Experimental Design for Evaluation of Formation Damage by Microbial Contamination in Water Flooding Processes. A Colombian Study Case
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Evaluators
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Universidad Industrial de Santander
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La contaminación microbiana es bien conocida en la industria del petróleo y el gas y se produce en la mayoría de los procesos donde están involucrados sistemas de procesamiento de agua. Los microorganismos se propagan en todas partes, incluso en el subsuelo, donde se desarrollan las operaciones de exploración y producción de petróleo, por esta razón, diferentes géneros de microorganismos pueden afectar a la industria de petróleo y gas. Uno de los principales problemas en los campos maduros de petróleo que experimentan una recuperación secundaria es la contaminación con bacterias reductoras de sulfato (SRB) causada generalmente por el sistema de inyección de agua (fresco y / o producción) y / o del reservorio (natural o por fluidos de perforación,finalización, estimulación, etc.). Este problema causa daños en la formación y corrosión microbiológica inducida (MIC) en el sistema de inyección-producción. En muchos pozos productores, el daño de la formación por contaminación microbiológica está inicialmente oculto por una disminución en la presión del yacimiento; sin embargo, la producción inicial de H2S proporciona unaposible contaminación microbiana de la producción de agua, la inyección de agua y, eventualmente, el reservorio de petróleo.En algunos pozos productores, las concentraciones de H2S han excedido los límites letales de 250 ppm y hay casos de pozos productores con niveles superiores a 1000 ppm. En este trabajo, se desarrollaron tanto un estudio conceptual como un protocolo experimental para evaluar el daño de la formación por contaminación microbiana en los procesos de inundación de agua, enfocado en encontrar el mejor tratamiento de estimulación con biocidas para el H2S y el control de la corrosión en los pozos productores de campos petroleros en recuperación secundaria como parte de la estrategia integral para implementar en el sistema de producción de inyección y reservorio del campo Chichimene en Colombia. Este estudio incluyó las siguientes etapas:1. Estado del arte para definir los principales bactericidas, los tratamientos de estimulación de la matriz para el H2S y el control de la corrosión, la eliminación de biomasa (biofilm) y sulfuro de hierro, etc., en los pozos productores.2. Estudio conceptual del daño de la formación por el crecimiento de bacterias reductoras de sulfato.3. Protocolo experimental para la evaluación de daños de formación por contaminación microbiana en procesos de inundación de agua.4. Evaluación experimental del daño de la formación por contaminación microbiana en los núcleos del campo Chichimene, en Colombia.Finalmente, se muestran los principales hallazgos, conclusiones y recomendaciones obtenidas en este estudio.
Microbial contamination is well known in the oil and gas industry and it occurs in most processes where water processing systems are involved. Microorganisms are spread everywhere, even in the subsurface, where operations of oil exploration and production are developed. For this reason, different genera of microorganisms can affect the Oil & Gas Industry. One of the major problems in oil mature fields undergoing secondary recovery is the contamination with sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), caused generally by the injection water system (fresh and/or production) and/or of the reservoir (natural or by drilling fluids, completion, stimulation, etc.). This problem causes formation damage and microbiological induced corrosion (MIC) in the injection-production system. In many producing wells, formation damage by microbiological contamination is initially maskedby a decline in reservoir pressure; however, initial production of H2S does provide a possible microbial contamination of water production, water injection and eventually petroleum reservoir. In some producing wells, H2S concentrations have exceeded the lethal limits of 250 ppm and there are cases of producing wells with levels above 1000 ppm. In this work, both a conceptualstudy and an experimental protocol were developed for the evaluation of formation damage by microbial contamination in water flooding processes, focused on finding the best stimulation treatment with biocides to H2S and corrosion control in Producer Wells of Oil Fields Undergoing Secondary Recovery as part of the comprehensive strategy to implement in the injection-reservoirproduction system of the Chichimene field in Colombia. This study included the following stages:1. State of the art to define main Bactericides, matrix stimulation treatments to H2S and corrosion control, removal of biomass (biofilm) and iron sulfide, etc. in producers wells.2. Conceptual study of the Formation damage by growth of sulfate-reducing bacteria.3. Experimental protocol to evaluation of formation damage by microbial contamination in water flooding processes4. Experimental evaluation of formation damage by microbial contamination in cores of the Chichimene field, in Colombia.Finally, the main findings, conclusions and recommendations obtained in this study are shown.
Microbial contamination is well known in the oil and gas industry and it occurs in most processes where water processing systems are involved. Microorganisms are spread everywhere, even in the subsurface, where operations of oil exploration and production are developed. For this reason, different genera of microorganisms can affect the Oil & Gas Industry. One of the major problems in oil mature fields undergoing secondary recovery is the contamination with sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), caused generally by the injection water system (fresh and/or production) and/or of the reservoir (natural or by drilling fluids, completion, stimulation, etc.). This problem causes formation damage and microbiological induced corrosion (MIC) in the injection-production system. In many producing wells, formation damage by microbiological contamination is initially maskedby a decline in reservoir pressure; however, initial production of H2S does provide a possible microbial contamination of water production, water injection and eventually petroleum reservoir. In some producing wells, H2S concentrations have exceeded the lethal limits of 250 ppm and there are cases of producing wells with levels above 1000 ppm. In this work, both a conceptualstudy and an experimental protocol were developed for the evaluation of formation damage by microbial contamination in water flooding processes, focused on finding the best stimulation treatment with biocides to H2S and corrosion control in Producer Wells of Oil Fields Undergoing Secondary Recovery as part of the comprehensive strategy to implement in the injection-reservoirproduction system of the Chichimene field in Colombia. This study included the following stages:1. State of the art to define main Bactericides, matrix stimulation treatments to H2S and corrosion control, removal of biomass (biofilm) and iron sulfide, etc. in producers wells.2. Conceptual study of the Formation damage by growth of sulfate-reducing bacteria.3. Experimental protocol to evaluation of formation damage by microbial contamination in water flooding processes4. Experimental evaluation of formation damage by microbial contamination in cores of the Chichimene field, in Colombia.Finally, the main findings, conclusions and recommendations obtained in this study are shown.
Keywords
Microbial contamination, Microorganisms, Secondary Recovery, Stimulation, Formation Damage, Sulfate-reducing bacteria, Water production, Waterflooding, Contaminación microbiana, microorganismos, Recuperación secundaria, Estimulación, Daño a la formación, bacterias reductoras de sulfato, Producción de agua, inyección de agua