Long Horizontal Gravel Pack With the Lightest Gravel Ever Used

Trujillo, Hernando; Tengono, Jose Aldemar; Hernandez, Angel Enrique; Prada, Everardo Ortiz; Charry, William M.; Castaño, Roberto; Anaya, Luis Antonio; Portela, Jose Fernando; Castillo, Ruben D.; Lopez, M Garcia; Calderón, Carolina

doi:10.2118/138589-ms

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

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A comprehensive review of ultralow-weight proppant technology

Feng

Deng

et al. 2021

Pet. Sci.

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Proppant plays a critical role in the exploitation of oil and gas, especially in the development of nonconventional oil and gas resources. Proppants are small spheres that have adequate strength to withstand high closure stresses to keep cracks open; therefore, hydrocarbon flows smoothly into the wellbore. However, traditional proppants are prone to settling in hydraulic fracturing operations, which seriously affects the operation effect. To this end, ultralow-weight proppants have been extensively employed in the petroleum industry. One of the widespread forms of ultralow-weight proppant application in the oil and gas industry is related to light density. Ultralow-weight proppants will provide substantial flow paths with a considerably high propped surface area and remarkably reduce fine generation and scaling. This paper presents a comprehensive review of over 50 papers published in the past several decades on ultralow-weight proppants. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the current ultralow-weight proppant development status in raw materials, manufacturing process, performance characteristics, hydrophobic and lipophilic capabilities, and field application to promote the research of new ultralow-weight proppants. Lastly, this study analyzes the current challenges and emphasizes the development direction of fractured proppants.

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A comprehensive review of ultralow-weight proppant technology

Feng

Deng

et al. 2021

Pet. Sci.

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Optimized Pumping Design Brings Expressive Cost Reduction for Offshore Openhole Gravel Pack Operations

et al. 2012

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Sand control is a major issue for offshore unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs, where any workover or production interruption event is associated with high costs. Horizontal well openhole gravel packs proved to be a very reliable strategy to prevent sand production in the prolific offshore Brazil fields. Over 250 operations were successfully performed in different critical scenarios, such as ultra deepwater wells, long horizontals, in the presence of shale interlayers, etc. Pushed by the present fluctuations in oil production revenues and aware of the expressive costs related to gravel pumping operations, PETROBRAS started a broad R&D and field test strategy to reduce operational times and costs. This article details both aspects of the development, as follows: An unique flow loop test program developed as a technical cooperation agreement with HALLIBURTON, including real scale 8.5 in open hole and 12.25 in rat hole sections. Such tests allowed the validation of novel technology, pumping procedures and products including limit flow rates which avoid premature rat hole screen outs, low cost conventional and lightweight propants and high concentration slurry pumping.2. The learning curve of new pumping design strategies, and their associated cost reduction, in different offshore fields including Marlim Sul, Albacora Leste, Marlim Leste, Roncador, Jubarte and Golfinho fields. New strategies contemplate multiple alpha waves, multiple propants and high concentration slurry designs.

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An Industry First: Concept Selection, Material Testing, and Modelling Process for a Successful Managed Pressure Open Hole Gravel Pack Project

Lin

Tallin

Guan

et al. 2021

Day 2 Wed, October 13, 2021

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One of the major technical challenges to this project was placing horizontal open hole gravel packs (HzOHGP) within the narrow pore pressure to frac-gradient (PPFG) margin in the target reservoirs. This paper addresses the steps taken to overcome this challenge. To maximize the use of the narrow PPFG margin, the project combined a managed pressure drilling (MPD) system with low gravel placement pump rates made possible by an ultra-light-weight proppant (ULWP). Of the MPD systems available, the Controlled Mud Level (CML) system was selected over the Surface Back Pressure (SBP) system for several reasons. It enabled conventional gravel pack pumping operations and equipment and it accommodated the brine weight needed to inhibit the shales. A series of lab tests showed that the completion fluid density required to inhibit the reservoir shale reactivity was only possible using CML. An overall evaluation of CML showed that it was most suitable and offered the greatest flexibility for the gravel pack job design. The special ceramic ULWP had to be qualified and tested. The qualification testing ranged from standard API and compatibility tests to full scale flow loop testing. The flow loop tests were needed to measure the ULWP transport velocity for the target wellbore geometry. Understanding the transport velocity is critical for gravel pack design and job execution planning. Once MPD and ceramic ULWP were selected, the gravel pack placement operations were simulated to demonstrate that their features increased the likelihood of successfully gravel packing in the target reservoirs. Small PPFG margins decrease the probability of success of placing a HzOHGP. In the target formations, the pressure margin is insufficient to safely execute HzOHGP conventionally; instead, the project combined MPD and the low pump rates facilitated by using ULWP to control circulating pressures to stay inside the narrow margin and place the gravel packs. The integration of CML and ULWP into in a gravel pack operation to control circulating pressures has never been done. The concept and its successful field implementation are industry firsts.

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Long Horizontal Gravel Pack With the Lightest Gravel Ever Used

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

A comprehensive review of ultralow-weight proppant technology

A comprehensive review of ultralow-weight proppant technology

Optimized Pumping Design Brings Expressive Cost Reduction for Offshore Openhole Gravel Pack Operations

An Industry First: Concept Selection, Material Testing, and Modelling Process for a Successful Managed Pressure Open Hole Gravel Pack Project

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