Well integrity issues during hydraulic fracturing treatment

Abstract

Maintaining well-integrity during hydraulic fracturing operations is a pivotal concern within contemporary petroleum engineering. This study goes beyond conventional pressure centric methodologies, delving into the nuanced effects of temperature variations on the structural loads borne by tubular and production packers. Thus, it advances a comprehensive understanding of failure prevention and production optimization. This thesis will investigate the case of a well-integrity loss on a newly drilled well with a standardized completion to align with the prevailing practice in the investigated area, then use the acquired knowledge to prove the hypotheses on two wells that are candidates for hydraulic fracturing. This study requires complete knowledge of wells' completion, fluid properties, production history, and hydraulic fracturing treatment design. All of this is essential to the analysis in WELLCAT™; WELLCAT™ software plays a crucial role in ensuring well integrity during hydraulic fracturing by enabling engineers to design casings and tubing that can withstand the high pressures and stresses encountered during the process. The results of this investigation proved that the current pressure-centric approach, which lacks precision since it does not consider temperature effects, is insufficient. Therefore, using WELLCAT™ for thermal modeling and performing triaxial burst analysis and packers' performance envelope evaluation is crucial to ensure well-integrity. This thesis presents a multidisciplinary approach to designing and executing safe and cost-efficient hydraulic fracturing treatments while decreasing the chance of costly downtime and mitigating severe environmental concerns associated with wellbore