Formation Damage through Aqueous Phase Trapping: A Review of the Evaluating Methods

Aqueous-phase trapping (APT) in many petroleum reservoirs is a significant mechanism of formation damage during drilling and production operations. Evaluating a reservoir's potential for APT is of great importance where the reservoir is susceptible to APT, because well productivity can be improved through proper evaluation and consequent attempts to reduce associated formation damage. During the last 15 years, a number of formulas have been proposed to evaluate APT. In this article, the first effective parameters on APT are presented. Then formulas for evaluating APT are reviewed. To demonstrate practical application of formulas, check the validity of each formula, and compare predictions made by different formulas, some reservoirs are considered.