Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol.43, No.5, 24-29, 2004
The phase behaviour of acid disposal gases and the potential adverse impact on injection or disposal operations
As increased volumes of acid gases (containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide) are processed, the technique of downhole re-injection of the concentrated acid gas for disposal of these unwanted fluids continues to become more popular. In many cases, bottomhole injection temperature and pressure conditions are such that the injected acid gas phase is a supercritical, fluid that is miscible with the existing reservoir fluids and, thus, the potential for adverse relative permeability effects (due to the creation of in situ immiscible liquid and vapour phases) is avoided. In other cases, however, combinations of lower reservoir temperatures and/or initially depleted disposal zone pressures, or blending of the acid gas with the in situ lean gas, can result in the formation of both liquid and vapour acid gas phases in the formation in the near-wellbore region. This can often cause very, significant relative permeability effects, which may result in large reductions in injectivity of the acid gas on either a permanent or transient basis. This paper provides actual examples of such systems, as well as reviewing the design protocol that must be used to evaluate if potential phase behaviour problems can occur downhole during an acid gas disposal operation. This has proven to be a key parameter in the successful evaluation of an acid gas disposal operation.