Screenless Sand

Control Completions
New dimensions
in sand management

Applications

Primary sand control completion for new wells expected

to produce formation sand
Remedial sand control
completion

for wells without gravel

packs that are producing
sand

for failed sand control

completion with screens

for wells with bypassed

pay zones

Benefits

Full wellbore access is

achieved for

well logging

improved reservoir
management

easier future recompletion.

Overall well completion cost

can be reduced through

less rig time being spent on

sand control completion

elimination of operational
risks associated with
downhole tools

rigless through-tubing
completion.

Formation damage caused

by completion brine is
significantly reduced.

By eliminating the use of

a screen, no additional
restriction exists in slimhole
sand control completions.

Screenless completionan alternative

sand control technique
Screenless completion is an alternative method to conventional sand
control techniques. A comprehensive
approach to managing sand inclusive
of enhanced risk assessment, screenless completion methodology combined with field-proven techniques
offers viable and effective strategies
to prevent sand production throughout the life of the well.
Problems associated with sand production can adversely affect reservoir
productivity and project profitability.
If not properly addressed early, sand
problems can compound to the extent
that produced sand jeopardizes future
well intervention options.
Applicable to both old- and new-well
completions, screenless completion
technology is particularly useful in competent formations that can be considered borderline on needing a gravel
pack to prevent sand production.
Screenless completion employs
existing field-proven methods, resulting in a fullbore completion without
the use of a screen and surrounding

gravel pack. Rather than using the

bridging mechanism of a gravel pack
in the annulus between screen and
casing, formation sand is held back
by a proppant pack with proppantflowback-control additives inside
the hydraulic fracture.
By not having gravel-pack screens
in the well, screenless completion
offers significant advantages to a conventional sand control completion,
such as completion cost reduction,
improved well conformance control
and future flexible recompletion
options. The screenless completion
is an effective alternative method
for controlling formation sand.

Fracturing for sand control

The FracTROL* completion engineering
service ensures present and future well
productivity by combining certain techniques such as perforating, consolidation, fracturing and proppant flowback
control. FracTROL techniques can be
performed without a rig, overcoming
the limitations of screened completions and providing a cost-effective
method of sand control for both

Screenless sand control completions include three

servicesfracturing, chemical consolidation and
perforating for sand control.

Screenless
sand control
completion

Features

Integration of field-proven
techniques

Economics, risks and

benefits analyses

Simultaneous stimulation
and sand control

Optimized perforating

Near-wellbore chemical
consolidation

Tip screenout (TSO) fracturing

Proppant flowback control

with resin-coated proppant,
PropNET* proppant-pack
additive or a combination
of both

Fracturing for
sand control

Chemical
consolidation

Perforating for
sand control

primary and remedial completions.

By eliminating any skin associated
with the gravel pack and screen,
this technique also maintains full
wellbore access to facilitate future
well intervention.
Techniques include

optimized perforating, including

orientation, size, shot density and
interval selection

consolidation to stabilize formation

sand in wells with existing
perforations

fracturing to stimulate production

proppant flowback control with

resin-coated proppant, PropNET
additive or a combination of both

pinpoint placement of hydraulic

fracturing using the CoilFRAC*
service.

Critical perforating procedures

Perforating provides a means of communication between the wellbore and

the reservoir. In a fracture-stimulated
reservoir, the perforation is the conduit

The primary completion for new wells expected

to produce formation sand

Proppant flowback control with PropNET additive, resin-coated proppant or a combination of both
keeps the proppant in place. In turn, proppant placed inside the hydraulically induced fracture halts
sand production.

Proppant pack
with PropNET fibers

Fracture

Perforation

between the fracture and the wellbore. In a cased hole completion,

the perforation is the only avenue
through which sand can be produced.
Proper selection and execution of a
perforating procedure is critical to the
successful FracTROL completion.
For FracTROL completions, oriented
perforations should be shot perpendicular to the minimum principal stress;

i.e., aligned with the preferred fracture

plane. General recommendations are

180 or 0 phasing perforations

depending on knowledge of
formation stress distribution

the use of limited interval guidelines and placement of perforations

shot density and charge type based

on the desired pressure drop in
either casing or cement.

Remedial sand control completion for wells without

gravel packs that are producing sand

Existing perforation

Gel consolidation

Fracturing through
consolidated matrix

Gel consolidation prior to fracturing

If the FracTROL service is to be used

for wells with existing perforations,
these perforations need to be plugged
or consolidated to prevent sand production. If the cement is to be used to
plug the well, then reperforating should
be performed prior to fracturing.
Consolidation, the process of bonding sand grains and formation fines,
is also used to eliminate risks of sand
production over time. Acid- and waterresistant bonds created between sand
grains exhibit a certain elasticity
needed to survive the fracture process.
Placement of the gel must ensure coverage and consolidation of every open
perforation.
Fracturing for effective treatment

Employing CoilFRAC and TSO fracturing services combines the benefits of

fracturing with the pinpoint placement
of coiled tubing.

Coiled tubing conveyance and

selective isolation

Conveyance by coiled tubing and

selective isolation methods available
with the CoilFRAC service make
multizone treatment possible all in
one trip. By selectively and accurately
placing proppant into each individual
zone, the effects of varied stress and
pressure are eliminated and volume
is minimized. Multiple small treatments
can be economically applied to maximize reserves in layered sands and
to allow flexibility in conformance
control.
TSO improved fracture conductivity

TSO fracturing is recognized as the

most important tool for ensuring adequate fracture conductivity in highpermeability formations. In a highpermeability formation, one way
to achieve an acceptable fracture flow
is to substantially increase the fracture
width. To increase width, the fracture
is screened out at its tip and subsequently inflated. The development of

Remedial sand control completion for failed sand

control completion with screens

cleaner nonpolymer fluids, such as the

Schlumberger ClearFRAC* fluid, has
also contributed to significantly
improved fracture conductivity values.
Reliable proppant flowback control
is essential for a successful FracTROL
completion. Currently, PropNET additive and resin-coated proppant are
being used to prevent proppant flowback. PropNET additives are fibers
that are intimately mixed with slurry
and pumped into the well to keep the
proppant in the fracture by means of
a physical reinforcement mechanism.
Proppant placed inside the hydraulically induced fracture halts sand
production.
Successfully employed in more than
4000 treatments, PropNET additive
does not require any shut-in time and
is effective in reservoirs with temperatures to 400F. Depending on bottomhole temperature, desired chemical
resistance, expected fluid velocities in
the fracture and desired proppant-pack
permeability, various materials and
sizes of PropNET fibers are selected.

Remedial sand control completion for wells with

bypassed pay zones

Step 2: Perforate
new zone

Step 3: Fracture
new zone
Step 1: Gel consolidation

Step 2: Reperforating

Step 3: Fracturing

Step 1: Abandon
lower zone

Retain permeability through

chemical consolidation

A K300 resin job is being prepared on location

prior to injection into the well.

Where fracturing is not possible, two

conventional chemical consolidation
systems are available to prevent the
migration of formation sand and other
fines to the wellborethe K300 and
SANDLOCK* V systems. The K300
furan resin system is used for in-situ
formation consolidation, whereas
the resin-coated SANDLOCK V technique is used for gravel packing the
formation.
K300 resin systembonding
of sand particles

Resin system technology is based on

polymerization reactions of resin
injected into loose or unconsolidated
formations in the near-wellbore matrix.
The resin cures to a hard plastic that
bonds sand and fines particles together
so that they cannot migrate to the
wellbore.
Once in place, the K300 resin helps
prevent the migration of other loose
sand and fines, offering higher retained
permeability and better compressive
strength than standard resin consolidation systems. Lower in initial cost and
environmentally friendly, the K300
resin yields higher production rates.
The K300 system can be used to
consolidate the formation before performing a fracturing treatment. Sand
production from the perforations is
prevented by the proppant pack using
proppant-flowback-control technology.
Perforations not in communication
with the fracture are protected by
the resin.
Used after perforating, this viscositycontrolled system works by smoothing the injection profile in water
injection wells drilled in formations
of varying permeability.

SANDLOCK V servicecreating an artificial

sandstone network

This resin-coated gravel-packing technique places a strong but highly permeable artificial sandstone gravel pack
in perforation tunnels and outside the
casing to prevent the migration of formation material into the wellbore.
A high-density resin-coated slurry is
prepared in a thickened brine-carrying
fluid and is pumped down the workstring through the perforation tunnels
until a screenout is obtained. After the
resin cures, the consolidated gravel
pack in the casing is drilled out or
a pilot hole is drilled through the
sand pack, and the well is returned
to production.
Resistant to deterioration by produced fluids and most treating chemicals, the SANDLOCK V resin-coated

gravel requires less rig time as a result

of the rapidly setting resin and thinning
of the viscous carrier gel after placement. Well cleanup time is shortened
and formation damage is lessened
because a relatively small volume of
fluid is used to place a large-volume
gravel network.
Particularly suited for remedial sand
control and for repairing damaged
screens, the SANDLOCK V service is
also effective in primary completions
and injection wells. The slurry is
squeezed into the perforations and
against the formation. Once cured, the
slurry forms a set network with a compressive strength of approximately
3000 psi and a permeability of 100 D
with 20/40 mesh gravel.

Perforating solutions to manage sand

The tendency for a well to produce
sand along with oil, water and gas
depends on numerous factors such
as formation strength, perforation
stresses, flow rate and fluid type.
Perforation tunnel stability determines whether sand production will
be a concern in a completed well. Perforation tunnel collapse or formation
failure between perforations causes
sand production in weak consolidated
formations. Optimized perforating
techniques, based on enhanced risk
assessment, can delay or avoid sand
production over a wells productive life.
As one of the screenless completion
methods, optimized perforating can
help prevent production of sand from
within the formation.
Choosing conventional sand control
or sand-prevention perforating

Perforation and formation stability

and the ability to accurately predict
them influence whether conventional
sand control or screenless sand
control strategies should be undertaken. Weak but consolidated formations that support a perforation tunnel

are good candidates for perforating

sand control techniques (formations
that are too weak to support a perforation tunnel are unlikely candidates).
Sand production in more competent
formations generally arises from
either tunnel collapse or loose sand
in the tunnel.
When risk of sand production is
determined to be acceptably low,
screenless prevention techniques are
optimal. When the risk is unacceptably
high, conventional sand control methods are the preferred course.
Optimal use of screenless
perforating technology

Schlumberger perforating techniques

for sand control create more stable
perforation tunnels in the formation,
optimizing the hole size, penetration
and perforation-to-perforation spacing
for a given pressure drawdown across
perforated intervals and flow rate
per perforation. Underbalanced perforating enables loose perforation sand
to be produced early, which helps
avoid impaired productivity and
sand issues during the later stages
of a wells life.

An optimized phase angle maximizes the spacing of perforations, which lessens or eliminates
the interaction between the perforations and the rock.

Upgrading perforating performance

involves optimizing parameters such
as charge type, shot density, phase
angle and, in some cases, orientation.
Charge type

Optimized shaped charges offer

controlled hole size and penetration:

Deep penetrating charges are used

to enhance single-perforation stability during drawdown and depletion.
They also, along with optimum
perforation spacing, enhance the
stability of the adjacent formation.

Optimized charges are used to

enhance hydraulic fracturing
treatments.

Shot density

Higher shot densities increase the

area open to flow, keeping pressure
drawdown, flow rate and drag forces
through each perforation below
a critical value.
Phase angle

Optimizing the phase angle for a given

wellbore radius and shot density maximizes the perforation-to-perforation
spacing, which in turn decreases or
avoids interaction between adjacent
perforations and the surrounding rock.
Perforation orientation

Selective and/or oriented perforating

is used to place the perforations away
from less stable sectors in the formation (e.g., orientations) that have large
contrasts between horizontal and
vertical stresses.

L3
L1
L2

60

120 180 240 300 360

Case histories
Million-dollar savings on cleanup

In a recent application of completion

technology, a well was refractured
using a combination of resin-coated
proppant and PropNET additive to
control proppant flowback. After the
successful TSO fracturing stimulation,
sand-free production was achieved
and a savings in cleanup costs
was realized.
The 4-month-old well had been previously fractured using a competitor
product. Because the well was producing solids exceeding permissible
levels to bring on production, sand
control coupled with a restimulation
effort was warranted. Schlumberger
performed a restimulation treatment
using the screenless completion technique. The interval had been perforated
using oriented perforating techniques
with limited interval guidelines for
screenless completions.
To ensure success of proppant flowback control, 1.2% PropNET Gold
additive was used in combination with
16 to 20 resin-coated proppant during
the fracturing job. The treatment was
performed successfully without cleanup problems and solids production
ceased immediately after cleanup.
Back in production within a week,
the well tested at over 30 MMscf/D
at a savings of more than $1.2 million
over typical cleanup costs.

A restimulation treatment using PropNET Gold additive in an interval perforated using Schlumberger
oriented perforating techniques and interval guidelines for a successful completion resulted in significantly reduced cleanup costs. PropNET treatment reduces average cleanup time from 47 to 6 days.

50
45
40
35
30
Cleanup
days

25
20
15
10
5
0
Before
screenless completion

After
screenless completion

Screenless techniques successful

in horizontal wells

Increased production in heavy-oil

steamflood environment

Early gravel-pack and perforated

completions had failed in the weak
chalk formations of the Valhall field.
Following an engineering study,
a screenless completion treatment
inside cased horizontal wells was
performed with excellent results.
Since then, more than 100 successful
treatments have been placed.
Between three and seven fracturing
treatments have been performed in
each horizontal well. A 5-ft interval
was perforated with 180 phased perforations. A TSO fracture was placed,
inclusive of proppant flowback control,
to keep the proppant in the fracture.
Post-treatment data show an average sand-free production increase
of 1000 to 3000 BOPD per fracture
with an even inflow profile along
the horizontal wellbore.

Fourteen zones in four wells were

completed in high-permeability heavyoil steamflood environments. Intervals
up to 24 ft in length in vertical wells
were perforated with 0 phasing perforations. The wells were subsequently
fractured following screenless completion guidelines and using the CoilFRAC
technique. These wells are producing
sand free at rates 250 to 350 percent
higher than rates in offset wells.

www.connect.slb.com
TSL-2724

Schlumberger

December 2001

*Mark of Schlumberger