A Realistic Examination of Sandstone Stimulation Techniques
Authors: Shryock S.H. , Melton R.M. 
Published: December 2007

This paper was prepared for the 43rd Annual California Regional Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME to be held in Bakersfield, Calif., Nov. 8–10, 1972. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon requested to the Editor PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon requested to the Editor of the appropriate journal, provided agreement to give proper credit is made.

Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers Office. Such discussions may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

Stimulation methods designed to improve the productivity or injectivity of sand and sandstone formation wells have often been presented at technical society meetings and presented at technical society meetings and published in the industry trade journals. published in the industry trade journals. Examining all of these stimulation methods would be nothing more than a literary review, therefore, the authors have attempted to show how improved stimulation results might be accomplished from proper use of applicable techniques to existing conditions once they have been properly diagnosed. Abnormal declines have been observed in many of the California Sand Formation wells initially and after stimulation. Laboratory studies of core samples from several formations have provided strong evidence as to why this has occurred. It is felt this inability to obtain normal declines and enjoy sustained production improvement following stimulation production improvement following stimulation can be partially corrected by the use of chemicals and techniques currently available. A review of how sand and sandstone formation wells have behaved initially and following stimulation treatments has provided some evidence of a damage mechanism which might now be controlled.

Introduction

The "State of the Art" as related to the stimulation of sand and sandstone formation wells in California is similar to that in other areas. Hydraulic fracturing, acidizing, solvent-washing and steam stimulation techniques, materials and equipment are comparable and the objectives, generally the same. conditions that exist in many of these wells are somewhat different and often contribute towards complicating the selection of an appropriate stimulation program. However, if proper definition of the existing conditions is obtained by the well owner prior to undertaking any action, improved prior to undertaking any action, improved stimulation results can often be obtained. Data has been presented by others showing abnormal declines of producing wells generally experienced in California. Pressure buildup and drawdown tests have shown Pressure buildup and drawdown tests have shown that this rapid decline was apparently due to the reduction in the formation flow capacity. It was observed that the production from many of these wells declined production from many of these wells declined from several hundred barrels a day to some lesser amount like 40–60 BPD, then stabilized and continued to produce at this level for several years.