Remediation of Annular Gas Migration along Cemented Wellbores Using Reactive Mineral Fluids: Experimental Assessment of Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Silicate-Based Solutions

Timotheus K. T. Wolterbeek and Suzanne J. T. Hangx
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Timotheus K. T. Wolterbeek: High Pressure and Temperature Laboratory, Earth Simulation Lab, Utrecht University, Princestonlaan 4, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
Suzanne J. T. Hangx: High Pressure and Temperature Laboratory, Earth Simulation Lab, Utrecht University, Princestonlaan 4, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-19

Abstract: Achieving zonal isolation along wellbores is essential for upholding the containment integrity of subsurface reservoirs and preventing fluid seepage to the environment. The sealing performance of Portland cements conventionally used to create barriers can be severely compromised by defects like fractures or micro-annuli along casing–cement–rock interfaces. A possible remediation method would be to circulate reactive fluids through compromised cement sections and induce defect clogging via mineral precipitation. We assess the sealing potential of two prospective fluids: sodium bicarbonate and sodium silicate solutions. Reactive flow-through experiments were conducted on 6-m-long cemented steel tubes, bearing ~20-μm-wide micro-annuli, at 50 °C and 0.3–6 MPa fluid pressure. For the sodium bicarbonate solution (90 g/kg-H 2 O), reactive flow yielded only a minor reduction in permeability, with values remaining within one order. Injection of sodium silicate solution (37.1 wt.%, SiO 2 :Na 2 O molar ratio M = 2.57) resulted in a large decrease in flow rate, effectively reaching the setup’s lower measurement limit in hours. However, this strong sealing effect can almost certainly be attributed to gelation of the fluid through polymerisation, rather than defect clogging via mineral precipitation. For both fluids investigated, the extent of solids precipitation resulting from single-phase injection was less than anticipated. This shortfall is attributed to ineffective/insufficient liberation of Ca-ions from the alkaline phases in the cement.

Keywords: wellbore integrity; cement; mineral precipitation; annular fluid migration; zonal isolation; sustained casing pressure; microannuli; reactive flow; permeability; transport properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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