The impact of near-wellbore wettability on the production of gas and condensate: Insights from experiments and simulations
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2018 Elsevier B.V. Condensate banking commonly occurs in gas-condensate reservoirs resulting in a reduction in well productivity. This phenomenon is linked to the phase behavior of the reservoir fluid, the drawdown management technique, as well as the trapping of liquid hydrocarbons due to strong rock-fluid interactions. Wettability alteration to neutral-wetting near the wellbore has been identified as a possible solution to alleviate the problem. In this work, we investigate optimizing wettability conditions towards maximizing productivity. A range of wetting conditions is examined, experimentally, and using numerical simulation techniques. The results show that it is possible to target an optimum wettability state that maximizes gas well deliverability. A signature of these optimum conditions is identified in the trend of spontaneous imbibition tests. Complete reversal of wetting conditions can result in better well productivity than the original wetting state, but in some cases it can reduce the amount of condensate recovered. This puts into question the common perception that an increase in the recovery of heavy components should be expected when liquid-wetting is reduced.
