Close Attention to the Smallest Job Details Vital for Minimizing Formation Damage
Authors: Maly George P. 
Published: December 2007

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME Symposium on Formation Damage Control, to be held in Houston, Tx., Jan 29–30, 1976. 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 presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request 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.

Formation damage is a term often used by many, but fully understood by few. The latest statistics show that, even though we use the most modern methods and equipment, we are able to produce economically, on the average, only 31% of our oil before we are forced to abandon our fields.

One of the most promising and straightforward approaches for increasing our average oil recovery would be a sizeable reduction in formation damage.

This paper points out many causes of formation damage, some of which are not as yet widely recognized and/or fully accepted. Some of them may seem trivial, but such "insignificant details", as we shall demonstrate, do play a very significant role in well production rates and overall field recovery. production rates and overall field recovery. Many such "details" are presented and documented by pictures from actual field jobs. Motion pictures demonstrating one often overlooked "detail"—FLUID SWAPPING due to a fluid density difference—will be presented.

This paper also suggests many simple remedial steps that can be taken, and cites some "do's and don'ts" for everyday oilfield practice. practice.

THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY

Today, 76% of the total USA energy requirement is supplied by oil and natural gas. This demand is rapidly increasing, while the capability of finding new oil can hardly keep up with it.

Large new oil discoveries within the USA proper are the exception rather than the rule.

Exploration is now centered around offshore prospects, and it moves continuously into deeper waters and more hostile environments, making the cost of future oil recovery increasingly greater.

Today's best estimates of the USA's energy self-sufficiency in petroleum call for a 50% increase in productivity in the next ten years.

However, in spite of our sophisticated new recovery methods, elaborate new equipment, and "billion-dollar" research effort, we can economically produce on the average only 31% of the oil in place before we are forced to abandon our fields, leaving 69% of place before we are forced to abandon our fields, leaving 69% of the oil still in the ground.