Reaction Kinetics and Coreflooding Study of High-Temperature Carbonate Reservoir Stimulation Using GLDA in Seawater

Well stimulation using hydrochloric acid (HCl) is a common practice in carbonate reservoirs to overcome formation damage in the near wellbore area. Using HCl for matrix acidizing has many limitations at high-temperature (HT) conditions, such as tubulars corrosion and face dissolution due to the fast reaction rate. Chelating agents, such as L-glutamic acid-N,N-diacetic acid (GLDA), are alternatives to HCl to overcome these problems. We studied the effect of diluting GLDA in seawater on the reaction kinetics with carbonate rocks under HT conditions at low pH (3.8). Results of the reaction of carbonate at 1000 psi and 150, 200, and 250 °F with GLDA prepared in both fresh and seawater, GLDA/DI and GLDA/SW, respectively, are presented. The reaction kinetics experiments were carried out in HT rotating disk apparatus (RDA) at rotational speeds ranging from 500 to 2000 revolutions per minute (RPM) at a fixed temperature. Indiana limestone and Austin chalk were used to studying the effect of rock facies on the reaction of GLDA with rock samples. In both GLDA/DI and GLDA/SW, the reaction regime of 20 wt% GLDA (3.8 pH) with Indiana limestone was mass transfer limited. The reaction rate and diffusion coefficient were highly dependent on the temperature. For Austin chalk, at 200 °F and 1000 psi the diffusion coefficient of GLDA/SW is an order of magnitude of its value with Indiana limestone using the same fluid. Diffusion coefficients were used to estimate the optimum injection rate for stimulating HT carbonate formation and compared with coreflooding results. The data presented in this paper will support the numerical simulation of the acid flow in carbonate reservoirs.