Using a rotary jetting nozzle and engineering software that configures the nozzle and jet impact pressure, BJ Services effectively and safely removes production-restricting damage from screens and gravel pack completions. The process can be deployed on coiled tubing or, in certain cases, on drill pipe. Long horizontal sections can be treated with uniform coverage and minimal volumes of treatment fluid.

Applications include removal of drill-in filter cake, permeable scales, organic deposits and migrating fines, as well as emplacement of water management products and correction of voids in gravel packs. With 360° control and angled nozzles, the jets generate specific pressure pulsations that create circulation currents within the gravel pack and near the wellbore region. These create focused vibrations that temporarily increase permeability in the gravel pack and the nearby sandface, allowing treatment fluids to enter.

Recently, 168 Indonesian wells treated specifically to correct plugged wire-wrapped screens were evaluated and results reported in SPE 81741. The data showed that controlled jetting using a rotating nozzle was clearly superior and more cost-effective than alternatives that included bullheading foam-diverted acid or acid diverted with benzoic acid flakes, as well as squeezing acid between opposed cup packers.