1. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 1 Foam Flow Projects Mohan Kelkar and Cem Sarica The University of Tulsa

2. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 2 Outline Introduction Background Objectives Current Status Future Work

3. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 3 Introduction Foam flow is the most suitable artificial lift method for many tight, deep, gas wells No correlation exists for pressure drop prediction in foam flow Need a model to correctly predict the rate- pressure drop relationship under foam flow conditions Need to know the limits of foam flow application

4. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 4 Background This project is a joint effort between funding by RPSEA and six companies The six member companies are: Chevron, Marathon, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Nalco, and MultiChem The Project got officially kicked off in December, 2010 and have been extended through December of 2014

5. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 5 Objectives of the Project Collect experimental foam flow data under controlled conditions for two different tubing sizes and five different foams Measure surface tension, viscosity and foam stability Develop comprehensive correlation to predict pressure drop under foam flow conditions Develop guidelines for using appropriate concentration of surfactant as well as minimum gas- liquid ratios Validate the model by comparing the results with field data provided by participating companies

6. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 6 Current Status One graduate student and two undergraduate students working on the project  Ayantayo Ajani – PhD Student  Chance Brashears  Dhiya Shukri

7. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 7 Current Status … The project is divided into three phases  Experimental data in large scale facility  Experimental data in small scale facility  Modeling of the data

8. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 8 Current Status … We have collected data in large scale facility for five different surfactants We have collected data in small scale facility for five different surfactants We have examined the effect of brine and temperature on some representative samples We have just started the modeling process

9. Foam Flow Projects: July 29, 2014 9 Future Work Model will be built to estimate gas holdup in large scale facility based on small scale data Model will be built to understand the inception of liquid loading under foam flow Model will be built to estimate pressure drop for foam flow conditions