American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 72

SpecialReport: Completion Technology
PGT gives operators a new option for
direct tracer injection into clusters for
wells that are: perforated but not hydraulically
fractured, bullhead refracturing
treatments with long open intervals of
newly fired perforations, insufficiently
isolated stages from poor cementing or
leaking plugs, and not isolated or experimentally
isolated stages.
Solid tracers were first injected into
perforation clusters with energetic propellants
on two Marcellus Shale wells.
The primary purpose of this experiment
was to determine if PGT could be used
to provide flow assurance diagnostic information.
In addition, standard liquid
water tracers also were injected into the
flow stream during the corresponding
fracture treatment stages and used as a
control for the PGT. Both tracer injection
methods indicated that the toe side of the
wellbore was contributing to the fluid returns
profile and also showed similar
trends in tracer response over time.
This initial Marcellus experiment
showed that PGT could provide valuable
diagnostic information to well operators.
Thereafter, several additional field trials
have been completed that demonstrate
how the unique benefits of PGT can be
exploited to provide diagnostics on flow
assurance, flow profiling, fracture-driven
interactions (FDIs) and refracturing effectiveness.
In refracturing, PGT has
FIGURE 1
PGT Perforating Gun Schematic
Oilfield
Tracers
tremendous benefits because the energetic
propellent can help new perforations
break down and compete with existing
broken-down and eroded perforations.
Unique tracers are injected at several
known cluster depths throughout the lateral.
Any returns of the unique tracers in
the flowback water will correspond to
fracturing fluid that has contacted the
depth of that specific traced cluster. This
provides valuable diagnostic information
to determine how deep the refracture
treatment was able to reach into the
lateral. PGT also delivers information on
the returns of an individual cluster, without
post-frac well intervention or permanent
hardware installation.
System Design
The same family of liquid oil and
water tracers that is pumped into the flow
stream during surface injection also is
used in PGT, but they are in a solid phase
inside of the perforation gun. Instead of
a pump, PGT uses propellent to generate
high pressure and high velocity gases to
inject the tracers out of the perforation
gun and into the formation only milliseconds
after the shaped charges detonate.
Figure 1 shows a schematic of a perforation
gun used in PGT. The propellent
also has secondary advantages due to
the possibility of cleaning the perforating
tunnel as well as extending microfractures
and conductivity beyond the perforation
tunnel and into the formation
and assisting with a higher likelihood
of cluster breakdown.
Propellants historically have been used
in oil and gas completions to help stimulate
the reservoir rock. Most common propellants
generate a significant amount of
gas pressure that burns an order-of-magnitude
slower than the explosive detonation
from the perforating event. This allows
the generated gas pressure to be directed
out into the formation through the pathway
of the perforation tunnel. The forces generated
by the propellant allow for the
reservoir to be fractured as the pressure
overcomes the stresses within the formation
itself.
However, the main challenge with
propellants in perforating completions is
evaluating the optimal propellant loading
for the reservoir. There is a balance between
time and pressure. Different propellants
provide different burn rates and
pressures to benefit a variety of formation
types. For many operations, care is taken
to evaluate the completion as a whole to
ensure the perforations and stimulation
work together for the optimal results.
Testing And Proof of Concept
In order to evaluate a new technology
where the tracer material is delivered simultaneously
with the perforating event,
several variables had to be evaluated. The
first test conducted was evaluating if the
tracer material would withstand the extreme
pressures and temperatures created by the
energetics in a perforating system. It was
conducted by placing the PGT system in
a closed vessel. The system was detonated
in a controlled vessel and the propellant
subsequently initiated.
After the test, the water surrounding
Shaped
Charge
Propellent
Pucks
72 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
the vessel was sampled for analysis of
water tracers used in the PGT system.
The lab analysis validated that there was
a sufficient amount of tracer material detected
in the water sample after the
ballistic event, providing a positive indication
that the tracer material survived
the pressures and temperatures.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022

Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - Intro
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - Cover1
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - Cover2
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 3
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 4
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 6
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 7
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 8
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 9
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 10
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - Cover3
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - Cover4
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