November 2010 SPE Production & Operations 545

Inhibition of Calcium Sulfate and Strontium

Sulfate Scale in Waterflood
Amer Badr BinMerdhah, Hadhramout University of Science and Technology
Copyright 2010 Society of Petroleum Engineers
Original SPE manuscript received for review 20 February 2010. Revised manuscript
received for review 14 June 10. Paper (SPE 141168) peer approved 26 July 10.
Summary
One of the most common methods of preventing downhole and
topside mineral-scale formation in oil fields is through the use of
chemical-scale inhibitors. Several aspects of the brine composition
may affect the performance of the various scale inhibitors used in
oilfield applications. This study was conducted to investigate the
permeability reduction caused by deposition of calcium sulfate
(CaSO
4
) and strontium sulfate (SrSO
4
) in Malaysian sandstone and
Berea cores from mixing injected Malaysian seawaters (SW) (Angsi
and Barton) and formation water (FW) that contain a high concen-
tration of calcium and strontium ions at various temperatures (50 to
95C) and differential pressures (75 to 200 psig). Scale-inhibition
efficiency was determined in both the bulk jar and the core tests by
using scale inhibitors methylene phosphonic acid (DETPMP), poly-
phosphino carboxylic acid (PPCA), and phosphorus-based scale
inhibitor (PBSI) at various temperatures (50 to 95C) and concen-
trations. The results showed a large extent of permeability damage
caused by calcium and strontium sulfates that deposited on the rock
pore surface. At higher temperatures, the rate of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
precipitation increases because the solubilities of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4

scales decrease with increasing temperature. At 90C temperature,
PBSI was the best inhibitor because it reduced more scale deposition
compared to the DETPMP and PPCA inhibitors.
Introduction
Scale deposition can plug production lines and equipment and
impair fluid flow. The consequence could be production-equipment
failure, emergency shutdown, increased maintenance cost, and
overall decrease in production efficiency. The failure of this equip-
ment could result in safety hazards. In case of water-injection
systems, scale could plug the pores of the formation and result
in injectivity decline with time (Yuan and Todd 1991; Yeboah et al.
1993; Asghari et al. 1995; Andersen et al. 2000; Graham et al. 2001;
Paulo et al. 2001; Voloshin et al. 2003).
The formation of mineral scale in production facilities is a rela-
tively common problem in the oil industry. Most scale forms either by
pressure and temperature changes that favor salt precipitation from
FWs or when incompatible waters mix during pressure maintenance
or waterflood strategies. Scale prevention is achieved by performing
squeeze treatments in which chemical-scale inhibitors are injected
into the producers near-wellbore region (Romero et al. 2007).
Furthermore, the formation of mineral scale (carbonate/sulfate/
sulfide) within the near-wellbore region, production tubing, and
topside process equipment has presented a challenge to the oil and
gas industry for more than 50 years. Chemical methods to control
scale have been developed, including scale squeeze treatments and
continuous chemical injection. A key factor in the success of such
treatments is understanding the chemical placement and effective-
ness of the treatment chemicals (Jordan et al. 2006).
In most cases, the scaled-up wells are caused by the forma-
tion of sulfate and carbonate scales of calcium and strontium.
Because of their proportionate hardness and low solubility, there
are restricted processes available for their removal, and preventive
measures such as the squeeze inhibitor treatment must be taken. It
is therefore important to gain a proper understanding of the kinetics
of scale formation and its detrimental effects on formation damage
under both inhibited and uninhibited conditions (Wat et al. 1992;
Moghadasi et al. 2003).
The most common classes of inhibitor chemicals are inorganic
phosphates, organophosphorous compounds, and organic polymers.
PPCA and DETPMP are two common commercial scale inhibitors
used to control mineral scaling in the oil and gas industry (Bezemer
and Bauer 1969). PPCA is a polymer formed by two polyacrylic
acids connected by a phosphorous group, as shown in Fig. 1. PPCA
is often regarded as a nucleation inhibitor. After initial nucleation,
PPCA continues to retard crystal growth, but it does not stop it
entirely and becomes less effective with time. This is because of
its incorporation in the crystal lattice. DETPMP, the phosphonate
species, has the chemical structure illustrated in Fig. 2. In contrast
to PPCA, DETPMP is thought to retard the growth of crystals and
is less effective in preventing initial nucleation. Once nucleation has
started, it is effective at stopping further crystal growth by adsorbing
active growth sites on the scale crystal lattice (Chen et al. 2004).
The action of scale inhibitors in preventing scale formation
has been investigated extensively in the literature with different
inhibitors. The present work is conducted to test the efficiency of
common commercial scale inhibitors (DETPMP and PPCA) and
locally produced scale inhibitor (PBSI) in preventing or delaying
CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
scales, which are formed by mixing injection
water (Barton and Angsi SWs) and FW.
Materials and Methods
Core Material. In all ooding experiments, the porous media used
in this study were
1. Berea cores of 3-in. length, 1-in. diameter, average porosity of
21.60%, and initial permeability varying from 65.97 to 141.13 md.
2. Sandstone cores from Sentumbung, Serawak, Malaysia, with
a 3-in. length, 1-in. diameter, average porosity of 14.37%, and
initial permeability varying from 11.64 to 14.36 md.
No oil was present in the cores. All the cores were cleaned using
methanol in a Soxhlet extractor and dried in a Memmert Universal
Oven at 100C overnight before use.
Preparation of Brines. Synthetic FW and injection water (Barton
and Angsi SWs) were made up according to the analyses in Table 1.
Brines were prepared for each run by dissolving the salts in deion-
ized water. Therefore, the FW and SW were ltered through a
0.45-m lter paper before use in order to remove any particulate
material. Inhibitor solutions were prepared by dissolving inhibitors
in SW. Five salts used for the preparation of synthetic FW and
SW were computed on the basis of the ionic compositions given
in Table 2.
Types of Scale Inhibitors. Three different types of scale inhibitors
were tested for performance comparison. Two of them (DETPMP and
PPCA) were imported from China. DETPMP and PPCA were selected
as scale inhibitors because both are commonly used for scale inhibi-
tion in Malaysian oil elds. PBSI is a locally produced scale inhibitor
selected as the third scale inhibitor to be tested in this study.
Scaling-Test Rig. Experiments were carried out using a test rig,
which is schematically shown in Fig. 3. The core-test equipment
consists of ve parts: constant-pressure pumps, transfer cells, oven,
pressure transducer, and core holder.
Constant Pressure Pumps. To inject the brines during flood-
ing at different pressures, two double-piston plunger pumps
546 November 2010 SPE Production & Operations
Fig. 1Chemical structure of PPCA inhibitor.
Fig. 2Chemical structure of DETPMP inhibitor.
TABLE 2COMPOUNDS OF SYNTHETIC FW AND INJECTION WATER
Compound High-Salinity FW (ppm)
Average Between Barton and Angsi
SW (ppm)
Sodium chloride 132, 461 26,113
Potassium sulfate 5,178
Magnesium chloride 35,625 9,843
Calcium chloride 110,045
Strontium chloride 3,347
TABLE 1THE IONIC COMPOSITIONS OF SYNTHETIC FW AND INJECTION WATER
Ionic High-Salinity FW (ppm) Barton SW (ppm) Angsi SW (ppm)
0 5 . 4 0 8 , 0 1 9 4 7 , 9 2 3 1 , 2 5 m u i d o S
5 0 . 5 7 3 0 4 3 7 6 9 , 1 m u i s s a t o P
5 2 . 5 9 2 , 1 0 6 0 , 1 0 6 2 , 4 m u i s e n g a M
0 2 . 9 2 4 4 8 3 0 0 0 , 0 3 m u i c l a C
7 7 5 . 6 4 . 5 0 0 1 , 1 m u i t n o r t S
2 . 0 n a h t s s e l 0 1 m u i r a B
Chloride 146,385 17,218 19,307.45
0 5 7 , 2 0 6 9 , 2 8 0 1 e t a f l u S
0 8 . 8 5 1 6 3 1 0 5 3 e t a n o b r a c i B
Plunger Pump
Core Holder
Oven
Transfer Cell
Pressure Transducer
To Nitrogen Cylinder
S.W
Valve
F.W
Flow Meter

Brine Collection
Digital Readout
Water Tank
Water Water
Fig. 3Schematic of the coreflooding apparatus.
November 2010 SPE Production & Operations 547
manufactured by Lushyong Machiney Industry Limited with a 1.5
hp motor, a maximum design pressure of 35 bar, and an approxi-
mate flow rate of 20 L/min were used. Moreover, these pumps
operate on pressure, and the required pressure for the experiment
is in the range of 75 to 200 psig. The required pressure is set on
the pump with the help of a regulator. Upon opening the valve, the
pump will deliver the set amount of pressure to the experimental rig
and the extra fluid will be sent back to the tank by the pump.
Transfer Cells. The two stainless-steel transfer cells were
manufactured by Temco, Inc., and can withstand pressures up to
10,000 psia. They were used to store and pump the injected brine
to the core holder. Each cell with a capacity of 1,000 mL has
a free-floating piston, which separates the pump fluid (distilled
water) from the injection brine. The pump fluid was pumped into
a transfer cell to displace the brine into the core.
Oven. During all flooding runs, the core holder is placed inside
a temperature-controlled oven.
Pressure Transducer. The differential pressure across the core
during flooding runs was measured by a pressure transducer with a
digital display (Model E-913 033-B29) manufactured by Lushyong
Machiney Industry Limited.
Core Holder. A Hassler-type, stainless-steel core holder
designed for consolidated core samples with a 3-in. length and
1-in. diameter was used. The holder was manufactured by Temco,
Inc., and could withstand pressures up to 10,000 psia. This is a
rubber-sleeved core holder, subjected to an external confining pres-
sure, into which a sandstone core is placed.
Experimental Procedure. In general, the purpose of the laboratory
study was to investigate permeability reduction by deposition of scale
in a porous medium and to acquire knowledge about the efciency of
scale inhibitor in preventing common oileld scales from forming.
Jar Test. The aim of this study was to determine the efciency of
scale inhibitor in preventing formation of common oileld scales
because of synthetic brines (FW and SW) mixing at high salinity
(high concentration of calcium and strontium) at various tempera-
tures (50 to 95C). The experimental procedures used to determine
the efciency of scale inhibitor are as follows:
1. For each experiment with common oilfield scales, the two
brine solutions (100 mL of SW containing inhibitor and 100 mL of
FW) were put in clean glass bottles. The bottles were then capped,
placed inside the oven, and heated to the desired temperature for
1 hour.
2. After 1 hour, the bottles were removed from the oven and
SW was added to the FW. The bottles were shaken vigorously
by hand for 60 seconds and then placed back in the oven. The
mixture was left undisturbed for 4 hours. After this, the mixture
was removed from the oven and immediately filtered through
0.45-m filter paper.
3. The crystals on the filter paper were dried in a humidity
oven and the weight of dried-crystal sample was measured by
electronic top pan balance.
Core Test
Core Saturation. Before each run, the core sample was dried in a
Memmert Universal Oven at 100C for overnight. The core sample
was prepared for installation in the core holder. A vacuum was
drawn on the core sample for several hours to remove all air from
the core. The core was saturated with FW at room temperature.
After the appearance of FW at the outlet, ooding was continued
long enough to ensure 100% saturation.
Coreooding Test. As shown in Fig. 3, the system consisting of the
core-holder assembly with the saturated core sample and transfer
cells containing the two incompatible waters (SW and FW) were
placed inside the oven and heated to the desired temperature of the
run. The system was left for 3 hours for temperature equilibrium
to be attained. The required conning pressure was then adjusted
to be at approximately twice the inlet pressure. A ooding run
was started by setting both plunger pumps at the same pressure
(ranging from 75 to 200 psig), then turning them on. Thus, the two
waters (SW and FW) were always injected into the core sample at
a mixing ratio of 50:50. The inlet pressure was measured by pres-
sure transducer, while the outlet pressure was atmospheric pres-
sure. During each run, the ow rate across the core was recorded
continuously and the permeability of the core was calculated using
Darcys linear-ow equation before and after scale deposition.
Experiments on the core material were then repeated using an
inhibitor to see how effective this was in preventing or delaying
scale formation resulting from mixing of Angsi and Barton SWs
with FW. For selected runs, the core sample was removed at the
end of ooding. The core samples were then cut into sections and
investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to reveal
the nature of the scale-formation crystals.
Results and Discussion
High-Salinity FW Jar-Test Analysis. Scale inhibitor is the main
concern of this study. There are three types of scale inhibitors
(DETPMP, PPCA, and PBSI) that are being tested for their compara-
tive effectiveness in preventing scale deposition. The test was car-
ried out at the atmospheric pressure and at different temperatures
ranging from 50 to 90C for 4 hours. Inhibitor concentrations of
10 and 30 ppm were made up with synthetic SW. The solutions
were left undisturbed for 4 hours to allow scaling to occur. The
solutions were ltered, and the scale that remained on the lter
papers were weighed to obtain a comparison of the weight of scales
deposited according to different test conditions.
The jar tests started at 50C without inhibitor in the injection
water. There was very little scale deposited compared with 70 and
90C. A distinct increment occurred when the test was carried
out at temperature of 70C. It was noted as 0.286 g, while it was
0.304 g of scale deposit on filter paper for the test at 90C. This
shows the trend when high-salinity FW was mixed with SW, the
scale deposited is directly proportional to the increase of the test
temperature, as shown in Fig. 4.
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
30 50 70 90
Temperature (C)
W
e
i
g
h
t


(
g
m
)
Blank
10 ppm- PPCA
10 ppm- DETPMP
10 ppm- PBSI
30 ppm- PPCA
30 ppm- DETPMP
30 ppm- PBSI
Fig. 4Effect of temperature on scale deposition without/with scale inhibitor added for high-salinity-FW tests.
548 November 2010 SPE Production & Operations
At 70C, PPCA inhibited the scale deposition most effectively
at its 10-ppm concentration in SW, which gave 0.235 g of depos-
ited scale weight in comparison to 0.286 g with no inhibitor added
(Fig. 4). At the same temperature, DETPMP gave the best result at
its 10-ppm concentration mixed in SW as injection brine. DETPMP
managed to reduce 0.059 g of scale deposit. On the other hand, it
was observed that by using only 10 ppm of PBSI in SW, a greater
amount of calcium and strontium ions in the FW can remain in
the brine without being deposited with sulfate ions.
The temperature further increased to 90C, as other procedures
and conditions remained unchanged. At 90C, all three scale
inhibitors gave more or less the same trend, and the lines are
smoother when the concentration of scale inhibitors increased in
SW brines. PPCA, at this high temperature, inhibited less scale
precipitation for all concentrations of it in SWs. However, only 30
ppm of PPCA was enough to prevent more scales from deposition
compared to other concentrations, which was a reduction of 0.101
g of deposited scale. In this case, DETPMP performed better than
PPCA. It reduced the scale deposition weight from 0.304 to 0.195 g
at its 30-ppm concentration in SW. PBSI recorded the least weight
of scale deposition at 30-ppm concentration, which was 0.186 g. It
reduced 0.118 g of scale precipitation on filter paper. Because PBSI
gave the best result of scale inhibition with 30-ppm concentration,
it outperformed the other two scale inhibitors and appeared to be
the best scale inhibitor at 90C (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 shows the summary of the high-salinity-FW test, taking
into account of the effect of temperature on the weight of scale
deposition for various concentrations of different scale inhibitors.
As mentioned earlier, when the temperature increased, the calcium
and strontium ions were precipitated with sulfate ions. This obser-
vation is in good agreement with observations reported in previous
studies (Jacques and Bourland 1983; Ying-Hsiao et al. 1995; Rocha
et al. 2001; Rosario and Bezerra 2001).
Calcium Sulfate and Strontium Sulfate Experiments in the Pres-
ence of Scale Inhibitors. Coreooding is the most important part
in the comparison of scale-inhibitor performance because the test
physical conditions are closer to the real eld conditions. The main
concern for this part is to investigate the permeability reduction of
cores caused by scale deposition. Less permeability reduction indi-
cates better scale-inhibitor functioning in the injection brines.
SW with inhibitor concentration of 10, 500, and 1,000 ppm
were used as injection water to be mixed with high-salinity FW
in core porous media at temperatures of 50, 60, 90, and 95C and
differential pressures of 75, 125, 100, and 200 psig, respectively.
There are three types of scale inhibitors (DETPMP, PPCA, and
PBSI) being tested for comparative effectiveness in preventing
scale deposition.
Calcium sulfate and strontium sulfate scaling tendency is most
severe at 95C, while it is less severe at 50C. At higher tempera-
tures, the rate of precipitation increases. The temperature incre-
ment rises in supersaturation because the solubility of CaSO
4
and
SrSO
4
decreases with temperature. This will lead to an increase in
precipitation and eventually causes faster permeability reduction.
Temperature also impacts the rate of reaction kinetics; because the
temperature increases along with saturation effects, there will be
clear kinetic effects that are expected to speed up as the test fluids
become hotter so more scale can form in the same time period.
Figs. 5 through 8 reveal the permeability-reduction trend
changes with injection time when the cores were injected with SW
that contained various scale inhibitors. The coreflooding run with
no inhibitor added in injection brine was taken as the reference
trend of permeability reduction with increasing injection time,
where it can be seen clearly that in the first 30 minutes of the SW
injection, the permeability reduced sharply.
Moreover, the curves in the figures then reduce gradually in
curve gradient as injection time continued. DETPMP, PPCA, and
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)
P
e
r
m
e
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

r
a
t
i
o

(
K
d
/
k
i
)
Blank
10 ppm- PPCA
10 ppm- DETPMP
10 ppm- PBSI
Ca=30000 ppm
Sr=1100 ppm
Berea Core
Fig. 5Variation of permeability ratio as a function of time, showing the effect of scale inhibitors at 75 psig and 50C.
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)
P
e
r
m
e
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

r
a
t
i
o

(
K
d
/
k
i
)
Blank
10 ppm- PPCA
10 ppm- DETPMP
10 ppm- PBSI
Ca=30000 ppm
Sr=1100 ppm
Berea Core
Fig. 6Variation of permeability ratio as a function of time, showing the effect of scale inhibitors at 100 psig and 90C.
November 2010 SPE Production & Operations 549
PBSI were observed to follow the expected permeability-reduc-
tion trend (Figs. 5 through 8). A similar trend was reported in the
literature (Moghadasi et al. 2003; Todd and Yuan 1992; Moghadasi
et al. 2002; Moghadasi et al. 2004; Jamialahmadi and Muller-
Steinhagen 2008).
The flooding test was then continued with injection brines that
contained scale inhibitors. At 50C (Fig. 5), 10 ppm of DETPMP
reduces the permeability-reduction percentage to only 16.26% in
comparison to 19.86% with no inhibitor added. 10 ppm of PPCA
was slightly less effective at 17.93% permeability reduction.
On the other hand, 10 ppm of PBSI successfully retained the
initial permeability for the first 30 minutes of the coreflooding run.
After that, core-permeability decreased slowly and then gradually
leveled out at the end of the brine injection. At the end of run, the
percentage of permeability reduction is only 15.11% (Fig. 5).
Furthermore, it can be concluded for the high-salinity FW
coreflooding test that PBSI was the best calcium-sulfate and
strontium-sulfate scale inhibitor compared to the other two scale
inhibitors. The effectiveness of the scale inhibitor is followed by
DETPMP (second) and PPCA (third).
At 95C, PPCA inhibited the scale deposition most effectively
at its 500- and 1,000-ppm concentration in SW, which gave 32.46
and 18.37% permeability reduction, respectively, in comparison
to 39.46% with no inhibitor added. At the same temperature,
DETPMP gave the best result at its 500- and 1,000-ppm concen-
tration mixed in SW as injection brine, which gave 26.31 and
14.53% permeability reduction, as shown in Fig. 8. Moreover, it
was observed that by using 1,000 ppm of DETPMP in SW, a greater
quantity of calcium and strontium ions can remain in the solution
in the FW without being deposited with sulfate ions.
SEM Analysis. The scaled core samples were examined by SEM
to observe the particle size and morphology of the precipitates.
The formation of CaSO
4
and

SrSO
4
during ow of injection and
FW in porous media was recorded by SEM micrographs, which
show CaSO
4
and

SrSO
4
crystal formation in porous space. Fig. 9
presents an SEM image of unscaled core sample.
Figs. 10 through 13 show SEM image of the CaSO
4
and

SrSO
4

scaling crystals in rock pores precipitated from mixed SW and FW
inside the cores. Comparison of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
formed in porous
media did not show significant differences in crystal external mor-
phology. The differences lie in the irregularity of crystals formed
in rock pores and the crystal-size variations from one location to
another within a core. The maximum size of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
crys-
tals precipitated from mixed brines was approximately 2.55 m.
In all core tests, the abundance of scale reduced significantly
from the front of the core to the rear, indicating that scale formation
in porous media was rapid with the observation that the flow rate
decreased soon after two incompatible waters were mixed within
a core. The observations of scaling sites from previous tests (Todd
and Yuan 1992; Jamialahmadi and Muller-Steinhagen 2008; Todd
and Yuan 1990; Bedrikovetsky et al. 2003; Bedrikovetsky et al.
2005) were confirmed by these test results.
At the inlet face of Berea cores (Fig. 10), the amount of CaSO
4

and

SrSO
4
crystals is higher compared with the outlet face (Fig.
11), which indicates more precipitation at the inlet face. The reason
that the scaling decreased downstream of a core is clearly because
most of the scaling ions had deposited within the front sections
as soon as they were mixed and, leaving few ions in solution to
precipitate from the flow stream in the rear sections.
Fig. 13 presents the SEM images of CaSO
4
and

SrSO
4
precipi-
tated at 500 ppm of DETPMP (Fig. 13a) and 500 ppm of PPCA
(Fig. 13b). For these images, the morphology of the crystals is very
different from either of the uninhibited solutions. From the SEM
images, it can be observed that in the absence of inhibitor (Fig. 12),
the CaSO
4
and

SrSO
4
crystals exhibited a large quantity of large
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)
P
e
r
m
e
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

r
a
t
i
o

(
K
d
/
k
i
)
Blank
500 ppm- PPCA
500 ppm- DETPMP
1000 ppm- PPCA
1000 ppm- DETPMP
Ca=30000 ppm
Sr=1100 ppm
Sandstone Core
Fig. 7Variation of permeability ratio as a function of time, showing the effect of scale inhibitors at 125 psig and 60C.
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)
P
e
r
m
e
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

r
a
t
i
o

(
K
d
/
k
i
)
Blank
500 ppm- PPCA
500 ppm- DETPMP
1000 ppm- PPCA
1000 ppm- DETPMP
Ca=30000 ppm
Sr=1100 ppm
Sandstone Core
Fig. 8Variation of permeability ratio as a function of time, showing the effect of scale inhibitors at 200 psig and 95C.
550 November 2010 SPE Production & Operations
crystals, while in the presence of inhibitors, the CaSO
4
and

SrSO
4

crystals are fewer and smaller, as shown in Fig. 13. In general, a
difference in morphology of the CaSO
4
and

SrSO
4
precipitates is
observed in the presence of inhibitor. At 500 ppm of DETPMP, less
CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
precipitate could be seen than with 500 ppm of
PPCA, as shown in Fig. 13.
Conclusions
This work was carried out to investigate permeability reduction by
deposition of scale in a porous medium and to acquire knowledge
of the efficiency of scale inhibitor in preventing formation of com-
mon oilfield scales. On the basis of the results obtained from this
study, the following conclusions can be drawn:
At elevated temperatures, the mass of precipitation of both
CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
scales increases because the solubilities of
CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
scales decrease with increasing temperature.
Temperature also has an effect on the rate of reaction kinetics:
the rate of reaction kinetics increases at elevated temperatures
because the rate of both CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
precipitation increases
with temperature.
Fig. 9SEM image of unscaled Berea and sandstone cores.

(a) (b)

(a) (b)
CaSO
4
and
SrSO
4
scales
Fig. 10SEM image of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
scales in inlet face of Berea sandstone core at 100 psig and 90C.

(a)
(b)
CaSO
4
and
SrSO
4
scales
Fig. 11SEM image of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
scales in outlet face of Berea sandstone core at 100 psig and 90C.
November 2010 SPE Production & Operations 551
When synthetic SW containing sulfate is mixed in situ with
FW that contains a significant amount of dissolved calcium and
strontium ions during laboratory coreflooding, in-situ precipita-
tion of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
occurs.
The pattern of permeability decline in a porous medium because
of scaling injection was characterized by a concave curve with a
steep initial decline that gradually levels. The initial steepness of
these curves generally decreased with increasing distance from
the point of mixing of the incompatible brines. The concave
shape of the permeability/time curves was common to the major-
ity of the porous-medium flow tests.
Observations of micrographs using SEM showed the formation
of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
crystals in porous space during flow of
injection water and FW.
At the inlet face, the amount of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
crystals is
higher compared with the outlet face, which indicates more pre-
cipitation at the inlet face. The reason that the scaling decreased
downstream of a core is because most of the scaling ions had
deposited within the front sections as soon as they were mixed,
with fewer ions left to precipitate from the flow stream in the
rear sections.
For high-salinity FW, PBSI was the best CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
scale
inhibitor compared with the other two scale inhibitors, PPCA and
DETPMP. The effectiveness of the scale inhibitor is followed by
DETPMP (second) and PPCA (third).
References
Andersen, K.I., Halvorsen, E., Saelensminde, T., and Ostbye, O.N. 2000.
Water Management in a Closed Loop-Problems and Solutions at

(a) (b)
CaSO
4
and
SrSO
4
scales
Fig. 12SEM image of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
scales in inlet face of sandstone core at 200 psig and 95C.

(a) (b)
CaSO
4
and
SrSO
4
scales
Fig. 13SEM image of CaSO
4
and SrSO
4
scales in inlet face of sandstone core at 200 psig and 95C and at (a) 500 ppm of DE-
TPMP and (b) 500 ppm of PPCA.
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Amer Badr Bin Merdhah is a lecturer in the petroleum engineering
department at Hadhramout University of Science and Technology,
Yemen. His experience includes formation damage, production,
reservoir, and drilling. He is author of one book, 15 international
journals, three international conferences, and one seminar in
Prediction and Treatment of Scale Formation in Oil Reservoir
during Water Injection (Petroleum Engineering). He holds a BE
degree in petroleum at Hadhramout University of Science and
Technology, Yemen, and ME and PhD degrees in petroleum at
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He is a member of SPE.