Experimental Study of Filter Cake Cleanup by Acid/Water Jetting

The main purpose of acid/water jetting treatments currently applied in the field is to clean up the filter cake formed during the drilling process and perhaps further stimulate the wellbore by creating wormholes if acid jetting is used in carbonate formation. This purpose can be achieved for the reason that the filter cake on the borehole can be mechanically broken by the high speed jetting action, and additionally, if acid is used, some materials in the filter cake can be dissolved, which can facilitate the mechanical breaking action. The knowledge of jetting effectiveness under various conditions is crucial for the purpose of optimizing the treatment design. In order to investigate quantitatively the effectiveness of acid/water jetting for filter cake cleanup and wellbore productivity enhancement, laboratory experiments were carried out under conditions similar to those in the field. Filter cake was deposited on the face of a 4 inch diameter core and then water or 15% HCl were used for jetting treatment. The original permeability, the permeability right after the drill-in fluid damage, and the permeability after the jetting treatment were measured and compared. The effect of overbalance pressure during the jetting treatment was investigated. CT scan was carried out for those cores that may have wormholes after the acid jetting treatment. An analysis of the mechanism for filter cake removal and wormhole creating during acid jetting treatment was proposed. It is discovered that acid jetting can effectively remove the filter cake by penetrating and lifting it from beneath, and efficient wormhole creation can only happen when the overbalance pressure during the acid jetting treatment is above a certain value. Based on this study, several suggestions for field applications were made.