Prior assessment of CO2 leak rate through cracks sealed by nanoparticle gels

Springer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 13 - Trang 1509-1517 - 2023
Olatunji Olayiwola1, Vu Nguyen1, Ning Liu1, Boyun Guo1
1University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, USA

Tóm tắt

The leakage of hydrocarbon fluids through cracks in the annular cement and CO2 storage is a major concern to the Petroleum Industry. A significant risk is posed when repairing leakage in a micro annuli channel with smaller apertures. A low-viscosity sealant that can generate a long-lasting resilient seal is desired. The solution to sealing these channels might lie in a novel application using nano-silica Gel. In this study, laboratory tests were carried out to examine the capabilities of nano-silica gels to seal the cracks. Analyzing its rheological property, the gel strengths of nano-silica gels were found to increase with an increase in nano-silica concentration. Additionally, it was discovered that as the concentration of nano-silica increases, the sealing and leakage pressures, defined as the pressures before and after water breakthrough, respectively, increase as well. With a typical 15% concentration of nano silica in gel, a sealing pressure gradient of 80.2 psi/in and a leakage pressure gradient of 30 psi/in at a leaking rate of 1 cc/min were noted. To validate the validity of the experimental results, a mathematical model was developed to predict the leakage rate of sealed fractures. The model suggests that the young’s modulus of sealant is a key property of nano-sealants and further investigations are needed to validate the mathematical model for quantitative use. This study suggests a novel strategy for enhancing cement zonal isolation and reducing cement failure in oil and gas sector.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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