Abrasive water jet perforation - An alternative approach to enhance oil production

This article investigates the mechanisms, the results of laboratory experiments, and the results of field tests on the abrasive water jet (AWJ) perforation for enhancing oil production. The mechanism investigation showed that the AWJ perforation is a two-stage process, the ductile casing erosion stage and the brittle rock penetration stage, and each stage follows different failure mechanisms. The laboratory AWJ-parameter experiments were conducted on pressure, flow rate, abrasive material, abrasive granule size, abrasive flow rate, ambient pressure, rock material, and exposure time. The field tests of 10 oil wells (11 runs) illustrated that the AWJ perforation depth could reach about 0.78m with pump pressure of 45-60 MPa at different formations, while the location error was less than 0.1 m. The oil production rate comparison, before and after implement, showed the AWJ perforation technology can effectively and prominently enhance oil production.