SPE-200686-MS

Multi-Year Scale Inhibition using a Ceramic Proppant Based Particulate

Chemical Carrier – Learning from the First Application Offshore Congo

Joshua Leasure, Thu Lieng, Brian Hicks, and Pedro Saldungaray, Carbo Ceramics Inc.

Copyright 2020, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE International Oilfield Scale Conference and Exhibition originally scheduled to be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK,
24 - 25 Jun 2020. Due to COVID-19 the physical event was changed to a virtual event. The official proceedings were published online on 24 June 2020.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written
consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may
not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
A ceramic proppant based chemical delivery system is known to be able to deliver multiyear inhibition of
scale with a onetime treatment. The delivery system can be used to replace part of the proppant in frac and
frac packs completions, be used as the gravel in gravel packs, or simply as a transport mechanism to place
production chemicals in an acid-frac stimulated reservoir.
This chemical delivery system has been recently applied offshore Congo for the first time. Learnings
from the implementation of this technology both onshore and offshore in the United States have enabled the
product usage to expand internationally. The use of this delivery system has eased the operational challenges
seen in offset wells caused by repeated treatment of scale inhibitor. Increased space has been freed on the
platform and all interventions for scale control have been eliminated.
Results presented in this paper will include the design of this work for the application in Congo, including
infusion and release of the inhibitor from the ceramic carrier and design of the control membrane to achieve
the desired protection time. This design work also includes the learnings from multiple other applications
that were combined for this new area of implementation, including case histories from other basins.
This paper will be beneficial for production engineers who desire a cost effective solution to deploy
production assurance chemicals in a one-time treatment, regardless of well type, resulting in a multi-year
solution.

Introduction
The field in question is located offshore Congo. It was discovered in 2012 with production starting 18
months later. The reservoir is composed of a presalt clastic sequence at a depth of about 3,000 m containing
light oil and wet gas. The field was developed with several horizontal wells with multiple hydraulic fracture
treatments.
Wells typically produce at rates ranging 3,000 to 5,000 BOPD with minimal watercut and are typically
scale-free for up to 1 year before experiencing a decrease in productivity due to scaling. Following the first
evidence of scaling the productivity decline quickly accelerates, leading to shutting down production within
weeks. Scaling tendency performed using industry scale prediction software analysis software indicated a
2 SPE-200686-MS

moderate trend for calcium carbonate to form in the perforations and nearby areas. This simulation was
confirmed by the analysis of samples recovered from a well that identified the presence of calcium carbonate
scale. Hydrochloric acid cleanouts have been effective to temporarily reestablish production, however a
more permanent longer-lasting solution was desired.

Novel Solution
A novel solution was proposed replacing a fraction of the proppant deployed in the hydraulic fracs by a
ceramic proppant carrier infused with scale inhibitor. A semipermeable membrane applied after infusion
allows controlled release of the inhibitor upon contact with produced water to achieve multiyear scaling
prevention. Performance data generated for this application combined with historical field performance data
indicated a protection of up to 20 years was feasible by replacing 7.5% of the regular proppant by the scale
inhibitor infused carrier. The terms "chemical carrier" and "infused proppant" are used interchangeably to
refer to the "controlled release infused chemical carrier" in the remainder of the paper to refer to the novel
scale inhibitor delivery system.

Treatment Design
Learnings from previous applications of this technology are numerous, and include over 500 applications
globally. Summaries of these applications were made [Leasure 2020] and applied to the design of this well.
These included the long term release of the chemical from the carrier system as evidenced in 55 months
of production, equivalent to the life of the treatment with continued monitoring occurring [Leasure 2015].
Given the data generated for long term performance of the chemical carrier a multi-year single treatment
design was implemented.
Where the job significantly differed from previous experience new data was generated. The majority of
this new data focused on the use of the chemical carrier in the presence of a resin coated proppant system.
CARBO has selected diethylenetriamine penta methylene phosphonic acid (DTPMP), a DETA
phosphonate scale inhibitor for the operator in Congo, based on the formation conditions. DTPMP is a
commonly used scale inhibitor and is very effective at inhibiting calcium and barium based scales. Calcium
carbonate scale is likely to form in the target wells and controlled release infused chemical carrier will
prevent this scale form forming. The scale inhibitor DTPMP is able to withstand the bottom hole temperature
of 250⁰ F (120⁰ C). DTPMP by itself is not effected by temperatures below 260⁰ F, however thermal
stability of the inhibitor is greatly increased when bound to a rock surface. During the controlled release
infused chemical carrier manufacturing process DTPMP is adsorbed to the ceramic proppant surface (the
walls of the internal porosity), it is this adsorption that increases the thermal stability of the inhibitor.

Operational Considerations
The specifics of the job and operational goals were discussed with design engineers in advance. These
details were used to design a treatment incorporating the infused proppant to achieve their goals without
impacting the performance of the base proppant. Operational considerations needed to be taken into account
that went beyond the performance of the proppant pack in the frac including job preparation, logistics and
pumping aspects of the treatment.
These aspects were addressed in two ways. The first of which was to preblend the chemical carrier into the
bulk proppant. In this case, the base proppant was a curable resin coated ceramic. This blending operation
had been performed before [Hebert 2016] for multiple offshore jobs and is relatively straight forward. With
the weight percentage of the chemical carrier known relative to the base proppant, blending is done on a per
weight basis. Two hoppers feed to two load cells, which are in communication with each other to weigh and
feed two proppant streams relative to one another (Figures 1 and 2). This set up has been used successfully
to blend and load two different proppant types into both railcars and bags for delivery.
SPE-200686-MS 3

Figure 1—Two hoppers connected to two load cells feeding to a conveyor for packaging.

Figure 2—Head on view of the blending apparatus pictured in Figure 1.

4 SPE-200686-MS

The second proppant blend design assessment was completed by the pumping service company. This
involved standard fluid compatibility testing as routinely performed with resin coated proppants. Minor
and predictable adjustments were made to the fluid system to accommodate for the blended product. These
adjustments included alteration of concentration of both the crosslinker and breaker packages. These minor
changes allowed the fluid system to function normally while using both the resin coated proppant and the
controlled release chemical carrier system.

Unconfined Compressive Strength

To address proppant flowback in the subject completion, a ∼30% tail-in curable resin coated ceramic
proppant was required. Therefore, it was important to test whether the inclusion of the chemical carrier
impacted the pack strength. To ensure no detriment in strength to the cured proppant pack, testing was
conducted to measure the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of the blend containing resin coated
ceramic and the infused proppant (Table 1). Testing involves blending of the correct amount of each product
uniformly. The uniformity of the blend is ensured with the use of a riffle splitter. The bulk density of the
blend is known as well as the diameter of the cell. The UCS plug height used is approximately two times its
diameter since shorter plugs are known to result in falsely elevated values. Testing at the baseline conditions
showed that the addition of up to 10% of the chemical carrier caused less than 15% reduction in UCS pack
strength (Table 2).

Table 1—Baseline UCS Test conditions.

Parameters Standard Values

Closure Pressure (psi) 1,000 psi

Test Fluid 2% KCl

Temperature (degF) 250°F

Dwell Time (hrs) 24 hours

Table 2—UCS values generated from the test conditions in Table 2,

showing less than 15% impact of blending 10% chemical carrier proppant.

Sample Description UCS (psi)

LWP 16/20 RCP 1,412

LWP 16/20 RCP with 10% Chemical Carrier 1,188

LWP 16/20 RCP with 15% Chemical Carrier 1,070

LWP 16/20 RCP with 20% Chemical Carrier 1,879

The UCS testing was then expanded and refined to more closely match the job operation. The main
change was the test fluid to 7% KCL (Table 3) with 8 ppa proppant mixture loading and maintaining the
curing time and temperature.

Table 3—UCS Testing with job parameters.

Parameters Requested Values

Closure Pressure (psi) 1,000 psi

Test Fluid 7% KCl

Proppant Loading (ppa) 8 ppa

Temperature (degF) 250°F

Dwell Time (hrs) 24 hours

SPE-200686-MS 5

These changes did not cause any effect on the strength of the pack (Table 4). The final value of 1,241 psi
is well in excess of the strength needed to prevent flowback, which is typically accepted to be > 50-100 psi.

Table 4—UCS values generated from the test conditions in Table 4,

showing less than 10% impact of blending 7.5% chemical carrier proppant.

Sample Description UCS (psi)

LWP 16/20 RCP 1,356

LWP 16/20 RCP with 7.5% Chemical Carrier 1,241

Baseline Conductivity
Once it was established that the addition of the chemical carrier would not hinder the bonding of the curable
resin coated ceramic proppant, additional testing was performed to verify the proppant pack conductivity
was also preserved. Since UCS testing takes a few days to complete while baseline conductivity takes a few
weeks, the tests were performed in this order. The anticipated closure stress on proppant for this reservoir
is approximately 5,000 psi. Baseline conductivity testing was performed in accordance with API RP 19D
comparing the conductivity of neat base LWP to that of LWP with added at 10 percent. The test shows the
conductivity, or proppant performance, does not change with the addition of the infused proppant (Figures
3).

Figure 3—LWP 16/20 RCP Conductivity Data. No degradation to

conductivity was seen with the addition of 10% of the chemical carrier

Additional data shows the increase in product performance at higher stress when a resin coating system
is added (Figure 4). The resin coating system will prevent any proppant flowback and will consolidate the
entirety of the proppant pack minimizing any embedment into the formation.
6 SPE-200686-MS

Figure 4—20/40 Conductivity Data of resin coated and non-resin coated lightweight ceramic
proppant. Adding the resin coating improves the performance at stress greater than 5,000 psi.

When required, an enhanced strength chemical carrier can be applied. This enhanced version is based on
an ultrahigh strength proppant substrate [Palisch 2014]. It enables its application at high and ultrahigh stress
and also allows adding a higher percentage of chemical carrier without impacting the conductivity of the
base proppant. This high strength carrier has been used in the Lower Tertiary formation in the Gulf of Mexico
that required maximum addition of infused proppant (20% was attained) at a closure stress exceeding 18,000
psi [Hebert 2016].

Figure 5—Conductivity Data of Ultra High Strength Proppant blended with high strength chemical carrier (UHSPP)
[Hebert 2016]. UHSPP can be added at a rate of 20% with no detriment to conductivity at 18,000psi closure stress.
SPE-200686-MS 7

Chemical Carrier Elution Profile

The inhibitor release from the chemical carrier, or elution profile, was tested for the proppant blends planned
for Congo. Results were in line with previous work completed for a similar treatment in Alaska [Bond
2019]. This application deployed a LWP 16/20 base proppant blended with infused proppant of the same
size to preserve conductivity. This testing also demonstrated that, within the sized tested, the mesh size
distribution of the chemical carrier the does not effect the inhibitor elution performance (Figure 6).

Figure 6—Elution profile of three different proppant carrier sizes showing no appreciable difference in elution [Bond 2019].

Field Deployment
The data generated during the design and planning stages of this project gave the operator confidence
to proceed with field implementation of the novel scale inhibitor proppant carrier. Based on the
recommendations emerging from it, the treatments was pumped as designed. All but one stage achieved
100% of proppant placed with one cut short by by thirty percent. The frac fluid performed as planned,
developing correct cross linking and breaking as expected upon job completion. At the time of this
writing, the well is being flowed back, awaiting the initial production samples to be tested for scale
inhibitor residuals. Returns will be monitored long term (months to years) to monitor the inhibitor carrier
performance. Results are expected to be reported in a follow up paper as data becomes available.

Summary
A novel scale inhibition program has been successfully implemented in a Congo offshore oilfield. This
program utilizes a chemical carrier infused with scale inhibitor, and was the first of its kind in the country.
Significant design work was performed upfront to ensure both operational and performance success.
This work started with ensuring the even distribution of the controlled release chemical carrier throughout
the job by a proper blending process. In addition, this controlled blending guarantees uniform properties in
the proppant pack, including UCS, conductivity and scale inhibitor release and scale protection from the
frac tip to surface.
Unconfined strength testing showed the addition of the controlled release chemical carrier at the
designed blend ratio does not affect the resin coated proppant pack stability, preserving its flowback control
capability. Elution testing confirmed similar behavior to past experience and field applications in +500 wells
worldwide, reaffirming confidence to proceed with the application offshore Congo. Long term conductivity
8 SPE-200686-MS

testing of the base resin coated LWP at varying chemical carrier loading showed no noticeable impact on it
at design conditions. Maintaining conductivity is a key factor to attain the design frac performance unaltered
by the addition of the infused proppant.
The job was been pumped without any issues. Scale inhibitor residuals will be tested long term and are
expected to be reported in a future paper as data becomes available.

Nomenclature
BOPD Oil Rate, Barrels of oil per day
IP Infused Proppant
LWC Light Weight Ceramic Proppant
mD Permeability, milliDarcy
MIC minimum inhibitor concentration
Pore Volumes the volume of fluid that fills a given void space
ppa concentration, pounds added per gallon fluid
ppm concentration, parts per million
psi pressure, pounds per square inch
RCP Resin Coated Proppant
UCS Unconfined Compressive Strength
UHSPP Ultra High Strength Chemical Carrier

References
Bond, A., Palisch, T., Leasure, J., 2019. A Novel Technology for Providing Long Term Scale Prevention in an Alaskan
North Slope Waterflood. Paper SPE-195326-MS presented at the SPE Western Regional Meeting, San Jose, California,
23-26 April. https://doi.org/10.2118/195326-MS
Hebert, J., Leasure, J., 2016. Pioneering a New Method to Prevent Scale in Deep Water, High Pressure Reservoirs - A
Gulf of Mexico Case Study. Paper SPE-179882-MS presented at the SPE International Oilfield Scale Conference and
Exhibition, Aberdeen, Scotland, 11-12 May. https://doi.org/10.2118/179882-MS
Leasure, J., Marotz, M., 2020. Case Histories of Extended Scale Prevention from Single Treatment of Chemically
Infused, Slow Release Media. Paper SPE-199255-MS presented at the SPE International Conference and Exhibition
on Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana, 19-21 February. https://doi.org/10.2118/199255-MS
Leasure, J. G., Duenckel, R. J., Hebert, J., 2015. Effective Scale Prevention Using Chemically Infused Proppant - A Uinta
Basin Case History. Paper SPE-173792-MS presented at the SPE International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry, The
Woodlands, Texas, 13-15 April. https://doi.org/10.2118/173792-MS
Palisch, T., Wilson, B., Duenckel, B., 2014. New Technology Yields Ultrahigh-Strength Proppant. Paper SPE-168631-
MS presented at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, 4-6 February. https://
doi.org/10.2118/168631-MS