Drives and Stimulation

Reading Comprehension

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 in to 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 the solution-
gas drive, that gas 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 stimulated. There are many ways to stimulating 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
release, 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 fissures in the rock around the
borehole. In order to stimulate reservoirs consisting of limestone and dolomite,
hydrochloric acid (HCl) is generally used. Hydrochloric 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 controls 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 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 is 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 the liquid is equal to the
weight of the liquid displace

Noun from Verb

Stimulate ---- stimulation
Recover ------ recovery
Displace ----- displacement

Now put the verbs in the brackets in to their noun forms

a. (produce) rate can be increased by (stimulate)
b. Gases can be converted to liquids by (pressurize)
c. The (expand) of free gas displace the oil downwards
d. Some trees are a (combine) of valves bolted together and ones let 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 3 there is a (describe) of hydraulic fracturing
j. Hydrocarbon (accumulate) are found only in porous or fractured (form)
Phrasal Verbs
stand back, blow out, make up of.
Example:
Stands are stood back on the rig floor.
The well blew out on that night back in August
The string is made up of a number of singles

Choose from these phrasal verbs to complete the sentence below:

latch on to, go over, find out, wear out, clean up, run back in.
a. The bottom-hole assembly can be usedthe 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.

By + Gerund
Notice that this structure can be used to describe how or by what method something can
be done.
By dissolving the formation, the acid opens up and enlarges fissures in the rock around
the borehole.
Example:
Q: How can a liquid be tested to find out whether its an acid or a based (wet)
A: By wetting a piece of litmus paper in it
Answer the questions using the structure by + gerund
a. How can a dolomite reservoir be stimulated? (pump)
b. By what method would you try to recover a lost roller cone? Latch on to
c. How do walnut shells help to stimulate flow? (prop up)
d. By what method are borehole surveys made? (log)
e. How is solution gas first treated? (separate)
f. How can the specific gravity of a drilling fluid be increased? (weight)