Development and performance evaluation of bioenzyme-responsive temporary plugging materials
Keywords:
Natural gas hydrate, ceramsite microcapsule, temporary blocking performance, penetration recovery rateAbstract
Ocean gas hydrate is a potentially efficient and clean oil and gas alternative energy resource. Wells with complex structure, such as horizontal wells, can improve the extraction efficiency; however, drilling operations face challenges such as wellbore instability and reservoir damage due to the complex interaction between drilling fluids and hydrate reservoirs. This work presents a ceramsite temporary plugging microcapsule that uses ceramsite modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as the core material and chitosan and sodium alginate as shell materials. It exhibits high strength during drilling and excellent plugging effects. After the action of bioenzymes, it can easily be dissolved, leading to high permeability post-drilling. The analysis and performance evaluation of ceramsite microcapsules show that their particle size is generally 40 μm, which can match the pore size of the hydrate reservoir depending on the number of encapsulation layers. Bioenzyme optimization at 15 ◦C yields the best permeability recovery of 74.5% for the low-temperature composite enzyme. As the temperature rises, the permeability recovery rate of ceramic microcapsules gradually increases and the difference in permeability recovery rate between 5 and 25 ◦C becomes more significant. With a longer degradation time, the permeability recovery rate of ceramsite microcapsules gradually enhances and the difference in permeability recovery rate becomes smaller after 12 h. The microcapsules exhibit a specific inhibitory effect on the decomposition of hydrates. Utilizing bioenzyme- responsive ceramsite microcapsules as temporary plugging materials can establish an “isolation barrier” around the wellbore, effectively sealing off the interaction between the wellbore and the gas hydrate reservoir during the drilling process. Re-opening the flow path around the well by bio-enzymatic unblocking at the end of drilling proves to be effective in solving the problem of balancing the stability of the well wall and protecting the reservoir.
Document Type: Original article
Cited as: Sun, J., Li, Y., Liao, B., Bai, Y., Li, W., Wang, J. Development and performance evaluation of bioenzyme-responsive temporary plugging materials. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2024, 11(1): 20-28. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2024.01.03
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