Page 16 - Reservoir Formation Damage

Chapter 1

Overview of
Formation Damage

Summary

A comprehensive review of the various types of formation damage
problems encountered in petroleum reservoirs is presented. The factors
and processes causing these problems are described in detail. The design
of a team effort necessary for understanding and controlling of the for-
mation damage problems in the field is explained. The motivation for the
writing of this book and the specific objectives are stated. The approach
taken in the presentation of the materials in this book is explained. A brief
executive summary of the topics covered in the book is given. The roles
played by different professionals, such as the petroleum and chemical engi-
neers, chemists, physicist, geologists, and geochemists, are described.

Introduction

Formation damage is a generic terminology referring to the impairment
of the permeability of petroleum bearing formations by various adverse
processes. Formation damage is an undesirable operational and economic
problem that can occur during the various phases of oil and gas recovery
from subsurface reservoirs including production, drilling, hydraulic fractur-
ing, and workover operations. As expressed by Amaefule et al. (1988) "For-
mation damage is an expensive headache to the oil and gas industry."
Bennion (1999) described formation damage as: "The impairment of the
invisible, by the inevitable and uncontrollable, resulting in an indeter-
minate reduction of the unquantifiable!" Formation damage assessment,
control, and remediation are among the most important issues to be
resolved for efficient exploitation of hydrocarbon reservoirs (Energy High-
lights, 1990). Formation damage is caused by physico-chemical, chemi-
cal, biological, hydrodynamic, and thermal interactions of porous
formation, particles, and fluids and mechanical deformation of formation