SPE Production Engineering · 1988 · 12 citations · 4 references
FiltrationCohesionless SandEngineeringHeat RecoveryEnergy EfficiencyPetroleum Production EngineeringHydraulicsDrillingReservoir EngineeringGeotechnical EngineeringThermal Recovery WellsPetroleum ProductionSummary A DeviceHydraulic EngineeringHydrogeologyHeat TransferMultiphase FlowSediment TransportCivil EngineeringThermal ManagementFormation EvaluationSand InflowThermal EngineeringPetroleum Engineering
Summary A device was designed to solve a severe case of sand inflow into horizontal wells at the Athabasca Tar Sands pilot plant in Fort McMurray, Alta. The sand problem at this pilot resulted from a combination of three conditions: a fine-grained, cohesionless sand; the cyclic injection of steam; and the production of steam, water, and high-viscosity bitumen. A new type of filter, designed to overcome this problem, has application to the control of solids in wells drilled in a variety of formations producing liquids or gas. It was first designed and tested in the laboratory with a physical simulator; then it was fabricated and tested in vertical wells at the Athabasca pilot plant.
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