The Cerro Dragón field in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina produces 42,000 m3/day (264,000 bbl/day) of oil and 590,000 m3/day (3.7 million bbl/day water) in 9 different districts. The field contains 3950 producing wells with more than 1000 ESP wells being treated for mostly scale and some for corrosion. Due to a high bottom hole temperature 120°C (~250°F) and moderate calcium levels, many wells have a tendency for downhole calcium carbonate formation. More than 1000 wells are treated for scale/corrosion and to minimize the complexity of logistics and cost factors, the preferred control method is via the use of an innovative technology of a micro-encapsulated product. This product is applied downhole via batch treatments where it slowly dissolves offering long term scale or corrosion protection. This paper will describe the chemical management system that reviewed such factors as: statistical interpretation of the results, laboratory methodologies for screening the products, software simulations to calculate (a) the amount of encapsulated materials to be used per well, (b) the frequency of treatment, (c) the economic analysis of this methodology. This paper will also describe the iterative improvement process in comparing field results with the calculated theoretical values.

Subject
Costs, Water, Materials, Phosphonates, Scale inhibitors, Corrosion scales, Tubing, Mechanical failure, Fluids, Scale, Brines, Scaling, Chemical treatment
Keywords:
Micro-encapsulated, Chemical Management System, integrity, flow assurance, rat hole, TCO (Total Cost Operation), ESP (electrical submergible pump), PCR (Phosphate Residual Concentration), MED (minimum effective dosage), Caps
© 2017 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2017
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
You do not currently have access to this content.