Understanding the Low Water Injectivity Issues, Innovative and Multidisciplinary Approach to Implement Advanced Technological Solutions

Understanding the conditions that lead to damage or loss of injectivity in water injection wells is critical for optimizing reservoir performance and surface water management. This study evaluates 29 wells completed in multiple sandstone reservoirs of the Upper and Lower Cretaceous Formations, where most injectors were originally oil producers later converted for water injection. Due to surface water handling limitations, it became essential to identify wells with the highest potential to maximize water injection efficiency. By assessing historical performance and reservoir characteristics, this work aims to prioritize wells that can deliver the greatest operational and economic impact. For the scope of work, five injector wells were selected based on specified operational and business-related criteria for the initial injectivity study. This paper presents a multi-discipline approach to determining targeted preventative and remediation solutions for injectivity decline. A detailed analysis to determine the injectivity loss capacity, causes and the applicable technologies and solutions for damage remediation, improving the conditions of the injected water, as well recommendations for future maintenance options and strategies for new injection wells in the blocks. While key parameters such as initial skin, permeability, scaling potential, water quality, and reservoir temperature are commonly used in injectivity and formation damage assessments, other topics included well impairment caused by reservoir conditions, mineralogy, sources of water, fines migration, formation plugging. Also review of injection header pressure restrictions, mechanical integrity, and corrosion problems. The injectivity study identifies poor water quality as the primary factor impairing well performance across all evaluated candidates. While the wells demonstrate moderate responsiveness to wellbore stimulation treatments, the risk of scale precipitation and deposition in the tubular and near-wellbore regions remains a concern. However, due to the lack of a complete 12-ion water analysis, the specific scale species and severity of scaling risks could not be fully determined. Biofouling is expected to have a potential impact on injectivity, while fines migration is considered to pose a minimal risk, suggesting it is unlikely to significantly affect injectivity. Overall, improving water quality and conducting a comprehensive water chemistry analysis are recommended to better characterize scaling potential and enhance long-term injectivity performance.