MECHANISMS OF SAND PRODUCTION

GRA : Jong-Won Choi, PI : Leonid Germanovich, Co-PIs : Peter Dijk, Carlos Santamarina
Geosystems Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, U.S.A.

Objectives
3 The long-term goal of this work is to understand the 3 Plugging of petroleum wells which leads to the shutoff of
mechanisms of sand production from hydrocarbon reservoir
3 Identifying macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of
sand production
3 Finding major factors and modes of sand production
Problems caused by sand production 3 Fluid enters through holes located at the perimeter of the Critical Fluid Velocity
chamber filled with sand
3 Produced fluid-sand mixture is collected in a container to Minimum fluid velocity to induce separation of sand
production to clean out the sand particles particles from the uncemented sand formation :
record the production rate
3 Additional cost to dispose produced sand contaminated by
Fluid flow
petroleum Steel bars
3 Damage to equipment, (e.g., valves, screens, pipes, etc.)
Outflow of fluid and sand mixture

3 Estimating critical fluid velocity and hydraulic pressure Plexiglas plate

Container
3 Detecting the propagation of the yielding front sand specimen Inflow of fluid
wellbore
3 Finding characteristics of production rates of fluid and fluid
Steel plate
fluid [Charlez, 1997]
Hydraulic pressure to
-sand mixture produced sand
rubber bladder

3 Normal intergranular force : Fn =

R 2
What is sand production?
3 Hydrodynamic force : 2 3
Damaged valve and screen [Economides, 1998] Fh = 2v f R R +3
3 Sand production is the production of sand particles with 3 k
oil or gas from sandstone reservoir during hydrocarbon
Field Observations 3 Condition for separation : Fh Fn tan
recovery
3 Hydraulic pressure in the wellbore is lower than that in 3 Critical fluid velocity: R tan
3 Eastern Alberta and Western Saskatchean (Canada) vcrit =
the reservoir to produce the hydrocarbon - heavy oil from cohesionless sandstone reservoir 2R 2
3 Pressure difference between the wellbore and reservoir - porosity 29-32%, thickness of layer 3-30m
2 + 3
- rate of oil production 3k
causes fluid flow into the wellbore and induces seepage Experimental setup (open chamber is shown)
force on sand particles without sand production : <1.5 m3/day Theoretical Modeling
3 In addition, fluid recovery changes the stress field that with sand production (1-3% sand) : 10-15 m3/day
Experimental Results 3 Investigate
may lead to formation damage - Sand production rate
3 Hunter gas field (North Sea)
3 As a result, sand particles are removed from the formation - Fluid flow rate
and produced together with fluid - Stress distribution around wellbore
- Radius of yield zone
Shale erosion boundary

Factors of Sand Production borehole

deflection due to
the overburden
3 Fluid flow elastic region yielded material flowing
suspension
- hydraulic pressure history in wellbore during production
Propagation of erosion front
of hydrocarbon
(marked with different colors)
- viscosity of fluid yield boundary Shale wedge at angle of
repose
(a) Cumulative sand production (b) Well pressure history
3 Production rate [Charlez, 1997] outlet hole

- related to the velocity of fluid flow and drag force on 6 3 Basic Equations
14.5 7
sand particles Experimental Setup d r r
- Equation of Equilibrium : + = 0
7
dr r
3 Geological effects 3 In order to minimize the boundary effect, large scale
5.5
dP
- degree of consolidation experimental apparatus has been built - Darcys Law : = (v f vs )
14.5
dr k
- bonding between sand particles - sample diameter - 40" r +
- discontinuities (e.g., faults) - sample height - 5" Cavity formed during the sand production
- Mohr-Coulomb Failure c ( p) = 0
Criterion : 2 2