TABLE OF CONTENTS A review of the practical and theoretical principles involved in the evaluation of effect of formation and completion damage on the well performance is presented. The commonly used well-testing and data interpretation techniques applied for determination of the contribution of the completion and formation damage to the loss of well performance in the field are explained. The various issues, involving the open-hole, hydraulic fracturing, frac-and-packs, and horizontal wells, and full and partial completions, are discussed. The difference between the mechanical skin owing to formation damage and the pseudo-skin owing to completion damage is delineated. The intricate dependency of the total skin factor to the various skin factors, involving the mechanical, high-velocity, geometrical, multiphase, and completion type effects, is explained. The influence of the formation and completion damage on the well performance is formulated mathematically. Parametric investigations are resorted to demonstrate the methodology applied for identification, participation, and quantification of the well completion components and features, and the relative contributions of the pertaining skin factors in the total pressure loss. Several examples are provided for the assessment of the formation and completion damage in the field. It is emphasized that such information is of utmost importance in developing optimal strategies to alleviate the loss of well performance by implementing proper remedial actions and/or completion design improvements.
The various types of damages associated with the wells completed in petroleum reservoirs and the near-wellbore formation can restrict the flow of fluids through the wells and reservoir formations. In general, the...
