Monitoring integrity of downhole mechanical plug
To monitor integrity of downhole mechanical plug, a plug is deployed to a target position in a wellbore. The plug is set at the target position to provide a seal between the plug and an internal surface of a wellbore wall. The seal isolates the wellbore uphole of the plug from downhole of the plug. The plug includes a perforated carrier having a tracer system within. Fluid in the wellbore downhole of the plug is allowed to flow through holes of the perforated carrier to contact the tracer system thereby releasing the tracer into the fluid. Fluid produced uphole of the plug is flowed to the Earth surface. A sample of the produced fluid is collected and analyzed for presence of tracer in the sample. By doing so, integrity of the plug is evaluated.
1. A method of applying and monitoring a mechanical isolation plug in a wellbore, comprising:
deploying a plug that is a mechanical isolation plug to a target position in a wellbore, wherein the wellbore is formed through Earth surface into a subterranean formation in Earth crust;
setting the plug at the target position, thereby providing a seal between the plug and an internal surface of a wellbore wall of the wellbore, wherein the seal isolates in the wellbore downhole of the plug from uphole of the plug, wherein the plug comprises a perforated carrier having a tracer system in an inside volume of the perforated carrier, and wherein the tracer system comprises a tracer in a solid medium;
allowing fluid in the wellbore downhole of the plug to flow through holes of the perforated carrier to contact the tracer system, thereby releasing the tracer from the solid medium into the fluid;
flowing produced fluid produced uphole of the plug through the wellbore to the Earth surface;
collecting a sample of the produced fluid at the Earth surface and performing analysis of the sample for detecting presence of the tracer in the sample; and
evaluating integrity of the mechanical isolation plug based on the analysis.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluating the integrity comprises determining the integrity of the mechanical isolation plug as satisfied in response to the analysis not detecting the presence of the tracer in the sample.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluating the integrity comprises determining the integrity of the mechanical isolation plug as not satisfied in response to the analysis detecting the presence of the tracer in the sample.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target position comprises a specified depth in the wellbore.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a well intervention of the wellbore is not performed to evaluate and determine integrity of the mechanical isolation plug.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein a device other than the mechanical isolation plug is not deployed in the wellbore to evaluate and determine integrity of the mechanical isolation plug.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mechanical isolation plug is set downhole of a perforated interval of the wellbore.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein a pressure test is not performed to evaluate the integrity of the mechanical isolation plug.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plug is a first plug, and wherein the method comprises:
deploying a second plug that is a second mechanical isolation plug to a second target position in the wellbore, wherein the second plug comprises a second perforated carrier having a second tracer system comprising a second solid medium having a second tracer, wherein the second tracer is different than the tracer in the tracer system of the first plug; and
setting the second plug at the second target position, thereby providing a second seal between the second plug and the wellbore wall, wherein the second seal isolates in the wellbore downhole of the second plug from uphole of the second plug.
10. The method of claim 9 , comprising evaluating integrity of the second plug based on the analysis of the sample, wherein the analysis comprises analysis for detecting presence of the second tracer in the sample.