DRIVES Y STIMULATION Section A READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage.

The only visible part of a flowing well is the Christmas tree, which is the assembly of valves and chokes at the production wellhead. The tree controls the rate of flow to the surface and directs the oil into flow lines. Via these flow lines, the oil is directed into storage tanks or into gathering lines. Some Christmas trees have separate valves bolted together, some have all the valves let into one block of steel (called solid block trees), and others have a combination of the two. The forces that push reservoir fluids upwards to the tree are called drives. These natural production mechanisms are relative to the three sources of potential energy in the reservoir. As we have already seen, these sources of energy are the three pressurized reservoir fluids: gas, oil, and water. When the well has been opened to the surface, there is a pressure drop in the vicinity of the well bore. This means, in the case of solution-gas drive, that which is dissolved in the oil begins to come out of solution and to expand. As the gas does so, it displaces the surrounding oil horizontally into the well. In the case of gas-cap drive, the expansion of the free gas displaces the oil downwards into the well. In water drive, the expansion of the aquifer water sweeps the oil out of the rock pores and upwards into the well. After a well has come on stream, the production rate may not be high enough. A common cause of this is low permeability of the reservoir. To raise the production rate, the well will have to be simulated. There are many ways of simulating a well, but the main ones are hydraulic fracturing and acidization. Hydraulic fracturing is a method of breaking open cracks and fissures in the pay zone around the borehole. The fracturing fluid, usually a gel, is squeezed to the formation under a pressure which is high enough to break the formation down. When the pressure is released, however, the cracks must be kept open. For this reason, propping agents are carried in the gel and are left behind to hold open the cracks and fissures. The most common propping agents are rounded sand grains, glass beads, and walnut shells. Acidization can be used to stimulate reservoir rock which is soluble in acid. By dissolving the formation, the acid opens up and enlarges

ENTRADAS Y ESTIMULACIN Seccin A LECTURA DE COMPRENSIN Leer el siguiente pasaje. La nica parte visible de una circulacin de pozo es el rbol de Navidad, que es la reunin de vlvulas y obstruidores en la produccin del pozo dirigido. El rbol controla el porcentaje de circulacin a la superficie y dirige el aceite en lneas de circulacin. Va estas lneas de circulacin, el aceite es dirigido en tanques de almacenamiento o en lneas plegadas. Algunos rboles de Navidad tienen vlvulas separadas empernadas juntos, algunos tienen todas las vlvulas dejadas en un bloque de acero (llamada "El bloque macizo o solido" rboles), y los otros tienen una combinacin de lo dos. Las fuerzas que empujan los fluidos del reservorio hacia arriba en el rbol son llamadas "Entradas". Estos mecanismos de produccin natural son relativos a las tres fuentes de energa potencial en el reservorio. Como ya hemos visto, estas fuentes de energa son los tres fluidos de reservorio presurizados: el gas, el aceite, y el agua. Cuando el pozo ha sido abierto a la superficie, hay un salto de presin en la proximidad de la perforacin del pozo.

fissures in the rock around the borehole. In order to stimulate reservoirs consisting of limestone and dolomite, hydrochloric acid (HCl) is generally used. Hydrofluoric acid (HF) is used to stimulate certain kinds of sandstone reservoirs. It is also used to clean up pore spaces which have been blocked by drilling-fluid clay. Special Words and Expressions Visible Capable of being seen. Valves A valve is a device which stops. Starts, or regulates flow. Chokes A choke is a device which flow pressure. Via Along the path of; by way of. Bolted together fastened together by means of bolts. Potential energy the energy that a body has because of its position or the arrangement of its parts. In the vicinity of in the area or region of; near to. To expand to increase in volume. Metals expand when they are heated. The opposite of expand is contract. Displaces takes the place of; pushes out of place. Stimulated To stimulate something is to make its activity greater. Hydraulic operated or effected by means of a liquid. Gel a very heavy liquid suspension. Is squeezed to is forced into; is compressed into. Propping agents materials which keep open, or prop up, cracks and fissures in reservoir rock. Is soluble in can be dissolved in. Acid a water-soluble compound which can react with a base to form a salt containing hydrogen. Acids turn litmus paper red; bases turn litmus paper blue. Comprehension a. By what route is oil directed into storage tanks? b. Define a solid-block tree. c. How can a liquid be tested to find out whether its an acid or a base? (By) d. Name three substances that are water-soluble. e. If the drive mechanism in a reservoir comes from the water zone, what in the water zone called? How does it operate? f. What is a combination tree made up of? (Some valves, and others).

g. As the gas does so (Section A) As the gas does what? h. What is the difference between hydraulic fracturing and acidization? i. What are the two uses of hydrofluoric acid in well stimulation? j. If propping agents arent used in the fracturing gel, what will happen to the fissures in the vicinity of the borehole? True or False? Say whether the following are true or false. Correct the false ones. a. The chemical symbol for hydrochloric acid is H2SO4. b. Natural drive mechanisms depend on reservoir fluids. c. In a common garden hose, the device at the business end is a valve. d. HCl is rarely used to stimulate dolomite reservoirs. e. Archimedes Principle states that the upward force on a body in a liquid is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced. Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION I 1. Listen to the conversation between Fred, Dave and Steve. FRED: Right, then. Lets just go over the three diagrams again and be sure were clear about what these different traps indicate. DAVE: In relation to drive, Fred? FRED: Yeah, but, um, tie them in a little with recovery, too. DAVE: Okay. Go ahead, Fred. FRED: Well take this one first. Steve? STEVE: Water drive. Good recovery, but the usual problems with entrained water. FRED: Right. And this one, Dave? DAVE: Dissolved-gas drive. Fairly slow recovery. FRED: Thanks Dave. Now what about this third one. Steve? STEVE: Just a second. Its a bit difficult to see. Sure. Gas-cap drive. FRED: And recovery? Dave? DAVE: The free gas cap here is a large one, so recovery would probably be very high. FRED: Good. Tomorrow we can have another look atSTEVE: -Christmas trees, Fred? FRED: Right again, Steve.

DAVE: Subsea or surface? FRED: Both, Dave. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. What are the three men studying? What is Fred asking for? What job do you think Fred does? b. Choose the right expression: Tie them in with recovery means (i) Join them to recovery (ii) Relate them to recovery (iii) Point to the diagrams about recovery. c. Which two types of trees does Dave. d. What expression is used instead of solution-gas drive? e. Why does Steve hesitate over the third diagram? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE 1. Adjectives from the Passive Example: Sand grains which have been rounded are a common propping agent. Rounded sand grains are a common propping agent. Do the following in the same way a. Barite which has been ground is commonly used to weight drilling muds. b. Pore spaces that are blocked can be cleaned up by acidization. c. Gas which is dissolved in reservoir crude can be an important production mechanism. d. Items of equipment that have been lost in the hole must be fished out. e. Reservoirs which are fractured have the highest permeabilities. 2. Nouns from Verbs Stimulate stimulation Recover recovery Displace displacement Now put the verbs in brackets into their noun forms. a. (Produce) rates can be increased by (stimulate). b. Gases can be converted to liquids by (pressurize). c. The (expand) of free gas displaces the oil downwards. d. Some trees are a (combine) of valves bolted together and ones

into a solid block of steel. e. (Acidize) is used to enlarge the fissures in the rock around the borehole. f. The diagram shows the (distribute) of water and hydrocarbons in a typical trap. g. The (magnify) of the sample in this picture is x20. h. Viscosity describes the (resist) of a fluid to flow. i. On page 39 there is a (describe) of hydraulic fracturing. j. Hydrocarbon (accumulate) are found only in porous or fractured (from). 3. Phrasal Verbs Stand back Blow about Make up of Stands are blew stood back on the rig back in August. (Unit 6) The string is made up of a number of singles. (Unit 1) Choose from these phrasal verbs to complete the sentences below: latch on to, go over, find out, wear out, clean up, run back in. a. The bottom-hole assembly can be used . The well. b. The bit so it was changed. c. After they had changed the bit, they again d. Quick, those collars! e. If you want what goes where, ask the superintendent. f. Lets just the three diagrams once more.