Experimental Study of Sand Production Processes Near an Orifice

Yim, Kang Sub; Dusseault, Maurice B.; Zhang, L.

doi:10.2118/28068-ms

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Larger openings require larger grains to form stable arches. The selection of opening diameters is used as a sand-production-control design strategy (Penberthy and Shaughnessy 2002;Yim et al 1994).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sand on Demand: A Laboratory Investigation on Improving Productivity in Horizontal Wells Under Heavy-Oil Primary Production

Meza-Diaz

Sawatzky

Kuru

et al. 2011

SPE Production &Amp; Operations

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Summary The cold-production recovery process, also known as cold heavy-oil production with sand (CHOPS), is a method for enhancing primary heavy-oil production by aggressively producing sand (massively and persistently). It is a successful commercial recovery process in western Canada using vertical (or slanted or deviated) wells. Applications of cold-production technology with aggressive sand production in horizontal wells, however, have not met with commercial success. This paper presents the results of experiments performed to assess the feasibility of applying cold heavy-oil production with horizontal wells using less-aggressive (i.e., controlled) sand-production strategies. Specifically, the effects of slot size, confining stress, fluid velocity, and sand-grain sorting on sand production have been investigated. Preliminary results indicate that slot-size selection is critical for establishing "sand on demand." For proper slot-size selection, it is essential to know the grain-size distribution of the sand—in particular, attributes such as the size of the coarsest fraction of the sand and the sorting (uniformity coefficient) of the sand. For example, it was observed in the sand-production experiments that the critical pressure gradient for maintaining continuous sand production is much lower for well-sorted sands (narrow size distribution) than for poorly sorted sands (wide size distribution). Ultimately, poorly sorted sands may require criteria different from those for well-sorted sands for slot-size selection. Flow rates are also crucial for managing sand production because a critical pressure gradient is required for initiating sand production and maintaining continuous sand production. The critical pressure gradient decreases as the slot width or confining pressure increases. Large permeability increases were observed in the sand-production region. Persistent sand production led to the growth of a channel and/or the presence of a dilated zone that had an elliptic shape.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sand on Demand: A Laboratory Investigation on Improving Productivity in Horizontal Wells Under Heavy-Oil Primary Production

Meza-Diaz

Sawatzky

Kuru

et al. 2011

SPE Production &Amp; Operations

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“…The stress in the arches/bridges is better transmitted for larger sand grains. It has been reported previously that besides the flow rate, the arch stability is strongly dependent on the granulometry of the porous material and the size of the perforation 11,12,15 . Larger perforations required larger grains to form stable arches.…”

Section: Effect Of Morphology and Size Distributionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For round sand, arching was not observed either for a loose or dense pack at low loads. Yim et al 11 observed that in addition to the flow rate, the arch stability is strongly dependent on the granulometry of the sand and on the size of the perforation. Larger perforations required larger grains to form stable arches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visualization Of Sand Structures Surrounding A Horizontal Well Slot During Cold Production

Meza¹,

Tremblay²,

Doan³

2002

Proceedings of SPE International Thermal Operations and Heavy Oil Symposium and International Horizontal Well Technology Confer

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TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractA better understanding of the flow of sand and oil into slotted horizontal well liners is important for both thermal and non-thermal heavy oil production.The objective of this study was to investigate the structures that might form in, and around a slot when sand production stops and to relate the development of these structures to the porosity and therefore, permeability increases within the sand pack. The parameters studied were: slot size, sand morphology and grain size distribution. Sand production experiments were carried out in a physical model using slotted plates of different sizes. Thin section analysis and X-ray computed tomography (CT) techniques were used to observe sand packs immobilized with epoxy resin after sand production took place.The results suggest that sand production through the slots can be controlled, depending more on grain sorting than on the morphology of the grains or its average diameter. For a given sand type, sand production behaviour was strongly influenced by the arrangements of the sand grains observed in the vicinity of the slot, including the formation of sand bridges, arches, or plugs. X-ray CT images showed that non-uniform porosity increases occurred in the pack, specifically in the area near the slot, when sand production took place. The porosity increases were less significant away from the slot. The magnitude of this increase was observed to depend on the quantity of sand produced and on the morphology of the sand. Good agreement was found in terms of porosity change between the thin-section observations and the CT scanned images taken of the core before thin-section preparation.

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“…al 48 found that the grain size distribution and angularity were important in forming stable arches in unstressed sand. However, their transparent cell provided no ability to apply closure stress to the proppant.…”

Section: Potential To Flowbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erosion by Proppant: A Comparison of the Erosivity of Sand and Ceramic Proppants During Slurry Injection and Flowback of Proppant

Vincent

Miller

Milton-Tayler³

et al. 2004

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractDuring fracture stimulation treatments, particle-laden slurries may damage pumping equipment and have been shown to erode perforation tunnels. During subsequent flowback operations, minor to severe erosion of surface equipment may be observed if formation sand and/or proppants are produced. This paper compares the erosivity of sand-based and ceramic proppants. This paper will examine the erosion mechanisms and demonstrate that theoretical and laboratory measurements are in agreement that low density ceramic proppants, due to the superior roundness and sphericity, are less erosive than more angular sand products.Real-world results from the oilfield, the waterjet industry, pump and valve manufacturers, and the abrasive industry will be reviewed to substantiate the conclusion that proppant angularity is a dominant parameter that increases erosion in typical pumping and flowback conditions. Impingement tests designed to simulate flowback conditions demonstrate that s ubstituting a spherical lightweight ceramic may reduce wellhead or other impingement surface erosion by up to 95% compared to an angular sand. The highest quality frac sand was nine times more erosive than lightweight ceramic (LWC) in impingement studies. Additional studies utilizing intentionally crushed proppant to increase angularity demonstrate that proppant shape is a dominant factor which controls erosion. Surprisingly, flowback testing has shown that resin coatings applied to proppant have the potential to increase erosion by 15-fold. The authors believe this is partially due to a focusing effect attributed to electrostatic charge. Test alterations with multiphase flow have reduced, but not eliminated, this effect.Slurry abrasion testing has shown that the highest quality frac sands are over 250% as abrasive as LWC. Although frac sands are often specified to withstand several thousand pounds of closure stress, significant sand degradation was observed after exposure to a reciprocating five pound weight. Erosivity and abrasivity of all proppant types were shown to increase with proppant damage. Erosion within chokes was found to be three times higher with sand than with lightweight ceramic.Despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, a number of recent laboratory studies have demonstrated that spherical proppants are less likely to flow back from the fracture as compared to more angular products. All data indicate that equipment erosion occurring during the stimulation treatment and subsequent flowback can be substantially reduced through the use of spherical lightweight ceramic proppants.

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Experimental Study of Sand Production Processes Near an Orifice

Cited by 12 publications

References 3 publications

Sand on Demand: A Laboratory Investigation on Improving Productivity in Horizontal Wells Under Heavy-Oil Primary Production

Sand on Demand: A Laboratory Investigation on Improving Productivity in Horizontal Wells Under Heavy-Oil Primary Production

Visualization Of Sand Structures Surrounding A Horizontal Well Slot During Cold Production

Erosion by Proppant: A Comparison of the Erosivity of Sand and Ceramic Proppants During Slurry Injection and Flowback of Proppant

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