Economical Management of Sand Production by a Methodology Validated on an Extensive Database of Field Data

Abstract

Abstract From a scientific point of view, sand production prediction is one of the most complex problems that has been addressed by the oil industry over recent years. Yet, the economical importance of a sound prediction methodology leading to an optimized completion strategy is such that many corporations have dedicated vast resources towards the solution of this problem, De facto surveying the literature reveals that a large number of models have been proposed to predict sand production. Unfortunately none of them has been validated to such an extent that it can be considered as a standard by the industry. As a consequence a large gathering of sand production data was undertaken. After proper data analysis it is possible to demonstrate that, from the engineering point of view, sand production is a relatively simple phenomenon governed by a few key parameters. Available models are prescreened for their capacities to account for these parameters. The selected models are then calibrated and validated against sand production field data with a sufficient degree of accuracy for operative purposes.