Search citation statements
Paper Sections
Citation Types
Year Published
Publication Types
Relationship
Authors
Journals
When the formation is unconsolidated, sand particles can be produced into the wellbore. Such production of sand particles is undesirable as it lowers the permeability of the producing zone, erodes surface and downhole equipment. Costly intervention may be required to mitigate the damage to the well integrity and the reservoir deliverability. The most common methods of controlling this unwanted sand production involve: 1. Filter produced fluids through a gravel pack retained by a screen or 2. Use of consolidating fluids such as resin, a curing agent, along with other chemicals to create a conducive environment for the resin curing reaction to occur. The gravel packing completion requires special tools and equipment therefore higher cost. In the case of sand control by chemical consolidation, the resinous material tends to have relatively uncontrollable setting times, strength, placement, and regained permeability leading to unsuccessful treatment. With both cost and treatment effectiveness in mind, it is desirable to develop an improved material and method to mitigate sand production by consolidating the formation sand without impairing well productivity or injectivity. The present paper describes the development of a unique chemistry for sand control in unconsolidated formations. This chemistry involves using positive charge modified nanoparticles that can self-assemble over the unconsolidated formation sand particles to form a layer of consolidating material thus preventing any unwanted sand production. The new consolidation treatment material consists of colloidal nanoparticles modified using a cationic modifier and ionic strength modifier that can be placed downhole as a single pill. The pill has high affinity to the solid surface therefore less prone to build up in the pore space. Once cured at reservoir temperature it forms a thin layer of hard gel around the surface of the sand particles, thus cementing the sand grains together at the same time maintaining open porosity to ensure easy flow of produced hydrocarbons or injected water. The newly developed sand consolidation formulation was studied for their ability to consolidate loose sand and at the same time maintain good permeability. The effect of various ionic modifiers on consolidation properties was studied. The ability of the cationic modified nanoparticles to self-assemble around unconsolidated sand and eventually cure to form a consolidated sand pack was investigated. Regain permeability studies showed good regain permeability of the consolidated sand pack. Furthermore, this paper describes the concentration effect of the cationic modifier on the regain permeability. Finally, it shows that the new product provides a controllable curing time, thus avoiding any premature setting of the nanoparticles in the wellbore.
When the formation is unconsolidated, sand particles can be produced into the wellbore. Such production of sand particles is undesirable as it lowers the permeability of the producing zone, erodes surface and downhole equipment. Costly intervention may be required to mitigate the damage to the well integrity and the reservoir deliverability. The most common methods of controlling this unwanted sand production involve: 1. Filter produced fluids through a gravel pack retained by a screen or 2. Use of consolidating fluids such as resin, a curing agent, along with other chemicals to create a conducive environment for the resin curing reaction to occur. The gravel packing completion requires special tools and equipment therefore higher cost. In the case of sand control by chemical consolidation, the resinous material tends to have relatively uncontrollable setting times, strength, placement, and regained permeability leading to unsuccessful treatment. With both cost and treatment effectiveness in mind, it is desirable to develop an improved material and method to mitigate sand production by consolidating the formation sand without impairing well productivity or injectivity. The present paper describes the development of a unique chemistry for sand control in unconsolidated formations. This chemistry involves using positive charge modified nanoparticles that can self-assemble over the unconsolidated formation sand particles to form a layer of consolidating material thus preventing any unwanted sand production. The new consolidation treatment material consists of colloidal nanoparticles modified using a cationic modifier and ionic strength modifier that can be placed downhole as a single pill. The pill has high affinity to the solid surface therefore less prone to build up in the pore space. Once cured at reservoir temperature it forms a thin layer of hard gel around the surface of the sand particles, thus cementing the sand grains together at the same time maintaining open porosity to ensure easy flow of produced hydrocarbons or injected water. The newly developed sand consolidation formulation was studied for their ability to consolidate loose sand and at the same time maintain good permeability. The effect of various ionic modifiers on consolidation properties was studied. The ability of the cationic modified nanoparticles to self-assemble around unconsolidated sand and eventually cure to form a consolidated sand pack was investigated. Regain permeability studies showed good regain permeability of the consolidated sand pack. Furthermore, this paper describes the concentration effect of the cationic modifier on the regain permeability. Finally, it shows that the new product provides a controllable curing time, thus avoiding any premature setting of the nanoparticles in the wellbore.
High intervention costs to replace electric submersible pump (ESP) completions and high deferral production caused by ESP failures in offshore and remote locations are driving the efforts to increase ESP reliability around the world. ESP designs vary considerably depending on the application, for example, unconventional resource, heavy oil, high temperature, and high abrasives. Because of the wide range of ESP applications, the equipment specification requires a tailored solution for each application to increase reliability. This paper presents typical failures and the evolution of ESP technology deployed in the North Sea as well as the enhancements proposed to increase system reliability. The equipment improvements are based on failure analysis performed in the strings pulled from the North Sea. A large ESP population is analyzed, including 219 installations and 162 failures. Survival analysis enabled splitting the population into subsystems and analyzing the ESP performance individually after each major change in equipment specification. This approach made it possible to confirm the effectiveness of the changes and quantify the increase in reliability after each investment in equipment enhancement. It was also possible to identify the "less reliable" subsystem to focus on further improvements.
Sanding in oil production and water injection wells has been a severe problem in a sandstone formation. Many technical solutions have been evaluated by Saudi Aramco. These solutions encompass mechanical sand exclusion methods such as screen, gravel packing, and frac and pack. Various production and completion practices such as controlling the production rate and following specific well completion guidelines to minimize sand production have failed to provide satisfactory returns. Several limitations such as screen plugging and costs associated with deploying expandable screens make the current mechanical sand control practices more expensive. Chemical sand consolidation could present the most cost-effective remediation and prevention opportunity. Additionally, this would also allow the wellbore to be free of tools, screens and pack sands. With the cost benefit and technical challenges in mind, a new chemical system was developed to effectively consolidate loose sand, which has caused injectivity and productivity decline and costly clean out operations. The newly develop chemical system is based on resin backbone with a curing agent to harden under reservoir temperature. A permeability enhancing additive is incorporated in the system to achieve excellent and controllable regained permeability of the consolidated sand pack. This paper presents the new advancements in preventing wellbore sand production. The newly developed sand consolidation chemical was studied for their ability to consolidate loose sand and at the same time maintain good permeability. The new sand consolidation chemical system showed several key advantages over the current commercial products, including its easy mixing procedure and superior performance in consolidation strength and regained permeability. It was shown that the permeability enhancer incorporated in the new sand consolidation product is the key to maintain superior regained permeability. In addition, it was shown that the new product provides a controllable curing time up to several days, thereby avoiding any premature setting of the resin in the wellbore. Furthermore, the new system is also compatible with acids to eliminate any post-job production issues if the formation is acidized in the future.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.