Sand retention tests have often been used to select optimal screen aperture for standalone sand screen applications. The purpose is to select a sand screen that maximizes hydrocarbon production and minimizes sand production. There are two types of sand retention tests currently used in the industry, i.e., slurry and prepack sand retention tests. The former aims to simulate gradual sand production condition with an open annulus between the sandface and the screen, and the latter to simulate the condition where no such annulus exists. There are, however, no agreed industry standards on how sand retention tests should be performed and test results interpreted. This paper presents a combined experimental and numerical modelling study on sand screen performance. The objective is to develop an improved methodology for optimal sand screen aperture selection by addressing some of the limitations presented in the existing sand retention tests. A new sand retention test facility has been developed at CSIRO, incorporating a number of improvements into the design and experimental procedure. A key component of the improvements is the ability to separately measure retained screen permeability and sand pack permeability. Correlations have been developed between sand screen performance and key parameters of the sands and screen based on a large number of sand slurry retention tests. Furthermore, the sand retention process was simulated numerically using a 3D fully coupled Discrete Element (DEM) – Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Parametric studies have been conducted to assess screen performance and to gain a better understanding of sand retention and production mechanisms.
Sand Management in the current oil industry trend is one of the important aspects for operators. Managing sand, be it downhole or at surface depending on economic analysis provides an optimised production with proper risk mitigation. Just like for proper hydrocarbon optimisation, accurate monitoring tools such as well test that uses separator or multiphase flow meters are being used and are evolved. Similarly, sand production monitoring is one of the key components during sand management production. Without a proper and reasonably accurate monitoring of sand being produced, it is not possible to manage. With the advent of various techniques of sand monitoring evolved in the last few decades, the industry is moving further on how to improve the new methods of monitoring or utilising the current techniques more effectively. The industry is still struggling to make significant improvements or find new methods of monitoring or more effective application of the current techniques. analogy between sand management and hydrocarbon production and the significance of the same in sand management.
This paper presents a comprehensive study on sand production with the objective to develop a practical sand production model to estimate amount and rate of sand produced. The study comprised three components; laboratory experiments, numerical modeling and field case study for model validation. An experiment program was carried out on seven weak sandstones with various strengths. The experiments were conducted on relatively large samples under realistic effective reservoir stress and drawdown conditions with oil and gas flow. The large sample size allowed a meaningful amount of sands to be produced with minimum boundary effect. Real-time borehole monitoring using a borescope and X-ray CT scanning on the tested samples enabled rock failure and sanding mechanisms to be investigated. The laboratory experiments were simulated by numerical modeling using discrete element and finite difference methods. A sand production quantification model was developed by correlating the critical plastic volume obtained from the numerical modeling with the cumulative amount of sand produced from the sanding experiments. The sand quantification model was applied to a field case study aiming for model validation. The modeling result has been so far consistent with field observations.
This paper will present the first successful application of ceramic sand screen in Malaysia. Oil production from the field has a long history beginning with the first production in 1972. A great number of sand control methods have been tested and applied in the field. Production history has showed instances of sand production contributed by factors such as in-situ stress changes, increase in water production and cascading effect from production operation activities. A few wells completed with primary sand control equipment have failed and remedial action by metallic through tubing sand screen experiencing rapid wear, forcing the operator to control sand production by beaning down the wells and closely monitoring sand production at surface overtime. Worse still, some of the wells had to be closed-in. Hence ceramic sand screen was considered as remedial sand control due to its superior durability and resistance compared to metallic sand screen. This paper incorporates sand retention tests conducted using actual core samples to customize the slot opening/size, impact test conducted using actual ceramic sand screen assemblies in a training well to look closely at the installation mode and tool assemblies, newly-developedinstallationand well unloading procedure as guidance for offshore personnel and actual field result of the wells installed with the ceramic sand screen. Through tubing remedial sand control using ceramic sand screen has successfully revived the idle wells back to production at a lower total cost, oil gain beyond the initial target and higher Return OfInvestment (ROI). It has proven to be a great new technique which enables the effective sand control in highly erosive environment and would openup bigger opportunities to unleash locked-in potential of wells with sand production problem throughout PETRONAS’ operation.
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