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Modeling Flow of Chelating Agents During Stimulation of Carbonate Reservoirs

  • Research Article - Petroleum Engineering
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Abstract

Chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and hydroxy ethylene diamine triacetic acid (HEDTA) have been used as stand-alone stimulation fluids. These fluids can be used to stimulate water injectors, oil, or gas producers. In this study, an analytical model was developed to describe the flow of HEDTA and EDTA chelating agents and propagation inside calcite formations. The analytical model can be used as a pre-design tool before the treatments. The developed model can be used to predict the volume of the chelant required to create wormholes in calcite formations at different temperatures. The temperature affects the diffusion coefficient of the chelating agent, wormholing rate, and wormhole shape and size. The dissolving power of different forms of HEDTA can be determined using the model. The optimum injection rate based on optimum wormholing conditions was identified. Also, the model can be used to predict the wormholing rate of different chelating agents in calcite formations. The analytical model can be used to predict the performance of the chelating agent in calcite stimulation. The volume of chelating agent required to stimulate calcite formation per foot thickness was determined using the developed model. The optimum injection rate was determined for different chelating agents using the model, and the results were compared with experimental results from previous work and there was a good agreement between the measured and the predicted values. The model can be used to determine the best stimulation fluid based on the temperature and fracture pressure of the target zones.

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Abbreviations

A:

Core cross-sectional area (cm2)

C:

Chelant concentration (M)

d :

Diameter (in.)

D e :

Diffusion coefficient (\({{{\rm cm}}^{2}/{\rm s}}\))

h:

Reservoir thickness (ft)

h f :

Heterogeneity factor

k :

Core permeability (md)

kc :

Mass transfer coefficient (cm/s)

Keq :

Reaction equilibrium constant, dimensionless

Ks :

Surface reaction constant (cm/s)

L :

Length (in.)

MW:

Molecular weight (lbmole)

NAC :

Acid capacity number

N Da :

Damköhler number

Npe :

Peclet number

PVbt :

Pore volume required to create wormholes along the core length (PV)

Q :

Injection rate (\({{\rm cm}^{3}/{\rm min}}\))

r:

Radius or distance from the wellbore (ft)

V:

Volume (\({{\rm ft}^{3}}\))

v :

Velocity (cm/min)

v wh :

Wormholing rate (cm/min)

X:

Volumetric dissolving power (\({{\rm ft}^{3}\,{\rm CaCO}_{3}/{\rm ft}^{3}}\) acid)

x :

Volume fraction

\({\alpha}\) :

Stoichiometric coefficient

\({\beta}\) :

Gravimetric dissolving power (lbmole \({{\rm CaCO}_{3}/{\rm lbmole}}\) acid)

ϕ:

Reservoir porosity (fraction)

\({\kappa}\) :

Overall dissolution rate constant (cm/s)

\({\mu}\) :

Solution viscosity (cP)

\({\nu}\) :

Stoichiometric ratio of reactants and products

\({\rho}\) :

Density (\({{\rm g/cm}^{3}}\))

CaCO3 :

Calcite

core:

Entire core

f:

Formation

HEDTA:

Chelating agent

i:

Interstitial

linear:

Linear position

o:

Initial

opt:

Optimum

P:

Products

R:

Reactants

radial:

Radial position

tip:

Tip of the wormhole

w:

Wellbore

wh:

Wormhole

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, 31261, Dhahran, KSA

    M. A. Mahmoud

  2. Texas A&M University, 3116 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-3116, USA

    H. A. Nasr-El-Din

Authors
  1. M. A. Mahmoud
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  2. H. A. Nasr-El-Din
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Correspondence to M. A. Mahmoud.

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Mahmoud, M.A., Nasr-El-Din, H.A. Modeling Flow of Chelating Agents During Stimulation of Carbonate Reservoirs. Arab J Sci Eng 39, 9239–9248 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-014-1437-4

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