Sand Control

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Hydrocarbon Reservoir
To be formed, a deposit of hydrocarbon requires three types of
rock:

Source rock (black shale)

Reservoir rock (sandstone limestone)

Barrier (shale salt)

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Sandstone Reservoir
mineral grain
Quartz, SiO2

natural cementing
CaCO3

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Sandstone Reservoir Rocks

Dune Sandstone

Shoreline Sandstone

River Sandstone

Delta Sandstone

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Dune Sandstone

Wind

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Shoreline Sandstone
Beaches are long, narrow deposits of well-sorted sand.

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River Sandstone

Point Bars

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Delta Reservoir
Delta is a mass of sediments deposited by a river
communicating into a body of water like a lake or ocean

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Geological Time
Era

Period

Epoch

Age

Quaternary

Holocene
Pleistocene
Pliocene
Miocene
Eocene
Paleocene

Paleozoic

10,000
2 Million
5.3 Million
38 Million
55 Million
65 Million
140 Million
200 Million
250 Million
570 Million

Precambrian

4.5 Billion

Cenozoic

Tertiary

Mesozoic

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Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic

Rock Hardness

Term

BHN

Remarks

Unconsolidated < 2
No cementing material
Partially
2-5
Crushed with fingers
Friable
5 - 10
Crushed when rubbed
Consolidate
10 - 30
Crushed with forceps
Hard
> 30
Can not be broken with

Medium Hard
30 - 50
forceps

Hard
Very Hard

50 - 125
> 125
(BNH - Brinell Hardness Number)

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10

Strength Ranges

Zero strength
Dry sand

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Strength from
capillary forces
Damp sand

Very, very weak

Very weak
Weakly-cemented
high F

Weak
Stronger cement
lower F

11

Factors for Sand Production

Overburden, Friction, Differential Stresses

Cementing Material, Degree of Consolidation

Fluid Viscosity, Production Velocity, Drag Forces

Capillary Forces, Water Production

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Sand Production

Once the destabilizing forces overcome the formation

strength, the rock will fail.

Sand production will follow if sand can be transported.

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Causes of Sand Production (I)

Time Dependence
decreasing reservoir pressure increases the effective stress on
the grains (overburden is constant)

Fluid Flow
fluid velocity and viscosity contributes to the pressure drop
near the wellbore (drag force)
production induces stress on the formation sand
induced stress > formation stress sand production

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14

Causes of Sand Production (II)

Geological Factors
tertiary age reservoirs, usually shallow depths
unconsolidated

Impairment on Natural Consolidation

high compressive strength
internal pore pressure supports the overburden

' = - P
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Causes of Sand Production (III)

Mutiphase Flow

Water production may dissolve natural cementing materials

weakening the intergranular bonds;

Water production may mobilize fines resulting in plugging of

the pore structure.

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Prediction of Sand Production

Experience
Analogy
Special Well Test
Core Inspection and Testing
- X-ray, SEM
- Uniaxial and Triaxial Compressive Strength
Measurements
Log Interpretation (IMPACT*)
Correlations
onset of sand production 0.7 x compressive strength

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17

Sand and Fines

Fines solids with 44 microns

Fines are most probably produced in every well.

Fines are not controlled. They can be dissolved.

Sand can not be dissolved. Needs to be controlled.

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Reasons for Sand Control

Sand bridges

Sand erosion

Casing / Liner failure

Sand disposal

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Methods for Sand Control

Screnless

With Screen

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Screenless Methods for Sand Control

In-situ consolidation

Use of resins to consolidate formations.

Resin-Coated Gravel

Injection of pre-coated gravel.

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Methods for Sand Control using Screen

Gravel Pack

Natural Sand Pack (NSP)

Frac & Pack (Frac-n-Pack, Frac-Pack, StimPAC*)

* - mark of Schlumberger

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Criteria for Sand Control Methods

SPE 39437, Tiffin at al Criteria

D10/D95<10, D40/D90<3, sub 325 mesh <2%,
D10/D95<10, D40/D90<5, sub 325 mesh <5%,
Screen
D10/D95<20, D40/D90<5, sub 325 mesh <5%,
D10/D95<20, D40/D90<5, sub 325 mesh <10%,
GP
D10/D95>20, D40/D90>5, sub 325 mesh >10%,
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Screen
Premium
Gravel Pack
Screen Large
GP Horizontal
23

Formation with high % of fines

Hungo-2 Cummulative Grain Size

100.0
90.0
80.0

60.0
50.0
40.0

Cumlative (%)

70.0

30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
10000

1000

100
Grain size ( m)

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44 m

10

24

Independent Product Development

MultiLaterals

Flow
Control
Completion
Accessories
Sand Face
Completions

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Gauging,
Data Mgmt.

25

Advanced Completions Group

MultiLaterals

Flow
Control
Completion
Accessories
Sand Face
Completions

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Gauging,
Reservoir Mgmt.

26

Integrated Systems Approach

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Multi Lateral

Intelligent Completions

Instrumentation

Completion Accessories

Sand Control

27

Gravel Pack Design

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First Selections

1st: select fluid system

least damaging, economical, efficient

2nd: select gravel and screen or slotted liner

size and type

3rd: NODAL analysis:

evaluate effect on well productivity

4th: Re-select fluids and gravel

if necessary

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29

Gravel Pack Preparation

Always

In OH, clean mud cake prior running screen

In CH, ensure that all perforations are open and clean

Clean tubing prior to any pumping

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Internal gravel pack

Cased Hole Considerations
Reliable drilling and
completion
methodologies
Requires efficient
perforation system

Isolate production from

undesirable zones

Poor perforation pack

may lead to low
productivity

Easier workover
compared to EGP

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External gravel pack

Open Hole Considerations
Can be Underreamed,
increasing wellbore area

No damage due to poor

perforation pack efficiency

Hole stability is a concern

while drilling and completion

Water production control

may become impractical

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Circulation system - IGP

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Fluid may leak to the formation,

may be circulate back to the
surface or both.

When pumping slurry, gravel

will be placed inside perforation
tunnels and annular casingscreen.

33

Circulation system - EGP

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Fluid may leak to the formation,

may be circulate back to the
surface or both.

When pumping slurry, gravel

will be placed in the annular
formation-screen.

Accessories : Lower and Upper

Telltale.

34

Squeeze system - IGP

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Fluid may leak only to the

formation.

Fluid may travel through inside

the screen.

When pumping slurry, gravel

will be placed inside perforation
tunnels and annular casingscreen.

35

Sand volume behind casing

New wells (never produced sand)

0.25 ft3 / ft

Old wells (already produced sand)

0.50 ft3 / ft

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Formation Analysis

Lithology, definition of fluids

Granulometry, selection of gravel size

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Sampling

per layer
critical for gravel size determination

full core samples are best

bail samples are not representative because of loss of
high and low ends of particle distribution

sidewall cores are acceptable

frequent sampling

heterogeneous formation - 1 ft
uniform formations - 5, 10, 20 ft spacing

shale-shaker
representative, if collection is accurate

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% cumulative

Sample collection

size

size (log)

bail sample (high end)

core sample
bail sample (low end)

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Fluids Compatibility

potential damage by fines migration (clays)

formation cores are often unavailable

inference from lab studies on similar formations

requires comprehensive clays analysis of the samples

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Clay Chemistry

Montmorillonite
swelling clays
sensitive to fluids with low NaCl content

Kaolinite, illite and chlorite

dispersed by fluid movement
NaCl increases the sensitivity of the clays
CaCl2 is normally used instead of NaCl

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Clays

In Gravel Packing, potential clay problemsmerits serious

consideration when clay content equals or exceeds 5%.

As a prevention, a clay stabilizer should be add to the carrier

fluid.

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Acid clean-up prior to gravel pack

HCl dissolves calcium scale and improves injectivity

OCA - controls swelling and movement of clays and fines

(dissolves most and stabilizes the remain)

Maximum operational flexibility

Increased leak-off rate during GP

Do not overflow the well after treatment

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43

Tubing clean-up prior gravel pack

organic solvents (pipe dope)

acid (rust and scale)

1,000 gal of DAD* or CLEAN SWEEP*

acid must be reversed to surface

scrubber slurries: 6 to 10 lbm/gal sand in viscosified brine

ahead acid clean-up.

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Fluid / Formation compatibility

non damaging

aqueous fluids: 2-3% KCl or NH4Cl + clay stabilizer

cleanliness: all fluids should be filtered

gels: viscous enough for placement, thin to move to

wellbore (breakers)

HEC, Xanthan, PERMPAC*

new fluids: improved leak-off, reduced permeability damage

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Carrier fluid rheology (I)

> 50 cP @ 170 sec-1 inhibits leakoff

SandCADE* - selection of correct fluid viscosity

(511 sec-1 to simulate leakoff)

Rule-of-thumb: maximum 50 cP @ 170 sec-1, downhole

conditions

Comparison of viscosities only at same shear rate and

temperature

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Carrier fluid rheology (II)

trend in industry: low concentration in low viscosity

for high concentration: for over 10 lbm/gal US 20/40,

minimum of 65 lbm HEC per 1000 gal brine

in CT, reduce concentration to < 10 lbm/gal

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Breakers
a gel is broken when viscosity is 10% of original viscosity

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Filtration

All fluids must be filtered

preferably at well site; avoid contamination in tanks and
transports

Brines must be filtered at 2

Gels must be filtered at 10

15/64 in to 3/8 in choke at 500 psi
estimate 10% reduction in viscosity

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Damage caused by solids

500

Permeability (md)

A (2.5 ppm)

(A) Bay Water Filtered

Through 2um Cotton Filer

100
(B) Bay Water
Through 5um Cotton Filter

B (26 ppm)

(C) Produced Water Untreated

50

C (94 ppm)
(D) Bay Water Untreated

D (436 ppm)
10

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

Volume Injected (gal/perf)

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Sizing the gravel

size of gravel is selected based in size of formation grains

the sizing criterion is selected based on field experience

Saucier criterion is the most used one

CRITERION

formation
gravel
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Sizing Criteria

Saucier Method: median grain for gravel is 5 or 6 times

median grain size for sand formation
(D50)g = 5 or 6 x (D50)f

Coberly Method: uniform sands. Gravel too large to prevent

fines.

Stein Method: uniform sand.

Schwartz Method: reduces probability of fines

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Gravel Pack
Sand - Gravel - Screen

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Screen, blank pipe & wash pipe

Screen length: 5 ft above and 5 ft below perforations
minimum gap
Screen OD: gap of 1-in per side
screen
1-in
Wash pipe OD: very close to screen ID
Blank pipe OD: slightly less than screen
Blank pipe ID: same as screen

wash-pipe

blank pipe

screen

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Liners or Screens ?

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Slotted Liners

Wire Wrapped
Screens

low cost
robust

enhanced control
large flow area
un-restricted flow

small fluid area

pressure loss across
slots
slots erosion
primary control only

cost can be high

welding might corrode

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Gravel pack limitations

difficult diversion of fluids

difficult transport of gravel in high angles

reduced pipe strength (with screens)

no isolation of intervals (unless zone isolation is used)

difficult to locate damage screens

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How many holes ?

in Cased Hole: same flow area as casing perfs.

in Open Hole: minimum 4 holes of 1/2-in

some manufactures: 100 to 300 holes per ft.

diameter: 3/8-in to 1/2-in.

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Wire spacing

Wire is wedge shaped to prevent bridging and plugging of

slots by small grains

Screen gauge and slot opening should be small enough to

prevent the passage of the gravel

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Wire spacing
1/2 to 2/3 of the smallest gravel grain.
Tables.
Gage unit in thousands of inch.
Tolerance +/- 2 gauges.
Common gauge sizes

Keystone
Profile

20/40 gravel 12 gauge

40/60 gravel

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8 gauge

59

Wire wrap
Parallel Configuration

Keystone Configuration

Gauge: The gap between the wraps in

the screen.
Ribs: The vertical rods that support the
wire

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Gravel and screen selection

Sauciers Method

Dg50 = 5 to 6 times Df50

Screen Opening 1/2-2/3

smallest gravel size

SPE 39437, Tiffin at al

Percentage of fines taken in
consideration

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SPE 39437, Tiffin at al Criteria

D10/D95<10, D40/D90<3, sub 325 mesh <2%,

D10/D95<10, D40/D90<5, sub 325 mesh <5%,
D10/D95<20, D40/D90<5, sub 325 mesh <5%,
D10/D95<20, D40/D90<5, sub 325 mesh <10%,
D10/D95>20, D40/D90>5, sub 325 mesh >10%,

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Screen
Premium Screen
Gravel Pack
Screen Large G P
GP Horizontal

62

Formation with high % of fines

Hungo-2 Cummulative Grain Size
100.0
90.0
80.0

60.0
50.0
40.0

Cumlative (%)

70.0

30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
10000

1000

100
Grain size ( m)

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44 m

10

63

API RP58 (GP sand testing)

Crush Resistance

Sizing

96 % in the sieve range

Less 2 % through smallest sieve

Roundness and Sphericity

Maximum % of fines under

2,000 psi :

8/16 = 8%

12/20 = 4 %

Smaller = 2 %

Both superior to 0.6 in the

Krumbein Chart
Acid Solubility

Not exceed 1% in (HCl-HF)

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64

The ideal gravel pack

Complete packing with a properly sized highpermeability gravel.
Clear interface between the formation sand and
gravel.
No invasion of the matrix with damaging
material.
No reduced-permeability section between the
formation sand and the gravel pack.
No residuals from the carrier fluid and/or fluidloss pills.
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Poor gravel pack placement

Perforation
Potential for
production loss
Open Hole
Potential for
production loss and/or screen
failure (erosion)

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Poor interface Gravel / Sand

Reduced pack permeability
Potential for production
loss

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Matrix damage
Invasion of the matrix by
treatment/completion fluids
Potential for production
loss

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Damage zone

Perforation Crushed Zone

Potential for
production loss
Open Hole Filter Cake
Potential for
production loss

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Gravel pack damage

Residuals from the treatment fluid
Potential for production
loss

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Underbalance perforating

If the stress caused by differential pressure and drag exceeds the rock
failure, a progressive moving / erosion will occur in the permeability
damaged region, cleaning perforation tunnel walls.

The rock failure removes the permeability damaged zone. This is may
eliminate skin.

The process may leave substantial sand debris in the perforation

tunnel (secondary damage). This may be compromise production and
gravel placement.

Post shot flow does not produce any substantial additional cleanup of
primary damage. However the flow can help secondary damage.

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Ideal non-impared gravel pack perforation

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Realistic impared gravel pack perforation

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Cased hole impairment

4000

A
1

Pressure, psig

3000

2
2000

1000

0
0

10000
Not Used

Not Used
Not Used

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Case 2 (B)
Case 3 (C)
Case 4 (D)
Not Used
Not Used

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20000

30000

Oil Rate, Bbl/D

Inflow
Gravel Pack Perm, md

40000

50000

Inflow
(1) 120000.0000
(2) 1000.0000
(3) 500.0000
(4) 50.0000

74

Open hole impairment

4000

A
1
2
3
4

Pressure, psig

3000

2000

1000

0
0

10000
Not Used

Not Used
Not Used
Not Used

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Case 2 (B)
Case 3 (C)
Case 4 (D)
Not Used
Not Used

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20000

30000

Oil Rate, Bbl/D

Inflow
Gravel Pack Perm, md

40000

50000

Inflow
(1) 120000.0000
(2) 1000.0000
(3) 500.0000
(4) 50.0000

75

Gravel pack in open holes

Placement

Water pack

AllPAC* with viscous fluid

Cake removal

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76

Water packing in horizontal wells

Design Highlights

Reason for Potential Failure

Pump Rate 3 to 8 bpm

Excessive Fluid Loss.

Gravel Conc. = 0.5 to 1.0 lb/gal

Loss of filter cake

Gravel deposited in two waves

By passing of filter cake

(exceeding frac pressure).

Poor Gravel Concentration

Control.

Poor Injection Rate (velocity)

Control.

Pump failure cause rate to drop

below critical value.

First wave is know as the alpha

wave and progresses from heel
to toe.
Second wave is known as the
beta wave and progresses from
toe to heel.

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77

Packing mechanisms

Leakoff occurs at path of least

resistance

High Perm

Shales pack via leakoff through

the screen

Sandstone

Non perforated interval packs

through the screen

Shale

Low Perm

Nozzles spacing every 6 feet

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Sandstone

78

Alternate path technology

AllPAC - 1990

AllFRAC - 1997

Horizontal - 1997

Multizone - 1999

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79

Alternate path technology

Complete Pack
Lowers Risk of Sand
Control Failure
Wire Wrap Screens

Increased Production
Increased perforation
packing
Increased the height in
KH which results in higher
productivity

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80

AllPAC*
Void

Void

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Connections
Shunt tube exit nozzles
on 2 out of 4 tubes.

Manifold AllPAC

One or more independent main shunts

without nozzles to deliver slurry.

Only main shunt connects from

joint to joint.

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Eccentric

Flow from all tubes mix at each

connection, giving no redundancy.

Each system remains independent of the

other, giving complete redundancy.

One or more packing shunts feed off

of each main shunt.

82

First stages of AllFRAC

Stage 1 Frac Pad with

No Slurry

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Stage 2 Tip Screen

Out and Start of Pack
Back
83

Second stages of AllFRAC

Stage 3 Bridge Forms

at Top of Screen

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Stage 4 Shunt Tubes Kickin

And Pack Back Continues

84

Complete pack off

Stage 5 Shunt Tubes

Continue Pack Back

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Stage 6 Complete
Frac Pack

85

MOBIL AllPAC results

All Annulus Packs Complete (as Per Mobil)

No Failures from ALLPAK Completed Wells

Gravel Placed Outside of the Perforations Increased from

0.15 to 0.42 ft3/ft

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86

Multi-zone treatment
5

10

15

12880
12900

100

1000

12840

SP
12860

10

ILD
12860

12880

12900

10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0

16
14

6
4

Conc.

12980
13000

20

30

12980

40

50

60

8000

190

7500

180

7000

170

6500
160
6000

Temp. Lower Gauge

150

5500

BHP Upper and Lower

13000

5000

13020

10

Time (minutes)

12940

12960

140

Temp. Upper Gauge

4500

Temperature (Deg F)

12960

12920

Pressure (psi)

12940

10

Rate

12920

12

Surface Pressure

Rate or Conc. (bpm or ppa)

12840

20

Pressure (psi)

130

13020

10

20

30

40

50

60

Time (minutes)

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87

Multi-zone treatment

Benefits

Interval between zones 6 feet

Single trip in hole
Single pump stage
Simple

Completions
Gravel Pack-Frac / Pack

Copyright 2007,

15 jobs to date for PRISA

1 job with 3 zones (2 x MZ)

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88

Two zones (lower wet)

50

100

0.1

1 50

10

100

6000

30

1 0380

10380

5000

25

1 0400

10400

4000

20

1 0420

10420

3000

15

2000

10

1000

1 0440

10440

1 0460

10460

1 0480

10480

1 0500

10500
10520

1 0520

Wet Sand 0

20

40

60

Time (min)

10540

1 0540

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Well Pressure (psi)

10360

Rate (bpm) Conc (ppa)

1 0360

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89

Multi-zones results

Complete Packs of All Zones

Significant Completion Cost

Savings

Elimination of Kill Pills

Better Production

0.7 in.
27 ft

140 lbs/ft

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90