PROBLEM WELL ANALYSIS

Depending on the economics of a

particular situation, a problem well may
be related within specific limits to low oil
or gas production, high GOR, high water
cut, or mechanical problems.
 Limited Producing Rate
Limited Producing rate may be a result of

1. Low reservoir permeability

2. Low reservoir pressure for depth
3. Formation damage
4. Well bore or tubing plugging
5. High viscosity oil
6. Excessive back pressure on formation
7. Inadequate artificial lift
8. Mechanical problems
 Water Production Problems in oil or
gas wells
Water Problems may result from:

1. Natural water drive or waterflood aggravated by

fingering or coning.

2. Extraneous sources including casing leaks or

primary cement failure.

3. Fracturing or acidizing into adjacent water zones.

 Water encroachment is normal in a water
drive reservoir. Three water – oil
contacts may usually be defined in oil
wells:

• Original water–oil contact : Depth below

which no oil is found.
• Producing water–oil contact : Depth
below which no producible oil is found.
This depth rises with oil production in a
water drive reservoir.

• Completion water–oil contact : Depth

below which first water production
appears. This depth rises with production
in a water drive reservoir or in a water
flood
Water encroachment is complicated by
stratified or layered permeability. Fingering,
illustrated in Fig.6.1 is differential water
encroachment through the more permeable
zones. Because fluids will move faster through
zones of high permeability, these zones will
usually watered out first.
Early water breakthrough may not cause
abandonment, but a large volume of
water is often produced before oil or gas
is depleted from the remaining zones.
Fig. 6.1: Irregular water encroachment in heterogeneous reservoir
can result in early water breakthrough.
“Fingering” of water, defined as
upstructure water movement in the more
permeable zones of a multi zone
completion, is rate sensitive. Premature
fingering may be reduced by reducing
total fluid production rates.
“Water coning” in oil or gas well is
defined as vertical movement of water
across bedding planes in producing
formation. Fig.6.2 illustrates coning in an
oil reservoir. Coning for more than a few
feet is relatively rare in most unfractured
sandstone reservoirs.
Fig. 6.2: Coning of water
Water or gas coning will not cross barriers to
vertical permeability unless these barriers are
broken by natural or induced fractures.

Elimination of a cone usually requires reduced

production rates. Recompletion or repair may
alleviate the problem if water is coning through
a cement channel or through vertical fractures.
 Removal of Wax Deposits
Paraffin deposits vary greatly from one
reservoir to another, and differences have
even been noted in wells in the same
reservoir.

The most common methods of removing

paraffin from wells are:
1. Mechanical
2. Solvents
3. Heat
4. Dispersion
 Mechanical removal of Wax

Scrapers and cutters are used extensively

to remove paraffin from tubing. These
techniques are relatively economical and
usually result in minimal formation
damage.
Scraping can cause perforation plugging
if it is necessary to circulate scraped
paraffin down the tubing and out of the
casing. If frequent cleanout is required,
mechanical cleaning becomes more
costly, especially when the value of lost
production is added to the cleanout costs.
 Solvent removal of wax

The use of solvents are relatively common,

but care must be observed in solvent
selection. Chlorinated hydrocarbon like
carbon tetrachloride can have adverse effect
on refinery catalyst.
Carbon disulfide has been called the
universal paraffin solvent. But it is
expensive, extremely flammable and toxic.
Certain water soluble organic compounds
which decomposes to form carbon disulfide
are mixed with water and introduced into the
tubing or annulus and fall to the bottom of
the hole.
These aqueous solutions are somewhat
safer to handle than carbon disulfide.
Condensate, Kerosene and diesel oil are
commonly used to dissolve paraffin in
wells in which the asphaltene content of
the deposits is very low.
Aromatic chemical such as toluene and
xylene are excellent solvents for
asphaltene as well as paraffin deposits.
Care should be taken as toluene and
xylene has low flash point.
 The use of heat for removal of wax

Hot oiling is one of the most popular methods of

paraffin removal. Paraffin is both dissolved and
melted by the hot oil

Crude or other oil is heated to a temperature

significantly greater than that of the formation. Hot
oil is normally pumped down the casing and up the
tubing
Hot oiling can cause permeability damage if
melted wax enters the formation, particularly
in wells having a reservoir temperature of less
than 160 0F.

Hot water is sometimes used to clean wells

completed in low temperature reservoirs.

Any application of heat to remove paraffin

should be carried out before large deposits
have accumulated.
Removal of wax with dispersants
Water soluble dispersants can be used to
remove paraffin deposits.

Halliburton’s Parasperse, a water soluble

dispersant, is used in 2% to 10% chemical
concentrations, depending on the amount of
paraffin to be removed. It does not dissolve
paraffin but disperses paraffin particles to be
circulated from the well.