Improved permeability estimation of formation damage through imaged core flooding experiments

The infiltration of fines into a reservoir during drilling or water reinjection and the accompanying production decline or loss of injectivity, are long-standing problems in the petroleum industry. An experimental study of suspension flow into sintered glass bead plugs has been conducted, measuring the changes in permeability and porosity over the course of injection. Glass bead suspensions of bi-disperse combinations of particle sizes, total injection concentrations and fluid flow rate are flooded through the core, while keeping the total invaded particle volume constant. The resulting changes in permeability and porosity are quantified using pressure transducers and a CT scanner, respectively. Effects of particle size, total injection concentration and fluid flow rate are discussed and conclusions are made.