Page 13 - Reservoir Formation Damage

Preface

Formation damage is an undesirable operational and economic problem
that can occur during the various phases of oil and gas recovery from sub-
surface reservoirs including production, drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and
workover operations. Formation damage assessment, control, and remediation
are among the most important issues to be resolved for efficient exploitation
of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Such damage is caused by various adverse pro-
cesses, including chemical, physical, biological, and thermal interactions of
formation and fluids, and deformation of formation under stress and fluid
shear. Formation damage indicators include permeability impairment, skin
damage, and decrease of well performance. The properly designed experi-
mental and analytical techniques presented in this book can help understand-
ing, diagnosis, evaluation, prevention and controlling of formation damage in
oil and gas reservoirs.
This book provides an understanding of the fundamentals of the relevant
processes causing formation damage and reducing the flow efficiency in the
near-wellbore formation during the various phases of oil and gas production;
an update review of the various approaches used in the modeling and simula-
tion of formation damage for model assisted analysis and interpretation of
laboratory core tests, and for prediction and control of formation damage; and
the techniques used for assessment, diagnosis, minimization, and control of
formation damage in petroleum reservoirs. It focuses on the modeling and
simulation of the rock, fluid, and particle interactions, fluid and particle inva-
sion, filter cake, in-situ mobilization, migration, and deposition of fines, or-
ganic and inorganic precipitation and scale formation, alteration of porosity,
permeability, and texture in laboratory cores and reservoir formations, and
the effects of single and multi-phase fluid systems.
Formation damage is an interesting interdisciplinary subject that attracts many
researchers. This book is a recapitulation of the present state-of-the-art knowl-
edge in the area of formation damage. It is intended to be a convenient source
of information, widely spread over different sources. I have tried to cover the
relevant material with sufficient detail, without overwhelming the readers.
This book can be used by those who are engaged in the various aspects of

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