Chapter 1
Sand Control Methods
Contents
Introduction
Sand Control Methods
Gravel Pack Placement
Gravel and Screen Design
1.1 Introduction
Many reservoirs comprised of relatively young sediments are so
poorly consolidated that sand will be produced along with the
reservoir fluids unless the rate is restricted significantly.
1.1 Introduction
Sand production is usually associated with shallow, young
formations, but has also been encountered at depths greater
than 4,000m.
Sand production leads to numerous production problems,
including erosion of downhole tubulars; erosion of valves,
fittings, and surface flow lines; the wellbore filling up with
sand; collapsed casing because of the lack of formation
support; and clogging of surface processing equipment.
Even if sand production can be tolerated, disposal of the
produced sand is a problem, particularly at offshore fields.
1.1 Introduction
Potential
problems of
Sand Production.
1.1 Introduction
Thus, a means to eliminate sand production
without greatly limiting production rates is
desirable.
Sand production is controlled by using gravel
pack completions, slotted liner completions, or
sand consolidalion treatments, with gravel pack
completions being by far the most common
approach.
1.2 Sand Control Methods
There are essentially two types of sand control methods:
Mechanical techniques and Chemical techniques.
Mechanical techniques where “gravel” particles, a few
times larger than the formation sand grains, are used to
retain the formation in place by forming a filter through
which the formation sand cannot pass. The gravel is itself
held in place by a screen which has been sized so that it in
turn can not pass through the gaps. In its simplest form, the
gravel is omitted and the screen alone “holds back” the
formation.
1.2 Sand Control Methods
Chemical Techniques where a chemical cement increases
the strength of the formation while retaining a permeable
pore structure.
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
Packer
Screen
Slotted linear Wire Wrapped
Stand alone screen
Screen
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
A slotted linear consists of steel pipe (tubing or casing)
where a series of parallel slots have been cut through
the metal.
The width of these slots are normally made as small as
mechanically practical so that they will retain as large a
fraction of the formation sand as possible.
The inflow area is low (< 1% of pipe surface area).
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
Slotted pipe is mainly used as a low price option to reinforce an open
borehole and to retain a coarse grained formation. A narrower, laser cut
slotted pipe is now available but is expensive.
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
A wire wrapped screen consists of
a triangular shaped wire which is
carefully wound so that there is a
constant gap between successive
turns.
It is held in place by spot welding
the wire to vertical formers placed
at 1cm intervals around the
internal diameter of the screen.
A wire wrapped screen
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
Wire wrapped screens have the
advantage over a slotted liner
that the gap between the wires
can be made smaller and be
held to the target value with a
much greater accuracy;
allowing the screen to retain
finer grained formations than
the slotted liner.
A wire wrapped screen
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
Wire wrapped screens also have a
much greater inflow area - making
them more suitable for higher Stainless steel
wrapped wire
productivity wells with a greater
perforated
inflow rate per unit completion length. base pipe
Wire wrapped screens have to be Vertical former
handled carefully at the rig site –
their strength is much lower than
coupler
slotted pipe, and perforated base
pipe which is often used to increase
the screen’s strength. A wire wrapped screen
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
Wire wrapped screens
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
In a gravel pack completion, sand that
is larger than the average formation
sand grain size is placed between the
formation and a screen or slotted liner.
The two most common types of gravel
pack completions are an inside-casing
gravel pack and an openhole or
underreamed-casing gravel pack.
The underreamed-casing gravel pack
provides better conductivity through the
gravel, but is limited to single-zone
Common types of gravel pack completions
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
The “under reamer” drill bit
can drill a hole larger than
the diameter of the pipe
through which it was passed.
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.1 Mechanical sand control techniques
The Rock-Type Underreamer (RTU)
features three specially designed arms
with large cones that enable the tool to
deploy and underream to nearly twice its
original diameter.
Operated hydraulically, the cutting arms
lock into open position while pressure is
maintained, and collapse into the body
automatically when pressure is relieved. Rock-Type Underreamer
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.2 Chemical sand control techniques
Chemical sand consolidation (the artificial strengthening of the
oil/gas producing formation ) is less frequently used of the sand
control.
A number of sand grains
have been covered with
chemical cement.
An enlarged view of a chemically consolidated formation
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.2 Chemical sand control techniques
Major advantages:
Unlike mechanical forms of sand exclusion, it leaves the wellbore
completely unobstructed without imposing any restrictions as far as
future work-overs are concerned (compared to a standard perforated
completion)
The consolidation treatment can also be carried out through tubing
i.e. a drilling or work-over rig does not required and the tubing etc.
does not have to be pulled as the first stage of the well repair.
Instead a pump truck and a series of chemical storage tanks with
suitable manifolding has to be provided.
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.2 Chemical sand control techniques
The typical target formation for chemical consolidation are thin ( < 3 m), high
permeability, clean (low clay content) sands.
This restriction on the formation type to be treated and the operational
complexity explains the lack of popularity of chemical consolidation.
The consolidation treatment is operationally complex .
This is due to the need to prepare the sand grain surface so that the
chemical cement will adhere to it followed by the need to re-establish the
formation permeability e.g. by overflushing excess chemical cement away
from the near wellbore area and displaceing it deeper into the formation.
1.2 Sand Control Methods
1.2.2 Chemical sand control techniques
Many of the chemicals used have aggressive properties. Operator safety
and potential environmental impact concerns must be addressed.
Need to fully evaluate HSE aspects.
The need to treat clean sand indicates that high permeability formations
are the main target for chemical consolidation.
All the chemical flushes have to be applied to all the perforations in the
correct order since one or more incorrectly treated perforations could lead to
future sand production.
Field experience has shown that this requirement for correct placement
means that only thin zones (maximum length 3 m) should be treated at one
time.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
For a successful gravel pack completion, gravel
must be adjacent to the formation without having
mixed with formation sand, and the annular
space the screen and the casing or formation
must be completely filled with gravel.
Special equipment and procedures have been
developed over the years to accomplish good
gravel placement.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
Water or other low-viscosity fluids were first used as transporting
fluids in gravel pack operations. Because these fluids could not
suspend the sand, low sand concentrations and high velocities
were needed.
Now, viscosified fluids, most commonly, solutions of
hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), are used so that high concentrations
of sand can be transported without settling (Scheuerman, 1984).
Just as with the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing, it is desirable
that these solutions degrade to low viscosity with little residue,
requiring the addition of breakers to the polymer solution.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
Open hole completions
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
In open-hole completions, the gravel-laden
fluid can be pumped down the tubing casing
annulus, after which the carrier fluid passes
through the screen and flows back up the
tubing. This is the reverse-circulation
method depicted in Fig.a
A primary disadvantage of this method is the
possibility of rust, pipe dope, or other debris
being swept out of the annulus and mixed
with the gravel, damaging the pack
permeability.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
More commonly, a crossover method is
used, in which the gravel-laden fluid is
pumped down the tubing, crosses over to
the screen-open hole annulus, flows into a
wash pipe inside the screen, leaving the
gravel in the annulus, and then flows up
the casing-tubing annulus to the surface
(Fig.b).
Notice that the open-hole section is usually
underreamed through the productive
interval to increase well productivity.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
For inside-casing
gravel packing,
washdown,
reverse-circulation,
crossover methods
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
In the washdown method,
the gravel is placed
opposite the productive
interval before the screen
is placed; and then the
screen is washed down to
its final position.
The reverse-circulation
and crossover methods
are analogous to those
used in open holes.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
A modem crossover described
in detail by Schechter (1992).
Gravel is first placed below
the perforated interval by
circulation through a section
of screen called the tell tale
screen.
When this has been covered,
the pressure increases,
signaling the beginning of the
squeeze stage.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
During squeezing, the carrier fluid
leaks off to the formation, placing
gravel in the perforation tunnels.
After squeezing, the washpipe is
raised, and the carrier fluid circulates
through the production screen, filling
the casing-production screen
annulus with gravel.
Gravel is also placed in a section of
blank pipe above the screen to
provide a supply of gravel as the
gravel settles.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
A critical element in designing a gravel pack completion is the
proper sizing of the gravel and the screen or slotted liner.
To perform its sand control function and maximize the
permeability of gravel pack, the gravel must be small enough to
retain the formation sand, yet large enough that clay particles
and other formation fines flow through the pack.
Thus the optimal gravel size is related to the formation particle
size distribution.
The screen must be size to retain all of the gravel.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
The first step in determining the gravel size is to measure
accurately the formation particle size distribution.
A representative sample of formation material can be obtained, in
order of preference, from rubber-sleeve cores, conventional cores,
or sidewall cores.
Produced sand samples or bailed samples should not be used to
size gravel.
Produced sand will tend to have a larger proportion of smaller
grain sizes, while bailed sand will have a larger proportion of
larger grain sizes.
1.3 Gravel Pack Placement
1.4 Gravel and Screen Design
The formation grain size is obtained
with a sieve analysis, using a series
of standard sieve trays, the sieve
open sizes for U.S. standard mesh
sizes are given in Table6-1).
The results of the sieve analysis
are usually reported as a semilog
plot of cumulative weight of
formation material retained versus
grain size.
4.3 Gravel Pack Placement
Assembly of sieve trays (finest screen at the bottom) for analysis of
the grain-size distribution of sediments
1.4 Gravel and Screen Design
The size corresponding to
a cumulative weight
percentage of 10%, 40%
and 90% is known as D10,
D40, and D90 respectively.
1.4 Gravel and Screen Design
Typical grain size
distributions from
California and U.S. Gulf
Coast unconsolidated
sands are shown in Fig. 6-
5 (Suman etal,1983).
Grain size distributions
1.4 Gravel and Screen Design
Schwartz (1969) and Saucier (1974) presented similar (but
slightly different) correlations for optimal gravel size based on
the formation grain size distribution.
Schwartz's correlation depends on the uniformity of the
formation and the velocity through the screen, but for most
conditions (nonuniform sands) is
where Dg40 is the recommended gravel size and Df40 is the
diameter of formation sand for which 40wt% of the grains are of
a larger diameter.
1.4 Gravel and Screen Design
To fix the gravel size distribution, Schwanz recommends that the gravel size
distribution should plot as a straight line on standard semilog plot, and a
uniformity coefficient, Uc, defined as
should be 1.5 or less. From these requirements, we find
where Dg, min and Dg, max are minimum and maximum sizes of gravel to be
used, respectively. Equations (6-3) and (6-4) define the range of recommends
gravel size .
1.4 Gravel and Screen Design
Saucier recommended that the geometric mean gravel size be five or six
times the mean formation grain size, or
Saucier gave no recommendation about gravel size distribution. If we apply
Schwartz's criteria, then
The screen openings should be small enough to retain all of the gravel,
requiring that the screen openings be slightly less than the smallest gravel
size.