The right chemistry for wellbore cleanup

 
 

Most of the work we do at SAS Production Services is in wellbore remediation and stimulation services. We have some amazing filtercake breaker products that uniquely do not require separate acids or acidizing products. We can delay your filtercake from breaking by several days and our technical team is constantly pushing back how long we can provide the delay for. It is impressive stuff.

Today however I want to put forward a less talked element of our work. This is the use of our unique chemistry in wellbore cleanup. Our first downhole work actually was in this application and for some three years we worked with ExxonMobil in the North Sea. The work was an absolute success for a number of reasons.

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A simplified process

First of all our chemistry greatly simplified the wellbore cleanup process. Both at surface and in the well the reduction of the number of pills made things a lot easier to handle for the team on the rig. Some of the worst wellbore cleanup programs we have seen had over 20 cleanup pills. All of these have to be prepared, kept separate and pumped at the right time. This increases the number of people required and complicates rig logistics.

With our approach and highly effective chemistry it is possible to use a cleanup train of 3 – 4 pills. Because our chemistry is so effective in removing all mud traces the brine is also returned to specification much faster. This reduces brine requirements and reduces filtration needs.

Microemulsion chemistry

Secondly the unique microemulsion chemistry makes it possible to let the returning slops phase separate under gravity in the pits on the rig. This means a waste reduction of 70 – 97% compared to normal emulsion forming detergent pills.

That the simple change of a standard detergent to the use of our microemulsion can have such a magnificent impact was unexpected for ExxonMobil and for the waste management company involved. The waste management company simply had to leave the waste to stand in a tank and the next day all was nicely separated in oil, water and solids.

Those are the results we can achieve for you as well. We can reduce your chemical consumption by 65%, we can reduce your surface logistics tremendously and we can reduce your slops waste by over 70%.

Give us a call and let’s talk.


 

Case Study: Wellbore Clean Up - North Sea

 
 

An offshore service company used SAS WellboreClean 116SC for a casing cleaning project in the North Sea. In doing so, the service team was able to reduce the cleaning times by 60% and reduce the chemical train by 70%.

The Problem...

The service company needed the SAS product to complete a drilling well so that it could be handed back over to production in minimal time with minimal waste production. Therefore, the key project outcomes were: 

  • To reduce downtime and bring forward well production

  • To reduce the volume of waste produced from well completion

The SAS Solution...

Using SAS WellboreClean 116SC not only were the team able to hand back the well in record time, they also significantly reduced the waste, compared to standard detergents/solvents.

SAS PS WellboreClean

Afterwards a brine completion string was run and the well was completed and handed over to production. SAS WellboreClean 116SC successfully eliminated the need to use additional detergents, solvents, high viscous spacers or carry out multiple flushes with seawater and brine. 

To Sum Up...

The total reduction in waste volume produced from the job using the SAS product was over 92%. SAS WellboreClean 116SC was successful in enabling the simple treatment of waste both on and offshore. 

As can be seen in the picture on the right, the solids were able to be recovered for disposal, the water was safe for disposal to sea and the base oil was recovered for re-use. 

Find out more about this case study here: