ADVANCES IN CARBONATE STIMULATION
Rick Gdanski, Halliburton, rick.gdanski@halliburton.com
Copyright 2005, CIPM. Este artículo fue preparado para su presentación en el cuarto E-Exitep 2005, del 20 al 23 de febrero de 2005 en Veracruz, Ver., México.
El material presentado no refleja necesariamente la opinión del CIPM, su mesa directiva o sus colegiados. El artículo fue seleccionado por un comité técnico
con base en un resumen. El contenido total no ha sido revisado por el comité editorial del CIPM.
SUMMARY
Carbonate acidizing continues to be a vital process
for improving the production of oil and gas wells.
Laboratory studies and field evaluations of
carbonate acidizing during the past 30 years have
shown a continually improved understanding of the
fundamental issues. This paper discusses the
current state of the advances in carbonate
stimulation. Average reactivity data for several
limestones and dolomites are presented and can be
used as improved default values for simulators. The
three fundamental issues of fracture acidizing are
addressed and are considered to be reactivity
control, fluid-loss control, and conductivity
generation. Synthetic polymers for acid gellants
have made reactivity control easy, which usually
makes fluid-loss control the most dominant issue to
be addressed in fracture acidizing. Wormhole
development and structure during matrix acidizing
are viewed as symmetry-dominated processes
controlled by fluid flow that obeys the native
permeability contrasts within the matrix. The
resulting simplification allows for rational treatment
designs for matrix acidizing of carbonates. Zonal
coverage of long carbonate sections, whether
vertical or horizontal, remains a challenge.
However, using the “75-25” rule for horizontal wells,
creating a “thief zone” at the bottom or toe of the
well, and utilizing the “top decade of permeability”
rule can aid in achieving reasonable designs for
maximizing productivity.
CARBONATE REACTIVITY
Several models are used to predict the spending of
acid on carbonates. Some models calculate the
spending during fracture acidizing while others
calculate the spending during matrix acidizing and
wormhole generation. The earliest spending tests
were simple spending-time experiments in open
beakers. However, it soon became clear that this
was an inadequate procedure since mass transport
definitely plays a role. Experiments conducted on
quarried limestone and dolomite during the 1970s
provided our first estimates of the temperature
dependence of the reactivity of HCl on
carbonates.1,2 These experiments suggested that
limestones had incredibly high reactivity with acid
such that one could assume a mass transport-
limited process. Laboratory experiments during the
1980s, however, did not support that conclusion
and eventually it became evident that even the
reaction of HCl with limestones was a balanced
process.3 This means that while high reactivity
limestones may be mass transport-dominated, they
are never truly mass transport-limited. Furthermore,
their reactivity seems to be about 1/100th the
reactivity of the originally reported reactivity, and the
temperature dependence of the reactivity is much
lower than originally reported.4,5
The reactivity of various oilfield carbonates has
been measured with optimized rotating disc
experiments for several years. Cores from
producing carbonates in 13 countries have
undergone significant testing to provide
temperature-dependent reactivity data from 66
cores. Sufficient data has been collected to allow
analysis and averaging of the reactivities from those
cores. Fig. 1 reports the average reactivity of 29
limestones and 19 dolomites, normalized to a
reaction order of 0.30 for easy comparison. The
carbonates for these subsets were chosen based
on having at least 93% composition as either
limestone or dolomite. Another 18 carbonates fell
into the category of being mixed carbonates. The
average energy of activation, Ea, which represents
the temperature dependence, for the limestones
was 2.49 kcal/mole, significantly lower than the 15.2
kcal/mole historically assumed. The average Ea for
the dolomites was 5.88 kcal/mole, again signif-
icantly lower than the 22.4 kcal/mole historically
assumed. Furthermore, notice that the reactivity of
the average limestone and average dolomite are
the same at 200°F. At 100°F, the reactivity of an
average limestone is about twice that of the
average dolomite.
1

Fig. 1—Normalized and averaged reactivity of
carbonates.
Fig. 2 shows the reactivity data for all 29 limestones
at the average limestone reaction order of 0.36.
Notice that limestone reactivity can vary by a factor
of 10 at almost any temperature. As a
consequence, it becomes very important that the
reactivity data of each carbonate formation be
measured. The average limestone reaction rate
constant (Rk, at 100°F using the average reaction
order, Ro, of 0.36) was 7.85E-5 with an Ea of 2.49
kcal/mole. This average can be used as default
reactivity data for limestones, if no reactivity
information is available on a specific formation.
However, the figure clearly shows that some
limestones react as slowly as dolomites.
Fig. 2—Normalized reactivity of limestones.
Fig. 3 shows the reactivity data for all 19 dolomites
at the average dolomite reaction order of 0.44.
Notice that dolomite reactivities can vary by a factor
of 3 at almost any temperature, and so are better
behaved than limestones. Still, the variation is
significant enough that it is important to measure
the reactivity data of each carbonate formation. The
average reaction rate constant (Rk at 100°F using
the average dolomite reaction order, Ro, of 0.44)
was 5.30E-5 with an Ea of 5.88 kcal/mole. This
average can be used as default reactivity data for
dolomites, if no reactivity information is available on
a specific formation. However, some dolomites are
as reactive as an average limestone.
Fig. 3—Normalized reactivity of dolomites.
The reactivity of acid systems gelled with synthetic
polymers has been well studied.6 In general, it was
found that the reactivity of acid on carbonates is
reduced by about a factor of 10 in acid gelled with
synthetic polymers. Acids gelled with surfactants,
however, do not exhibit lower reactivity data, though
they do spend slowly under application conditions
by reducing mass transport. All gelled acids provide
enhanced performance by reducing fluid loss during
fracture acidizing, or improving zonal coverage
during matrix acidizing. The Ea is not affected by
gelling the acid with either synthetic polymers or
surfactants. Therefore, plain acid reactivity data
properly generated with optimized rotating disc
experiments can be useful for a broad range of acid
systems.
FRACTURE ACIDIZING
The use of fracture acidizing to enhance the
production of carbonate formations continues to be
an effective process. Suggestions and claims about
important requirements for achieving a successful
treatment have fluctuated over the past 30 years to
include special acid systems, special placement
techniques, etc. However, to achieve a successful
fracture-acidizing treatment, three fundamental
issues must be addressed: reactivity control, fluid-
loss control, and conductivity generation. Focusing
on only one or two of these issues can result in poor
performance.
2

Reactivity Control
The first fundamental issue involved in successful
fracture acidizing is reactivity control. Dissolution of
carbonate is the means by which conductivity is
generated. The dissolution is controlled by
reactivity, which is affected by both carbonate
composition and temperature. An improper
understanding of reactivity may lead to a choice of
fluid that is inappropriate for the reservoir
conditions. Therefore, it is very important to
understand the issues of reactivity discussed
earlier. There was a time when almost everyone
considered reactivity control to be the single-most
important issue in providing effective fracture
acidizing treatments. This assumption was based
on an improper understanding of both limestone
reactivity and the lack of effective fluid-loss control
measures provided by synthetic polymer gelled
acids. Currently, reactivity control has been
sufficiently achieved such that fluid-loss control has
been clearly exposed as the next dominant barrier
to effective fracture-acidizing treatments.
Guidelines have been developed for choosing an
appropriate method for achieving reactivity control.
Low-reactivity carbonates at cool reservoir
conditions require acid systems that will not further
lower the acid reaction rate constants. Foamed acid
and surfactant gelled acids are examples of
systems known to be quite effective in low reactivity
carbonates.
Moderate reactivity carbonates can also be treated
with foamed acid and surfactant gelled acids, but
synthetic polymer gelled acids provide a level of
reactivity control and fluid-loss control that makes
them widely applicable.
Treatments on high-reactivity carbonates, or
moderate-reactivity carbonates at high temper-
atures, should generally employ acid systems using
synthetic polymers to viscosify the acid. These
systems provide excellent reactivity control and
mass transport control.
Fluid-Loss Control
The second fundamental issue of successful
fracture acidizing is fluid-loss control. This issue is
perhaps the primary cause of failure for many
fracture-acidizing treatments. In sand fracturing,
excessive fluid loss can result in “screen-outs” and
a premature shut-down of the treatment. In acid
fracturing, a screen-out is incredibly difficult to
achieve and rarely occurs, even with excessive fluid
loss. The absence of the feedback provided by a
screen-out has made it easy for our industry to
ignore the issue of excessive fluid loss during
fracture-acidizing treatments. Yet, if fluid efficiency
drops to the point where the treating pressure no
longer stays above fracture-extension pressure,
then all the acid will leak off into the formation.
When this happens, the treatment has become a
large matrix acidizing treatment and the etched
length will be quite short. The result will be a well
with a high flush production that falls to a much
lower value over the long-term. The properties that
provide good long-term production increase are the
conductivity and etched length. Although non acid
fluids might be used to create a long fracture,
excessive fluid loss (of acid) can result in a very
short etched length, and consequently, a
disappointing long-term production increase.
The single-most significant step to improve fluid-
loss control in fracture-acidizing treatments is to
viscosify the acid. All other efforts to improve fluid-
loss control will be relatively useless unless the first
step is using viscous acid.
There are a number of ways to viscosify acid,
including:
• natural polymers
• synthetic polymers
• surfactants
• foams
• emulsions
Laboratory testing using hollow limestone cores
under severe fluid-loss test conditions, has clearly
demonstrated that viscosity has a powerful effect on
providing the first level of fluid-loss control.7 This
first level of fluid-loss control can be achieved with
as little as 20 cP of viscosity at 511/sec at BHST.
This benchmark viscosity provides a good guideline
when determining a sufficient viscosity for first-level
fluid-loss control. The benchmark level is generally
a sufficient viscosity in situations where matrix
permeability is less than approximately 1 md. Under
such conditions, the choice of viscosifier will largely
be driven by the reactivity issues mentioned earlier.
Some formation conditions require more fluid-loss
control than that provided by first-level approaches;
these wells may therefore require a second-level of
fluid-loss control. The second level of improved
fluid-loss control can be achieved using either large
solids or much higher fluid viscosities. Studies have
shown that large solids can be very effective in
3
providing this second level of fluid-loss control. The
solids should be at least 100-mesh in size, and can
easily be 40- to 60-mesh solids. The solids must be
large because of the relatively larger diameters of
wormholes caused by acid leakoff (as compared to
the original pore-throats). Pore-throats can be
bridged with particles of a few microns in diameter,
but wormholes require much larger particles. The
solids can be sand, oil-soluble resins, or anything
else deemed useful. Concentrations should start at
0.25 lb/gal and should be increased in 0.25-lb/gal
increments if an acid stage does not maintain
fracture-extension pressure. Fracture-acidizing
treatments using 1 to 2 lb/gal of solids have been
successfully conducted and provided significantly
improved sustained production increases.
If higher viscosities are chosen for achieving the
second level of fluid-loss control, the target
viscosities should be in the range of a few hundred
centipoise, perhaps 100 to 300 cP under downhole
conditions. This can be achieved with live acid
crosslinkers, such as zirconium, and near-spent
acid crosslinkers. Live acid crosslinkers provide
high viscosity in the fracture itself, while near-spent
acid crosslinkers provide high viscosity in the matrix
after leakoff and at the leading edge of acid flow in
the fracture. Foams and emulsions can also provide
these higher viscosities. The choice of fluid may
depend on such factors as acceptable friction
pressures in the tubing, the availability of materials
such as nitrogen, and whether leakoff is perceived
to be dominated by matrix loss or natural fracture
loss. The higher live acid viscosities may be
preferable when leakoff is dominated by natural
fractures.
Conductivity Generation
The third fundamental issue of effective fracture
acidizing is the generation of acceptable
conductivity. The first two issues, proper reactivity
control and proper fluid-loss control are pre-
requisites for obtaining good conductivity. The first
two issues assure that it is possible to dissolve rock
at a significant distance from the wellbore in the
created fracture. However, they are not sufficient to
assure that good conductivity is truly generated.
Conductivity generation requires that two additional
goals be met: (1) sufficient carbonate must be
removed, and (2) the carbonate must be removed in
an uneven manner, so that good conductivity can
be generated.
Sufficient rock removal is an easy issue to overlook.
Simulations readily show that live acid can travel
down a fracture well beyond 200 ft when proper
reactivity control is addressed. This can lead to
thinking that if acid gets there, conductivity will be
there. Unfortunately, the situation is a bit more
complicated. Simple calculations can highlight the
issue.
Fig. 4 shows the results from calculations of
created length based on simple mass balance. A
fracturing simulator was used to estimate a nominal
created width of 0.15 in. using a 20 cP fluid, which
is the design criterion for the first level of fluid-loss
control. Several fluid efficiencies from 5 to 30%
were used to calculate the created length vs.
injected fluid volume. Notice that for a created
length of 200 ft, it is relatively easy to create such a
fracture, even with poor fluid efficiencies. At a fluid
efficiency of only 10% (meaning 90% of the fluid is
leaking off into the matrix), approximately 400 gal/ft
is required to create two 200-ft fracture wings, but at
a fluid efficiency of 30%, only 130 gal/ft is needed to
create two 200-ft fracture wings.
Fig. 4—Created fracture length.
The situation is much different when considering the
rock-dissolving power. Fig. 5 shows the results of
calculations of etched length based on simple mass
balance. A nominal etched width of 0.10 in. was
used based on laboratory observations that
conductivity doesn’t usually rise above 2000 md-ft
unless the etched width reaches 0.10 in., or 0.05 in.
from each face of the fracture. It was assumed that
15% HCl was used to etch the fracture, and so a
rock-dissolving power of 1.8 lb/gal was used in the
calculations. Finally, several rock dissolving
efficiencies ranging from 20 to 70% were used to
calculate the possible etched length vs. injected
acid volume. The rock-dissolving efficiencies
recognize that under high fluid-loss conditions,
4
much of the rock-dissolving power goes to creating MATRIX ACIDIZING
wormholes and not etched width.
In 1979, SPE published Monograph Volume 6 of the
Henry L. Doherty Series entitled Acidizing
Fundamentals, which was coauthored by Bert
Williams, John Gidley, and Robert Schechter.8
Matrix acidizing of carbonates is extensively
discussed in the Acidizing Fundamentals
Monograph. A method is given for calculating the
spending of acid down a dominant wormhole in
either turbulent or laminar flow. Calculations of acid
spending lengths can be performed with or without
fluid leakoff. Unfortunately, three fundamental
questions remained unanswered at that time that
prevented use of the published concepts:

1) How many dominant wormholes are generated?

Fig. 5—Over-simplified etched length.
2) What is the spatial distribution of these dominant
Suppose that at 30% fluid efficiency, the acid is able wormholes?
to mostly spend on the fracture face before leaking
3) What is the leakoff profile from the dominant
into the matrix such that the dissolving efficiency is
wormholes?
high at 70%. Fig. 4 shows that it will require about
450 gal/ft of 15% HCl to dissolve exactly 0.10 in.
Considerable laboratory work has been conducted
(0.05 in. from each face) down the length of two
during the intervening years,9-13 but almost
200-ft fracture wings. However, suppose that fluid-
loss control is poor, fluid efficiency is only 10%, and exclusively in short-core tests. These tests suffer
from restrictions imposed by linear flow and the
the dissolving efficiency is low at 30%. In such a
small dimensions of the core. The linear flow tests
case, approximately 1,000 gal/ft of 15% HCl would
indicate the following answers to the three
be required to create a 0.10-in. etched width in the
200-ft fracture. questions above:

1) There is only one dominant wormhole.

Figs. 4 and 5, when taken together in a simplified
fashion, suggest that a small fracture-acidizing
treatment of about 250 gal/ft, even with good 2) The single dominant wormhole extends linearly
through the length of the core.
efficiencies, will probably only reach about 75 ft.
Long-term production increase is not likely to be
impressive with such a treatment. However, a 3) Leakoff is linearly out the end of the core.
serious fracture-acidizing treatment of about 500
Clearly these answers are of limited use in field
gal/ft will be capable of 150- to 200-ft etched
applications of radial flow. A new theory has
lengths. Of course, modern computer simulators are
capable of modeling the realities much better than recently been introduced and discussed14,15 that
relies on the existence of symmetry patterns first
this simplistic approach, but the point remains that
published by Daccord.16 The presence of symmetry
conductive length can only be created by pumping
in matrix acidizing of carbonates was assumed in
sufficient dissolving power.
the development of the new model that proposes to
answer the three questions left unanswered 25
In brief, good fracture-acidizing designs should
years ago. The numerical results from the model
recognize that creating good conductivity means
are in qualitative agreement with generally held
pumping sufficient dissolving power to remove the
amount of rock necessary to create conductivity, guidelines for matrix acidizing. The model has been
validated by field treatments and indicates that only
and so will probably be about 500 gal/ft or greater in
fractions of a pore volume (PV) are required to
volume.
reach a certain distance from the wellbore. This
stands in stark contrast to predictions from linear
experiments that suggest no less than 1 PV will be

5
required, and that most often multiple PVs may be
required to reach a certain distance from the
wellbore. In addition, the simplification brought
about by the new theory made general matrix
acidizing treatment designs a simpler process.
The new theory is in fact complementary to the
detailed understanding of wormhole development
that was revealed by the years of linear flow
experiments. The effect of the Damköhler number
on wormhole structure and the existence of an
optimum Damköhler number are clearly correct.
However, the primary revelation of the modeling
work from the new theory is that wormhole
penetration distance is not really controlled by
reactivity, but by volumetric invasion issues that are
controlled by the accessible porosity of the matrix,
the rheological nature of the acidizing fluid, and the
native permeability contrasts of the matrix.
Furthermore, permeability improvement of a
carbonate above 100-fold renders that portion of the
matrix “invisible” from a production viewpoint. This
principle is shown in Fig. 6 by comparing the
calculated skin at several levels of permeability
improvement. As such, knowing the exact nature
and structure of the wormhole pattern becomes a
moot point. It is sufficient just to know that the
permeability has been improved by at least 100-fold
by the acidizing process.
Fig. 6—Effect of permeability improvement on skin.
The new theory proposes specific answers for the
three remaining questions left unanswered 25 years
ago. The spatial distribution around the wellbore is
as sets-of-six. The overall invasion pattern of the
sets is governed by the native permeability contrast.
This means that the patterns elongate in the most
permeable directions. The sets of wormholes are
spaced along just enough of the length of the
wellbore to satisfy that the Damköhler number at
the leading edge of invasion is near the optimum.
Sets of wormholes die out as their length from the
wellbore to the tip become the same as their
separation along the length of the wellbore.
Wormhole die-out occurs due to pressure
interference between the sets from the 3-D leakoff,
as manifested by 3-D wormhole branching. As a
result, the number of dominant wormhole sets
decreases during the course of fluid injection. Fluid
loss is dominated by 3-D wormhole branching and
not really by wall leakoff, as is the case in fracture
acidizing.
The fundamental driver for all these manifestations
in the new theory is that wormhole patterns and
symmetry arise as a consequence of normal fluid
flow through the porous media. Wormholes are not
created in an independent fashion that follows
paths of unpredictable direction. Stated differently,
wormholes follow behind fluid invasion, and fluid
invasion is controlled by the native permeability
contrasts in the formation.
Fig. 7—Acid design chart.
Many of the predictions of the model are in good
agreement with classical guidelines of matrix
acidizing normal carbonates. For example, typical
acid designs that produce good stimulation under
matrix-flow conditions use about 100 gal/ft of 15%
HCl as a reasonable optimum. Calculations show
that this volume should generate a 3 to 3.5 skin,
depending on porosity and permeability contrasts,
as shown in Fig. 7. Doubling the acid volume will
give a 50% increase in wormhole distance, but it will
not dramatically decrease the skin. As another
example, nominal zonal coverage rates for plain
acid are about 10 ft of zone for every bbl/min of
injection rate. Calculations show that once the acid
has penetrated about 1 ft from the wellbore, this
classical zonal coverage rate is situated near the
6
optimum Damköhler number. As such, a 30-ft zone cumulative zone height vs. permeability. The
requires an injection rate of 3 bbl/min or higher for average permeability for the formation is approxi-
good zonal coverage. A pump rate of 10 bbl/min mately 5 md, but the permeability ranges from 0.1
to 280 md. The dashed lines show that only 10% of
into a long horizontal well will probably only treat the the total zone height is in the range of 28 to 280 md,
first 100 ft of zone, unless extraordinary efforts are or the top decade of permeability. As a result,
taken to achieve diversion. achieving good zonal coverage will be an
extraordinary challenge with non-mechanical
ZONAL COVERAGE approaches. In addition, it can readily be under-
stood that about 30% of the zone, with permeability
An important aspect of acidizing carbonates is ranging from 0.1 to 3 md, will probably not
contribute significantly to production until the higher
achieving good zonal coverage with the acid. If the permeability sections have been substantially
zones are relatively short, this can likely be depleted.
accomplished simply with rate, or perhaps rate and
a little viscosity in the acid.17 However, once the
zone becomes longer than about 100 ft, zonal
coverage becomes much more difficult. If the
producing interval is in the range of 1,000 ft, not
only is good zonal coverage difficult, it is also very
expensive. Questions naturally arise: (1) How much
of the zone is really going to be productive? (2)
Does the entire horizontal interval need to be
acidized well?, and (3) What is the best way to get
acid all the way to the bottom (or toe) of the well?

The Top Decade Rule

One of the first principles to understand regarding

acid diversion, or zonal coverage, is the purpose of
diversion. Specifically, the purpose of diversion is to
make zones having similar permeabilities produce
similarly by the removal of damage and/or
stimulating to about 3 to 3.5 skins. Diversion cannot
induce a 0.1 md zone to produce the same as a
1 md zone, unless the 0.1 md zone has 10 times
the pressure or 10 times the thickness.
Furthermore, laboratory experiments attempting to
divert from one core to another have shown that the
maximum flow contrast that can be diverted is about
10 to 20.18 However, if both cores have nearly the
same permeability and one is damaged by a fairly
thin “skin,” diversion can be very effective and can
easily penetrate the damage, even at high initial
flow contrasts.
Fig. 8—Broad permeability distribution.
Fig. 9 shows a hypothetical formation with a narrow
distribution of permeabilities. The average perm-
eability is still approximately 5 md, but the
permeability only ranges from about 1 to 22 md.
The dashed lines indicate that nearly 90% of the
zone is within the 2.2 to 22 md range, indicating that
typical diversion techniques should be quite
effective at covering the entire interval. In addition,
most of the zone will contribute production
throughout the life of the well.

Taking these two concepts together, we can

develop a guideline for deciding how much of an
interval is likely to contribute well, and how much is
likely to be within the grasp of acid diversion. (An
exception to this discussion would be the use of
mechanical diversion.) The approach is to create a
normalized cumulative permeability distribution plot
to identify how much of the zone is in the top
decade of permeability.
Fig. 9—Narrow permeability distribution.
Fig. 8 shows a hypothetical semi-log plot of

7
The 75-25 Rule
Horizontal wells present a unique challenge due to
the extended lengths of interval as compared to
typical vertical wells. Acid designs based on vertical
guidelines, such as 100 gal/ft of 15% HCl to achieve
a skin of -3 or better, become prohibitively
expensive for a 3,000-ft horizontal well. Several
investigators have used numerical simulations to
study ways of optimizing acid designs for horizontal
wells.19,20 These and other studies are in general
agreement with one another and indicate two
important results.
First, suppose that costs restrict the size of an acid
treatment to only 15 to 35% of a full classical
design. The question arises as to whether it is
better to treat the entire zone evenly with the acid,
or acidize a few places well. The results from the
calculations clearly indicate that it is far better to
acidize a few places well than to acidize everything
poorly.
Second, a decision must be made as to how much
of the zone to acidize properly, perhaps 15%, 25%,
or 35%. The calculations indicate that the more
horizontal length that is acidized, the more
production is possible. However, an evaluation of
the trends indicates that acidizing 25% of the
horizontal length properly will provide approximately
75% of the productive potential if all of the length
has been acidized properly. For this author, this
important result became the 75-25 rule.
Furthermore, technical conversations with others
who have independently verified these calculations
suggest that the 25% of length should be broken
into 5 to 9 pieces along the length of the horizontal
well. The choice of the number of pieces and their
positions may be dependant on identifying preferred
locations with logging techniques, or may be
selected by simply choosing locations of conven-
ience, or may be based on other design
considerations.
Create a Thief Zone at the Bottom
Experience has demonstrated that during bull-
headed treatments of long intervals, it is difficult to
get acid to travel much beyond the end of the pipe
without effective diversion. Even with effective
diversion, experience and numerical simulations
demonstrate that the bottom 30% of the zone can
be very difficult to stimulate. The source of this
challenge is considered to be a combination of (1)
the ease of continued acid flow into stimulated
zones of 3 skin (or better), and (2) the resistance of
forcing the original non-acid wellbore fluids into the
damaged or unstimulated sections at the bottom of
the well before the acid arrives.
Simulations suggest that an effective solution to this
problem is to pre-acidize the bottom of the well to
create a “thief zone” of 3 skin or better. The zone
will not act as a true thief zone, such as that of a
highly naturally fractured section, but it will more
easily enable the original wellbore fluids to be
quickly displaced by the acid treatment. The thief
zone at the bottom can be created using coiled
tubing and a small amount of acid. A typical design
would include pumping 2,000 gal of 15% HCl at 2
bbl/min through coiled tubing positioned at the
bottom (or toe) of the well. The tubing is then
retrieved and the acid treatment pumped at high
rates using viscous acid and effective diverting
methods. This method has been applied
successfully in long vertical wells and can be used
in horizontal wells of perhaps less than 1,000 ft of
length.
CONCLUSIONS
The study of carbonate acidizing has progressively
improved the success of acid stimulation
treatments. While much of the science can be
considered quite complex, a number of simplifying
guidelines have been developed that can improve
the application of modern acidizing theories. These
theories have provided the following conclusions:
• The reactivities of oilfield carbonates have been
measured in the laboratory and exhibit fairly low
energies of activation, consistent with a mass
transport dominated process.
• New default reactivity values for limestones and
dolomites have been proposed.
• The average limestone and dolomite have
similar reactivities above approximately 200°F.
• Carbonate spending is often a mass transport
dominated process, but it is not a mass
transport limited process.
• The three fundamental issues that must be
addressed for successful fracture acidizing are
reactivity control, fluid-loss control, and
conductivity generation.
• Reactivity control is most easily achieved by the
proper choice of acid viscosifier.
• The first level of fluid-loss control must be to
viscosify the acid to at least 20 cP at BHST
conditions.
8
• The second level of fluid-loss control can be
either choosing large solids or acid viscosities in
the few hundred cP range.
• Proper conductivity generation requires
pumping sufficient acid volume, good zonal
height coverage, and uneven etching of the
fracture face.
• A new matrix acidizing theory based on
symmetry has significantly improved the
understanding of the performance acid
treatments.
• Wormhole length in matrix acidizing is
dominated by volumetric issues such as
accessible porosity, permeability contrast, and
acid volume.
• Acidized permeability improvement is provided
by the wormhole diameters and is dominated by
spending issues such as reactivity, carbonate
composition, acid strength, and contact time.
• Potential zonal coverage for diverting matrix
acidizing treatments is often subject to the Top
Decade Rule.
• An optimum length of horizontal well to be
acidized can be calculated by the 75 25 Rule.
• Creating a thief zone at the bottom of a well
with a small amount of acid can significantly
improve the success of bull-headed, diverted
acid treatments.
REFERENCES
1. Lund, K., Fogler, H.S., McCune, C.C., and
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