Condensate Banking Removal Using Slow Release of In-Situ Energized Fluid

Abstract

Condensate banking represent a persistent challenge during gas production from tight reservoir. The accumulation of condensate around the wellbore can rapidly diminish gas production. When reservoir pressure drop below dew point, condensate start to dropout from gas phase, filling pores and permeable fractures, and block gas production. There are several strategies to mitigate condensate banking, however, these strategies are either demonstrate limited results or are economically not viable. In this study, a novel method to mitigate condensate was developed using thermochemical reactants. Slow-release of thermochemical reactants inside different core samples was studied. The effect of in-situ generation of gas on the petrophysical properties of the rock was reported. Thermochemical treatment was applied to recover condensate on sandstone and carbonate, where the reported recoveries were around 70%. However, when shale sample was used, the recovery was only 43%. Advanced Equation-of-State (EoS) compositional and unconventional simulator (GEM) from CMG (Computer Modelling Group) software was used to simulate thermochemical treatment and gas injection. The simulation study showed that thermochemical stimulation had increased production period from 3.5 to 22.7 months, compared to gas injection.