Experimental Study of Sand Production from a Supported Wellbore in Weakly Consolidated Sandstone

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	Volume 28, Issue 5 (September 2005)

ISSN: 0149-6115
Published Online: 13 July 2005
Page Count: 10

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Experimental Study of Sand Production from a Supported Wellbore in Weakly Consolidated Sandstone
Nouri, A
Dalhousie University, Currently at the University of Alberta

Vaziri, H
BP-America

Belhaj, H
Dalhousie University

Shomakhi, N
Dalhousie University, Currently at the University of Alberta

Butt, S
Dalhousie University, Currently at the University of Alberta

Donald, A
Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Denver

Islam, R
Dalhousie University

(Received 13 July 2004; accepted 20 January 2005)

Abstract
Deployment of expandable technology for sand control is experiencing rapid growth. While several expandable systems have been developed, assessment of their long-term performance and effectiveness has not. To alleviate some concerns and uncertainties, criteria are provided in this paper for assessing the possibility of sanding in wellbores that employ reticulated expandable completions and to illustrate an in-depth understanding of the mechanism under which such screens may prevent sand grain mobilization.

To investigate these issues, a series of experiments were conducted using hollow cylinder synthetic sandstone samples involving both fine- and coarse-grained sands. A stiffener of two different opening sizes supported the central hole to check if sanding takes place and if so, how great the influence of the opening size relative to the grain size is in dictating the operational limits.

The experiments on weakly-consolidated sandstones showed that expandable completions were successful in preventing any shear failure around the wellbore. Under excessive drawdown/depletion, volumetric failure (pore collapse) proved to be a plausible failure mechanism in the material. Nevertheless, much less sanding occurred, and this improvement was attributed to grain-to-grain friction, enhancements of effective stresses at the wellface, and some degree of conservation of the original structure of the material, although at the state of pore collapse.

Keywords:
disaggregation, expandable completions, oil wellbores, pore collapse, sand, sand production, volumetric failure, weakly consolidated sandstone

Paper ID: GTJ12682
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ12682

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Author Nouri, A Affiliation Dalhousie University, Currently at the University of Alberta Author Vaziri, H Affiliation BP-America Author Belhaj, H Affiliation Dalhousie University Author Shomakhi, N Affiliation Dalhousie University, Currently at the University of Alberta Author Butt, S Affiliation Dalhousie University, Currently at the University of Alberta Author Donald, A Affiliation Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Denver Author Islam, R Affiliation Dalhousie University Author Nouri A, Vaziri H, Belhaj H, Shomakhi N, Butt S, Donald A, Islam R Title Experimental Study of Sand Production from a Supported Wellbore in Weakly Consolidated Sandstone Symposium , Committee on

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