Understanding the Impact of Production Slugging Behavior on Near-Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture and Formation Integrity

Abstract

Abstract Numerous studies on unconventional shale well production data have shown that downhole pressure fluctuations can exceed 300 psig during a slugging period. Such pressure fluctuation will result in very high drawdown and could lead to near-wellbore formation damage when the rock failure criterion was met. An engineering workflow was developed to investigate the impact of multiphase slugging events on cemented casing plug and perforation (CCPP)and open hole sliding sleeves (OHSS) completions. Based on transient pressure analysis and geomechanical evaluation, safety operational envelope was generated to minimize the risk of formation damage due to slugging behavior. In this study, a dynamic multiphase flow simulator was used to predict the pressure amplitude and frequency during the slugging events in both a CCPP and OHSS completion configuration. The results from the simulation were then incorporated into a geomechanical model to analyze and identify potential hydraulic fracture closure and formation damage concerns, which can compromise well performance. The results from this study show that OHSS completion is more vulnerable to damage during the downhole slugging period than a CCPP completion. However, severe formation and fracture damage could occur during downhole slugging for CCPP well if the well is operated outside the safety operational envelope. Results from the two case studies led to the conclusion that it is crucial to consider the effect of downhole slugging on near-wellbore fracture and formation integrity to avoid permanent and irreversible damage.