The history of acidizing dates back to 1895. It is filled with discovery and ingenuity, as well as spectacular success and disappointing failure. The potential of acidizing for prolific well stimulation has always been tempered by its unpredictability and by the continuing frustrations it causes. It cannot and will not be defined by an exact set of rules and expectations.

Nevertheless, in terms of potential return on investment and generation of immediate productivity enhancement and cash flow, at a reasonable price, acidizing has no equal. Unfortunately, this tremendous attribute is largely unappreciated. Acidizing is often perceived as a treatment of last resort or as a necessary evil when it comes to remedial well service. It is not often recognized as the high-return, often low-cost well stimulation process that it is nor, for example, as an environmentally favorable alternative to drilling wells in mature fields.

This lack of appreciation for acidizing partly stems from the natural and predominant oil field preference for drilling and hydraulic fracturing, in particular, which is, admittedly, more appealing to the masses. What is unfortunate, though, is that acidizing often is viewed incorrectly as a competing method, rather than as a viable optional addition to hydraulic fracturing and other stimulation methods. The use of acids in well stimulation processes has not been fully tapped.

The common frustration with acidizing results mostly from the unending desire to impart predictability through forced systematization, in order to develop reproducible treatment designs. This approach can work with fracturing in certain areas. However,...