Permeability anisotropy impact on wormhole propagation in openhole and limited-entry completions: A 3D numerical study

The permeability in carbonate reservoirs is not the same in all directions (i.e., anisotropic), a property seldom considered in acid stimulation. The study hypothesizes that permeability anisotropy impacts acid treatment efficiency significantly. The investigation included the openhole and limited-entry completions in a vertical and horizontal wellbores configuration. A model based on the two-scale continuum approach was constructed in three-dimensional space (3D), resembling the big block experiment with the wellbore at the center. Permeability anisotropy significantly impacts acid efficiency in terms of the pore volume to breakthrough (PVBT) and optimum injection rate. For instance, simulations of acid placement in an openhole horizontal well with 10 anisotropy ratio resulted in PVBT of 0.15 compared to 0.35 in a vertical well. Limited entry completions result in more extended wormholes where the permeability anisotropy positively impacted wormhole length as compared to isotropic permeability. Nevertheless, the permeability anisotropy negatively impacted wormhole coverage along the wellbore in most scenarios. The simulations showed that a spear-like wormhole propagates from a limited entry horizontal wellbore in anisotropic formation, which previous studies assumed to be spherical or ellipsoidal. This implies that the skin factors models should be revised based on the new findings. This is the first study to assess the permeability antitropy impact on the stimulation of openhole and perforated wells in a 3D space.