American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015 - 33

TECHCONNECTIONS
Various Techniques
Help Offshore Operators
With Sand Control
Independent oil producers account for 81 percent of offshore
leases and 30 percent of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. For
them, technological advancements and best practices designed to
handle common issues are key to continued success.
One issue many operators face during drilling and completion
is sand control. The SPE Frac Packing Handbook, by Ali Ghalambor, Syed A. Ali and W. David Norman, describes how producing sand with gas and oil can create a number of potentially
dangerous and costly problems. It is possible for sand to partially
or even completely fill the wellbore, thus limiting and even sometimes shutting off production completely. For many years, selecting
and implementing the appropriate sand control technique has been
critical for operators working in these formations.
The Frac Packing Handbook authors reference multiple
techniques that have been employed with varying degrees of success. Among techniques used to control sand in the wellbore has
been production rate control. Like the name implies, keeping the
rate of production below the critical sand-producing rate allows
operators to control sand economically.
Additionally, mechanical sand control has been evolving for
many years, and essentially involves using a screen prepacked with
gravel or other porous media sized appropriately to prevent formation sand from entering the wellbore while allowing hydrocarbons to move through.
A gravel pack completion is identified as one of the more reliable sand control techniques, however, problems with wellbore
damage and skin effect often limit production potential.
The frac-pack completion technique combines a fracture treatment with a gravel pack. The fracture provides a more productive path to the wellbore, getting past near-wellbore damage while
changing the flow path into the well and reducing the chance of
plugging perforations or the gravel pack. During this process, maximizing the amount of high-permeability sand placed into each
perforation reduces the amount of formation sand able to make
it into the wellbore.
These techniques have been used when completing wells for
many years. However, the need to control sand can occur during
the drilling phase as well. There have been research and innovations
designed to address sand control during drilling in the offshore
environment.
In an SPE publication titled, Drilling with Liner Technology
Enables Successful Sidetrack through Depleted Sands in Shallow
Water Gulf of Mexico (SPE/IADC-173046), the authors illustrate
how many operators in the Gulf have to drill through depleted
zones to hit their desired targets. This can cause problems, since
heavy mud must be used to maintain overbalance. This risks differential sticking and lost circulation in the depleted zone.
"Drilling with liner" (DwL) technology was tested to address
this issue. After producing a complete plan and workflow, the operator and service company decided to use the DwL method to
drill through two depleted zones bound by overpressured shale
zones. The team recorded no observable losses over the entire interval, and when the frac-pack completion was conducted, the team

"Understanding sand control

fundamentals and innovations will

"

greatly improve an operator's success.

observed significantly lower wellbore damage than with previous wells in the area.
Key results included completing the well on time and under
budget, fluid invasion was minimal because of the mechanical
interaction of the liner with the wellbore and mud cake, and tripping across depleted zones was minimal. Overall, it appears DwL
technology is a viable alternative when drilling into depleted zones.
In Chemical Sand Consolidation-Developing a Strategies Capability across a Wide Portfolio (SPE/IADC-173092-MS), the
authors discuss how mechanical sand control methods typically
are used to optimize production from weak formations. While this
is common, the process sometimes doesn't work effectively. While
there can be a significant economic return on these wells, oftentimes controlling sand is too complex and costly. Recompletion represents one possible solution, but again many times is not
economical.
The authors suggest chemical consolidation of the formation
is one alternative to mechanical sand control. The process
works by pumping specifically designed chemicals to the targeted
zone that will strengthen the formation and stop sanding. This
process is used on production intervals generally less than 100
meters long.
In this trial, researchers looked at proppant flowback remediation, production intervals less than 100 meters, and production intervals greater than 100 meters. They observed near 100
percent success rates in remediating proppant flowback, and the
longer intervals were treated successfully over time. One key finding was a precise understanding that the location of the sand zone
was key to the success of the operation, and that using computer-simulated models aided in this process. Once identified, placing the chemical was critical to the effectiveness of the process.
For many operators, sand control will remain a key issue in
drilling, completing and producing wells. A good understanding
of sand control fundamentals as well as innovations in process
and technology will greatly improve an operator's success in these
situations.
Ì

JEREMY VISCOMI is director

of technology transfer for the
University of Kansas Tertiary
Oil Recovery Program and is
Mid-Continent regional director for PTTC. He has more
than a decade of experience in
developing and organizing
technical conferences and special events.
APRIL 2015 33



American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015

Contents
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