Improving Erosion Wear Life of Completion Equipment in High Flow Rate Conditions by Numerical Design Optimization for Influx Equalization

Abstract

The durability of sand screen completions is essential to longer well life, especially for high rate wells with sand screen erosion concerns. An excessive fluid flow enters the conventional screens near the heel or high permeability/fracture zones, causing premature sand control loss. The high rate screens with a simulation-driven approach address this concern by achieving the annulus-to-tubing flow equalization and reducing the influx spike near the heel or high permeability/fracture zone. The study presents a comprehensive modeling approach including a single-well model workflow for initial production screening along the wellbore with different reservoir conditions, which provides input to the novel multiscale 3D-2D-3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling technique to design or validate high-rate completions for the specific operating conditions. The principle of operation is based on equalizing the production influx along the screen by achieving the distributed inflow control devices (ICD) effect on the basepipe. The modeling approach was used to compute maximum local velocities in the vicinity of the screen near the heel under 39,000 RB/D of ultra-light oil production in one case and 200 MMscf/D of gas production in another. The design methodology is validated through erosion and sand retention tests performed to verify the screens’ correct slot/gauge size. The high-rate completion case history consists of seven deepwater wells with chemical tracers. The novel design and the modeling methodology are validated by physical erosion tests and verified through field installations.