Designed & Presented by

Mr. QUANG KHNH, HCMUT

03/2014 Quang Khnh HoChiMinh City University of Technology 1

Email: dqkhanh@hcmut.edu.vn or doquangkhanh@yahoo.com
 Content & Agenda

Introduction
Causes and consequences of sand production
Sand Production Prediction
Sand control methods

Ref:
Reservoir Stimulation, 3e Economides & Nolte
Petroleum Production Systems - Economides et al., 1994
Production Operations: Well Completions, Workover, and Stimulation -Thomas O. Allen,
Alan P. Roberts,1984
 Introduction

o Why Sand Control?

The production of formation sand with oil and/or gas creates a number of potentially
dangerous and costly problems
Losses in production can occur as the result of sand partially filling up inside the wellbore.
Creation of void and breakouts behind the casing, shale streaks remain unsupported and
creation a formation damage in the near wellbore region
Sand & particles transported with fluids cause severe erosion damages, especially in gas wells
If the flow velocities of the well cannot transport the produced sand to the surface, this
accumulation of sand may shut off production entirely.
If shutoff occurs, the well must be circulated, or the sand in the casing must be bailed out
before production can resume
Once produced sand is at the surface and no longer threatens to erode pipe or reduce
productivity, the problem of disposal remains. Sand disposal can be extremely costly,
particularly on offshore locations
 Introduction

When is Sand Control Required?

 CAUSES OF SAND PRODUCTION

1. Sand grain slippage, collapse of the perforation tunnel, wellbore or cavity, resulting from:
high drawdowns;
pressure depletion;
wellbore deviation;
pressure surges during rod pumping.
2. A significant pressure gradient across the sandface. This can result from:
high fluid viscosities (>50 cp,), especially in heavy oil wells where viscosities may exceed 1000 cp;
turbulence in the pore throats in gas wells and high-rate or high gas-liquid ratio (GLR) oil wells;
formation damage and plugging of perforations and pore throat areas.
3. Increasing water saturation and water cuts, which destabilize the sand as a result of:
reduction in the cohesive strength and inter-granular friction
mobilization of the fines from around the grain-to-grain contacts
chemical reaction with the natural cementing materials, especially if salinity changes occur with water
breakthrough
operators increasing the gross production rate and draw-down to compensate for decreasing relative
permeability to oil and oil production volumes
increasing drag forces on the grains due to movement of the wetting phase (i.e., the connate water)
 Initiation OF SAND PRODUCTION

Sand production is initiated when the forces acting to dislodge sand grains from the formation
exceed the strength of the rock
Dislodging forces included mechanical stresses in the rock and the drag forces associated
with fluid flow
Pore pressure relieves frictional forces
Production of wetting phase reduces capillary pressure forces

Resisting forces include rock strength parameters and capillary pressure forces
Intergranular frictional forces and bonding (cementation) help resist grain movement
Capillary Pressure adds further grain-to-grain bonding
 Initiation OF SAND PRODUCTION

Sand production is initiated when the forces acting to dislodge sand grains from the formation
exceed the strength of the rock
Dislodging forces included mechanical stresses in the rock and the drag forces associated
with fluid flow
Pore pressure relieves frictional forces
Production of wetting phase reduces capillary pressure forces
Resisting forces include rock strength parameters and capillary pressure forces
Intergranular frictional forces and bonding (cementation) help resist grain movement
Capillary Pressure adds further grain-to-grain bonding

Sand Production May Begin Late in the Life of a Well

Pressure pulses caused by non-steady production
Increasing mechanical stresses caused by pore pressure reduction
Increased drawdown leads to increased drag forces
Water breakthrough can severely reduce capillary pressure forces
 Effects OF SAND PRODUCTION

Accumulation in surface equipment

Increased maintenance costs
Costs associated with deferred production
Accumulation downhole
Frequent clean-out trips
Decreased productivity
Erosion of downhole and surface equipment
Frequent workovers
Formation collapse and casing damage
Loss of well
 Prediction OF SAND PRODUCTION
Sand Production Prediction
Determine which wells have the potential for sand production
Determine best time to institute sand control methods
Assess economic impact (both positive and negative) of incorporating sand control
Probability of Successful Sand Production Prediction
Typically good prediction in definitely will or definitely will not fail categories
Majority of the wells and reservoirs fall in between these two extremes
Marginal formations difficult to accurately predict
Multi-phase fluid flow is a complicating factor
Effects of changing production character difficult to predict
Sand Prediction and Sand Control
Most authorities recommend that sand control techniques be applied immediately upon indication that a formation
will produce sand.
This practice will allow the highest success rate and the lowest production loss possible after sand control is
applied
Laboratory studies have shown that once an unconsolidated sand is disturbed, the sand cannot be packed back to
its original permeability.
Sand control should be applied before the reservoir rock is seriously disturbed by sand production.
 The factors tending to prevent sand production

1. The amount, strength, and nature of the rock cementation.

2. The shape and arrangement of the sand grains, which will determine the inter-
granular friction.
3. The degree of compaction, which is generally proportional to the overburden
loading (or depth) and inversely proportional to the initial reservoir pressure.
4. The behavior of the rock after initial failure in terms of:
plastic deformation of the cavity wall;
natural arching of the unconsolidated or failed sand around the perforation tunnel.
 Sand Failure
Parameters Values
Porosity >20%
Permeability High
Geological Age Miocene to present
Formation Depth <8,000 ft
Depositional Environment Dirty
Fluid type High water saturation
Primary cementation Poor
 Rate Control and Arching Effects
A consideration of the mechanisms of sand failure should
make it apparent that reducing the rate and drawdown should
reduce sand influx

Rate control is therefore only a temporary sand control method

 Selective Perforation
Identify the potential sand-producing zones from log
measurements.

As a rough rule of thumb, many completion engineers often

use a sonic log threshold of 100 s/ft (325 s/m) for
identifying potential sand-producing intervals.
 FORMATION SAND ANALYSIS
Formation Sand Characterisation
Sand sampling is critical to any type of sand control technique
Representative of the entire interval under consideration
Analysis to be performed:
Sieve Analysis (most used)
Laser Light Scattering (grain size underestimation)
Clay Content
Acid Solubility
Fluid Compatibility
Porosity and Permeability
Wettability
Types of formation sand samples: Drill cuttings, Produced samples, Bailed samples, Sidewall core samples,
Conventional core samples
Sample size and frequency
Minimum sample size is 15 cubic centimeters
Samples required every 2 to 3 feet or at every lithology change
 Sieve Analysis
Sieve Analysis Apparatus
Laboratory technique to determine grain size and size distribution of a sand sample
Consists of a series of wire mesh sieves with progressively smaller openings
Sieves are stacked and shaken or vibrated to separate sand grains according to size

Sieve Analysis
Sand sample must be cleaned to remove all mud, fines (clays) and cementation material
Sand sample must be broken down to individual grains for accurate results
Samples must be sieved long enough to allow complete separation of various grain sizes
 U.S. Mesh
U.S. Mesh Definition of Grain Size
Mesh refers to the number of openings per linear inch
The width of the opening depends on the mesh and diameter of the wire
The U.S. Mesh series specifies the mesh size and width of opening

Sieve Analysis Sizes

 U.S. Mesh
Sieve Analysis Procedure
Sieves are weighed before and after sieving to determine weight of sample retained by each sieve
size
Grain size versus cumulative weight percent can be plotted on semi-log coordinates to obtain grain
size distribution

Grain Size Distribution Plot & Sand Classification

 Sieve Analysis Indicates Uni. & Non-Uniform
Formations
Uniformity Coefficient

Ex:
 SAND CONTROL TECHNIQUES

Sand Control Techniques

Passive approaches
Maintenance and workover
Rate exclusion
Selective completion practices

Active approaches
Plastic chemical consolidation
Resin coated gravel
Slotted liners or stand alone screens (without gravel packing)
Expandable screens
Gravel packing
 Maintenance and Workover

Maintenance and Workover

Requires bailing, washing and cleaning of surface facilities to remove formation sand

Used when:
Sand production is limited
Production rates are low
Well intervention risk is low
Cost of more proactive sand control technique is not economically justified
 Rate Exclusion or Production Restriction

Rate Exclusion or Production Restriction

Reduction in prod. rate will reduce drag forces and drawdown to provide reduced risk of sand production
Procedure:
Slowly increase rate until sand production begins to increase (Critical Drawdown)
Sequentially reduce flow rate until the sand production declines to an acceptable level
Attempting to establish maximum flow rate in conjunction with stable arch

Horizontal Wells???

Limitations
The reduced production rate that excludes formation production sand is not profitable.
Production rate is not always the only factor contributing to sand production.
The degree of consolidation of the formation, the type and amount of cementitious material present, and
the amount of water being produced are also significant contributing factors to sand production.
These other factors may allow a well to produce sand even after the production rate has been severely
restricted
 Selective Completion Practices

Selective Completion Practices

Perforate or complete only high strength layers
Perforate at high shot density
Need good hydraulic communication
Poor sweep efficiency
Risk to leave reserves unrecovered
 Plastic Consolidation

Plastic Consolidation
Goal is to inject plastic resins into the formation to provide increased compressive strength while
maintaining acceptable permeability

Treatment objective are:

Cover entire perforated interval
Coat all sand grains with resin
Concentrate resin at contact points
Leave pore spaces open

Three types of resins systems available:

Epoxies
Furans (and furan/phenolic blends)
Phenolics
 Plastic Consolidation

Plastic Consolidation Placement Technique

Verify rock wettability

Pump a preflush treatment to restore water wettability

Pump the treatment inside the formation

Wait for rock grains coating

Flush back the excess treatment fluids

Pros and Cons of Plastic Consolidation Treatments

 Plastic Consolidation

Resin Coated Gravel

Resin coated gravel or gravel mixed in a resin carrier fluid is pumped to fill voids behind casing and
perforation tunnels
Resin is allowed to consolidate
Casing is drilled out to leave wellbore unobstructed
Resin Coated Gravel Limitations
Must have complete coverage of perforated interval to be successful
Good compressive strength of resin coated gravel requires high temperature (>300F)
May reduce near-wellbore permeability
Long term reliability
Resin Coated Gravel Screenless Frac-Pack
Similar to resin coated gravel treatment, but gravel placed above fracture pressure
Gravel is underflushed at end of fracture job and allowed to cure
Casing is drilled out to leave wellbore unobstructed
 StandAlone Screens and Slotted Liners

StandAlone Screens and Slotted Liners

Slotted liner or screen used as a down hole filter
Widely applied in open hole horizontal wells with mixed success
Reduced productivity, plugging or erosion caused by resorting of formation material can occur in poorly
sorted formations
Best used for well-sorted clean sands with large grain size
Doomed to failure in cased hole environment

Main Applications for Standalone Screens

Open hole completions
High permeability, uniform formations (d40/d90 < 3)
Screen opening sized to retain largest d10 fraction of formation sand
Screen diameter as large as possible
 StandAlone Screens and Slotted Liners

Screen and Slotted Liner

Screen or slotted liner openings are referred in gauge, inches, or microns
Gauge is the opening in inches X 1000 (i.e., .010 is 10 gauge); Inches = 25.4 Millimeters;
Design point: openings = d10

Annular Flow
Why is annular flow a problem?
Annular velocity causes sand face erosion and screen erosion
Annular velocity causes dynamic sorting of fines in the annulus => plugging, hot spots, and erosion
Annular flow is the dominant failure mechanism in standalone screen completions
 StandAlone Screens and Slotted Liners

Schematic of Screen Plugging

Hot-spot vs. Uniform Formation Collapse

 StandAlone Screens and Slotted Liners

Performance of Screens is Based on:

Sand retention
Resistance to plugging from formation material
Resistance to plugging from mud flow through screen
These must be determined through laboratory testing no standard theory exists
current criteria based on empirical studies
Screen Type Comparison
 StandAlone Screens and Slotted Liners

Slotted Liner Geometries

Single slot staggered rows are preferred for higher strength
Minimum slot width is .012, but practical minimum width is 0.020
Small slot widths reduce inflow area and increase cost
Only advantage of slotted liner over screen is low cost!

Wire Wrapped Screen

Prepack Screen
Premium Screens
Screens with Inflow Control Devices (ICD)
Expandable Screen
 Gravel Packing

Gravel Packing
Uses high permeability gravel in conjunction with slotted liner or screen
Formation material bridges on larger, specially sized gravel,
which in turn bridges on a screen or slotted liner
Tightly packed gravel is stable, preventing shifting and resorting of formation sand
Most reliable and most widely applied sand control technique

Gravel Pack Schematic

Gravel pack sand must be
properly sized to control
formation sand
Screen openings must be
properly sized to control gravel
pack sand
 Gravel Packing

Gravel Pack Sand Selection Procedure

Obtain formation sand sample
Determine formation grain size and distribution
Determine required gravel size
Determine required screen openings
Determine type of gravel

Sauciers Experiment
Establish initial flow rate (qi) and stabilized pressure drop, calculate initial permeability (ki)
Increase flow rate and establish new stabilized pressure drop
Reduce flow rate to initial rate (qi) and establish stabilized pressure drop, calculate final permeability (kf)
Optimum sand control occurs when kf= k
 Gravel Packing

Sauciers Results

Application of Sauciers Results

Gravel pack sand permeability is a function of grain size (as D50increases, permeability increases)
D50 of the gravel pack sand is a function of d50 of the formation sand to achieve sand control as per
Saucier
D50 must be optimized to achieve maximum gravel pack sand permeability, yet still maintain sand control
 Gravel Packing

Optimization of Gravel Pack Sand Size

Commonly Available Gravel Sizes

Gravel Pack Sand Design Procedure

Construct a representative sieve analysis curve for the formation sand
Determine d50 of the formation sand
Multiply the d50 value by 6 to achieve D50 of the gravel pack sand
Select gravel pack sand with D50 < (6 x d50)
Different layers in the formation sand may indicate different required gravel sizes.
Generally, the smallest indicated gravel size is selected.
Techniques for Handling Produced Sand