Reducing mechanical formation damage by minimizing interfacial tension and capillary pressure in tight gas

Tight gas reservoirs incur problems and significant damage caused by low permeability during drilling, completion, stimulation and production. They require advanced improvement techniques to achieve flow gas at optimum rates. Water blocking damage (phase Trapping/retention of fluids) is a form of mechanical formation damage mechanism, which is caused by filtrate invasion in drilling operations mostly in fracturing. Water blocking has a noticeable impact on formation damage in gas reservoirs which tends to decrease relative permeability near the wellbore. Proper evaluation of damage and the factors which influence its severity is essential to optimize well productivity. Reliable data regarding interfacial tension between gas and water is required in order to minimize mechanical formation damage potential and to optimize gas production. This study was based on the laboratory experiments of interfacial tension by rising drop method between gas-brine, gas-condensate and gas-brine. The results showed gas condensate has low interfacial tension value 6-11 dynes/cm when compared to gas-brine and gas- diesel which were 44-58 dynes/cm and 14-19 dynes/cm respectively. In this way, the capillary pressure of brine-gas system was estimated as 0.488 psi, therefore diesel-gas system was noticed about 0.164 psi and 0.098 psi for condensate-gas system. A forecast model was used by using IFT values to predict the phase trapping which shows less severe phase trapping damage in case of condensate than diesel and brine. A reservoir simulation study was also carried out in order to better understand the effect of hysteresis on well productivity and flow efficiency affected due to water blocking damage in tight gas reservoirs. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.