. Near wellbore formation damages have a great impact on productivity or
injectivity of the damaged formation. Acidizing is a stimulation method to remove the effect of near wellbore damage
through reacting with damaging materials or the formation rocks (carbonate or sandstone rocks) to restore or improve
permeability around the wellbore.Acid can be injected into the damaged formation below the fracture gradient of the
formation which is called matrix acidizing. Acidizing operations is not only for treating the damaged formation, but also
could be used for cleaning wellbore, production tubing and perforations from deposited scales prior to the matrix or
fracture acidizing. The main objective of this paper is to achieve a homogeneous removal of formation damage through
the entire pay zone of one of the Iraqi oil fields in order to increase well productivity index.The most common acid used in
matrix acidizing of carbonate rocks (limestone or dolomite rock) is Hydrochloric acid (HCl); however, organic acids are
preferably consumed in deep and high temperature wells due to high cost and uncontrolled corrosion problems with (HCl)
acid. Various types of additives are added to the acid such as corrosion inhibitors, clay stabilizer, iron control agents and
suspending agents.During the injection, the acid will flow into the least resistant (higher permeability) intervals in the
formation due to heterogeneity or non-uniform damage in the formation and this prevents the damaged or low permeable
sections from being stimulated. For achieving uniform acid treatment and diverting acid to the damaged zone, acid can be
diverted mechanically or chemically. Each diversion technique has right conditions limitations to be applied depending
on the formation situation.The name of the field is not mentioned in this work due to the confidentiality of publication and
the well is named as Koya. Koya well is being drilled and completed at the carbonate pay zone, then the entire perforation
zone being acidized to improve productivity. It has been observed that the production rate increases to 75% of the oil
production rate.

Keywords — Damage, Permeability, Skin, Stimulation, Acidizing, Carbonate.

1.1. Introduction thereduction in hydrocarbon production (Bennion,2002).

Formation damage is the result of various mechanisms
Petroleum reservoir is a geological structure formed from during drilling, cementing,production, work over and
porous and permeable rockswhere hydrocarbons (oil and stimulation operations through the life of the oil well.
gas) are stored within the pores. Permeability and porosity Thesemechanisms, could be mechanical, chemical,
arethe most important properties of the reservoir rocks biological and thermal, willresult in natural or native
which reflect the capacity andproductivity of the reservoir. reservoir permeability damage.One of the most common
Permeability is the ability of the reservoir rocks to method of curing the damaged zone is matrix acidizing.
transmitfluids through the connections (pore throats) Matrix acidizing means injecting a volume of an acid into
between the reservoir rocks pores (Allen and Roberts, the damaged formation at a pressure less than the formation
1993). Therefore, permeability or conductivity of the fracture pressure. There are various types of acids such as
reservoir rock poresshows the productivity of the mineral acids, organic acids and sulfamic acids,to be
petroleum reservoir. Hence, formation damagecan be injected but each depends on mainly the formation rock
defined as any flow restriction that results in the reduction properties, solubility, temperature, HSE and certainly the
of natural permeabilityaround the wellbore within the availabilities.In addition to the main acids, several
petroleum reservoir (gas or oil reservoir) that causes additives are added to the treatment acid solution for

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 International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2018

various objectives. Theratio or concentration of each Thus, as the damage has reduced thepermeability from (k)
additive in the acids should be practically determined to (ks), the bottom hole flowing pressure has been reduced
basedon tests on core and formation fluid samples. form (Pwfideal) which is the bottom hole flowing pressure
before the damage to (Pwf real) after thedamage. In 1949,
When the acidizing treatment fluids flow into the Vaneverdingen and Hurst introduced a new term for
formation, it has hightendency to flow in to the least measuring theformation damage around the well bore
resistant intervals which have high permeability and which is called Skin effect (S). They alsointroduced a
lessdamage in the formation. This causes the failure of the relationship between the skin effect and the pressure drop
stimulation because the interestintervals, which are quite across the skin zoneas shown in equation (1).
damaged or have very low permeability, are left behind
∆ …………… .1
withoutbeing treated or stimulated.Diversion techniques
can overcome this problem and divert the treatment acid to 2
thedesired intervals or uniformly distribute the acid
throughout the entire formation. Ingeneral, there are two
types of diversion techniques: chemical diversion and
mechanicaldiversion.
Selection of acid type and concentration is an essential
stage in carbonate acidizingstimulation. Choosing the right
concentration of acid should be based on laboratory
tests(core flooding tests) on the formation core samples to
investigate that which concentrationof particular acid gives
the optimumFigure
penetration or wellbore
(1): Near wormholezone
creation. (McLeod,
with altered
2007). permeability (Economides, Hill and EhligEconomides,
1994)
Figure (1): Near wellbore zone with altered
permeability (Economides, Hill and
EhligEconomides, 1994)

In 1956, Hawkings invented another relation between the

skin factor (S) and skin zoneradius (rs) and the
permeability of the damaged zone (ks) and undamaged
zone (k). Figures(1) and (2) are helpful in developing this
relationship. Hawkings established therelationship based
on calculating the pressure drop around the wellbore for a
radius of (rs) and considered the permeability of this zone
as native permeability (k) of the reservoirbefore being
damaged under a steady state radial flow condition as
shown in equation (2).

ln …………… .2
2
And the pressure drop across the same zone after the
damage and reduction inpermeability from (k) to (ks) will
1.2. The influence of formation damage on be:
productivity Figure (2): Near wellbore zone, Ideal and real bottom
ln ………
hole flowing pressure(Economides, …and
Hill … .3
2
Formation damage occurs within the reservoir in a short
radius around the wellborewhich causes reduction in EhligEconomides, 1994)
permeability or relative permeability of hydrocarbons. The difference between (Pwf ideal) and (Pwf real) is the
Thiscauses the reduction of bottom hole flowing pressure pressure drop across the skin zoneas sown in equation (4).
(Pwf) and creates additional pressuredrop as explained in
figures (1) and (2). ∆ …………… .4

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 International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2018

By rearranging the equations (2) and (3) and substitution of 1.3.2. Chemical formation damage
them with equation(1) in equation (4), the final form of
Howkings relationship (Economides, Hill andEhlig- These refers to damages that are resulted from reasons that
Economides, 1994) will be: are related to theoccurrence of chemical reactions between
the formation rocks and fluids with the chemicalsused in
the oil well operations such as chemicals used in drilling,
1 ln …………… .5
" completion, stimulationand work over operations which
can be subcategorized as:
The relationships in equations (1) and (5) show that the
deeper formation damage(higher rs value) and the less • Swelling of clay minerals
permeability in the damaged zone (ks) means, the more • Clay de-flocculation
skineffect (S) value and the more pressure drop (∆Ps) • Wettability alteration near the well bore
across the damaged zone. Hence,according to equation (4), • Scale and organic deposits
the less (Pwf real)and less productivity. Skin effect (S)
withnegative value indicates that the well has been
1.3.3. Biological formation damage
stimulated. On the other hand, the positiveskin effect
means that the well is damaged. Typically, the value of During drilling, completion, secondary recovery
skin is raged between (-5) for a hydraulically stimulated operations, bacteria (aerobic oranaerobic) might be
well to infinity value for a completely damaged or introduced into the reservoir. Aerobic bacteria which needs
pluggedwell (Allen and Roberts, 1993). oxygen, isonly problematic in water flooding operations
The effect of skin effect on the productivity of an oil or gas which lasts for a long period. Sulfatereducing bacteria
well can be explained betterwith the equation (6) which is (SRB) which is and aerobic bacteria, causes formation
damage bymetabolizing oil inside the porous media and
introduced by Standing in 1970 (Sharma, 2007).
produces polysaccharide polymers. Thepolymer product
∆ reduces permeability of the rocks and eventually
$ …………… .6 productivity of theformation decrease (Bennion et al.,
1995). Figure (3) shows the biofilm that has been made by
bacterial cells under which the bacteria performs its
Where (F) is the flow efficiency of the wellbore. When
activity.
there is no damage around the wellbore (S = 0), the
pressure drop (∆Ps) aroundthe wellbore is zero and the
flow efficiency is (1). The higher damage or skin effect
(S)value causes higher pressure drop around the wellbore
and eventually the less flowefficiency below (1) which
means the less productivity of the well.

1.3. Formation damage mechanisms

Formation damage occurs due to variety mechanisms
during drilling, production andcompletion operations.
Basically, these mechanisms are categorized in to
mechanical,chemical, biological and thermal formation
damage. Figure (3): Bacterial formation damage (Microbial
1.3.1. Mechanical formation damage Formation Damage, 2012)

These mechanisms cause reduction of permeability by 1.3.4. Thermally induced formation damage
mechanically plugging of porethroats and this causes the
This class of formation damage only occurs in the heavy
formation damage. These mechanisms are:
oil reservoirs during thethermal enhanced oil recovery
• Fine migration operations such as hot water or steam injection and in-
• Phase trapping situcombustion. The heat transferred into or created in the
reservoir causes damaging of the formation by:
• Perforation damage
• Solid invasion • Mineral transformation
• Solubilization and precipitation

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 International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2018

• or Wettabilityalteration • Acetic acid: the usage of 10% (by weight)

concentration of acetic acid is commonin acidizing
2. Acidizing Stimulation stimulation because the acid – rock reaction products
do not precipitateat this concentration. Acetic acid has
Most wells, which are drilled in gas and oil reservoirs, need a greater cost compared to HCl and formicacids
stimulationdirectly after the well is completed or during its (Williams, Gidley and Schechter, 1979).
production life for the purpose ofimprovement in the • Formic acid: its properties are almost the same as
production capacity of oil or gas wells. Acidizing acetic acid except that it has lessability to inhibit
stimulation can onlyremove the effect of a number of the corrosion at high temperature conditions.
formation damage mechanisms which have been discussed.
Generally, acidizing stimulation is the removal of near 2.1.3. Sulfamic acid (H3NSO3)
wellbore formation damage bydissolving the acid soluble
plugging materials and the matrix formation rock. Acid Sulfamic acid is inorganic acid and it is usually in the form
may beused for cleaning the well bore and tubing or to of powder or granularparticles which allow its
improve the formation productivity andpermeability such transportation easily to the well cite and then it can be
as matrix and fracture acidizing. mixed withwater to formulate the desired concentration.
The usage of sulfamic in acidizing stimulationis
2.1. Types of acids used in matrix acidizing problematic at temperatures higher than 180 ᵒF because the
2.1.1. Mineral acids acid will hydrolyze andform sulfuric acid. The generated
sulfuric acid (H2SO4) reacts with the carbonate rocks
Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is a strong acid which can be used orcalcite scales (CaCO3) in the pores and results in the
in acidizingstimulation operations in both carbonate and precipitation of insoluble Calciumsulfate (CaSO4) which
sunstone formations. In carbonate formationsusually a reduces permeability (Allen and Roberts, 1993).
concentration of 15% by weight of HCl is used to stimulate
limestone or dolomiterocks; however, higher
concentrations (28% by weight) are desired in situations
wheredeeper penetration of the rocks is considered. 2.2. Acidizing stimulation additives
Hydrochloric acid also is used in acidizing stimulation of
sandstone formations with the concentration of (5% to 15 Various additives are added to the treatment acid solution
% by weight) as apreflash before the injection of main for various objectives. Theratio or concentration of each
treatment acid (HCl-HF mixture). This preflashdissolve the additive in the acids should be practically determined
carbonate minerals in the sandstone formation to prevent basedon tests on core and forma fluid samples. Common
the precipitation ofinsoluble calcium fluoride (CaF2) by the additives in acidizing stimulationoperations are: corrosion
contact of Hydrofluoric acid (HF) with thecarbonate inhibitors, surfactants, anti-sludge agents, suspending
minerals which caused permeability impairment near the agents, mutual solvents, iron control additives and clay
well bore. stabilizers.

Despite the fact that, HCl has low cost and highdissolving
power for carbonate minerals, it cannot be used at high
temperature conditionssuch as in deep and high 2.3. Acid placement and diversion techniques
temperature wells where the acid reaction rate is very high
whichdoes not allow deep penetration of acid created Due to heterogeneity of the damaged formations,
wormholes: moreover, at these hightemperature conditions, permeability is not the samethroughout the entire formation
the corrosivity of the acid (HCl) cannot be controlled and even the degree of the damage varies within the
withinhibitors or the corrosion control is very expensive sameformation. When the acidizing treatment fluids flow
(Chang et al., 2008). into the formation, it has hightendency to flow in to the
least resistant intervals which have high permeability and
2.1.2. Organicacids lessdamage in the formation. This causes the failure of the
stimulation because the interestintervals, which are quite
Organic acids, which are weak acids and less corrosive damaged or have very low permeability, are left behind
compared to HCl acid, arerarely used except in high withoutbeing treated or stimulated.
temperature situations or in operations that lasts for a long
time and prolonged acid contact with the metal equipment Diversion techniques can overcome this problem and divert
is a big concern such as in perforationoperations. Organic the treatment acid to thedesired intervals or uniformly
acids that are used in acidizing stimulation are: distribute the acid throughout the entire formation.
Ingeneral, there are two types of diversion techniques:
chemical diversion and mechanicaldiversion. Mechanical

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 International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2018

diversion techniques are coiled tubing, ball sealers and Limestone and dolomite are two types of sedimentary
bridge plugand packers, while chemical diversion includes carbonate rocks that can bepotential hydrocarbon reservoir
the use of particulates, foam and viscousfluids in achieving rocks. They are called carbonate rocks due to having
the diversion. Mechanical diversion is more efficient and highpercentage (above 50%) of carbonate minerals which
successfulcompared to chemical diversion; however, they have anionic carbonate (CO3 -2) groupin their chemical
are very expensive, and they need moretime. Mechanical composition. Limestone in mainly composed of calcite or
techniques only divert the acid in to the desired intervals calciumcarbonate (CaCO3) mineral. Meanwhile, dolomite
inside the wellbore and cannot control the flow of the acid contains Magnesium ions as well. Reaction of common
inside the matrix of the formation; therefore,they can be acids (organic acid or HCl) acid in carbonate matrix
called external diversion techniques. Chemical diverters acidizingwith carbonate minerals in carbonate rocks results
can achieveinternal diversion of the acids (Chang et al., in the production of carbon dioxide(CO2) , water (H2O)
2008). and slats that are soluble in water and the spent acid such
asmagnesium chloride (MgCl2) , calcium chloride (CaCl2),
3. Matrix Acidizing of Carbonate Formations calcium acetate (Ca(CH3CO2)2),magnesium acetate
(Mg(CH3CO2)2), calcium formate (Ca(HCO2)2) and
The aim of carbonate matrix acidizing is to remove the magnesium formate(Mg (HCO2)2) as shown in the
effect of near wellbore damageby dissolving the matrix of following reaction equations (Kalfayan, 2008):
the rock and bypassing the damage by enlarging and
connectingthe pore spaces and creating new conductive
channels. These conductive channels, whichare referred as
wormholes, penetrate the damaged zone up to few feet 2 HCl + CaCO3 CaCl2 + CO2 + H2O
around the wellboreand bypass the permeability
4 HCl + CaMg(CO3)2 CaCl2 + MgCl2
impairment. Acids used in carbonate matrix treatments
+2CO2 + 2H2O
arehydrochloric acid (HCl) or organic acids such as acetic
acid (CH3COOH) or formic acid(HCOOH). These acids 2 CH3COOH + CaCO3 Ca(CH3CO2)2 + CO2 + H2O
are only able to dissolve carbonate minerals; therefore,
acidstimulation in carbonate rocks (limestone or dolomite) 4 CH3COOH + CaMg(CO3)2 Ca(CH3CO2)2 +
is principally achieved by dissolvingthe carbonate minerals Mg(CH3CO2)2 + 2 CO2 + H2O
in the rock matrix and fines that has been released from the
rocks.Carbonate minerals that exist in carbonate rocks are 2 HCOOH + CaCO3 Ca(HCO2)2 + CO2 +
calcite mineral (CaCO3) in limestonerock and dolomite H2O
mineral (CaMg(CO3)2).
4 HCOOH + CaMg(CO3)2 Ca(HCO2)2 + Mg
Selection of acid type and concentration is an essential (HCO2)2 + 2 CO2 + 2 H2O
stage in carbonate acidizingstimulation. Choosing the right
concentration of acid should be based on laboratory Carbonate rocks may not be pure and siliceous minerals
tests(core flooding tests) on the formation core samples to can co-exist with the carbonateminerals in the rock. These
investigate that which concentrationof particular acid gives siliceous minerals could be quartz or clay minerals that
the optimum penetration or wormhole creation. In 1984, exist in sandstone, shale or chert rocks. In the presence of a
McLeodintroduced a guide line for carbonate matrix acid considerable percentage of siliceousminerals (less than
stimulation as shown in table (1). 15% HCl is the most 50%), the carbonate rock is named as sandy, cherty or
widely used in treatments of carbonate rocks; however, shaly carbonate(dolomite or limestone) rock (Williams,
higherconcentrations up to 28% can be used for achieving Gidley and Schechter, 1979, P.12). Acids whichare used in
deeper penetration of the wormholes indeep near wellbore carbonate acidizing cannot dissolve siliceous minerals
damage conditions. (minerals that containsilicon in their chemical composition)
such as clay minerals (Kaolinite, Illite, Semectiteand
Table (1): McLeod acid use guidelines (McLeod, 2007) Chlorite), Quartz, Mica and Feldspar.
Situation Weight Concentration The percentage of impurities and carbonate minerals in the
Perforating fluid 5% acetic acid carbonate rock should beknown which affects the design of
Damaged perforations 9% acetic acid, 10% fomic acid, 15% HCl the acid volume and acid penetration depth. (Allen
Deep wellbore damage 15% HCl, 28% HCl, Emulsified HCl andRoberts, 1993, p.7-19) explains that, the use of
hydrofluoric acid (HF), which is specializedfor sandstone
acidizing stimulation and powerful in dissolving siliceous
3.1. Carbonate rock composition and their minerals, incarbonate formations should be shunned
reactions with acids: because (HF) reacts with carbonate minerals andproduce

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insoluble reaction products (magnesium fluoride (MgF2) 3.3. Acid injection rate
/or calcium fluoride(CaF2)) inside the rock pores which
causes the damage of the formation and Maximum allowable acid injection rate without creating
permeabilityimpairment rather than stimulation as shown fracture in the formation canbe found with equation (9). It
below: is recommended to keep the acid injection rate at
10%lower than the maximum allowable injection rate as a
CaCO3 + 2HF CaF2 + carbon dioxide (CO2) + safety margin to avoid breaking theformation.

( 0 )6 7
water (H2O)

4.917 × 10;< = > (? @ A)

CaMg(CO3)2 + 4HF MgF2 + CaF2 + carbon …………… .9
dioxide (2CO2) + water (2H2O) 0 lnB C D

Where:
3.2. Estimation of the required acid volume for ( 0 )6 7 : Maximum allowable acid injection rate
carbonate matrix acidizing: (bbl/min)
= : Average formation permeability (md)
(Economides, Hill and Ehlig-Economides, 1994) has > : Formation thickness (ft)
presented two modelsfor estimating the required acid ? : Formation fracture gradient (psi/ft)
volume for matrix treatment of carbonate formations @: Formation depth (ft)
whichare Daccord’s model and volumetric model. The A : Reservoir pressure (psi)
later will be discussed in this paper. Volumetric model 0 : Acid viscosity (cp)
assumes that in carbonate matrix acidizing, aconstant : Reservoir drainage radius (ft)
fraction of the carbonate rock will be dissolved by the acid. : Wellbore radius (ft)
Laboratory tests oncore samples should be carried out to
attain this fraction. The dissolved fraction of thereservoir
3.4. Maximum allowable surface injection
rock in the entire formation will be the same as the
dissolved fraction in the coresamples. Equation (7), which pressure
is an empirical equation, is used in volumetric model
Acid injection pressure should not exceed the maximum
forcalculating the required acid volume:
allowable limit, which can befound by usingequation (10),
, ,
' ∅)( + ) to avoid the breakage of the formation:
…………… .7
./0 6 7 E? 0.052(F 0 )G@ … … … … … . 10
Where: Where:
2
: The required acid volume per unit thickness of the 6 7 : Maximum allowable acid injection pressure at
+
formation in (ft3/ft). surface (psi)
∅: Formation porosity. ? : Formation fracture gradient (psi/ft)
): Fraction of the rock that dissolved by the acid. F 0 : Density of the acid (ppg)
+ : Penetrated radius by the wormholes in (ft).
D: Formation depth (ft.)
: Wellbore radius in (ft).
./0 : Acid capacity number, dimensionless 4. Case Study
The fraction of the rock ()) which is dissolved by the acid A “Koya” well is being drilled and completed in one of the
in the core sample can alsobe determined by using equation filed at north of Iraq, the name of the field is not mentioned
(8): in this work due to the confidentiality of publication. The
perforation interval was 20 m from 1774 m to 1794 m in
) ./0 '34 … … … … … .8 carbonate formation. It was observed that the pressure
difference between the Pws and Pwf around 300 psi which
( '34 ) is the number of pore volumes that has been filled or is too high, and the well was producing 3150 bbls/day.
injected with acid when thewormholes breakthrough at the Therefore, it has been decided to stimulate the well through
core sample end. The ( '34 ) can be found in acidizing the whole perforation zone, the acidizing
laboratoryexperiments on the core samples by using procedure information are shown in tables below.
neutron radiography which film the enlargedpores and
created wormholes in the cores.

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 International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2018

• The main acid used in carbonate formation is HCl with

different concentrations
• The acidizing operation should be designed regarding
the type of acid, the concentration of acid, the volume
of acid, injecting rate and injecting pressure.
• In the mentioned case study, result showed that the
production rate increases to approximately 75% of the
oil production rate.
Table (2): Main fluid 20% HCl (Koya well)
6. Recommendations
• Doing both compatibility test and core flooding test in
order to decide on the type of acid and its
Table (3): Diesel displacement (Koya well)
concentration.
• Determining the formation fracture gradient in order to
avoid fracturing while matrix acidizing.
• The ability or advantages of hydraulic fracturing over
the matrix acidizing for certain formation.

4.1. Results and discussions 7. References

1. Allen, T. O. and Roberts, A. P. (1993) Production
The well being acidized through injecting 132 bbls of 20% Operations: Well completions,workover, and
HCl at a pressure of 2800 psi with a rate of 8 bbl/min then
stimulation. 4th edn. Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA: Oil &
being displaced with 65 bbls of diesel. It has been
observed the pressure difference between the Pws and Pwf Gas ConsultantsInternational.
decreased from 300 psi to 25 psi and the production rate 2. Bennion, D. B. (2002) ‘An Overview of Formation
being increased from 3150 bbls/day to around 5500 Damage Mechanisms Causing aReduction in the
bbls/day. Productivity and Injectivity of Oil and Gas Producing
Formations’,Journal of Canadian Petroleum
5. Conclusion Technology, 41(11), pp. 29-36.
• Formation damages could be occurred at various
3. Bennion, D. B., Thomas, F. B. Bennion, D. W. and
operations such as drilling, completion, production and
Bietz, R. F. (1995) ‘Mechanisms ofFormation Damage
EOR.
and Permeability Impairment Associated With the
• Formation damage has a significant affect on the Drilling,Completion and Production of Low API
production rate since reduce the permeability of the
Gravity Oil Reservoirs’, SPE International Heavy Oil
pay zones.
Symposium. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: 19-21 June.
• Formation Damage Mechanisms are classified into Richardson, TX, USA:Society of Petroleum Engineers,
Four categories; mechanical, chemical, biological and pp. 689-707.
thermal. 4. Chang, F. F., Nasr-El-Din, H. A., Lindvig, T. and Qiu,
• Stimulation is the remedial of the formation damage X. W. (2008) ‘MatrixAcidizing of Carbonate
and classifies into matrix acidizing and fracturing. Reservoirs Using Organic Acids and Mixture of HCl
• Various types of acids are used in matrix acidizing and andOrganic Acids’ SPE Annual Technical Conference
each is suitable for specific type rocks and conditions. and Exhibition. Denver, Colorado,USA, 21-24
• In addition to the main acid fluid, there are several September. Richardson, TX, USA: Society of
chemical to be added to the acid solution called Petroleum Engineers, pp.1-9.
additives. 5. Economides, M. J., Hill, D. A., and Ehlig-Economides,
• The acids could reach the target interval through C. (1994) PetroleumProduction Systems. Upper saddle
various diversion techniques such as chemical and river, NJ: Prentice Hall.
mechanical diversions.

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 International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2018

6. Kalfayan, L. (2008) Production Enhancement with

Acid Stimulation. 2nd edn. Tulsa,Oklahoma: PennWell
Corporation.
7. McLeod, H. Q. (2007) ‘Matrix Acidizing’, in Lake, L.
W. and Clegg, J. D. Petroleum Engineering
Handbook: Production Operations Engineering.
Richardson,TX, USA: Society of Petroleum Engineers,
pp.275-321.
8. Microbial Formation Damage (2012) available at:
http://www.corex.co.uk/
microbial_formationdamage.php (Accessed: 05 March
2018)
9. Sharma, M. M. (2007) ‘Formation Damage’, in Lake,
L.W. and Clegg, J. D.Petroleum Engineering
Handbook: Production Operations Engineering.
Richardson,TX, USA: Society of Petroleum Engineers,
pp. 241-274.
10. Williams, B. B., Gidley, J. L. and Schechter, R. S.
(1979) Acidizing Fundamentals.Dallas, TX, USA:
Society of petroleum engineers of AIME.

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