Chapter 4: Perforating

Professor, Dr., S. R. Shadizadeh

1
Cased and perforated completions are a mainstay of many fields. They
are common in most onshore areas, but also used extensively in offshore
areas such as the North Sea. There are several advantages of the cased
and perforated completion over the open hole completion:

1- Upfront selectivity in production and injection.

2- Ability to shut-off water, gas or sand through relatively simple

techniques such as plugs, straddles or cement squeeze treatments.

3- Excellent productivity – assuming well-designed and implemented

perforating. Drilling-related formation damage can usually be bypassed.
4- - Ability to add zones at a later date. It is also possible to reperforate
zones plugged by scales and other deposits.

5- Suitable for fracture stimulation, especially where fracture

containment or multiple fracturing is required.

6- Reduced sanding potential through perforations being smaller than a

wellbore, selective perforating or oriented guns.

7- Ease of application of chemical treatments especially those treatments

requiring diversion such as scale squeezes, acidisation and other
chemical dissolvers.

8- Ease of use with smart completions or where isolation packers are

used, for example with sliding side doors (SSDs).
The main disadvantage is the increased costs, especially with respect to
high angles or long intervals.

Although many years ago bullet perforating was used to open up cased
and cemented intervals to flow, a vast majority of perforated wells now
use the shaped charge (sometimes called jet perforators). The bullet
perforator still finds a niche application in creating a controlled entrance
hole suitable for limited-entry stimulation. The shaped charge was a
development for armour piercing shells in the Second World War. It
creates a very high pressure, but a highly focussed jet that is designed to
penetrate the casing, the cement and, as far as possible, into the
formation.

The components of the shaped charge are shown in Figure 1, with a

typical configuration inside a perforation gun shown in Figure 2
Figure 1: Shaped charge

Figure2: Carrier gun arrangement.

The amount of explosive used is small – typically in the range of 6 to 32
g (0.2–1.1 oz), although smaller charges are available for very small-
diameter casing and larger charges can be used for big hole charges
(cased hole gravel packs).

The explosive energy of the detonation is focussed in one direction by

the conical case. This reflects a lot of the energy back into a narrow
pulse. The relatively thin charge liner also plays a critical role by
systematically collapsing and emerging as a high-velocity jet of fluidised
metal particles. The pulse moves out at around 30,000 ft/sec (20,000
miles/h) and generates pressures between 5 and 15 million psia.
 Basic Perforating Methods

Cased holes may be perforated in any of several ways ( Figure 3 , Basic

perforating methods):

· using conventional casing guns run into the well on electric

wireline with or without wireline pressure control equipment
· using through-tubing guns run into the well after the
tubing has been installed, again via wireline pressure
control equipment
· using tubing-conveyed perforating guns run on the bottom of the
tubing string and detonated using mechanical, electrical, or
pressure-activated firing mechanismsWith through-tubing or
tubing-conveyed guns, the completion designer has the option of
perforating
Figure 3: Basic perforating methods
· overbalanced, with a higher pressure in the wellbore than in
the formation, or
· underbalanced, with a wellbore pressure lower than
formation pore pressure.

With conventional casing guns, overbalanced perforating is the only

option.

The bottomhole pressure is determined by the density and height of fluid

in the wellbore or tubing, and by any additional gas pressure added to the
surface. Depending on the option chosen and the degree of pressure
differential, completion fluid will flow into the formation, or formation
fluids will flow into the wellbore when perforations are created in a
productive reservoir.
The delivery system for placing the shaped charges at the proper location
in the well via wireline may be categorized as

· retrievable, consisting of a cylindrical, hollow steel charge

carrier;
· semiexpendable, in which case the charges are conveyed into the
well on a retrievable metal strip or wire carrier (used in through-
tubing operations where gun size is an important factor); and
· fully expendable, where the charge cases and carrier linkage
disintegrate and only the wireline is retrieved (again, used in
through-tubing operations).
Completion designers must consider many factors when designing a
perforating program, including
· The relative importance of hole size, penetration, and shot
density (shots per unit length)
· The anticipated radial extent of formation damage due to
drilling fluid losses
· The reservoir's pressure, permeability, and susceptibility to
damage from completion fluids
· The length of the perforated interval, the size of the completion
string components, and the need to perform specialized
operations (e.g., sand control, stimulation)
· The safety issues related to the particular wellsite conditions
· The expected pressure, temperature, and timing extremes for the
perforating operation
· The relative economic importance of minimizing short-term
costs versus maximizing long-term productivity
 Fundamentals of Shaped Charge Operation
Figure 4 (Shaped charge components) illustrates the relatively simple
construction of the shaped charge. The four important components are
the conical metallic liner, the main explosive charge, the primer
explosive, and the case that encloses the charge.

Figure 4: Shaped charge components

Explosive pressure on the metal liner causes it to collapse inwardly along
its axis forming a high-velocity jet of fluidized metal (Figure 5 ,
Simulated snapshots of an exploding shaped charge during the first 16.6
microseconds after detonation).

Figure 5: Simulated snapshots of an

exploding shaped charge during the first
16.6 microseconds after detonation
Earlier attempts at slug elimination utilized a bimetallic liner with a low-
melting-point outer layer that volatized at high temperatures, reducing
the size of the slug (Delacour 1958).

Liners are formed from mixtures of copper, lead, zinc, tin or tungsten.
The density distribution and dimensions of the liner must be carefully
controlled to maintain consistent, high performance.
The tip of the particle jet moves at velocities of 25,000 to 30,000 ft/s
(8000 to 10,000 m/s) and develops pressures estimated to be in the order
of 5 to 15106 psi (35 to 100 GPa). (The tail of the jet moves more
slowly, at about 3,000 to 7,000 ft/s (914-2134 m/s).) Under these
conditions, the materials in its path flow plastically under impact. The jet
crushes the reservoir rock and displaces both rock and pore fluids
radially from its axis. The entire perforating process, from initiation to
completion of penetration, lasts for only several 100 microseconds (Bell
l972a). Although the formation rock is crushed and compacted, it is not
fused together by the jet.
The result of this split-second, high-energy operation is illustrated in
Figure 6 (Typical perforation). Depending on the design of the shaped
charge and the type of materials perforated, perforation length generally
varies from about 2 to 20 in. (5 to 50 cm) and entrance hole diameter
from about 0.2 to 1.0 in. (0.5 to 2.5 cm) for most oil field perforators.
The precise shape of the perforation will vary somewhat depending on
charge geometry, target characteristics, and gun positioning.
Figure 6: Typical perforation
Commercial shaped charges are manufactured to deliver perforations of a
certain size. The gun's performance is affected by various charge design
parameters, including
· the geometry, density, thickness, dimensions, and makeup of the
liner
· the distribution, density, and amount of explosive

It would be easy to assume that larger loads of explosive would generate

larger perforations. However, increasing the gun size (and the associated
increase in the size of the charge liner) can be an important factor. Some
charges with less explosive loads outperform smaller guns with higher
loads (Bell l972a).
Figure 7: Gun clearance effects
Figure 8: shows the range of perforation sizes that might result when a 1
11/16-in.
Another important factor in the performance of shaped charge
perforators is the strength of the target material. Early researchers
determined that increases in the compressive strength of the formation
resulted in decreases in the penetration depth of the perforation.
Subsequent work has shown that in deep, high-strength formations, the
reduction in penetration from that published as test data can be very
significant (Weeks 1974). Figure 9 (Penetration vs. formation
compressive strength) shows that a charge that penetrates 5 in. (12.7 cm)
into a Berea sandstone test target (6000 to 8000 psi compressive
strength) might be expected to penetrate less than 2 in. (5 cm) into a
Smackover sandstone target with a compressive strength of 22,000 psi.
Figure 9: Penetration vs. formation compressive strength
Casing grade also affects perforation entrance holes, with increasing
casing strength causing a reduction in hole diameter. Typically, a 10%
diameter decrease might be expected in moving from J-55 to N-80
casing, with a <10% reduction in going from N-80 to P-1l0.

Hydrostatic pressure, wellbore fluid density and temperature (within the

charge's operating range) do not appear to significantly affect charge
performance, although perforating in gas-filled wells can produce
marked differences in penetration compared with shooting in liquid-filled
holes (Bell et al., 1995). Generally speaking, penetration values in a gas-
filled wellbore are equal to or greater than those in a liquid-filled
wellbore. High bottomhole temperatures may indirectly reduce
penetration, since the explosives required for such situations are not
always as effective as those used in lower-temperature operations.
 Explosives Used in Perforating
Explosives are categorized according to the ease with which they are
detonated, the speed with which they react, and the combustion pressure
that they generate.

There are a number of different types of explosive. They vary in

explosive power and temperature stability. The main explosive used is in
the shaped charge. This is a secondary ‘high explosive’. The explosive
detonates at supersonic speed. Secondary explosives are also found in the
detonating cord and detonator. Secondary explosives are difficult to
initiate and normally require a primary explosive in the detonator to start
detonating. Conversely, primary explosives may initiate by a small
amount of heating (e.g. electrical resistance wire), friction, impact or
static discharge. As such, they must be carefully handled and are avoided
wherever possible.
Most explosives are given three-letter acronyms (TLAs) as shown in
Table below
Typical secondary explosives include

RDX
HMX
PS (picryl sulfone)
HNS (hexanitrostilbene)
Composition B (60% RDX, 40% trinitrotoluene)
Amoniumnitrate (fertilizer, also used in seismic operations)

RDX is the most commonly used secondary explosive for shaped

charges.
 Perforation geometry and size
This subsection considers the geometry and size of a single perforation
shot under downhole conditions. Clearly, a single perforation cannot be
considered in isolation; however, it is important to have tools that can
realistically predict the geometry of a single perforation. The overall
perforation design can then be optimised based on the combined
performance of many adjacent perforations.

A typical perforation hole geometry is shown in Figure 10.

Figure10: Typical perforation geometry
The hole through the casing is usually free of burrs on the inside,
although if the clearance from gun to casing is tight, a small burr can be
created. The burr on the outside of the casing is shown in Figure 11, but
is less of a concern. The aim in most cased and perforated completions is
to generate the maximum perforation length – deep penetrating charges.
This is achieved by a relatively tight conical geometry of the shaped
charge as shown with the conical liner in Figure 12 and the charge casing
in Figure 13. Typical entrance hole sizes will then vary from 0.2 to 0.4
in. Occasionally, even with deep penetrating charges, the entrance hole
diameter becomes critical. This is the case in limited-entry stimulation
techniques, for ball sealer diversion, and to a certain extent, for proppant
stimulation.
Figure 11: Outside of
casing with a small-
diameter perforation.

Figure 12: Shaped

charge casing.
Figure 13: Shaped charge
The larger diameter entrance and perforation diameter (around 1 in.) is
achieved by a thicker cone of explosive. These big hole charges often
also employ much larger amounts of explosive 70 g (2.5 oz) or more per
charge. Determining the size of the perforation (length and diameter)
requires physical shoot tests. In theory, these tests can be performed in
any material, but the two most common materials used are concrete and
Berea sandstone.

API RP 43 attempted to remedy the difficulties in comparing guns. It has

now been entirely replaced by API RP 19B (2000), but some gun
companies still use and prefer the older RP 43.
A number of models are available to aid in penetration prediction.
Behrmann and Halleck (1988a) present a large amount of comparison
data for penetration into different strength Berea and concrete targets.
Empirical or theoretical models tuned to these experimental results are
available (Bell et al., 2006). These models are now incorporated into well
performance prediction software. An example of the predictions from
software like this is shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14: Example perforation penetration prediction
Note the large variation in the casing hole size diameter and the (smaller)
variation in formation penetration. In general, the gun lying on the low
side of the well like this is not recommended. A small gap between the
gun and casing is recommended, but too much of a gap (more than 0.5
in.) will dissipate explosive energy. Partial or complete centralisation
minimises these problems. Guns can swell once fired, so adequate
clearances are required for gun retrieval. Once the perforation geometry
has been determined, it can be used to determine the productivity. The
clean, open perforations implied from Figure 2.40. The perforations first
need to be cleaned of perforation and rock debris before they can
produce.
The explosive energy of a perforation creates a hole by outward pressure.
This pressure crushes the cement and rock. The cement and rock are not
destroyed in the process, but they, along with parts of the perforation
assembly, end up inside the perforation as shown in Figure 15. They
must be removed for the perforation to be productive. Most of this debris
will be crushed/fractured rock, with minor amounts of charge debris
(Behrmann et al., 1992) as shown in Figure 16.
Figure 15: Perforation immediately after creation
Figure 16: Typical perforation debris recovered after perforating
There are a number of ways of removing this damage. Flowing the well
after perforating will create a drawdown on all the perforations. This will
flow some of the debris from some of the perforations. However, as soon
as a few of the perforations clean up, the drawdown on the remaining
perforations reduces and these do not then clean up. It is common for
only 10–25% of perforations to contribute to the flow. Where the
formation is weak and sand production prone, this might not matter as
these plugged perforations can clean up over time as the formation
plastically deforms as stresses increase. The conventional approach to
avoiding plugged perforations is to perforate underbalance, that is
perforating with a casing pressure less than the reservoir pressure. There
are a number of different recommendations as to the optimum
underbalance. One of the earliest recommendations (King et al., 1986)
came from field data from 90 wells, largely onshore in the United States
or Canada.
END