Formation Damage 

Formation Damage Mechanisms and their Interactions during Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) and Solvent Assisted SAGD Production

Formation damage during the production contributes to increasing the energy intensity in SAGD and SA-SAGD. Several formation damage mechanisms are encountered, and identifying the mechanisms, quantifying their impact on production, and overcoming them remain challenging. In many cases, standard practices fail to identify the correct mechanisms, hence, cannot remove or prevent formation damage, and sometimes, select inappropriate remedial or prevention techniques. Mechanisms may include oil sands plugging around the production well by fines accumulation, mineral and organic scaling, mineral transformation and clay swelling, and wettability alteration. The interaction of these mechanisms may magnify formation damage. For instance, thermal damage due to mineral transformation may provide smectites that swell in contact with water and cause plugging. Also, fines migration may result in the accumulation of fines in the wellbore vicinity, leading to high pressure drops around the wellbore. High pressure drops by smectite swelling or fines migration can also trigger additional organic and inorganic scaling and exacerbate formation damage.

This research utilizes the unique state-of-the-art experimental techniques in my laboratories incorporating high-pressure, high-temperature conditions, salinity control, and sand control in testing that emulates the subcool zone around SAGD production wells. Experimental equipment is used to reveal the mechanisms of oil sands-brine-bitumen-liner interactions and quantify the impact on permeability damage. This research will provide insight into the development of prevention techniques and systematically study formation damage mechanisms and their interactions.