| Title | Cleaning and stimulating geothermal well with oil and tar residue downhole |
|---|---|
| Authors | S. Turan, N. Kuzu, M.C. Demirci, T. Evcil, E. Rodríguez |
| Year | 2025 |
| Conference | New Zealand Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | Injection well stimulation, oil and tar residue removal |
| Abstract | A geothermal company in the Alaşehir region of Turkey contacted Solenis for cleaning an injection well. A significant challenge for this geothermal power producer’s plant is that its production wells typically contain trace residues of oil and tar. These residues eventually make their way into the injection wells, thereby reducing the injection capacity of the well and effectively repelling any chemicals aimed at stimulating production and removing mineral deposits. After studying the composition of the oil/tar residue, Solenis developed a product, a tar solvent, to eliminate the residue downhole. Additionally, a bespoke solution was developed for the specific geology of this well and its fluid dynamics. In total, 25.6 tons of tar solvent were pumped downhole without suspending the operation of the well. Then the Solenis team completed the online well cleaning, targeting the deposits found downhole and at the formation of the wellbore. Prior to the online cleaning, this well had an injection pressure of 44 bar at an approximately 125 ton/h injection rate, giving the well an injectivity index of 2.8 ton/h-bar. The final wellhead pressure recorded shortly after the cleaning was 30.6 bar at a flow rate of 409.1 ton/h, resulting in an injectivity increase of 13.4 ton/h-bar. This represents an injectivity increase of 480%. |