Abstract:
In formations where the sand is porous, permeable and well cemented together, large volumes of hydrocarbons, which can flow easily through the sand and into production wells are produced through perforations into the well. These produced fluids may carry entrained therein sand, particularly when the subsurface formation is an unconsolidated formation. Produced sand is undesirable for many reasons. When it reaches the surface, sand can damage equipment such as valves, pipelines, pumps and separators and must be removed from the produced fluids at the surface. Further, the produced sand may partially or completely clog the well, substantially lead to poor performance in wells and, ultimately, inhibiting production, thereby making necessary and expensive work-over. In addition, the sand flowing from the subsurface formation may leave therein a cavity which may result in caving of the formation and collapse of the casing.
Sand entering production wells is one of the oldest problems faced by oil companies and one of the toughest to solve. The production of sand during oil production causes severe operational problems for oil producers. Several techniques have been used for sand production control in sandstone reservoirs. These techniques are divided into four groups including; standard rig operation with retrievable packer; tubing-conveyed string; coiled tubing and long zone/selective treatment. Several consolidating materials, such as crude oil coke and nickel plating, have been used in the past by researchers. At present, the chemical binders, such as; phenol resin, phenol-formaldehyde, epoxy, and furan or phenol-furfural provide cementation. In this paper, we discuss sand control method for an oil well.
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