Clean Fluids Lead to Better Completions
Authors: Shaw Raymond C. , Rugg Fred E. 
Published: December 2007

This paper was prepared for the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME Symposium on Formation Damage Control, to be held in New Orleans, La., Feb. 7–8, 1974. 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 paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon requested to the Editor of the appropriate journal, provided agreement to give proper credit is made. 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 discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

There is an old adage within the oil industry that used to be expressed often, "You can't hurt a good well". "Short term" economics by managers at various levels led to "hurry-up" drilling, cheaper drill fluids and faster operations and, in many cases, without concern for damages that were created to the formation containing the fluids that were the object of the entire operation. Enforced proration schedules, a necessity for many proration schedules, a necessity for many years, served to effectively mask the widespread damage that had occurred from "you can't hurt a good well" and "short term" economic operations. The unnaturally low, politically enforced, sales price for natural politically enforced, sales price for natural gas and the highly competitive nature of oil companies also must accept a part of the "blame" for much of the unnecessary formation damage as well as the plaudits for making the United States the cheapest fuel powered country in the world.

Today the easy production is gone and it will take a cooperative effort from all of us in the oil industry to maintain enough production of fossil fuels for our strong production of fossil fuels for our strong domestic needs. In the past few months we have witnessed the dramatic and, in my opinion, justified increase in the sales price of petroleum products at the well head. We have, petroleum products at the well head. We have, in the past three years, been paying more attention to the fluids that are injected into underground-productive formations. In general we are trying to improve our methods of operations to minimize formation damage but, similar to that now famous statement by the number two car rental company, we must try harder or we risk the possibility of becoming a second rate nation.

For the purposes of this paper, we have divided our subject of clean operations into four categories: drilling and cementing, perforating, stimulation and sand control, perforating, stimulation and sand control, and workover fluids.

DRILLING AND CEMENTING

The basic method used to drill into and through formations to reach the expected producing horizon is inherently a "dirty" producing horizon is inherently a "dirty" process. The economics of drilling the most process. The economics of drilling the most number of feet for the least amount of money leads to excellent bidding technique and certainly serves to keep the rig busy punching "holes in the ground". The use of a cheap mud system, high rotary speeds, excessive PUMP pressures, excessive bit weights and PUMP pressures, excessive bit weights and rapid round trips may all be a necessary part of cheap drilling costs but is it economical?