Because naturally fractured reservoirs exhibit substantial and unpredictable permeability variations, the success of matrix treatment operations can be variable. During treatment, all or part of the acid may thief to a high permeability interval, leaving the rest of the wellbore poorly stimulated.

This paper describes an innovative technique developed in Western Canada that combines state-of-the-art viscoelastic acid diversion with fiber-optic technology for accurate downhole fluid placement and optimum diversion effectiveness. This is a unique system consisting of live downhole temperature and pressure measurements transmitted to the surface through fiber-optic telemetry installed in the coiled tubing. Analysis in real time using distributed temperature sensing (DTS) technology, single point downhole measurement of temperature and pressure, and petrophysical data provide an in situ visualization of the dominant thief zones.

The systematic application of this technique for all newly drilled wells in the Suncor Panther field in the Western Canadian Rocky Mountain foothills is presented in the paper. Gas production comparison over the entire field for 16 new wells is provided to illustrate that results have substantially improved since the introduction of this innovative technique.