Enhancing Sand Screen Reliability: An Innovative, Adaptive Approach

Abstract

Sand control reliability becomes increasingly important when combining challenging well conditions with the expectations of high flow rates, reduced well counts, and rising costs. Sand screens, the final sand control barrier, have been a critical element to assure long term well reliability. Any screen damage along the well may allow sand ingress and adversely impact the overall production. Preventive (flux limitations) and reactive (choking) methods can reduce the risk of downhole screen damage under complex producing environments, but these methods are unable to mitigate all risk. A step change in screen design to enhance sand screen reliability is needed which can also maintain simple and economic completions.MazeFlo™ technology, currently under development, was invented to be adaptive to downhole uncertainties and to self-mitigate screen damage. The technology utilizes a redundant sand screen and compartment maze to constrain local sand ingress caused by screen damage without interrupting well production. A prototype screen has been designed and fabricated.A series of hydraulic and mechanical tests were conducted to validate the prototype design. Both compartment and redundant screens are qualified in flow friction, erosion resistance, and mechanical integrity. A field trial has been designed to demonstrate the screen installation, downhole self-mitigating capability, and sustained production. Operationally, the innovative and robust screen design will appear and run similar to conventional screens.Successful prototype development will lead to a 2 3/8-in MazeFlo screen ready for use in remedial workover applications. The design philosophy and qualification process are being extended to larger screen sizes for broader applications. The adaptive approach implemented in this novel sand screen establishes a new milestone to enhance sand screen reliability. The collaboration between operator and service supplier enables effective commercialization of innovative technology for the next generation of sand control completions.

Advancements in Openhole Completion Technology - Establishing and Sustaining Differentiating Sand Control Completion Performance

“…The unique, self-mitigating mechanism chokes production only at the sand breakthrough locations, compared to choking the entire producing interval when reacting to a compromised conventional screen. More detailed description of MazeFlo development can be found in previous publications (Yeh, , 2010(Yeh, , 2011. MazeFlo screen is designed to adapt to the downhole uncertainty of how, when, and where screen damage could occur.…”