Access
Production casing was cut at 208–209 meters and a bridge plug and packer isolated the treatment interval.
Case study 059 · Vermilion River, Alberta
Serious Alberta
vent flow.
After two conventional cement squeezes produced little to no improvement, a two-day BioSqueeze treatment permanently eliminated serious-classification surface casing vent flow.
ChallengeSerious SCVF
Starting flow17.9 m³/day
DeploymentDownhole BioSqueeze®
Outcome0 m³/day
The challenge
Cement had already been tried twice.
An operator needed to eliminate vent flow on a vertical well being plugged near Lloydminster. The well, drilled in 2006, showed approximately 17.9 m³/day of flow on the 177.8 mm by 244.5 mm annulus and pressure buildup exceeding 1,700 kPa after 11 hours.
RCBL, noise/temperature and CHAT diagnostics were used to evaluate the failure. Advanced Cement Imaging identified the Lea Park interval as the likely gas source. Two conventional cement squeezes had produced little to no effect on gas flow.
The treatment
Seven stages over two days.
Clean
One acid stage removed debris and improved access into the active gas channels.
Mineralize
Seven stages of low-viscosity biomineralization fluids were injected at constant pressure.
Confirm
Falling injection rate and pressure falloff confirmed progressive sealing of connected pathways.
The result
SCVF permanently eliminated.
Leakage pathways sealed, allowing plugging to proceed.
100%vent-flow reduction: 17.9 m³/day to zero
73.1%reduction in injection rate
71.7%reduction in pressure falloff
143.7 Ltotal biomineralization fluid injected
A pronounced decline in injection rate showed the pathway closing as crystalline calcium carbonate formed a gas-tight barrier.
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