Technical Paper: Maintaining Fracture Performance Through Active Scale Control Society: SPE Paper Number: 68300 Presentation Date: 2001 Download: Maintaining Fracture Performance Through Active Scale Control (1.76 MB PDF) Login | Register Abstract Hydraulic fracturing using proppants is a well established technique for increasing well productivity. However, uncontrolled mineral scale deposition within the proppant pack can result in reduced conductivity and fracture performance, thereby devaluing the initial investment in the fracture. To protect this investment an active scale control strategy is required especially when executed in the presence of a water flood. A number of different techniques have been proposed and used historically, however they have all suffered with one or more drawbacks. These drawbacks have included excessive volumes, poor placement control, short treatment life and / or the potential for fines and sand generation and pack instability. The ability to place scale inhibitor within the voids of a porous proppant offers a robust technique for placing a large amount of scale inhibitor throughout the proppant pack while its controlled released protects the productivity of the fracture. Previous papers have described the development of porous, scale inhibitor impregnated proppants and highlighted the initial returns from field trials performed on land wells on the North Slope of Alaska. The impregnated proppant technology has now been further developed and two treatments have recently been deployed in the North Sea. The treatments were both designed to stimulate production and to protect the fracture against future scaling scenarios. This paper will describe the design criteria used to select this method of protecting the future performance of the fracture. In addition this paper will describe the design and execution of the treatments while highlighting the fracture performance and scale inhibitor return profiles generated by recent treatments performed in the British and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea.

• Schlumberger

• Scale Inhibitor

• Fracture Water

• Abstract