Sand Production PE

Production of sand depends on three main

components
• The strength of the rock and other
geomechanical properties of the rock
• Regional stresses imposed on the perforation or
wellbore
• Local loads imposed on the perforation or
wellbore due to the presence of the hole, flow,
reduced pore pressures and the presence of
water
PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Sand Production PE

Strength of a sandstone is controlled by

• The amount and type of cementing
material holding the individual grains
together
• The frictional forces between grains
• Fluid pressure within the pores of the
rock
• Capillary pressure forces

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

1
 Sand Cementation PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Sand Production PE

• Rock compressive strength should be

a good indicator of sand production
potential
• Compressive strength of a rock is
primarily controlled by the
intergranular frictional forces

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

2
 Is Sand Control Be a
Problem ? PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Sand Production PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

3
 Sand Production PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Problems Associated
with Sand Production PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

4
 Sand Production PE

• The effects of sand production are

nearly always detrimental to the
short and/or long term productivity
of the well

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Sand Production PE

• Accumulation in Surface Equipment

• Accumulation Downhole
• Erosion of Downhole and Surface
Equipment
• Collapse of the Formation

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

5
 Sand Production PE

Factors that influence the tendency of

a well to produce sand
• Degree of consolidation
• Reduction in pore pressure throughout
the life of a well
• Production rate
• Reservoir fluid viscosity
• Increasing water production throughout
the life of a well
PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Triggering Factors on
Sand Production PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

6
 Triggering Factors on
Sand Production PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Predicting Sand
Production PE

• Determine the hardness of the

formation rock
• Rock’s compressive strength has the
same units as the pressure drawdown
• The rock fails and begins to produce
sand when the drawdown pressure is
1.7 times the compressive strength

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

7
 Predicting Sand
Production PE

• The sonic log can be used as a way of

addressing the sand production potential
of wells
• The porosity is related to the sonic travel
time
• Short travel times are indicative of low
porosity and hard, dense rock; while long
travel times are associated with softer,
lower density, higher porosity rock
PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Predicting Sand
Production PE

• The porosity of a formation can be

used as a guideline for the need for
sand control
• If the formation porosity is higher
than 30 percent, the probability of a
requirement for sand control is
higher

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

8
 Predicting Sand
Production PE

• The initiation of multiphase fluid

flow, primarily water and oil, can also
cause sand production
• The reasons for the increased sand
production is caused by two primary
phenomena: the movement of water-
wet fines and relative permeability
effects
PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Rock Strength
Estimation PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

9
 Terminal Velocity of
Sand Particles PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Allowable Sand
Production Levels PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

10
 Monitoring of Sand
Production PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Sand Control
Techniques PE

• Maintenance and workover

• Rate exclusion
• Selective completion practices
• Plastic consolidation
• High energy resin placement
• Resin coated gravel
• Slotted liner or screens without gravel packing
• Slotted liner or screens with gravel packing

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

11
 Sand Control Variations
(Cased Holes) PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Sand Control
Techniques PE

• Restricting the well’s flow rate to a

level which will reduce the sand
production

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

12
 Sand Control
Techniques PE

• Plastic consolidation involves the injection of

plastic resins, which are attracted to the
formation sand grains

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Sand Control
Techniques PE

• Slotted liners or screens are used

without gravel packing to control the
formation sand

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

13
 Sand Control
Techniques PE

Gravel Packing

• Gravel packing relies on the bridging

of formation sand against larger sand
with the larger sand positively
retained by a slotted liner or screen

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Wire-Wrapped Screen PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

14
 Pre-Packed Screen PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Horizontal Well
Completion PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

15
 Gravel Packing PE

Formation sand size determination

• Sieve analysis
• Electronic particle counter

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Gravel Packing PE

• Sand Selection

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

16
 Gravel Packing PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Gravel Packing PE

• Pack sand selection D50 p D50 f

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

17
 Gravel Packing PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Gravel Packing PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

18
 Internal Gravel
Packing PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

External Gravel
Packing PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

19
 Gravel Packing PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Gravel Packing
Placement PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

20
 Screen Selection PE

• The screen is not the primary source of

sand stoppage in a gravel-pack completion
• Instead, the gravel-pack sand is primarily
responsible for stopping the formation
sand from moving toward the wellbore
• Therefore, the screen must be 100%
effective in retaining the gravel-pack
sand in place

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Screen Selection PE

• For proper gravel-pack installation

and operation, an annular clearance
of ¾ in. to 1 in. between the OD of
the screen and the ID of the casing
is necessary

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

21
 Liner and Screen
Comparison PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Gravel-Pack Job
Calculations PE

• Total Sand Required

Wst  Vst 

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

22
 Carrier-Fluid Volume PE

• Following table shows the carrier-fluid

requirements and slurry volumes for multiples
and partial increments of 10 ft3 of sand

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Sand Control
Performances PE

PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

23
 Effect of Gravel Packs PE

• Skin due to gravel pack

k
h Lp
k
sG  96 G 2
dp n
k is the pay zone permeability (md), kG is the gravel
permeability (md), h is the pay thickness (ft), n is the
number of perforations, and Lp is the depth of
perforations (in)
PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

Example PE

• Formation permeability = 578 md

• Gravel permeability = 120,000 md
• Diameter of perforations = 0.5 in
• Number of perforations = 8 /ft
• Pay zone thickness = 23 ft
• Length of perforations = 6 in
• Skin due to gravel ?
PE4063/6463, Well Completion – Dr. Evren OZBAYOGLU Chapter 9

24