L00250 Using Foaming Agents to Remove Liquids from Gas Wells

The chemical stimulation of gas production from natural reservoirs and underground storage projects is rapidly expanding. Such stimulative methods commonly use energy available in the reservoir to perform operations that previously were done mechanically with external energy. Therefore, chemical methods often require less personnel and equipment than corresponding mechanical methods. No completely satisfactory theory of foam formation has been developed.

Using foam agents has been tested in the laboratory and field, and suitable agents have been selected for use under many conditions. A large number of agents have been tested to determine their utility and to establish general guidelines for selecting agents for this use. The field-test results illustrate the usefulness of the dynamic laboratory method and show that brines, mixtures of oil and brines, and hydrocarbon condensates may be removed effectively from wells completed with a wide variety of casings and tubing combinations and under various operating conditions. Besides removing liquids, foam treatments also may clean solid particles from the well bore.