SPE 168165

Engineered Approach to Isolate Intervals Invaded by Water or Gas in

Naturally Fractured Carbonate Formations
J. López, A. Martínez Ballesteros, R. Miranda, C. García and C. Deolarte, SPE, PEMEX and B. Vidick, SPE, R.
Girón Rojas, SPE, A. Millán, J.G. Rivas, SPE, A. López, SPE and E. Miquilena, SPE, Schlumberger

Copyright 2014, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control held in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA, 26–28 February 2014.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of th e paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
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Abstract

An excessive water cut or high gas/oil ratio in a production interval presents a major concern in sustaining oil
production, often requiring fast and efficient workover solutions to enhance the oil recovery process. Wells in the
Cantarell field, a mature depleted field in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico, are facing drastic decreases
in their production and, depending on producing zone, an increase in either water cut or gas/oil ratio. Other
developed fields in Mexico’s Region Marina, such as the Ku-Maloob-Zaap, have constantly increased their
hydrocarbon production through the years with an incipient increase in water and gas increments.

The high water cut and gas increments have had a strong impact on the production strategy, opening the
opportunity for application of non-conventional, innovative, and engineered solutions to isolate or abandon
production intervals invaded by gas or water and continue production from upper or deeper zones. The pay zones
consist of naturally fractured, vugular carbonates with permeability as high as 5 Darcies, from Paleocene,
Cretaceous, and Jurassic formations. Their characteristics present the following challenges that need to be
overcome to succesfully achieve the required isolation:

 Loss of fluid circulation, which is necessary for well control and also negatively affects the fluid placement in
the workover jobs.
 High gas presence, gas cap driven, which is a major concern on surface.
 Lack of primary zonal isolation, resulting in migration of water or gas to the productive intervals.

This paper summarizes the non-conventional technologies and techniques applied to isolate the water and gas
producing intervals and their synergistic performance: reticulated gel, lost circulation fiber tecnologies and gas-
tight slurries integrated in an engineered solution. Results from field cases demonstrate the design, execution,
and evaluation of these applications.

Introduction

In Mexico’s Region Marina fields, oil is primarily produced from carbonate formations with a complex network of
natural fractures that provides most of the field’s permeability but also favors the production of water and gas over
oil, typically promoting a rapid advance in water/oil and gas/oil contacts. Movement rates as high as 20
meters/year have been reported for the water/oil contacts and as high as 8 meters/month for the gas/oil contacts.

The average thickness of the carbonate breccia (Paleocene, Cretaceous, and Jurassic ages) is 150 m to 900 m,
with permeability as high as 5 darcies and porosity averaging 10%. There is a very narrow window between the
fracture and pore gradients that causes from partial to total losses during drilling and cementing operations; the
2 SPE 168165

3 3
pore pressure gradient is equivalent to 0.55 g/cm and the fracture pressure is equivalent to 0.65 g/cm in the pay
zone. This breccia crosses the Cantarell field and also is present with very similar characterization in other fields,
such as the Ku-Maloob-Zaap. The temperature range of the wells in those fields varies from 90°C to 115°C.

Three main mechanisms have been identified in the increasing water and gas production:

 Poor cement bond behind casing that enables communication of the gas or water zones with the productive
intervals.
 Highly conductive natural fractures that connect the reservoir with the zones of gas or water.
 Normal advance in water/oil or gas/oil contacts that occurs during the productive life of the well.

If, once the water or gas reaches the economic production limit of the well, there is still a large enough oil window
to keep the well as a hydrocarbon producer, an immediate workover job is performed to isolate the producing
interval and open a new one at an upper depth in the case of a high water cut or at a deeper depth in the case of
a high gas/oil ratio (GOR).

Conventional workover attempts to isolate these zones consisted of squeeze cementing jobs performed through a
retainer placed in the top of the interval. However, this kind of operation usually failed and had to be repeated
several times, with very poor results; the cement was typically lost into the formation not because the job was
causing the fracture but because the pay zone itself is naturally highly fractured. As a consequence, this
conventional interval isolation technique did not provide an effective barrier to the vertical communication of the
gas and water through the formation to the new producing interval that would be perforated.

This high failure rate is directly related to the type of formation. By their nature, carbonates are very complex and
it is difficult to achieve proper zonal isolation or to abandon zones because of the interconnections of the fractures
and their geometries, which cause total and partial losses while drilling and/or performing primary and workover
cementing jobs. Because of the low fracture gradient of the pay zone, it is no possible to keep the well full of
control fluid and there are unavoidable losses and overdisplacements of the treatment fluids when conventional
displacements are applied. The static equilibrium of the level in the wells is typically found at 1,300–1,500 vertical
meters (vm).

Since conventional workovers that pump only gas-tight slurries through a retainer had not solved the isolation
problems, a non-conventional solution was engineered by integrating a reticulated polymeric gel and lost
circulation materials with the gas-tight slurries. The solution also considered employed underbalanced
displacement, according to the hydrostatic pressure supported by the formation, to enhance the effectiveness.

Problem Scope

The main challenges faced in the hydrocarbon production at Región Marina are as follows:

 Surface water-handling limitations also limit hydrocarbon production. This is especially the case for Ku-
Maloob-Zaap, where water content above even 5% cannot be handled. Facilities in others fields, like
Cantarell, can handle higher water cuts but still greatly limit production.

 Cantarell is a depleted mature field that is producing with a nitrogen injection system to pressurize the
reservoir.

There is a huge opportunity for hydrocarbon production increases if an effective solution can be found to block the
fractures and channels that are communicating water and gas to the new productive intervals. About 100 wells
have been shut down in the Cantarell field as a result of high GORs and high water cuts, and the Ku-Maloob-
Zaap fields are starting to show incipient profiles of unhandled water and high GORs.

The Solution

In the first phase of this project, workovers were performed through drillpipe with a workover rig in Ku-Maloob-
Zaap: The production pipe was pulled out of the well and a mechanical retainer was set in the top of interval to be
isolated. A solution based on the integration of organically crosslinked polymeric gels, lost circulation
technologies, and gas-tight slurries was applied for first time at Región Marina. To increase the potential for
SPE 168165 3

successful zonal isolation, the fluids were underdisplaced according to the hydrostatic column the formation could
withstand to avoid overdisplacement far away from the near-wellbore area.

The second phase of this project took place in the Cantarell field, where isolation jobs were performed without a
workover rig, and the production assembly remained in place. The treatments were pumped through production
tubing and coiled tubing because it was not possible to run and set a mechanical retainer. In this phase, the
underdisplacement method was used only for the placement of the gel and the fiber pill, which were bullheaded
through the production tubing. The cement was pumped through coiled tubing, which reduced the risk of slurry
contamination.

The solution was based on the synergic effect of the integration of technologies developed to reduce and cure
losses and the improved reticulated gel achieved at Mexico Marino, combined with gas-tight slurries and executed
in three main stages.

 First stage: Two batches of organically crosslinked polymeric gel

Divided into two substages, the target of this stage was to block the influxes of water and gas by activating the gel
in the fracture network of the reservoir. It would also keep the next fluids (second and third stages) in place near
the wellbore, resulting in a synergic performance of the combination of technologies that would overcome the
challenge of total losses.

First batch of polymeric reticulated gel

A volume between 50 to 150 bbl was pumped first to create a divergent effect on the treatment. This batch was
placed and set in the less restrictive paths (major fractures), and once activated by the effect of temperature and
crosslinking reaction, it would allow the second batch to be activated in the more restrictive areas (minor
fractures).

Second batch of polymeric reticulated gel

The first batch greatly increases the probabilities of an accurate placement and activation of the second batch of
gel, which also consisted of between 50 to 150 bbl, in the minor fractures or more restrictive paths of flow.
Previous treatments experiences suggested these small fractures could not be blocked by pumping a single batch
of gel because the treatments tended to flow through the preferential paths (major fractures) without providing a
homogeneous distribution along the fracture network.

 Second Stage: Lost circulation fiber pill

Intended to serve as an intermediate treatment that would support the upcoming cementing stage and prevent its
loss into the formation, this stage comprised a lost circulation system with an added solids package designed to
plug the pores by creating a 3D network arrangement of the pill’s dual-fiber system, providing a reinforced
performance especially designed for fractured formations.

 Third Stage: Gas-tight slurry

The final hydraulic seal, not completely achieved during the primary cementing job (between hole and casing
annular space), would be provided by the gas-tight slurry, acting with the gel and lost circulation pill in a synergic
way that would prevent its loss into the formation.

The design of this non-conventional solution considered not only the synergic performance of all the technologies
but also the best method of displacement for each stage. The gel and lost circulation pill were displaced according
to the hydrostatic pressure supported by the formation either through drillpipe (workover rig) or by bullheading
(rigless intervention). The slurry was displaced either through drillpipe (underbalanced method) or by using coiled
tubing to minimize the contamination risk, depending on the volume of slurry in the treatments.

Organically crosslinked polymer gel

A high-strength crosslinked polymer gel designed to shut off fractures or fissures in carbonate reservoirs was
achieved by reengineering and reformulating the polymer technology widely used for years. This system is a
4 SPE 168165

polyacrylamide-based fluid suitable for bottomhole injection temperatures (BHITs) from 82°C to 170°C and it
exhibits long-lasting stability after gelation.

A secondary organic crosslinker was added in different ratios to the primary crosslinked gel; in conjunction, the
two controlled the gelation and setting time for the low range of BHITs. The main advantage of the secondary
crosslinker is that it functions as an activator; it does not affect the hard-set performance of the gel because it
dissociates thermally without reacting with the carbonate of the formation, since this activator is a non-acid fluid.

A third crosslinker agent was added to control the setting time for the middle range of temperatures; in the highest
temperatures, this crosslinker does not primarily control the gelation but directly affects the long-term stability of
the set system.
The crosslinking process is initiated by the bottomhole temperature and is the main driver at high temperatures.
The secondary and third crosslinkers improve the system, especially in the low and middle temperature ranges.

A high concentration of gelling agent in the design provides a higher strength to the gel once it is set and extra
protection against hardness degradation.

Case Histories

At Región Marina the typical well completion spans a 50-m interval producing from Jurassic or Cretaceous
formations that are mainly highly fractured carbonates. The production stages are commonly 9 5/8-in., 7 5/8-in.,
and 7-in. liner strings and open-hole completions.

During operations, total losses are the common characteristic of the pay zone and the level of fluid in the well is
typically 1,300 to 1,500 vm. This adverse scenario affects the zonal isolation during the primary cementing of the
casing and it is difficult to achieve a good cement-casing bond. This situation is especially critical in old, depleted
Cantarell wells that were cemented years ago when lightweight cements were not available; resulting in worst
results in terms of zonal isolation. This poor cement bond and the flow paths provided by the naturally fractured
formation are the main contributors to the vertical communication of the water or gas zone.

A local practice prior to zonal isolation treatments is the determination of the fluid level in the well once the
retainer has been set. This is done by filling the drillpipe; when pressure increases at surface, it is quantified the
volume of fluid pumped, and the fluid level is determined according to the capacity of the pipe.

This fluid level determination is expressed in terms of hydrostatic pressure supported by the formation, which is
used to calculate the underdisplaced volumes of the fluids involved in the interval isolation. In this way, the fluids
remain in the near-wellbore area and losses to the formation are minimized. After the displacement, the
cementing line is opened and the equilibrium hydrostatic pressure of the fluid is achieved.

This local practice is complementary and is used to compare the results with the historical downhole pressure
logs available in the well files. However, in rigless operations the fluid level determination is not feasible because
production tubing remains in place and it is no possible to run a retainer. In this case, pressure logs are run before
the job and provide the basis for fluid level calculations. When rigless interventions are performed in old, depleted
wells where pressure log files are no longer representative, these pressure logs are mandatory.

Case History 1. Ku-Maloob-Zaap Field: Rig-performed isolation for well with high GOR

Background and Antecedents

This well produced through a 50-m interval at 3175–3225 measured depth (MD) opened in a 7 5/8-in. liner string
set in the Middle Cretaceous formation. The formation porosity was 8% and bottomhole static temperature at the
base of the interval was 110°C (Figure 1). The average oil production before the treatment was reported as 4400
bbl/d.
3 3 3 3
An unhandled increase in the GOR from 38 m /m to 150 m /m affected the continuity of the production, and
immediate interval isolation was needed to enable perforation of a lower interval in the Upper Jurassic formation
at 3705–3755 MD and to move from the gas/oil contact to drain the remaining reserves.
SPE 168165 5

The results of the logs run in the field to determine the gas/oil contacts are shown in Table 1

Date Contact
(vertical meters)
April, 2008 2782
October, 2009 2815
March, 2010 2821

Table 1 – Yearly Gas/Oil contacts for the well

According to cement bond logs shown in Figure 2, there is no good isolation from the previous shoe depth at
3027 MD to 3400 MD with amplitude values up to 30mv. However, below this depth there is a substantial
improvement in the quality of cement coverage and isolation (with amplitude values of 10 mv), as shown in Figure
3, which will help provide a seal to prevent gas in the upper formation from communicating through the annular
space when the new internal is opened.

3175 – 3225 md

3705 – 3755 md

Figure 1 — ZAAP 27D. Well schematic after isolation job.

6 SPE 168165

30303030md
MD
C
Formation
Señales
de la
arrivals
formación

3200 MD
3200md
C
32503250md
MD
C
Strong
Señales
C de la
casing
fuertes
TR
arrivals

34003400md
MD
C
Figure 2 — Cement bond evaluation log (3030 – 3400 MD)
SPE 168165 7

3650 MD
C
Formation
arrivals

3750 MD
C
Figure 3 — Cement bond evaluation log (3650 – 3750 MD)

Operational Procedure

After setting the mechanical retainer at 3135 MD (40 m above the top of the interval), the fluid level was
determined according to the local procedure previously described.

The non-conventional isolation treatment was designed and pumped in a three-stage procedure through drillpipe:

 First Stage: Two batches of organically crosslinked polymeric gel

Both batches were pumped in underbalanced conditions.

The first batch consisted of 50 bbl of gel was designed with a gelling time of 1.5 h. It was given 6 h to activate
before the second batch was pumped. The second batch was 50 bbl of the same gel with radioactive isotopes
added as tracers. It was also given 6 h to activate before the lost circulation pill was pumped.

 Second Stage: Lost circulation pill

A 160-bbl lost circulation pill, with optimized solids package, was pumped and traced with radioactive isotopes to
support the upcoming third stage and avoid the loss of slurry to the formation. It was displaced using the
underbalanced method.

 Third Stage: Gas-tight slurry

8 SPE 168165

A volume of 130 bbl of gas-tight slurry (right-angle-set behavior) with radioactive isotopes as tracers was pumped
to provide the final seal by repairing the poor primary cementing job.

All stages were pumped at rates from 3 to 4 bbl/min, and suction was observed after each stage was displaced
and a plug valve in the cementing line was opened. Even when suction cannot be expressed in quantitative
terms, its careful observation is important and useful. This is because it indicates the advance in the performance
of the fluids already pumped, which are starting to plug and block the isolated interval and the rate of fluid taken
by the formation lessens, reducing the suction as well.

In this intervention, a reduction in the suction strength was observed while the treatment was in progress through
the three stages, with a very low suction seen in the last stage.

Results

After the cement had set, the retainer was milled out and consistent cement was found to the top of interval with
no fluid losses.While the cement was drilled out, all the way down the entire interval, reduced losses were
3
detected (8-10 m /h).

Even when a complete isolation was not achieved, the minimization of the fluid losses represented an outstanding
accomplishment for the carbonate formations of the Región Marina, where total losses are a constant parameter
at the depth of the pay zone. The lower loss rate allowed filling of the well sufficient to observe circulation on
surface; however, when the pump was shut down a slow decrease occurred in the static level of fluid. This well
condition results in a good scenario for running duplex packers to the mechanical isolation of the invaded interval
(one of them set in the bottom of the interval and the other in the upper depth) and then a recompletion with a
new perforated interval is performed.

The tracer log results showed a homogeneous placement of the fluids all along the interval (Figure 4 ), a very
significant improvement in the interval isolation and good enough to continue with the opening of the new
production interval.
3 3
In terms of gas presence, a decrease in GOR up to 44 m /m was achieved, and a 48% increase over total well
production was gained. The average oil production increase was 2100 bbl/d according to official client production
reports provided over a year after the treatment was performed when the average oil production was 6500 bbl/d
(June 2011).

Figure 4 — Radioactive tracer log in the isolated interval at 3175 to 3225 MD

SPE 168165 9

Case History 2. Cantarell field: Rigless isolation in well with high water cut

Background and Antecedents

This well was originally perforated from 2800 to 2830 MD and produced from a Cretaceous formation
characterized as 48% dolomite, 47% calcite, and 5% limestone with 7% porosity. The well was shut down in 2009
because of a water cut reported to be as high as 100%; a rapid increase in the water cut was observed in the last
months before the shutdown (Figure 5 and Figure 6).

In 2011, as a part of the client’s strategies to optimize the production of the field, an intervention in this well was
performed to isolate the invaded interval and perforate a new one from 2785 to 2800 MD. For the first time, the
synergic solution was applied in a rigless well. The first two stages (polymeric gel and lost circulation pill) were
bullheaded and the slurry was placed through coiled tubing because the production tubing was not pulled.

2785 – 2800 md
2800 – 2830 md
Figure 5 — Cantarell 475. Well schematic after isolation job.
10 SPE 168165

Figure 6 — Watercut profile in Well Cantarell 475. (Source: PEMEX Exporación y Producción Official Reports)

Operational Procedure

 First Stage: Two batches of organically crosslinked polymeric gel

Because of the successful interventions previously performed with workover equipment on the well, two batches
of polymeric gel were displaced by bullheading through the production tubing in accordance with the
underbalanced method. In this case, a downhole pressure log was run just previous to the treatment execution.

At the beginning, 100 bbl of gel were pumped and an activation time of 12 h was allowed. This batch was
displaced with the amount of seawater needed to achieve a hydrostatic pressure of 1500 psi, a value acquired
from a previous downhole log. Once the displacement was completed, the cementing line was vented and good
suction strength was observed.

After activation of the first batch, another 100 bbl of the same gel was pumped. It was displaced with the same
amount of seawater used in the first batch. An activation time of 12 h was allowed, and almost the same suction
strength was observed in the well.

 Second Stage: Lost circulation pill

The second stage consisted of bullheading a 100-bbl of lost circulation pill through the production tubing and
using the underbalanced method to displace it with seawater according to the hydrostatic pressure of 1500 psi
supported at the base of the open interval. After the displacement, the cementing line was vented but the well was
no longer showing suction. The line was closed and reopened 1 h later; only a small amount of suction was
observed.

The behavior in the well indicates the progressive and effective plugging action of the fluids. The coiled tubing
was run into the well in a calibration trip to ensure the last stage of the treatment could be performed (slurry
placement). In this run, the top of lost circulation pill was detected at 2797 MD (3 m above the top of the
perforated interval), applying 1500 lbm of weight over it. A cleaning trip with nitrogen cleared a length of 15 m
along the interval to ensure the slurry could be properly placed to provide a seal in the casing–hole annular
space.
SPE 168165 11

 Third Stage: Gas-tight slurry

Coiled tubing was run to 2815 MD and 8 bbl of gas-tight slurry (right-angle-set) was placed as the final stage of
this intervention.

Results

After the cement had set, the well was filled with seawater. The top of the cement was observed at 2768 MD, 32
m above the top of the isolated interval. The cement was milled out with coiled tubing and the new interval from
2785 to 2800 MD was perforated.

An induction test was performed and showed an average oil production of 1400 bbl/d with 1% water cut,
exceeding the client expectations of 1000 bbl/d with 50% water cut. A decision was made to stimulate the interval,
and the oil production increased to 3400 bbl/d. However, the water cut also increased to 24%, a value that is still
within the tolerance window.

Conclusions and Evaluation

The integrated solution based on the synergistic effect of core technologies has proved successful for the
isolation of intervals invaded by gas or water in the highly fractured formations in the Región Marina in the Gulf of
México, enabling the client to achieve objectives of perforating new intervals in order to produce the remaining
reserves. Introduced for the first time in 2010, this solution has been applied in six wells in Ku-Maloob-Zaap and
in two wells in Cantarell during the period from 2010 to 2011, achieving good isolation of the intervals in all the
wells.

This treatment is a non-conventional approach to isolate intervals and provides an option to the client that
supports its strategies and efforts in two ways: 1) improving and efficiently managing production with good water
and gas control in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap field, and 2) maximizing the oil recovery factor in the Cantarell field, a
mature depleted field that has seen constant decreases in production since 2003.

The design of the treatment considered the challenges inherent to the fields: the total losses that affect the good
zonal isolation of the intervals and the need to improve performance that cannot be achieved with conventional
squeeze cement jobs.

The solution comprises three stages: a polymeric gel of deep penetration, capable of blocking the high–
permeability fractures and establishing a seal for gas or water; that also supports the lost circulation pill. Both
technologies allow the cement to set in the wellbore area to provide the final seal and isolation. The method of
placement, based on the fluid level in the well and the hydrostatic pressure supported by formation, has been a
key point in the good results obtained.

The results from wells treated with this solution have proved the efficiency of this treatment in fields with complex
networks of natural fractures.

Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank to Angel Cid of PEMEX and Eddy Gonzaga, Jesús Enrique Sánchez and Algimiro
Romero of Schlumberger for their invaluable contribution, guidance and support during the development of the
project.
12 SPE 168165

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