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Copyright 1986, Soci6ty of Petroleum Engineers

This paper waa prepared for presentation at the 61at Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Pelroledm Engineers held in New
Orleane, LA October 5-8, 1986.
Tfsis paper wae selected for presgnfation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submifled by .:9
author(s). Contente of Ihe paper, as presenfad, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petrolaum Engineers and are eubject to correction by t~
author(e). The material, aa pteaented, does not n;eessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, ita officers, or members. P@srs
presented atSPE meetings are subject to publication reviaw by Edilorial Committees of the Society ~f Petroleum Engineers. Permission to copy ie
reslriclad to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrafiona may not be copied. The abatract should contain conspicuous ackr,owledgment ot
where and by whom the paper ISpresented. Write Publications Manager, SPE, P.O. Box 833636, Richardson, TX 76083-3636. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.

ABSTRACT
The frequent use of clear brines as completion/
workover fluids has incre?sed the need for improved
methods of solids removal during these operations.
Studies in recent years, relating formation damage
size distribution in completion/
with pai-title
workover fluids, magnify the need to make the brines
as solids-free as possible (l-8). This fact has led
the industry to re-examine the filtration process on
completions.
Presently, there are no methods commonly used to
determine the particle size distribution in fluids
On-site measurements of solids
at the rig site.
generally involve centrifuging a sample of fluid to
determine the percent by volume of solids or
monitoring solids content by turbimetric methods.
The volume percent of solids is important; however,
knowledge of the particle size distribution and
population density is important in order to minimize
formation damage.
Tests can be run in the
laboratory on several types of instruments to
determine particle size distribution, but these
represent after the fact data.
In other industries, a small laser particle counter
is being used to determine size distribution and
actual particles per cubic centimeter in clear
fluids.
The instrument is interfaced with a PC
computer or hand-held calculator to compute the size
distribution and the population density of the
The instrument is portable, precise,
particles.
and practical for use in the oilfield.
It gives
field personnel an opportunity to check the solids
distribution of the fluid going into the well and
the efficiency of the filtration equipment on-site.
The data obtained using the laser particle counter
together with the reservoir data is a good means of

~r

detecting potential formation damage associated with


the solids found in the completion/workover fluids.
Results of lab tests, yard tests, and field data
have shown applicability of the laser particle
counter to analyze clear brines on-site.
Scanning
electron microscopy was used to determine the type
of material passing through the filters. Comparison
of the field and lab tests has given a better
understanding of the limitations of the currently
available filtration equipment.
INTRODUCTION
Filtration of workover/completion fluids is used
to minimize the amount of formation damage (l-8).
It has also been suggested that the efficiency of
displacing dirty fluids with clean fluids is a
function of the cleanliness of the displacing
fluid (9).
There is a real advantage to being able to monitor
how clean the fluid system is on-site. The engineer
is able to get an accurate picture of what is
happening and therefore make timely adjustments, if
If the engineer sends samples off for
necessary.
analysis, an incorrect indication of the condition
of the fluids might be obtained due to flocculation
or formation of solids.
Several types of instruments are available to
These include
measure particle size distribution.
the Coulter Counter, Granulometer, and HIAC particle
analyzer as well as others. These instruments are
very precise and accurate when used for the
applications for which the instruments were designed
However,
and operated in the proper environment.
the adaptability of these instruments ?or use on a
drilling rig or on a workover/completion o~eration
Transportation ~f the
is somewhat impractical.
most
C3S-S
due to
instruments is difficult in
bulkiness or delicacy and operation requires a

ON-SITE COMPLETION/WORKOVER FLUID ANALySIS USING A pORTABLE LASliRPARTICLE SIZE COUNTER

fairly well-trained person.

SPE 15407

The laser particle counter appears to hfivevery good


precision.
Tests have shown that the channel to
channel reproducibility is good even when the total
nltmber of particles per milliliter varied by an
order of magnitude at low concentrations (13)0

Turbidity measurements are used cotnnonly to provide


a quick measure of the relative solids content of
This typ.? of measurement is
fluids on the rig.
useful; however, it is very hard to correlate
SMPLE PREPARATION
percent solids or ppm solids unless accompanied by a
l
very accurate analy~is of the solicis (10).
The samples were prepared by adding a small portion
of the fluid to be analyzed to a pre-filtered
When workover/completion fluids ars filtered to
diluent in a Ilheatonborosilicate glass bcttle 55 mm
<2 microns. it is not uncomnon to get a low
This reading tells that the
in diameter.
The diluent is generally the base
turbidity reading.
fluid which is being used in the fieid, but which
fluid is relatively ciean, but does not describe
has been filtered to <0.025 microns.
A filtration
the particle size distribution or the population
flask equipped with Millipore filter disks and a
density of each size of particle left in the fluid.
hand vacuum pump is used to prepare the diluent.
A portable laser particle counter has been adapted
Alteration of suspended solids in the sample is
for use in the field which allows these measurements
minimized by using the filtered base fluid instead
to be easily made.
of anottw+rfluid such as 2% KC1.
INSTRUMENTATION
The opacity of the diluted sample is measured 0,1the
laser particle counter.
If the opacity is >30%, a
The theory which relates the intensity of light
volumetric dilution is made and the opacity is
scattered by colloidal partcles and the size of the
An ~pacity of :30% is needed to
measured again.
particle was developed by Mie (11) and Jobst (12).
maximize sensitivity and minimize coincidence from
It has been shown for particles at least five times
occurring.
The phenomenon known as coincici.?nce
larger than the wavelength of the ir,cident light,
results in one particle being shielded by anot5er
the intensity of the scattered light is proportional
and not being counted or the particles combining to
to the square of the particle radius. It has also
give an extra large pulse for their size.
been shown that the particle population density must
be low, less than 999 particles per milliliter, so
FIELD APPLICATIONS
that a particle in the path of the laser beam
scatters the incident light independent of the
Emphasis on cleanliness of completion fluids to
surrounding particles (13, 14).
prevent
damage
has
formation
increased
the
importance of being able to minimize and monitor the
The laser particle counter used to gather the data
The ability to clean
fluids.
solids in the
for this paper is a Spectrex ILI-1OOO illustrated in
Figure 1. The laser particle counter makes measurecomp!et+c;(fluids depends upon the efficiency of the
The
major
filter
system
used
on
location.
ments in a liquid held in a transparent container up
application of the laser particle counter todate has
to a maximum of 200mm in depth for a set period of
been to evaluate the efficiency of the filtration of
time, usually 3-5 seconds. A helium-neon laser beam
completion fluids.
(wavelength 0.6328 microns) is focused to a small,
The
defined volume (10 ml) within the liquid.
A comon filtration technique is to use diat,omaceous
helium-neon laser scans the sample in a circular
time, and a
path for a measured
period
of
earth filters to clean fluids on location (18).
The
Pcllshing units, which are nothfing more than a
photodetector collects the scattered pulses.
cartridge filter, are usually put in series after
counter is coupled to a 15-channel pulse-height
discriminator.
Iarticlessmaller than <1 micron do
the DE filter to assure that any diatomaceous earth
not scatter light at the laser wavelength and cannot
which might bleed through is caught before being
The polishing unit is also
be detected (15, 16).
pumped down the well.
used as an additional filtration step to remove any
The polishing units
The original Spectrex laser system used an Apple IIe
remaining small particles.
nominal or absolute
usually use 2 micron
computer with an EPSON printer as the data handling
This type of data system is good for a
cartridges.
system.
laboratory environment, however, is unsatisfactory
Several tests were run at various filtration company
for field applications. A data handling network has
been developed that uses a HP-41CX calculator and
yards, and tests were run on drilling rigs to
RS-232 interface with a special microcomputer which
determine the applicability and usefulness of the
A diagram of the new
portable laser particle counter to evaluate the
contains an A/D converter.
Results of the
data system is shown in Figure 2. The software for
efficiency of the filter systems.
the system was developed in-house (17).
tests showed that the portable laser particle
counter is very useful in monitoring the particle

size distribution and the population density of the


solids in the filtered fluids.

The results of one of the yard tests are shown in


As can be seen, the sample caught
Figures 3-7.
inmnediatelyaftel-the DE Filter shows approximately
5% of the particles greater than 10~m in size. The
It should also be
average appears to be about 3~m,
noted that there are no particles b?low the 2 ~m
This is attributed to coincide~ce occurring
size.
from the larger particles. One pass through a 2~m
absolute cartridge filter produced the results
Se;eral passes of the fluid
shown in Figure 4.
through a 0.5 fim absolute c~ri,ridge filter yield
a fluid sample with the part{cle ize distributions
shown in Figures 5-7. Table I gives the populaiim
Th:se results
density represented by Figures 5-7.
indicate that after the second pass through the
0.5~n filter, the palticle size distribution of the
fluid did not change substantially; however, the
This
data
population
density
is decreased
illustrates the instrument will indicate #hen a
fluid contains large and small particles, but will
not provide accurite data about small particles
until most of the large particles are out of the
system.
This is acceptable for the evaluation of
filtration equipment since the fluid downstream from
the cartridge filters should contain very few large
particles if the equipment is working correctly.
SEM analysis of some of the solids in the fluid
coming out of the DE unit was perfomed to identify
the type of particles causing the coincidence to
occur in the filtered samples. Figure 8 shows that
The
most of the material was diatomaceous earth.
fact that DE bleeds from the DE presses has been
substantiated in this study and by many others
These results confirm the need for a
(18).
polishing unit in series after the DE filter press.
Figure 9 is the analysis of a completion fluid from
offshore Louisiana caught immediately after a DE
filter to determine if DE was bleeding through the
DE filter cake. The results show a preponderance of
large particles and the absence of small particles,
indicative of a dirty fluid containing a large
amount of large particles causing coincidence.
In
this case, the laser particle counter shows that
even though the completion fluid was
filtered
through a DE filter press, the absence of a
polishing unit after the press would allow a dirty
fluid to be used in the well.
Figure 10 is the analysis of a completion fluid from
offshore Texas, circlJlated several times through a
DE filter press and a 2 #m absolute cartridge
filter.
The fluid had been circulated several
The laser particle counter shows that the
times.
continued circulation
of the
completion fluid
through the filter system produced a fluid with
a particle size distribution and population density

comparable to a fluid passed through a 0,5 ~m


Repetitive circuabsolute cartridge filter.
a filter system containing a
lations through
cartridge filter polishing Jnit would he expected
due to the buildup of a filter cake on the cartridge
filters.
Tests have shown that the portable laser particle
counter is a useful instrument for monitoring fluid
quality in an effort to minimize formation damage
from
entrained
resulting
solids
in workoverl
completion fluids. The instrument is easy and fast
to
operate
on
location and provides precise,
accurate data on particle size distribution and
population density,
CONCLUSIONS
Based upon laboratory and fiel+ results, the
following c,bsenvationsand conclusions can be made:
1)

A portable laser particle counter


handling system has been developed
applicable to use in the field.

and data
which is

2)

The portable laser counter is easy to use and


provides accurata data. The instrument provides
particle
size
distribution
and
population
density for the fluids analyzed.

3)

The concentration of the particles in the fluid


to be analyzed must be below 999 counts/cc,
and the samples must have an opacity of 530% to
assure precise analysis. A given sample can be
diluted in order to achieve the required concentrations of particles to facilitate the use of
the portable counter.

4)

Evaluation of DE filter systems in the field


indicates that multiple passes of a clean fluid
through the system decrease the population
density but not the particle size distribution
in the fluid.

ACKNOHLE06ENENTS
We thank ARCO Oil and Gas Company for the permission
to publish this paper. We also thank Mr. Gary White
for his invaluable assistance in interfacing the
instrumentation and preparing the software for the
system.

ON-SITE COMPLETION/klORKOVER FLUID ANALYSIS USING A poRTABLE LASER PARTICLE SIZE COUNTER

SPE 15407

REFERENCES
1)

Davidson, O.H., Invasion and Impairment of


Formations by Particulate, SPE 8210, presented
at the 54th Fall Meeting of SPE, Sept. 23-26,
1979, Las Vegas, Neva2a.

2:

Grues!)eck, C. and Collins, R. E., Entrainment


and Deposition of Fine particles in porous
Media, SPE 8430, presented at 54th Fall Meeting
of SPE, Sept. 23-26, 1979, Las Vegas, Nevada.

3)

4)

Ab ins, A.,
Mud Design to Minimize
Rock
Imp. rment Due to Particle Invasior~, Jour. of
Peir, Engr., May, 1977, 586-592.
Jordan, C. A. et al., The Bay Marchand Pressure
Maintenance Projecc Unique Challenges of an
Offshore Sea Water Injection System, Jour. o!:
petr. Tech., April, 1969, 389-396.

5)

Barkman, J. H. and Davidsrx. P. H., Measuring


Water Quality and Predicting Well Impairment,
Jour. of Petr. Tech., July, 1972, 865-873.

6)

T~dd,
A.
C.,
Somerville,
J.
E.,
and
Scott , Graham, The Application of Depth of
Formation Damage Measurements
in Predicting
W@er
Injectivity Decline, SPE 12498 presenteri
at the Formation Damage Symposium, Bakersfield,
Calif., Feb. 13-14, 1984.

7)

Hashemi, R, Ershaghl, I., and Amnerer, N.,


Proper Filtration ?linimizes Formation Oamage,
Oil & Gas Journal, Aug. 13, 1984, 123-126.

8)

Ershag~{, I., Hashemi, R., Caothien, S. C., and


Adbassa , D., Injectivity Losses Under Particle
Cake Buildup and Particle Invasion, SPE 15073
56th California Regional
presented
at the
Meeting, Oakland, Calif., April 2-4, 1986.

9)

15

Grens, J., Preliminary Tests Usfng a Laser


Particle-Size Analyzer on Geothermal Brine,
Government Publication UIIIC 17637, Lawrence
Liv~rmore Laboratory, Nov. 18, 1977.

16

Bierlein, J. A., Particle-Size Analysis of


Engine Oils, Tech. Report AFML-TR-79-4215, Air
Force Materials Lab, Jan., 1979.

17

White, G., HP-41 Data Analysis System for the


Spectrex
Laser
Particle
Counter,
In-house
Communication, P?CO Oil and Gas, May 28, 1986.

18) Barren. W. C.. founq,J. A., and Munson. R. E..


New ConceptLHigh -Density- Brine
Fiitratio~
Diatomaceous
lJtilizing a
Earth
Filtration
System. SPE
10648, presented at the
SPE
Symposium, Lafayette, La., March 24-25, 1982.

TA8LE I

Hashemi, R. and Caothien, S., 8enefits of


Solids Filtration Evaluated, Oil & Gas Journal,
Jan. 27, 1986, 109-114.

10 Wadel, F. L., Powell, J. W., Haagensen, R., and


Poch, H. F., Particles in Oil Files Workover
Completion
Fluids,
presented
at
the
and
International
Fine
Convention
of
Particle
Society, Miami Beach, Fla., May, 1985.
11

14) Ullrich, O. A., Size Analysis of Fine Particles


Results
and
Obtained
with
an
Electrical
Particle
Sensing-Zone
Analyzer,
presented
before the Instrument Society of America Conf.,
New York, N.Y., Sept. 26, 1940.

POPULATION DENSITY OF FLUID THROUGH


~m A8SOLUTE CARTRIDGE FILTER

PASS #

POPULATION DENSITY
(CTS/UNIT TIME)

187,000

68,000

55,000

Mie, G., Ann. Phys., 25, 377, 1908.

12) Jobst, G., Ann. Phys., 78, 157, 1925.


13) Clayton, Z. A.,
Particle-Size Analysis of
Silts, unpublished paper, Dept. of Marine
Science, University of South Florida.

SECONDARY
LENS
PHOTO
AND

DETECTOR

BOTTLE

/ . ...-

SPE 1 51L().7

ELECTRONICS
PRISM

ILLUMINATE
BUTTON

BEAM

SPL17TER

AND BEAM
STRE..JGTH

THRESHOLD
SE1llNG DIAL

MONITOR

COUNT
BUTTON

-d

11
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-J

4A1

MIRROR

-~

IASER

Figure1. SPECTREX

IL1-1OOLASER

TUbE

PARTICLE COUNTER

@OCTOR TC-1OO COMPUTER


W/ A/D WNVEKIER

RS -232

SCANNER

CABLE TO SPECTREX

CABLE

HP lL/RS 232
INTERFACE

HP PRINTER
HP-41CX WITH HP-IL MODULE,
EXTENDED MEMORY MODULE,
AND EXTENDED 1/0 MODULE
ii
~

HP41CX DATA SYSTEM

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FfGURE 8. SEM analysis of solids from DE FILTER PRESS

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