Oilfield Water

Part of “Advanced Waterflooding” Course

2022

Hesham Mokhtar Ali

Senior Reservoir Engineer
in/heshammokhtarali/
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 Oilfield Water Cycle
• Water is an integral component of
oilfield fluids during either production of
injection operations.
• Early in field life, analysis of formation
water establishes the salinity and
resistivity of the water for petrophysical
evaluation.
• Production and injection wells are
monitored and managed to MINIMIZE
WOR, MAXIMIZE vertical sweep
efficiency and optimize oil
production.
• Surface systems may be complex and
must be designed to manage and treat
the water volumes across all the
production system.
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 Oilfield Water Cycle
Water Water
• During production, oil is swept from the reservoir and separation treatment
replaced by natural or injected water that supports the oil
flow.

• However, water becomes a problem when the amount of oil

produced to the surface decreases and surface water- Water Water
production injection
treatment systems become overloaded.

• As more water is produced at the surface

• The water is required for reinjection, treatment and

disposal of this excess produced water add to oil-
production costs.

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 Production Chemistry
• Chemical reactions of water directly influence Flow
Assurance.

• Reaction of completion fluids (mostly filtered brine) and

well fluids can cause water blocks / emulsions, initiate
corrosion and can even turn a sweet reservoir in to sour!

• Scale / Wax deposition in the production tubing shall

adversely influence the effective flow area for
hydrocarbon reducing the well deliverability.

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 Production Chemistry
• Water Blocks / Emulsions:
– Incompatible completion fluids / corrosion
inhibitors / surfactants used in completion fluids
will react with reservoir fluids / chemicals left
during drilling and stimulation / wellbore clean up
treatment
• Scales:
– Produced water chemistry must be studied for
assessing the risk of scale deposition
– Simpler scale: CaCO3s
– Harder scale: Barium / Strontium Sulphate
require downhole tools to remove.
– Scales can also be radioactive and its is quite
customary to have Naturally Occurring
Radioactive Material (NORM) surveys

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 Typical Water Injection System
• Water management for oil and gas production
and processing is challenging.

• High-quality, cost-effective, and

environmentally responsible waterflooding
is required.

Filtration spectrum

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 Water Characteristics
• Dissolved ions

• They may lead to precipitation, water/rock interactions and corrosivity.

• The minimum concentration of the following parameters needs to be

determined:

• Cations:

 Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Calcium (Ca2+), Magnesium (Mg2+),

Iron (Fe2+), Barium (Ba2+), Strontium (Sr2+), Ammonium (NH4+).

• Anions:

 Chloride (Cl-), Bromide (Br-), Sulphate (SO42-), Carbonate (CO32-),

Bicarbonate (HCO3-), Nitrate (NO3-), Hydroxide (OH-), Phosphate
(PO43-), Sulphide (S2-).
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 Water Characteristics
• Dissolved gases (related to precipitation & corrosivity):
• Oxygen (O2)
• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)
• pH
• Related to both dissolved ions and gases
• Affect precipitation, water interactions and corrosion.
• Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
• It is useful for formation damage studies.
• Turbidity and TDS refer to particles present in the water Turbidity Meter
column.
• For matrix injection, core testing should be performed to
assess what level of solids can be tolerated by the
formation.
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 Water Characteristics
• Oil-in-water
• Dispersed oil-in-water may cause formation damage.
• For produced water systems, the oil characteristics (density, wax
content and rheology) and any separated sludges may affect the
system design.
• Macrobiological content
• Sea water and algae can be a major problem for coastal water
intakes.
• Microbiological content
• May determine bacterial control requirements.
• Temperature
• May influence precipitation, water/rock interactions and
corrosivity.

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 Formation Water Salinity
• Water salinity ranges from ±500 ppm to slightly over ±300,000
ppm.

• For reference, seawater has ≈35,000 ppm TDS.

• Log analyst has to have water resistivity at reservoir

Temperature.

• Salinity & water resistivity correlation.

• Sodium Chloride Salinity Equivalent is based on assumption

that all the chloride salts in the solution is in the form of Sodium
Chloride only.

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 Formation Water Analysis
• Salinity (dissolved salt)

– It is calculated upon = Chloride Content * 1.65

– Principle, assuming that all the chloride salts in the

solution is in the form of Sodium Chloride only.

• Hardness

– It is based upon content of Calcium and Magnesium

content in water.

– Total Hardness = Calcium Hardness + Magnesium

Hardness= ( 2.5*Ca) + (4.1*Mg)

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 Laboratory Standards for Water Analysis
• Anions and cations were determined according to ASTM D-4327 & 6919, respectively using ion
chromatography.
• The instrument is Dionex IC model ICS 1100 equipped with high capacity columns (AS9 and CS12) for
anion and cations, respectively.
• Heavy metals are determined using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer according to
ASTM D4691.
• Physical properties were measured according to the following standards procedures:
– Conductivity & resistivity are determined on site using digital conductivity meter according to ASTM
D-1125.
– Density and specific gravity is determined according to ASTM D-1429.
– pH is determined according to ASTM D-1293 using digital pH meter model meter Toledo-Seven Go.
– Alkaline species (CO3, OH, HCO3) are measured according to ASTM D-3875.

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 Typical Laboratory Water Analysis
TDS 37201.7 mg/l pH 8.12 @ 25 oC

Density 1.03304 g/ml @ 60 F Specific gravity 1.03407

Resistivity 0.179 Ohm-m @ 26.5 oC

NaCl Salinity Equivalent 27990.6 mg/l (16964*1.65)

Constituents mg/l meq/l Constituents mg/l meq/l

Lithium 2.84 0.409 Fluoride 105.86 5.573

Sodium 11866.30 516.184 Chloride 16964.00 478.554
Potassium 1167.60 29.867 Bromide 502.036 6.285
Magnesium 133.20 10.961 Nitrate 211.59 3.413
Calcium 909.85 45.402 Hydroxide Nil Nil
Iron 0.369 0.0196 Carbonate Nil Nil
Cupper 0.750 0.0236 Bicarbonate 396.5 6.499
Strontium 45.00 1.027 Sulfate 4880.83 101.619
Barium 15.00 0.218
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 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
• A quick rough estimate of water quality

• TDS in the lab: Weigh a vessel, add water sample, evaporate, note increased weight

• In the field, we measure Electrical Conductivity (the ability to carry electric current by dissolved ions).

• Electrical conductivity is directly related to the concentration of dissolved solids in the water.

• When correlated with laboratory TDS measurements, electrical conductivity can provide an accurate
estimate of TDS concentration.

• Some meters use a function to convert conductivity to TDS

• Types of Solids

– TDS: molecular, ionized or micro-granular (colloidal) solids that will pass through a 2-micron sieve.

– TSS: can NOT pass through a 2-micron sieve but are indefinitely suspended in solution.

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 Fluid-Fluid Compatibility Testing
• Water-water compatibility comprises of the analysis of the precipitation at 8 different conditions of
injection pressure & rate at reservoir temperature.

• The analysis reports the change in precipitation of following compounds with the % of the injected water:

– Barite (BaSO4)

– Calcite (CaCO3)

– Strontium Sulphate (SrSO4)

– Iron Hydroxide Fe(OH)3

– Fluorite (CaF2)

– Siderite (FeCO3)

– Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O)

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 Water Analysis Results
Na Water 1
• Water analysis results for surface 100000
Water 2
samples. Water 3
10000
• Water ions concentrations (cations and HCO3 K
anions in ppm or mg/l) can be 1000
displayed on radar plots for
comparison. 100

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SO4 1 Ca

Cl Mg

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Ba
 Barium Sulphate: BaSO4
• Barium Sulfate (Barite) can be precipitated easily on the basis of
thermodynamic condition and the kinetics.

• Barium Sulfate is the most insoluble scale that can be

precipitated from formation water.

• It forms a hard scale which is extremely difficult to remove.

• The solubility of Barium Sulfate goes up with increasing

temperature, pressure and salt content of the brine.

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 Fluid-fluid Compatibility Testing
8 Barite, BaSO4, ppm
• The maximum precipitation of Barium 4000 bbl/day, 2500 psi, 195 F 4000 bbl/day, 2500 psi, 205 F 4000 bbl/day, 4500 psi, 195 F
7
Sulphate ≈ 4 ppm at 50 %IW. 4000 bbl/day, 4500 psi, 205 F 8000 bbl/day, 2500 psi, 195 F 8000 bbl/day, 2500 psi, 205 F
8000 bbl/day, 4500 psi, 195 F 8000 bbl/day, 4500 psi, 205 F
6

Scale, ppm
5

2
0 17 33 50 67 83 100
• The maximum precipitation of % of Water Injection
Calcite, ppm
Calcium Carbonate ≈ 7 ppm at 50 16
4000 bbl/day, 2500 psi, 195 F 4000 bbl/day, 2500 psi, 205 F 4000 bbl/day, 4500 psi, 195 F
%IW. 14
4000 bbl/day, 4500 psi, 205 F 8000 bbl/day, 2500 psi, 195 F 8000 bbl/day, 2500 psi, 205 F
12 8000 bbl/day, 4500 psi, 195 F 8000 bbl/day, 4500 psi, 205 F
Scale, ppm
10

0
0 17 33 50 67 83 100 18
 Formation Damage
• Any barrier to production within the near wellbore that restricts maximum natural production.

• Any modification of reservoir permeability to oil/gas around wellbore

• A consequence of the drilling, completion, workover, or stimulation operations that adversely affects
productivity / injectivity.

• Natural Damages: Occur primarily as a result of production.

• Fine migration

• Organic deposits (Paraffin or Asphaltene)

• Inorganic deposit (Water formed scales)

• Emulsions

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 Types of Damage
• Induced Damages: Occur as a result of an external operations

• Drilling, repair, completion, stimulation treatment, and injection operation.

• Include:

• Plugging by solids

• Wettability changes

• Acid by-products

• Bacteria

• Incompatible treatment or injection fluids

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 Common Oilfield Scales
• Scale is involving the deposition of dissolved minerals occurring as a result of changes in the solubility of
the scaling mineral.
• Scale is a generic term for the depositional products observed in oilfield systems.
• The most common oilfield scales:
• Calcium Carbonate: CaCO3 (Calcite)

• Calcium Sulphate: CaSO4 (Anhydrite)

CaSO4 .2H2O (Gypsum)

CaSO4 .0.5H2O (Hemihydrate)

• Strontium Sulphate: SrSO4 (Celestite)

• Barium Sulphate: BaSO4 (Barite)

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 Most Common Types
• Calcite (CaCO3)
– Formed due to the presence of Calcium (Ca) ions and
Bicarbonate (HCO3-) ions in the produced water
– Pressure changes may cause precipitation.

• Barite (BaSO4)
– Generally formed when there is co-production of formation
water Barium (Ba2+) and injection water Sulphate (SO4-)
Barite

Anhydrite
 Scale Removal
 Chemical Methods
 Water Soluble
 Acid Soluble
 Soluble in Chemical
 Mechanical Methods
• Perf./Reperf.: The perforation sealed with scale.
• Drilling or reaming have been used to remove insoluble scale from tubing, casing or open hole.
• Organic scale can be removed from surface lines with "pigs" or by reaming out.

• Successful methods of preventing scale formation

• Placing water-soluble polyphosphates, solid scale inhibitors, into the formation.
• Using liquid scale inhibitors.

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 Scale Removal: Chemical Methods
Water Soluble Scale

• The most common water-soluble scale is Sodium Chloride and can be removed using fresh water.

• If Gypsum Scale is newly formed and porous, it may be dissolved by circulating water containing

about 55,000 mg/l NaCl.

• At 100 °F, this solution will dissolve three times as much Gypsum scale as would fresh water.

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 Scale Removal: Chemical Methods
Acid Soluble Scale
• Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) is the most common acid
soluble scale and can be easily removed using HCI or
acetic acid.
• Acid – soluble scales also include Iron Carbonate (FeCO3),
Iron Sulfide (FeS), and Iron Oxide (Fe2O3).
• HCI Plus a sequestering agent is normally used to
remove Iron Scale.
Acid Insoluble Scale
• The only acid-insoluble scale which is chemically reactive is
Sulfate family such as Calcium Sulfate, Barium Sulfate
and Strontium Sulfate.

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 Hesham Mokhtar
Hesham Mokhtar

Hesham Mokhtar
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