CONTENTS page

Introduction 2

Types of formation damage with process type 4

The causes of formation damage 5

Formation Damage Mechanisms 6

Concept of skin factor 19

Why formation damage is big concern 21

Formation damage control and remediation 24

Reference 29

:Introduction
Flow surveys almost invaribly show that significtion
fraction of the zone open to the wellbore does not
contribute to the total production.since vertical
permeability tent to be smaller than horizontal ones, these
restricted production rates will has ultimately resukt in
considerable hydrocarbon being left in place when the well
has reached it's economic limit. Those portion of the open

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zone thatare unproductive may well have been damaged as
a result of careless drilling, completion, or production
practices and are therefore avoidable. Thus, it is
worthwhild to explore those mechanisms which can give
rise to a reduction in the formation permeability. Even if it
should turn out that the damage is not avoidable, an
understanding of the nature of formation damage will be
crucial in the selection of proper methods for stimulation.
Perhaps the remedy might be as simple a selection of the
appropriate perforating gun or so complex as to warrant a
.continuos.long-term series of well treatment

What is formation damage?

Formation damage is defined as any process, which would
cause a reduction in the productivity. Two phenomena can
change the permeability of the rock. One is change of
porosity. This phenomenon is due to swelling of clay
minerals or deposition of solids in the pore body. The other
is plugging of pore throats. The narrow passages govern
the ease the fluid flow through porous media. If they are
blocked, the permeability of
porous rock will be low even through the pore spac
remains large
.

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Table (1) Types of formation damage with process type:

Physical pore Relative permeability

Process type
size reduction reduction

Fines migration Wettability change due to

Fluid-rock
Clay swelling surfactant adsorption
interaction
Solids invasion

Scale formation Fluid saturation change and

Fluid-fluid
Emulsion formation fluid block
interaction
Sludge formation

Gas break out

Pressure/ Scale formation Condensate banking
temperature Wax formation Water coning
change Asphaltene formation Gas coning

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 Stress-induced
Mechanical permeability cange
process Perforation
plugging

Causes of formation damage:

The basic cause of formation damage is the contact of the
producing formation with a goreigan fluid
1. Plugging the formation pores by the soilds which
could be clay, cement ,lost circulation material,fluid
loss material, drilled cuttings ,gravel packing,sand
precipitation scales,paraffin or asphalthene
deposits.

2. Pluggingoff formation pores by fluid filtrate which

may be water contianing varying types of
concentrations of positive and negative ions and
surfactants.the liquid is forced into porous by
differential pressure, displacing or comminling with
a portion of the original reservoir fluid.

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 3. Particale migration effects hydration or
dehydration of clay,dispersion or flocculation
swellable clays and the dissolution of
cementing ,materials.
:Formation Damage Mechanisms
.Mechanical Formation Damage .1
.Chemical Formation Damage .2
.Biological Formation Damage .3

.Mechanical Formation Damage .1

Fines migration

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 Formation damage can occur as result of particle
migration in the produced fluid. The particles can
bridge across the pore throats in the near-wellbore
region and reduce the well productivity. When the
damaging particles come from the reservoir rock, they
are usually referred to as fines.migrating fines can be
variety of different materials including clays silts
kaolinite, table 2 list the major components of varios
calys and fines particles.

Particle Major
minralogy components
Quartz Si,O
Kaolinite Al,Si,O,H
Chlorite Mg,Fe,Al,Si,O,H
Illite K,Al,Si,O,H

Table2 major components of varios calys and fines

How sand grains precipitate occur?

 The sand grains inside rock are usually adherent
togather by binding forces maily comes from cement
materials
 At high production (turbulent flow) the velocity
increase and drag forces become high
 When drag forces become greater than binding
forces ,the sand grains disjoint and start to move and
precipitate behaind perforation
 The sand grains inside clay are collected togather by
electrstatic forces result from reaction between water
and clay minerals
 When water separat from clay by dehydration the sand
grains disjoint and start move and precipitation
behind perforation.

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 Solids Invasion
They reduce the absolute permeability by plugging
the pores which is accrued by:
 Invasion and precipitation of mud weighting
materials(barite)
 Invasion and precipitation of mud viscosifiers
materials(pentonite)
 Invasion and precipitation of mud cake materials
 Invasion and precipitation of loss circulation
materials

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 The invasion and precipitation of mud solid materials
depending on :
-contact time of the drilling fluid on the formation
-characteristics of the formation (formation pore throat
size and distribution
-properties of drilling fluid (particle size and
distribution of mud solid materials
-applied pressure on the formation (amount of pressure
overbalanced (increase overbalance increase invasion)
-open hole size

 water blocks
water blocks occur when connate water or invaded fresh
water are trapped within the pores of low permeability
formation-in excess of 200 md- and also in low pressure
reservoirs, water blocks increase the water saturation due
to water's high capillary pressure subsequently the
relative permeability of the oil decreases.
Chemical Formation Damage .2
Chemically Induced Formation Damage can be split into
:three major categorie
 Rock – Fluid interaction
 Swelling clays

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 Clays may changes volume as the salinity of the fluid
flowing through the formation changes. Several
authors have dealt with clay swelling in sandstone,
showing either ion exchange, movement or critical
salt concentration triggering clay dispersion.changes
in formation permeability resulting from the
altteration of clay minerals with in the formation .
The most common swelling clays are smectite and
smected mixture, smectite swells by taking water into
it's structure.it can increase it's volume up to
600% ,significantly reducing permeability.
Clays or other solids fromdrilling, completion or
workover fluids can invade the formation when these
particles are smaller than the pore through
openings.any subsequent increase in flow a high
concentration of particles into the rock matrix.

 Clay deflocculation:

A clay mineral is a flocculated condition when the

particles of the clay tend to come together to from
flocks or lumps, and is in a deflocculated condition

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 when these flocks or lumps are broken up or
separated. Dispersed particles may plug the pore
.throats resulting in the permeability reduction

 Formation Dissolution
In situation, water base drilling fluid can result in
potential problems associated with formation de-
solution. Potentially reactive zones would include
unstable hydratable shale, clay-rich zones, halite
zones and anhydrite zones. Physical dissolution can
result in problems such as physical wellbore
.collapse

 Chemical adsorption:
Almost all drilling fluid contains a variety of
chemical additives to improve fluid performance. If
the molecular size of the material is sufficiently
large, the physical adsorption of these compounds
can occlude a significant portion of the available
pore space available to flow and cause a resulting
.reduction in permeability

 Fluid-Fluid interaction
 Organic deposits sush as paraffins or asphaltines
Organic deposits are heavy hydrocarbons (paraffins
or asphaltenes)that precipitate as the pressure or
temperature is reduced.this is form distillations. They
are typically located in the tubing, perforations or
formation.
oParaffins
Precipitation of paraffin(wax) which dissolved in
the crude oil owing to temperature drop.
How precipitation occur?
oWhen temperature drop the molecules of wax
collect to form heavy and unsoluble crystalls
precipitate to form paraffins.
oThe point of temperature which the wax crystalls
start to form is called cloud point temperature.
oThe temperature drops by one or more of the
following reasons:

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 -by heat transfer from the reservoir to the
adjacent formations
-reduction in pressure which result in
expansion of associated gas then the
associated gas release oil carring heat with it
-invasion of water during production or EOR
which reasult in cooling the oil inside
reservoir.

o Asphaltines
Precipitation of heavy molecular wieght
hydrocarbons(solid hydrocarbons) , the
precipitation in temperature and/or pressure and/or
evaporation of light hydrocarbon
compounds(volatile).
How precipitation occur?
Owing to pressure reduction or evapration of
volatile components could be occur as following:
othe crude oil consists of high molecular weight
compounds (solid hydrocarbons)
and low molecular wright compounds(light or
volatile compounds)
oAt natural case high molecular weight compounds
are dissolved inside crude oil
oWhen the pressure decreases it reduce the solubility
of crude oil then the solid hydrocarbons
precipitate
oWhen the light or volatile compound avaporate the
concentration of solid hydrocarbons increases so
the solubility of crude oil decreases then the solid
hydrocarbons precipitate

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 Scale(inorganic deposits)
is precipitation of materials(elements and compounds
or both) owing to water activites,the materials include:
o Elements sush as(Na,Ca,Ba)
o Compounds like
-calcium carbonate CaCo3-2H2O
-Calcium sulfates like
o Barium sulfates BaSo4
o Sodium chloride NaCL
o strontium sulfates SrSo4
o magnesium carbonate MgCo3
o Aluminum silicates
o Silicon Sio2
o Iron compounds

How the precipitation occur?

It occurs by one or more of the following:
1. By effect of solubility for reservoir water
 When the reservoir water move they dissolve
materials inside rocks and suspended inside
water
 The capability of the water to dissolve materials
is called(solubility)
 The solubility is affected by the following factors
-concentration (amount of dissolved materials in
certain volume of water), so the super saturation
of materials dissolved in water decreases
soubility

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 -pressure increasing pressure decrease water
solubility
-temperature increasing temperture increasing
water solubility
-amount of water, so the evaporation decreases
water solubility
 The solubility has limit it may decrease or
increases based on factors mentioned befor
When the solubility come to it's limit the water
convert from solvent to carrier
 The start to precipitate when the limit of
water solubility has been exceeded

2.By reaction between different ions existed in (reservoir

water and invading water)
 Any water usually contain dissolved ions sush as
(Na,Ca,CL,Co3,Hco3)
 When two waters (reservoir and invading have
different ions)are mixed the ions will react
togather and produce a non soluble compounds
precipitate

Ca+Co3 Ca Co3
Ca+So4 CaSo4

 These proces called (mixing of unlikely waters

which have incompatible compounds in
solution)
3. By effect of Co2 which include
 Effect of Co2 inside reservoir
When pressure decline the Co2 which dissolved in
the oil becomes free than it well react with water
in order to produce carbonic acid
Co2+H2o H2Co3

The carbonic acid react with dissolved elements

to produce carbonate salts which precipitate

H2Co3+Ca CaCo3+H2

By effect of Co2 outside reservoir

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 The water in contact will ready absorb carbon
Co2 which under right condition convertsto
carbonic acid in order to produce carbonic acid
Co2+H2o H2Co3
The carbonic acid react with dissolved elements to
produce carbonate salts which precipitate. H2Co
3+Co3 CaCo3
Note: We can see the precipitation of scals is mainly by
water activities.

. Emulsion blocks
mixing the water and oil to product a viscous emulsion
under certain conditiond specially at turbulent flow, the
damage mechanismes includes:
 reduction the oil relative permeability by changing
the wettability from water wet to oil wet it's
symptoms in reduction oil productivity in spit of
good oil mobility and good productivity mobility of
other fluids.

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  Increase oil viscosity, reduction oil mobility it's
syptoms in reduction oil productivity only in spite
of good productivity mobility of other fluids.
 Wettability alterations
Most drilling fluids contain a variety of chemical
additives such as surface active additives to improve
mud performance and characteristics. In some cases,
these additives exhibit a high propensity for physical
adsorption on the walls of the pore throats. This
adsorbed layer reduces the effective pore throat
leading to number of undesirable phenomena such as
permeability reduction and wettability alterations
.due to the surfactant adsorption
.Biological Formation Damage .3
Bacteria can reproduce rapidly and they populate
in extremely diverse conditions of PH and of
temperature and even in the absence of oxygen. Patton
(55)classifies bacteria found in oil field waters as
:follows
.acrobic bacteria – growth dependent upon oxygen .1
.anacrobic bacteria best with no oxygen .2
.facultative bacteria – growth independent of oxygen .3
Concept of skin factor
Skin factor is aterm used to reflect yhe existence of damage
and the degree of damage severity or the improvement of
production by stimulation . it is used to account for the
additional pressure drop that resulting from the existence
of flow barrier.

 No damage K=Kd and S =0

 Damaged wells Kd<K and S >0
 Stimulated wells K d >K and S <0

The value of the total skin measured from well test has
many sources other than formation damage .the total skin
factor is the sum of various skin components:

Stotal =S damage+S copletion+S production

 Completion skin:
1. insufficient perforation density
low perforation density

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 too short or too narrow flow tunnel
2. gravel packing
3. fractures

 well geometry skin:

factors leading to a positive skin and reducing
well productivity :
1. limited entry well is not perforated
across the
complete reservoir height and\or well not fully
pentrating the reservoir.
2. well not placed in the center of the drainage
boundary
factors leading negative skin and show an
increasein well productivity:
1. slanted well
2. deviated wells with longer exposure area to
the
producing zone.
 Production skin :
1. a flowing bottom hole pressure
below bubble point pressure .
2. two phase region at the perforation , the
pressure of extra phase reduces the effective
permeability to the major phase.
Damage skin:
The damage skin factor relates the reduction in reservoir
permeability.
Extra pressure drop (∆Pd) will be added to the pressure
drop associated near the wellbore due to the radial flow
resulting from damaged zone and it can be expressed as:
∆P=141.2(qµ/kh)*S

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Why formation damage is a big concer?
 Reduced or no production:
The impact of formation damage on the flow efficiency
and production rate is illustrated in figer from diagram
it is seen that with moderate damage where skin =1,the
well produces at 88% of the initial skin =30,the well
produces only 15% of it's undamage capacity.

Delay on investment ,delay payout time:

Formation damage can cause production to fall off
plateau rate early ,resulting in reduced production
leading to an additional capital and operating
expenditure.

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  Early installation of secondary recovery methods:
Falling in bottom hole presure due to the extra pressure
drop across the damaged zone will result in additional
cost dye to the need for early installation of secondary
recovery methods such as the installation of ESPs
hydraulic pump ,progressive pump and gas lift.

 Rapid production decline:

All wells show a decline in production as reservoir
pressure decreases formation damage particularly from
inorganic scale and fines migration can lead to
accelerated production decline lower initial production
rate than the expected one gives an indication of the
pressure damage during drilling and completion
operation.
Method for formation damage reorganization:
1-Drill stem test
provide early data for the well with indication of :
1- transmissibility
2- skin factor
3- average reservoir pressure
2-pressure transient well test analysis:
1-buildup and drawdown tests ,wells with high
productivity index
2-skin is a composite of two skins.
3-resistivity logs:
1- deep ,medium and shalow reistivity devices
2-conductivity device
3-combination

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 4-semi-quantitative indicator of possible damage
during production
4-well history review
1- daily drilling ,cementing ,completion reports
2-mud and completion, workover and stimulation fluid
program
5-production history review:
1-production rate versus time
2-logarithm of production rate versus time
3-production rate versus cumulative production
4-logarithm of production rate versus cumulative
production.
6-comparison of production performance of offset wells:
comparison of actual PI with ideal PI
actual PI=qo/(P-Pwf)
ideal PI =(7.08*10 -3*ko*h)/(μo*Bo*ln(re/rw)-0.75)

Table (3) Type and treatment of formation damage

Type of the
Period of
formation treatment
occurrence
damage

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 1-by reduce hydrostatic
pressure of well bore fluid to
Mud solid
During drilling near balance.
material
process 2-particales of mud solid
invasion
materials should not be
more than 2 micron in size.
1-determine the type of
damage (↓Ka,Ka=0) that
will be based on types of
By outside
symptoms
cement during
2-make sure the type of
cementing
damage by pressure test
process or
cement and production history if
inside reservoir
damage type is reduction
rock cement
in absolute permeability
during
3-if we find cement blocks
production
we should remove by:
a-acidizing
b-hydraulic fracture
Aromatic solvents and /or
During hot water washes
wax
production

Table(4) Type and treatment of formation damage

Type of the
Period of
formation treatment
occurrence
damage
The bacteria could Bactericide is used to kill
be existed in the bacteria usually one gallon of
Bacteria water base fluid ofbactericide per 1000 gallons
growth drilling ,complationof water base fluids is
,stimulation,cement sufficient to control bacteria
ing ,EOR growt
1-By modify mud viscosity in
Rock During drilling and order to increase mud lifting
cutting acidizing operation capacity
2-by modify acid property in

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 order to increase acid
suspension capability.
1-chemical methods:sand
consolidation resin slurries
Fine
During production 2-mechanical metfod:screen
migration
gravel pack

Table(5) Type and treatment of formation damage

Type of the
Period of
formation treatment
occurrence
damage
We should to reuce the
WOC level by decrease
During production draw down pressure it
Water coning
only could done by reduce
production flow rate.
We should to raise the
GOC by decrease draw
During production down pressure it could
Gas coning
only done by reduce production
flow rate.

During We should reduce clay

drilling ,complation swelling by control the
Clay swelling sources of water especially
,stimulation ,EOR,p
roduction invading water

Asphaltine During production 1-Removing by using

which is source of condensates contain
asphlaten aromatic components that
enable to dissolve

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 asphaltene deposits
2-bu using aromatic
chemical sush as toluene and
xylene they dissolve
assphaltene precipitation.

Table(6) Type and treatment of formation damage

Type of the
Period of
formation treatment
occurrence
damage
1-mechanical method:it uses
scrapers and cutters to remove
the paraffin from tubing
During 2-solving method:cabon disulfide
production called universal paraffin solvent
paraffin
which is source but it is expensive and extremely
of paraffin flammale and toxic,
kerosene,diesel oil are commonly
used to dissolve paraffin.
3-heating method.
1-removing by mechanical
method:-
a-reperforating
During drilling b-drilling: used for removing
,complation ,sti scale from tubing and open hole
mulation ,EOR c-pigs: used for removing scale
,production from surface line.
scale and during 2-removing by dissolving
production method:-
which is source a-water soluble to remove NaCL
of reservoir b-acid soluble used for removing
water salts

Table(7) Type and treatment of formation damage

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Type of the
Period of
formation treatment
occurrence
damage

It occurs during In oil:reservoir water

all well blocks is removed by
operations but it pumping clean lease crude
mostly frequent or other solvent containing
Water blocks
during demulsifier the optimum
hudraulic volmes is 100to200 gallons
friacturing and crude pet foot
water injection
By using clean lease crde
During containing an effective
drilling ,complat demulsifier is
ion ,stimulation , recommended for removing
EOR,production the emulsion block
emulsions
and during
production
which is source
of reservoir
water

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