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Title: Characterization of wellbore casing corrosion product as a permeable porous medium

Journal Article · · Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [1]
  1. Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Leakage along wellbores is of concern for a variety of applications, including sub-surface fluid storage facilities, geothermal wells, and CO2 storage wells. We have investigated whether corroded casing is permeable to gas and can serve as a leakage pathway along wellbores. Three specimens were prepared from laboratory steel plates corroded using different mechanisms to reflect different possible field conditions and produce a variety of corrosion rates. Single-phase gas flow measurements were made under a range of gas pressures to investigate flow in both the viscous and visco-inertial flow regimes. Tests were conducted at different confining stresses (range from 3.45 to 13.79 MPa) following both loading and unloading paths. The gas flow test results imply corroded casing can serve as a significant leakage path along the axis of a wellbore. Transmissivity was discovered to be sensitive to the variation in confining stress suggesting that the corrosion product is deformable. Gas slip factors and the coefficients of inertial resistance of the corrosion product were comparable to those available in the literature for other porous media. Post-test examination of the corrosion product revealed it to be a heterogeneous, mesoporous material with mostly non-uniform slit type porosity. There was no discernable difference in the composition of corrosion product from specimens corroded by different mechanisms.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
OSTI ID:
1528865
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1532772
Report Number(s):
SAND-2019-6810J; 676487
Journal Information:
Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 180, Issue C; ISSN 0920-4105
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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02 PETROLEUM
Casing corrosion
Leaky wellbore
Sustained casing pressure
Transmissivity
Corrosion product