A Field Demonstration of a New Chemical Stimulation Treatment for Fluid-Blocked Gas Wells

The loss of productivity due to liquid blockage in gas wells is a common problem. Dropout of condensate from gas and/or water accumulates in the pores of the rock near a producing well or within a hydraulic fracture, causing a significant reduction in gas relative permeability, curtailing production. As a solution to this problem, we have developed a chemical treatment designed to increase flow rates of blocked gas wells. The treatment alters the wettability of the solid surface, minimizing capillary pressure and increasing the relative permeabilities of gas and condensate. In laboratory core flood experiments, application of this chemical treatment increased flow rates by a factor of about 2 for two-phase flow of gas and condensate, gas and water, and gas and volatile oil. To bring this technology from the laboratory into the field, we stimulated
a blocked gas well. The initial results of this field trial are reported in this paper and demonstrate the treatment was highly effective