Effect of Water Breakthrough on Sand Production: Experimental and Field Evidence

Skjaerstein, A.; Tronvoll, Johan; Santarelli, F.J.; Joranson, Havard

doi:10.2523/38806-ms

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Note, however, that (lowrate) sand production was already present prior to water breakthrough. As will be shown below, this feature is in line with our sand production rate prediction model, and is also supported by other field observations 15 . The gradual increase is watercut as seen in Fig.…”

Section: Calibration Field Casesupporting

confidence: 91%

Prediction of Sand Production Rate in Oil and Gas Reservoirs: Importance of Bean-Up Guidelines

Hoek

Geǐlikman

2006

All Days

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

TX 75083-3836 U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractMost sand production prediction models to date have the capability to indicate whether initial sand production may take place during the lifetime of a reservoir but they are unable to predict whether the sand production will be 'problematic' (excessive erosion, plugging, well sand-up, separator fill, etc.), particularly for systems that have some tolerance towards sand production. In order to predict whether sand production will be 'problematic', it is important to estimate sand volumes / rates as a function of bottom-hole load conditions, drawdown, time, etc. This paper presents a model to predict sand volumes / rates for any type of clastic oil or gas reservoir. This model captures both the geomechanical aspects (rock deformation and failure) and the transport aspects (e.g. role of drawdown and watercut) of the sand production problem. It was extensively validated comparing predicted sand volumes and rates with field observations for a variety of oil and gas fields under various stages of depletion. For all these cases, the model predictions and field observations are in reasonable to good agreement. The main focus of the current paper is the discussion of beanup procedures, i.e. the question is addressed as to whether an appropriate bean-up strategy (e.g. small bean-up steps) may reduce the cumulative volume of produced sand. We show that for wells without sand control, the cumulative amount of sand produced to surface is independent of bean-up procedure. If a large sand production volume is expected in such a well, beaning it up in small steps not only increases the risk of sand-up in itself, but also the risk of repeated sand-ups before the well can finally be produced. By contrast, for wells with sand control, the risk of plugging by fines mobilization is reduced by beaning up in small steps. P.J. van den Hoek, SPE, and M.B. Geilikman, SPE, Shell Intl. E&P B.V. Impact of watercut.As was demonstrated by laboratory tests in, for example, 6,15 , watercut destroys capillary cohesion resulting in a lower strength UCS p of the failed (plastic) zone around the hole. Consequently, water breakthrough will result in a burst of sand production until the cavity has re-stabilized. This was confirmed by a careful analysis of field data from the North Sea 15 , which showed that water breakthrough only resulted in sand bursts for those cases where (some) sand production had already been observed before.Sand produced into the wellbore. In the calculations, all sand produced into the wellbore is tracked until it reaches surface, after which sand production at surface starts. Sand lift model.A detailed sand lift model has not (yet) been included. Therefore, all sand that has been produced into the wellbore is assumed to be transported to surface at the fluid flow velocity. Sand-up.Sand-up is assumed to be only possible if the total weight of the sand-fluid mixture in the wellbore is heavy enough to kill the well. After well kill, the sand produced into the wellbore (but not t...

show abstract

Section: Calibration Field Casesupporting

confidence: 91%

Prediction of Sand Production Rate in Oil and Gas Reservoirs: Importance of Bean-Up Guidelines

Hoek

Geǐlikman

2006

All Days

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Once a plastified zone has been formed around the perforation, the sand volumes that are produced from this can be effectively controlled by controlling well rates and by "sand conditioning" tests. Experience shows that sand production is not coincident with the onset of water breakthrough, but that water production can increase sand transport to surface and result in more "noticeable" sand production 16 .…”

Section: Sanding Wells; Production Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production Enhancement From Sand Management Philosophy: A Case Study From Statfjord and Gullfaks

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractStatfjord and Gullfaks are "Brown" fields operated by Statoil in the Tampen area of the North Sea. The production from these fields is characterized by large volumes of water and increasing sanding tendencies. The operator has for many years followed a strategy whereby sand produced with the wellstreams has been handled topsides prior to on-site disposal. The adoption of a sand management strategy has been crucial for prolonging economic reservoir development during tail production. By choosing to deal with sand topsides the operator has been able to pursue low cost slot replacement drilling where wells are completed without sand control equipment. The cased-hole functionality has facilitated multitarget drilling and is suited to selective production of each sand member through cheap plug/perf interventions.Significant gains in production (acceleration) and reserves (IOR) have resulted from the pursuance of sand management in these fields. Examples of wells showing productivity improvements as a direct result of allowing intervals to produce sand are presented. In addition, production gains achieved from replacing choked back "sand free" production with "maximum acceptable sand rate" production are presented. Increased sand tolerance has also led to reserve increases in some wells as unproductive intervals that were previously sanded up have cleaned up and started to flow. It will be argued that this strategy negates many concerns with formation damage during well work because such damage is produced out with the sand and the wells clean up naturally.The transient nature of sand production is discussed and the production gains observed in each field is presented. Such a strategy requires that the sand production is managed in a safe and controlled manner where the negative consequences of sand production are manageable and predictable. This paper will also discuss the improvements made in sand detection and on-line erosion mapping required to improve the sand tolerance of these facilities.

show abstract

“…14 Research in simulating sand production has mostly entailed studying sand-production mechanisms using theoretical 15 and experimental 16 methods because true field observations of the phenomenon are extremely challenging. Field data are often collected and analyzed carefully, 17 but it is impossible at present to observe the mechanisms responsible for sand production at the location where they occur (within the reservoir, behind the casing). Even detailed sand-rate data at the surface give only an indication because sand concentration is diluted and large grains retarded during transport to the surface.…”

Section: Mechanics Of Sandingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sand-Production Simulation in Heavy-Oil Reservoirs

Zhang¹,

Dusseault²

2004

SPE Reservoir Evaluation &Amp; Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A new sand-production model is developed based on interparticle contact-force variations at the discrete micromechanical level, scaled up to the macroscopic level. Two mechanisms for sand production are expected in the field: dynamic detachment (plucking of particles) and equilibrium yield (shear dilation followed by liquefaction at ∼50% porosity). The model discussed in this paper describes the sand-production mechanism in the dynamic detachment process. Within the new model formulation, sand production arises because of either a large porosity gradient or a large pressure gradient. The 1D steady-state solution of the new model is also presented; it may be used for simple sensitivity analysis for parameters such as field stress and pressure-depletion effect.

show abstract

Effect of Water Breakthrough on Sand Production: Experimental and Field Evidence

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Prediction of Sand Production Rate in Oil and Gas Reservoirs: Importance of Bean-Up Guidelines

Prediction of Sand Production Rate in Oil and Gas Reservoirs: Importance of Bean-Up Guidelines

Production Enhancement From Sand Management Philosophy: A Case Study From Statfjord and Gullfaks

Sand-Production Simulation in Heavy-Oil Reservoirs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About