IMP’s Foaming Agent Tech Boosts Mature Oil Field Production

One of the principal technological challenges facing mature fields in Mexico is that of increasing the productivity of wells located in naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs (NFCR), which tend to be subject to high temperatures, salinity and hardness levels. 

Some notable aspects of this particular challenge that impact the productivity of such wells are gas channeling in the reservoir, damage to the formation due to mixed incrustations and liquid loading.   

The Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) has responded by developing new technologies based on multifunctional foaming agents, which allow operators to select a specific foaming agent and tackle certain problems.

In an effort to solve problems stemming from gas channeling control, IMP has created the IMP-WET-FOAM® multifunctional foaming agent technology platform, which under high temperature, salinity and hardness conditions allows gas mobility to be controlled, increasing oil production in mature fields associated with naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs. 

The competitive advantage of this technological platform comes from its multifunctionality, enabling the damage caused by organic and inorganic incrustations in the producing formation to be managed, oil to be extracted from the matrix by altering the wettability of the rock, reducing the interfacial tension of the brine-oil system and controlling gas mobility in the fractures. Together, these features result in greater oil production, improved well-life production and the expansion of the final recovery of the reservoir. 

For a field application, the platform uses seawater or formation water and does not require selective placement. It tolerates temperatures up to 170°C (338 Fahrenheit), as well as areas with high salinity and water hardness levels up to 150,000ppm.   

In field tests carried out through Huff and Puff processes in oil producing wells, it was demonstrated that the IMP-WET-FOAM® technology platform increases oil production by at least 30 percent and controls gas production by conserving the pressure at the bottom of the well and reducing the pressure at the head.

For problems related to liquid loading, IMP has developed the integral multifunctional foaming agent technology that increases the productivity of oil wells with a high water cut. 

The technology also improves the performance of the artificial production system of pneumatic pumping (PMP) in oil producing wells that present water cuts equal or higher than 50 percent. Field tests carried out by PEMEX’s PEP arm have shown that the technology achieves this by:

• Decreasing the PNP gas injection volume by at least 20 percent, maintaining the original oil production.

• Increasing oil production while maintaining the original PNP gas injection.

• Decreasing PNP gas injection while simultaneously increasing oil production in relation to original conditions.

These factors increase oil production in mature fields by reducing the volume of PNP gas injection, while also obtaining significant economic benefits. 

The IMP technology also allows for the controlling of organic and inorganic incrustations in production tubing, reducing the number of well cleanings. For field application, seawater or formation water is used and the multifunctional foaming agent is dosed at the bottom of the well through the PNP gas stream or by means of capillary or coiled tubing. 

In both forms of application, a foam is formed in the well production stream, this improves fluid transport in the tubing by allowing the fluids to travel as a single phase and lightening the weight of the hydrostatic column, thereby reducing the pressure at the bottom of the well and increasing the supply of formation fluids.

The integral technology constitutes five modules, which can be marketed independently with an individualized selling price, set according to the needs and capacities of PEMEX’s assets. 

The Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) has 54 years of experience in generating expertise and technological capabilities for the hydrocarbons sector. Its goal is to maximize value generation in exploration, production and transformation processes.