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Sand control
WELLS&COMPLETION (/WIKI/CATEGORY:WELLS%26COMPLETION)
| PRODUCTION ENGINEERING (/WIKI/CATEGORY:PRODUCTION_ENGINEERING)

| OILFIELD TERMINOLOGY (/WIKI/CATEGORY:OILFIELD_TERMINOLOGY)

| FEATURED ARTICLES (/WIKI/CATEGORY:FEATURED_ARTICLES)

Sand control refers to managing/minimizing

sand and ne production during petroleum
production
(/wiki/Petroleum_production_engineering).
Sand and ne produced with oil
(/wiki/Petroleum) and gas (/wiki/Natural_gas)
can cause erosion and wear (/wiki/Erosion) of
production facilities/equipments, resulting in
production downtime, expensive repairs, and
potentially loss of containment (serious safety
risk).

Contents
1 Introduction
2 Reasons for sand production
3 Problems with sand ow
4 Predicting sanding potential
4.1 Field observations
4.1.1 Formation Strength
Log
(/wiki/File:Gravel_pack_sand_control.jpg)
4.1.2 Sonic Log
Sand control refers to managing/minimizing sand and ne production
4.1.3 Formation
during petroleum production. An illustration of sand control by screen
Properties Log with gravel pack[1].
4.2 Laboratory Experiments
4.3 Theoretical models
5 Control methods
5.1 Resin Injection

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5.2 Screen with Gravel Pack

5.2.1 Selection criteria
for gravel packing
5.2.1.1 Sampling
of formation sand
5.2.1.2 Sieve
Analysis
5.2.1.3 Gravel
Pack Sand Sizing
5.2.1.4 Gravel
Pack Sand
5.3 Slotted Liners or screen
without Gravel Pack
5.4 Maintenance and Work
over
6 Comparison of technologies
7 Latest Technologies for sand
control (/wiki/File:Sand_in_separator.jpg)
8 Recommendation Sand accumulation in a separator, which decreases uid resident time
9 References and causes poor separator performance.

Introduction
For normal ow of oil, formation should be porous, permeable and well cemented together, so that the large
volumes of hydrocarbons (/wiki/Hydrocarbon) can ow easily through the formations and into production wells.
There are few situations arises where these produced uids may carry entrained there in sand. Unconsolidated
sandstone reservoirs with permeability (/wiki/Permeability_(earth_sciences)) of 0.5 to 8 Darcie’s are most
susceptible to sand production. This may start during rst ow or later when reservoir pressure has fallen or water
breaks through. Sand production strikes with varying degrees of severity, not all of which require action. The rate of
sand production may decline with time at constant production conditions and is frequently associated with
cleanup after stimulation.
Sometimes, even continuous sand production is tolerated. But this option may lead to a well becoming seriously
damaged, production being killed or surface equipment being disabled. What constitutes an acceptable level of
sand production depends on operational constraints like resistance to erosion, separator capacity, ease of sand
disposal and the capability of arti cial lift equipment to remove sand laden uid from the well.
Sand entering production wells is one of the oldest problems faced by oil companies and one of the toughest to
solve. Production of sand during oil production causes severe operational problem for oil producers. Every year the
petroleum industry spends millions of dollars in sand cleaning, repair problems related to sand production and lost
problems related to sand production and lost revenues due to restricted production rates.
Consequently, sand control has been a research topic for over ve decades. The purpose of this document is to
help in understanding the causes of sanding, and how it can be predicted and controlled. It will examine the main
methods of sand control.

Reasons for sand production

The solid material produced from a well can consist of both formation nes and load bearing solids. The
production of nes cannot normally be prevented and is actually bene cial. The critical factor to assessing the risk
of sand production from a particular well is whether or not the production of load bearing particles can be
maintained below an acceptable level at the anticipated ow rates and producing conditions which will make the
well production acceptable.

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The following list summarizes many of the factors that in uence the tendency of a well to produce sand:

Degree of consolidation: A mechanical characteristic of rock that is related to the degree of consolidation is
called “compressive strength”. This shows how strong the individual sand grains are bound together. The
cementation is typically a secondary geological process for consolidation. Poorly consolidated sandstone
(/wi/index.php?title=Sandstone&action=edit&redlink=1) formations usually have a compressive strength
that is less than 1,000 pounds per square inch. This indicates that sand production is normally a problem
when producing from poorly consolidated sandstone.

Production rate: The production of reservoir uids creates pressure differential and frictional drag forces
that can combine to exceed the formation compressive strength. This indicates that there is a critical ow
rate for most wells below which pressure differential and frictional drag forces are not great enough to
exceed the formation compressive strength and cause sand production. The critical ow rate of a well may
be determined by slowly increasing the production rate until sand production is detected. One technique
used to minimize the production of sand is to choke the ow rate down to the critical ow rate where sand
production does not occur or has an acceptable level.

Drawdown: An arch is a hemispherical cap of interlocking sand grains (below gure show the arch) like the
stones in an arched doorway that is stable at constant drawdown (/wiki/Drawdown) and ow rate,
preventing sand movement. Changes in ow rate or production shut-in may result in collapse of the arch,
causing sand to be produced until a new arch forms.

Reduction of Pore Pressure: The

pressure in the reservoir supports some
of the weight of the overlying rock. As
the reservoir pressure is depleted
throughout the producing life of a well,
some of the support for the overlying
rock is removed. Lowering the reservoir
pressure creates an increasing amount
of stress on the formation sand itself.
At some point the formation sand
grains may break loose from the matrix, (/wiki/File:Sand2.jpg)
or may be crushed, creating nes that A stable arch is believed to form around the entrance to a perforation
cavity. This arch remains stable as long as ow rate and drawdonw are
are produced along with the well uids.
constant. If these are altered, the arch collapses and a new one formas
Compaction of the reservoir rock due to once ow stabilizes again.
a reduction in pore pressure can result
in surface subsidence.

Reservoir Fluid Viscosity: The frictional drag force exerted on the formation sand grains is created by the
ow of reservoir uid. This frictional drag force is directly related to the velocity of uid ow and the
viscosity of the reservoir uid being produced. High reservoir uid viscosity will apply a greater frictional
drag force to the formation sand grains than will a reservoir uid with a low viscosity. The in uence of
viscous drag causes sand to be produced from heavy oil (/wi/index.php?
title=Heavy_oil&action=edit&redlink=1) reservoirs, which contain low gravity, high viscosity oils even at low
ow velocities.

Increasing Water Production: Sand production may increase or begin as water begins to be produced or as
water cut (/wi/index.php?title=Water_cut&action=edit&redlink=1) increases. Two possibilities may explain
many of these occurrences. First, for a typical water-wet sandstone formation, some grain-to-grain
cohesiveness is provided by the surface tension of the connate water (/wi/index.php?
title=Connate_water&action=edit&redlink=1) surrounding each sand grain. At the onset of water production,
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the connate water (/wi/index.php?title=Connate_water&action=edit&redlink=1) tends to cohere to the

produced water, resulting in a reduction of the surface tension forces and subsequent reduction in the grain-
to-grain cohesiveness. Water production has been shown to severely limit the stability of the sand arch
around a perforation resulting in the initiation of sand production. A second mechanism by which water
production (/wi/index.php?title=Water_production&action=edit&redlink=1) affects sand production is related
to the effects of relative permeability. As the water cut increases, the relative permeability to oil decreases.

These results in an increasing pressure differential being required to produce oil at the same rate. An increase in
pressure differential near the wellbore creates a greater shear force across the formation sand grains. Once again,
the higher stresses can lead to instability of the sand arch around each perforation and subsequent sand
production

Problems with sand ow

The effects of sand production are nearly always detrimental to the short and/or long term productivity of the well.
Although some wells routinely experience “manageable” sand production, these wells are the exception.

Accumulation in Surface Equipment: If the production velocity is great enough to carry sand up the tubing,
the sand may become trapped in the separator, HE, or production pipeline. If a large enough volume of sand
becomes trapped in one of these areas, cleaning will be required to allow for ef cient production of the well.
To restore production, the well must be shut-in, the surface equipment opened, and the sand manually
removed. In addition to the clean out cost, the cost of the deferred production must be considered.

Accumulation Down hole: If the production velocity is not great enough to carry sand to the surface, the
sand may bridge off in the tubing or fall and begin to ll the inside of the casing. Eventually, the producing
interval may be completely covered with sand. In either case, the production rate will decline until the well
becomes "sanded up" and production ceases. In situations like this, remedial operations are required to
clean-out the well and restore production.

One clean-out technique is to run a "bailer" on the end of slick line to remove the sand from the production tubing
(/wiki/Production_tubing) or casing. Since the bailer removes only a small volume of sand at a time, multiple slick
line runs are necessary to clean out the well. Another clean-out operation involves running a smaller diameter
tubing string or coiled tubing down into the production tubing to agitate the sand and lift it out of the well by
circulating uid.

Erosion of Down hole and Surface Equipment: In highly productive wells, uids owing at high velocity and
carrying sand can produce excessive erosion (/wiki/Erosion) of both down hole and surface equipment
leading to frequent maintenance to replace the damaged equipment. If the erosion is severe or occurs over
a suf cient length of time, complete failure of surface and/or down hole equipment may occur, resulting in
critical safety and environmental problems[2].

Collapse of the Formation: Large volumes of sand may be carried out of the formation with produced uid.
If the rate of sand production is great enough and continues for a suf cient period of time, an empty area or
void will develop behind the casing that will continue to grow larger as more sand is produced. When the
void becomes large enough, the overlying shale (/wi/index.php?title=Shale&action=edit&redlink=1) or
formation sand above the void may collapse into the void due to a lack of material to provide support.

When this collapse occurs, the sand grains rearrange themselves to create a lower permeability (/wi/index.php?
title=Permeability&action=edit&redlink=1) than originally existed. This will be especially true for formation sand
with a high clay content (/wi/index.php?title=Clay_content&action=edit&redlink=1) or wide range of grain sizes. For
formation sand with a narrow grain size distribution and/or very little clay, the rearrangement of formation sand
will cause a change in permeability that may be less obvious. In the case of overlying shale collapsing, complete
loss of productivity is probable. In most cases, continued long term production of formation sand will usually
decrease the well’s productivity and ultimate recovery.

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Sand handling: Sand handling and

disposing also possess major problem
especially in the offshore installations
because Disposal of produced sands is
costly.

Predicting sanding
potential
Methods for predicting sanding rates include
eld observations, laboratory experiments,
and theoretical models (correlations). (/wiki/File:Sand3.jpg)
The picture shows Sand choking in separator, Pipe line failure, Erosion

Field observations of equipment and Downhole failure.

The completion engineer needs to know the conditions under which a well will produce sand. This is not always a
straightforward task. At its simplest, sand prediction involves observing the performance of nearby offset wells.
In exploratory wells, a sand ow test (/wi/index.php?title=Sand_ ow_test&action=edit&redlink=1) is often used to
assess the formation stability. A sand ow test involves sand production being detected and measured on surface
during a drill stem test (/wi/index.php?title=Drill_stem_test&action=edit&redlink=1) (DST). Quantitative information
may be acquired by gradually increasing ow rate until sand is produced, the anticipated ow capacity of the
completion is reached or the maximum drawdown is achieved.
Field techniques like micro fracturing allow measurement of some far- eld earth stresses (see “Cracking Rock:
Progress in Fracture Treatment Design). Down-hole wire-line log measurements provide continuous pro les of
data. However, no logging tool yields a direct measurement of rock strength or in-situ stress.

Formation Strength Log

The general procedure followed by most operators considering whether or not sand control is required, is to
determine the hardness of the formation rock (i.e., the rock’s compressive strength). Since the rock’s compressive
strength has the same units as the pressure drawdown in the reservoir (/wi/index.php?
title=Reservoir&action=edit&redlink=1), the two parameters can be compared on a one to one basis and drawdown
limits for speci c wells can be determined. Research performed in the early 1970’s shows that there is a
relationship between the compressive strength and the incidence of rock failure. These studies show that the rock
failed and began to produce sand when the drawdown pressure is 1.7 times the compressive strength.

Sonic Log
The sonic log (/wi/index.php?title=Sonic_log&action=edit&redlink=1) can be used as a way of addressing the sand
production potential of wells. The sonic log records the time required for sound waves to travel through the
formation in microseconds. The porosity is related to the sonic travel time. Short travel times, (for example, 50
microseconds) are indicative of low porosity and hard, dense rock; while long travel times (for example, 95
microseconds or higher) are associated with softer, lower density, higher porosity rock. A common technique used
for determining if sand control is required in a given geologic area is to correlate incidences of sand production
with the sonic log readings. This establishes a quick and basic approach to the need for sand control, but the
technique can be unreliable and is not strictly applicable in geologic areas other than the one in which it was
developed.

Formation Properties Log

Certain well logs such as the sonic (as discussed above), density and neutron devices are indicators of porosity
(/wiki/Porosity) and formation hardness. For a particular formation, a low density reading is indicative of a high
porosity. The neutron logs are primarily an indicator of porosity. Calculations using the results of the sonic, density,
and neutron logs (/wi/index.php?title=Neutron_logs&action=edit&redlink=1) to determine the likelihood of whether
a formation will or will not produce formation material at certain levels of pressure drawdown. This calculation
identi es which intervals are stronger and which are weaker and more prone to produce formation material.

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Laboratory Experiments
Experiments on recovered cores may be used to gather rock strength (/wi/index.php?
title=Rock_strength&action=edit&redlink=1) data. This information may then be used to predict the drawdown
pressure that will induce sanding zones of some of the wells.

Theoretical models
A correlation may then be established between sand production, well data, and eld and operational parameters.
Accurately predicting sand production potential requires detailed knowledge of the formation’s mechanical
strength, the in-situ earth stresses and the way the rock will fail.
Finite Element Analysis Model: Probably the most sophisticated approach to predicting sand production is the use
of geo mechanical numerical models developed to analyze uid ow through the reservoir in relation to the
formation strength. The effects of formation stress associated with uid ow in the immediate region around the
wellbore are simultaneously computed with nite element analysis.
While this approach is by far the most rigorous, it requires an accurate knowledge of the formation’s strength both
in the elastic and plastic regions where the formation begins to fail. Both of these input data are dif cult to
determine with a high degree of accuracy under actual downhole conditions and that is the major dif culty with
this approach. The nite element analysis method is good from the viewpoint of comparing one interval with
another; however, the absolute values calculated may not represent actual formation behavior. Recently developed
models “IMPACT”-Integrated Mechanical Properties Analysis & Characterization of Near Wellbore Heterogeneity,
developed by Schlumberger and "Geo Mechanical International (GMI)" by Baker Hughes are mostly helpful for
superior and production predictions. (Website list provided in reference for model predictions)
(/wiki/Sand_control#References).

Control methods
Sand control methods may be classi ed as mechanical and chemical. Mechanical methods of sand control
prevent sand production by stopping the formation with liners, screens or gravel packs. Larger formation sand
grains are stopped, and they in turn stop smaller formation sand grains. Chemical control methods involve in
injecting consolidating materials like resins into the formation to cement the sand grains. Here we are discussing
the most important control measures which are in practice.

Resin Injection
This is simply considered as arti cial consolidation of sand. Which Involves injection of plastic resins, which are
attracted to the formation sand grains. The resin hardens and forms a consolidated mass, binding the sand grains
together at their contact points. If successful, the increase in formation compressive strength will be suf cient to
withstand the drag forces while producing at the desired rates. Three types of resins (/wi/index.php?
title=Resins&action=edit&redlink=1) are commercially available: epoxies, furans (including furan/phenolic blends),
and pure phenolic (/wi/index.php?title=Phenolic&action=edit&redlink=1). The resins are in a liquid form when they
enter the formation and a catalyst or curing agent is required for hardening. Some systems use “internal” catalysts
that are mixed into the resin solution at the surface and require time and/or temperature to harden the resin.
Properties of resins:

Viscosity of resin not excessive.

Resin must wet the formation solids
Resin possess suf cient tensile and
compressive strength
Polymerization time must be controlled
Final polymer must be chemically inert
(/wiki/File:Sand4.jpg)
Mechanism: Resin application in perforation

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Pre ush diesel oil which creates wettability and remove undesired material in the zone
Placement of resin by isolating the interval
Over ush of high concentrated resin injected to control the permeability and compressive strength

Advantages:

Leaves wellbore open

Relatively low cost
Eliminates necessity for screens and liners

Disadvantages:

Limited zone height

Longevity limited
Temperature sensitivity <250°F
Very dif cult to evenly apply
Reduces permeability by10%-60%
Applied in Gulf Coast with 80% success rate where 50% of permeability retained and compressive strength ranged
from 3000±12000 psi.This method represents only 10% of overall sand treatment methods used. Main purpose is
to increase formation strength and maintain permeability at the same time Cheap but comes with many
disadvantages compared to other methods.

Screen with Gravel Pack

Gravel pack (/wi/index.php?title=Gravel_pack&action=edit&redlink=1) has been used in industry since 1930s; today
it’s the most widely used on sand control treatment. Gravel packing account for three quarters of the sand control
treatments.
Gravel packing relies on the bridging of formation sand against larger sand with the larger sand positively retained
by a slotted liner or screen. The larger sand (referred to as gravel pack sand or simply, gravel) is sized to be about
5 to 6 times larger than the formation sand. Gravel packing creates a permeable downhole lter that will allow the
production of the formation uids but restrict the entry and production of formation sand. Schematics of an open
hole and cased hole gravel pack are shown in Figure. Because the gravel is tightly packed between the formation
and the screen, the bridges formed are stable, which prevents shifting and resorting of the formation sand. If
properly designed and executed, a gravel pack will maintain its permeability under a broad range of producing
conditions.
Gravel packs are performed by running the slotted liner or screen in the hole and circulating the gravel into position
using a carrier uid (/wi/index.php?title=Carrier_ uid&action=edit&redlink=1). For optimum results, all the space
between the screen and formation must be completely packed with high permeability gravel pack sand. Complete
packing is relatively simple in open hole completions, but can be challenging in cased hole perforated
completions. Although expensive, gravel packs have proven to be the most reliable sand control technique
available and are, therefore, the most common approach used.
A summary of the advantages and disadvantages of open hole gravel pack (/wi/index.php?
title=Open_hole_gravel_pack&action=edit&redlink=1) as well as the guidelines for selecting open hole gravel pack
candidates is listed below.
Advantages of open hole gravel packs

Low drawdown and high productivity

Excellent longevity
No casing or perforating expense

Disadvantages of open hole gravel packs

Sometimes dif cult to exclude undesirable uids such as water and/or gas
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Not easily performed in shale the erode or

slough when brine is pumped past them.
Requires special uids for drilling the open
hole section

Guidelines for selecting open hole gravel pack

candidates

Formations where cased hole gravel packing

has unacceptable productivity.
Situations where increased productivity is
required.
Reservoirs where long, sustained single
phase hydrocarbon ow is anticipated.
Situations where work over’s for isolating gas
or water cannot be accomplished.
Wells where high water-oil or gas-oil ratios
can be tolerated
Reservoirs with single uniform sands (avoid
multiple sands interspersed with troublesome (/wiki/File:Sand6.jpg)
shale layers or water sands) Gravelpacking in open and cased holes (1)
Formations that can be drilled and
maintaining borehole stability in the
completion interval
Situations where cased hole
completions are signi cantly more
expensive (Horizontal wells)

Selection criteria for gravel packing

For better results selection of the gravel and
screen plays major role here is a brief
discussion on the selection criteria. Design
the gravel Pack includes
Gravel size[3]
Completion type
Screen size
Transportation of the gravel
(/wiki/File:Sand7.jpg)
Sampling of formation sand Gravelpacking in open and cased holes (2)
Improper formation sand sampling techniques
can lead to gravel packs which fail due to plugging of the gravel pack or the production of sand. Because the
formation sand size is so important, the technique used to obtain a formation sample is also important. In well
producing sand, a sample of the formation sand is easily obtained at the surface. Although such a sample can be
analyzed and used for gravel pack sand size determination, produced samples will probably indicate a smaller
median grain size than the formation sand. The most representative formation sample is obtained from
conventional cores. In the case of unconsolidated formations, rubber sleeve conventional cores may be required to
assure sample recovery. Although conventional cores are the most desirable formation sample, they are not
readily available in most cases due to the cost of coring operations.
Sieve Analysis

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Sieve analysis is the typical laboratory routine
performed on a formation sand sample for the
selection of the proper size gravel pack sand.
Sieve analysis consists of placing a formation
sample at the top of a series of screens which
have progressively smaller mesh sizes. The
sand grains in the original well sample will fall
through the screens until encountering a
screen through which that grains size cannot
pass because the openings in the screen are
too small. By weighing the screens before and
after sieving, the weight of formation sample
retained by each size screen can be
determined.
Gravel Pack Sand Sizing
There have been several published techniques
for selecting a gravel pack sand size to control
the production of formation sand. The
technique most widely used today was
developed by Saucier[4]. The basic premise of
Saucier’s work is that optimum sand control is
achieved when the median grain size of the (/wiki/File:Sand8.jpg)
gravel pack sand is no more than six times Gravelpacking in open and cased holes (3)
larger than the median grain size of the
formation sand. Saucier determined this
relationship in a series of core ow experiments where half the core consisted of gravel pack sand and the other
half was formation sand as illustrated in Figure
Gravel Pack Sand
Gravel pack well productivity is sensitive to the
permeability of the gravel pack sand. To
ensure maximum well productivity only high
quality gravel pack sand should be used. The
API RP582 establishes rigid speci cations for (/wiki/File:Sand9.jpg)
acceptable properties of sands used for gravel
packing. These speci cations focus on Gravel Pack Sand Diagram.
ensuring the maximum permeability and
longevity of the sand under typical well production and treatment conditions.
Although naturally occurring quartz sand is the most common gravel pack material used, a number of alternative
materials for gravel pack applications exist. These alternative materials include resin coated sand, garnet, glass
beads, and aluminum oxides. Each of these materials offers speci c properties that are bene cial for given
applications and well conditions. The cost of the materials will range from 2 to 3 times the price of common
quartz sand.
The speci cations de ne minimum acceptable standards for the size and shape of the grains, the amount of nes
and impurities, acid solubility, and crush resistance. Only a few naturally occurring sands are capable of meeting
the API speci cations without excessive processing. These sands are characterized by their high quartz content
and consistency in grain size.
Advantages

It offers economical methods of sand control

Gravel packing covers long interval up to 500 fts

Disadvantages

While initial installation is economical, a remedial treatment to replace a failed screen may involve an
expensive shing job
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Cause pressure drop

Slotted Liners or screen without Gravel Pack

In some cases, slotted liners or screens are used without gravel packing to control the formation sand. Unless the
formation is well-sorted, clean sand with a large grain size, this type of completion may have an unacceptably
short producing life before the slotted liner or screen plugs.
When used alone as sand exclusion devices, the slotted liners or screens are placed across the productive interval
and the formation sand mechanically bridges on the slots or openings in the wire wrap screen. Bridging theory
shows that particles will bridge on a slot provided the width of the slot does not exceed two particle diameters.
Likewise, particles will bridge against a hole if the hole diameter does not exceed about three particle diameters.
Normally, the slot width or the screen gauge should be sized to equal the formation sand grain size at the largest
10 percent level. Since the larger 10 percent of the sand grains will be stopped by the openings of screen, the
remaining 90 percent of the formation sand will be stopped by the larger sand. The bridges formed will not be
stable and may breakdown from time to time when producing rate is changed or the well is shut-in.
Disadvantage: Another potential disadvantage of both slotted liners and screens in high rate wells is the possibility
of erosion failure of the slotted liner or screen before a bridge can form. Using a slotted liner or screen without
gravel packing is not recommended as a good sand control technique because some plugging will eventually
occur and will almost always reduce the production capacity of the well.

Maintenance and Work over

Maintenance and work over is a passive approach to sand control. This method basically involves tolerating the
sand production and dealing with its effects as and when necessary. Such an approach requires bailing, washing,
and cleaning of surface facilities on a routine basis to maintain well productivity. This approach can be successful
in speci c formation and operating environments. The maintenance and work over method is primarily used where
sand production is limited, production rates are low, risk of performing some service is low and economically
feasible, or in marginal wells where the expense of other sand control techniques cannot be justi ed. Of
importance are the formation characteristics, which determine how much sand is produced and the effects on
safety and productivity.

Comparison of technologies
Criteria Gravel pack Resin coated gravel without screens Resin injection
Pressure >1000 Psi 2500-3300 Psi Up to 3300 Psi
Temperature >150 oF <250 oF <250 oF
% of sand control 75% 5% 10%

Latest Technologies for sand control

Shape memory polymers (SMP): SMP is manufactured to a desired shape and size, placed on the outside of base
pipe. When exposed to bottom hole temperatures and a catalyst, it expands to its original shape to fully contact
the borehole wall. It provides a positive stress on the formation to stabilize the near wellbore region and control
sand migration (By baker Hughes)
Expandable sand-screen systems (ESS): ESS is contacting the formation directly, preventing sand movement and
reducing skin development. (By weather ford).
Nanoparticle Technology: Nanoparticle nes migration control additive. The in organic nano crystals are capable
of xating formation nes, such as colloidal silica, charged and non-charged particles and expandable and non-
expandable clays on to propant particles. (By Baker Hughes)

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Recommendation
We must adopt new production practices for managing sand. These involved maintaining hydrocarbons
production at a level that is set over the long term to avoid reservoir damage, rather than pushing the wells to the
point where sanding occurred followed by a break in production. As a result of adopting these recommendations,
oil production has improved and sand production has been greatly reduced. More improved sand control
techniques are being researched and developed for new and more challenging environments.

References
1. ↑ Stephen P. Mathis, "Sand Management: A Review of Approaches and Concerns", SPE European Formation
Damage Conference, 13-14 May 2003, The Hague, Netherlands
2. ↑ George E. King, Pat J. Wildt, Eamonn O'Connell, BP America Inc., "Sand Control Completion Reliability and
Failure Rate Comparison With a Multi-Thousand Well Database", SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, 5-8 October 2003, Denver, Colorado
3. ↑ Leone, J.A., ARCO Oil and Gas Co.; Mana, M.L., Consultant; Parmley, J.B., ARCO Oil and Gas Co., "Gravel-
Sizing Criteria for Sand Control and Productivity Optimization", SPE California Regional Meeting, 4-6 April
1990, Ventura, California
4. ↑ Wentao Xiang, Pingshuang Wang, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, " Application of Bridging theory
on Saucier gravel to examine the sand control effect", SPE Asia Paci c Oil and Gas Conference and
Exhibition, 9-11 September 2003, Jakarta, Indonesia

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