Scale Control Within the North Sea Chalk/Limestone Reservoirs—The Challenge of Understanding and Optimizing Chemical-Placement Methods and Retention Mechanisms: Laboratory to Field

Abstract

Summary The scale-control challenges for two North Sea carbonate reservoirs are reviewed in this paper. While carbonate reservoirs are not the largest source of hydrocarbons within the North Sea, they are very significant on a global basis. The mechanism of scale-inhibitor chemical retention observed for phosphonate, polymer, and vinyl sulfonate copolymer (VS-Co) inhibitors on carbonate-reservoir substrates is outlined. Chemical placement represents the most significant technical challenge when performing scale-inhibitor squeeze treatments into fractured chalk reservoirs. Examples from more than 50 field treatments applied in reservoirs E and V, in which both phosphonate and VS-Co chemicals have been deployed, are used to illustrate the difference in chemical retention observed in laboratory evaluations. The laboratory studies demonstrated clear potential for significant extension in treatment lifetime by changing from a phos-phonate to a VS-Co-based scale inhibitor. The selection and qualification of chemical-placement systems for deployment of inhibitors in fractured carbonate reservoirs are also outlined. To this end, novel technologies to enhance conventional scale-inhibitor-chemical placement are vital to economic success during waterflood projects.