Case study 053 · Loving County, Texas

Permian Basin
plugging and abandonment.

A biomineralization treatment eliminated annular gas and fluid flow after multiple conventional cement-squeeze attempts were unable to establish injection.

ChallengeAnnular fluid and gas flow
Prior responseMultiple cement squeezes
DeploymentThree BioSqueeze systems
ResultFlow eliminated

The challenge

A persistent pathway in a well being permanently plugged.

The vertical Cherry Canyon producer was drilled and completed in 2005. The surface casing crossed a salt zone with little or no cement coverage across the shoe, leaving an annular pathway for gas and fluid migration.

Multiple conventional squeeze attempts were made across two depth intervals, but the operator could not achieve injection. The well was re-perforated at 854–857 feet to provide access for a targeted biomineralization treatment.

The treatment

Progressively match the material to the pathway.

01

Isolate

A retrievable bridge plug and packer isolated the treatment interval.

02

Treat upward

With the surface casing vent open, staged treatment addressed the connected upward pathway.

03

Treat downward

With the vent closed, the response showed an immediate injection-rate reduction of more than 80%.

04

Finish at scale

MacroSeal™, MicroSeal™ and NanoSeal™ were applied to progressively close the accessible defect sizes.

The result

Ready for permanent abandonment.

Persistent annular flow eliminated where conventional squeezing could not gain access.

11downward treatment stages
0.009 gpmfinal downward injection rate
5upward treatment stages
0gas or fluid flow after the treatment period

The treatment demonstrates how water-like delivery and staged mineralization can reach a connected pathway and build a permanent barrier in place.

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