Full Dissolvable Frac Plug for High-Temperature Wellbores from wingoil's blog

For situations involving hydraulic fracturing, dissolvable frac plugs are employed. The majority of modern dissolvable materials, however, it only have little strength and rapidly degrade in high-temperature forms.

For such high-temperature formations, where wellbore temperatures typically surpass 250°F, a new high-temperature dissolvable frac plug was created. This brand-new frac plug dissolves fully in higher-temperature wellbore fluids and is made of a high-strength metal with an elastomeric seal.

Traditional frac plugs are made of non-dissolving elastomers and composite materials. These non-dissolving frac plugs must be milled off when fracturing is finished because they restrict output. The requirement for a separate mill run intervention into the wellbore is eliminated by the dissolvable frac plugs, which dissolve in wellbore fluid.

However, in higher-temperature shale formations, the metal and elastomer's dissolution process speeds up. Material strength and elastomer integrity decline while dissolution takes place. In order to construct a frac plug that could effectively provide zonal isolation while completely dissolving in high-temperature formations, a high-strength dissolvable metal and elastomer was designed.

The new high-temperature frac plug is designed to operate at temperatures and with fluids found in Middle Eastern basins. The novel high-temperature dissolvable frac plug's dissolvable metal alloy and elastomer underwent extensive laboratory testing. By adding more material dopant to a few select, non-critical frac plug components, the dissolution performance of the high-temperature frac plug was improved during laboratory testing. The influence of the dopant on the dissolving of the metallic alloy is demonstrated by metallographic analysis, which also shows how rapid dissolution for some components might shorten the time needed for the full dissolution of the frac plug. The hydrolytic breakdown reaction used by the dissolvable elastomer is appropriate for high-temperature fluids.

For some wells in the Middle East region, temperature modeling was done to forecast wellbore temperature throughout the pumping and treatment schedules. By increasing the material dopant for extra frac plug components, a second high-temperature frac plug alternative was created based on these models to improve the dissolution performance in such wells.

Two high-strength frac plugs are the end result, which can be placed anywhere inside the wellbore and fully dissolve in high-temperature formations. The highly soluble substances can dissolve in water-based wellbore fluid, formation fluid, or production fluid.

The unique frac plug is made of high-strength tailored materials and is intended for high-temperature plug-and-perf applications. The requirement for a separate mill run intervention into the wellbore is removed by complete dissolution of the frac plug, which lowers cost, operating time, and personnel danger.

The invention of the dissolvable elastomer, the high-temperature dissolvable frac plug's tested behavior, and the application of wellbore modeling further improve the performance of the high-temperature dissolvable frac plugs are all covered in this study.