FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, OWERRI

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
2023/2024, RAIN SEMESTER

Course Title: Petroleum Production Engineering III

Course Code: PET 504
SAND CONTROL: Gravel Packing & Sand Consolidation

Po=Overburden pressure

Po=Pg + Pf Pg + Pf= grain + fluid pressure

1. INTRODUCTION
Sand production occurs when production of formation fluids from highly unconsolidated
formations is associated with production of formation sands. Approximately 70% of oil and gas
reservoirs worldwide are unconsolidated.
It is initiated when the formation stress surpasses the strength of the formation. The formation
strength is mainly gotten from the natural material that cements the sand grains, but the sand
grains are also held together by cohesive forces resulting from immovable formation water.
The formation sand grains stress is due to factors such as, actions from tectonism, overburden
pressures, pore pressures, stress changes due to drilling, and drag forces on produced fluids
1.1 Production Problems due to Sand Production
The production of sand leads to various forms of production problems including;

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 i. erosion of downhole tubulars
ii. erosion of valves, fittings, and surface flow lines
iii. the wellbore filling up with sand
iv. sand fouling
v. collapsed casing because of the lack of formation support
vi. clogging of surface processing equipment
1.2 Causes of Sand Production
i. degree of formation consolidation
ii. reduction in pore pressure throughout the life of the well
iii. production rate
iv. reservoir fluid viscosity
v. increase of water production throughout the life of the well

Consequently, sand control activities are carried out to prevent reservoir sand migration from
the reservoir to the near-wellbore and wellbore areas. It involves;
i. mechanical methods
ii. chemical methods
Mechanically, sand production can be controlled by (i) screen with gravel pack completions
(internal/external), (ii) slotted liners or screen completions without gravel pack perforations, (iii)
expandable sand screens (ESS) with its simplified deployment and expansion technology, (iv)
and frac packing which is a combination of hydraulic fracturing and gravel packing
Chemical methods involve sand consolidation (SCON) treatments with resin injection for binding
formation sand and sand agglomeration. In most cases, SCON treatment consists of injecting
fluid containing adhesive or resin for binding the sand grains while the main mechanism of sand
agglomeration involves increasing the attraction between sand particles through processes such
as polymer bridging interactions and charge neutralization. Stringent candidate screening and
detailed pre-job planning are crucial in ensuring the success of both SCON and sand
agglomeration treatment.
However, the main techniques for sand control involve;
i. gravel packing
ii. sand consolidation
Moreso, stand-alone sand control screen types include;
i. Wedge Wire Screen. Filson wedge wire screen is also called wire-wrapped screens
(WWS)

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 Fig. 1
ii. Gravel Pack Screen
iii. Bridge Slotted Screen

Fig. 2
iv. Expandable Sand Screen
v. Perforated Casing
vi. Precise micropore composite screen

Fig. 3

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Others include

Figure 4: Unique Sand Control Technology

(https://boundarycreative.co.uk/2017/darcy)

2. GRAVEL PACKING

Fog. 5: Alpha and beta wave in open-hole horizontal gravel pack

A gravel pack is a downhole filter designed to prevent unwanted formation sand during well
production. Sand larger than the average formation sand grain size is positioned between the
formation and a screen or slotted liner. The gravel pack sand retains most of the formation sand
but let very fine particles pass and be produced. The gravel pack completions are either (i) in
side-casing gravel pack or (ii) open-hole or underreamed-casing gravel pack (Fig. 6). In addition

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to retention of formation sand, a successful gravel pack should offer the least possible resistance
to flow.

Figure 6: Common gravel pack completion types

This proceeds by pumping a sand suspension along the annular region between the borehole
wall and a cylindrical screen, sized to allow hydraulic conductivity but to prevent the passage of
sand (Fig. 5). Kilometers of sand can be successfully placed in horizontal wells, in what is called
α-β packing. The formation sand is held in place by properly sized gravel-pack sand. The gravel-
pack sand is held in place with a properly sized screen.

Fig. 7: Successfully placed cased-hole gravel pack

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To gravel pack a cased hole (Fig. 7), the perforation damage is cleaned out behind the pipe. This
is done using (i) back flushing (ii)underbalanced perforating (iii)back surging (iv)perforation
washing. The screen is run, and the gravel pumped into the perforation tunnels and casing/screen
annular area. Success is determined using a high permeability path through the casing, cement
and damaged zone to permit effective packing, out against the native formation.
Theoretically, open-hole gravel packs yield better productivity than internal gravel packs,
especially at high rates and/or with viscous oil. Advantages include offer of more flexibility,
selectivity, planning time and cost/rig-time savings. Its disadvantage is that they are more difficult
to effectively plan and install.
2.1 Gravel Pack Placement
Water or fluids with low viscosity were first used as transport fluids but could not suspend the
sand. Hence, low sand concentrations and high velocities were needed. Recently, viscosified
fluids are used so that high concentrations of sand can be transported without settling.
(i) In open-hole completions, the reverse-circulation and crossover methods are used. In
reverse-circulation method, the gravel-laden fluid is pumped down the tubing-casing annulus,
thereafter, the carrier fluid passes through the screen and flows back up the tubing (Fig. 8).
Disadvantage is possibility of rust, pipe dope, or debris being picked from the annulus and mixed
with the gravel and damaging the pack permeability.
In crossover method, the gravel-laden fluid is pumped down the tubing, crossing over to the
screen-open hole annulus, flows into a wash pipe inside the screen, leaving the gravel in the
annulus. The fluid flows up the casing-tubing annulus to the surface (Fig. 9). Th open-hole section
is usually underreamed through the productive interval to increase well productivity.

Figure 8: Reverse circulation, open-hole or underreamed casing gravel pack method

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 Figure 9: Crossover open-hole or underreamed casing gravel pack placement method
(ii) For inside-casing gravel packing, washdown, reverse-circulation, and crossover methods are
used. In the washdown method (Fig. 10a), gravel is placed opposite the productive interval before
the screen is placed. The screen is then washed down to its final position. The reverse-circulation
and crossover methods are as application in open-hole gravel packing.

Figure 10: Gravel placement methods for inside-casing gravel packs

However, crossover gravel packing (Fig. 11) is achieved by first placing a gravel below the
perforated interval by circulation through a section of screen called the telltale screen. When
covered, there is a pressure increase signaling the beginning of the squeeze stage. During this
stage, the carrier fluid leaks off to the formation, placing gravel in the perforation tunnels. After
squeezing, the washpipe is raised, and the carrier fluid circulates through the production screen,
filling the casing-production screen annulus with gravel. Some gravel is also left in a section of
the blank pipe above the screen to provide supple as the gravel settles.

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 Figure 11: Steps in crossover method of gravel pack placement
2.2 GRAVEL PACKING IN HORIZONTAL HOLES
In horizontal holes the placing of the gravel will occur in two waves; an alpha wave followed by a
beta wave (Fig. 12 and Video).

Figure 12: Alpha and beta waves in horizontal gravel pack

Watch Video (Final Gravel Pack) 7min. 2 sec. on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JDtg6IGta0
or
https://rb.gy/g05tt5
After the screen, washpipe, crossover tool and gravel pack packers have been set the pumping
operations may start. The gravel pack is pumped down the workstring and out into the annulus
between the screen and the formation through a circulation port in the crossover tool. As the
gravel is deposited the gravel pack fluid returns are taken through the screens and washpipe and

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 back to surface. The alpha wave packs the annulus all the way to the toe of the well. As the alpha
wave reaches the toe, the beta wave will start packing backwards from the toe to the heel.

In other words, during the alpha-wave progression at the start of the water-packing operation,
the gravel dune makes its way evenly toward the toe, and the pressure increases slightly.
Filling the toe triggers the beta wave, sending the dune back toward the heel. As mentioned
it is vital not to have excessive losses during pumping, as this may lead to a premature screen-
off, i.e. the sand may bridge between the screen and the formation, preventing further packing to
the bottom of the well and hence resulting in an incomplete gravel pack operation.

3. SAND CONSOLIDATION
This utilizes the injection of chemicals, usually resins, through the perforations into the formation
to cement the sand grains. The chemicals help bind the sand grains together.
3.1 Criteria for a successful sand control treatment
i. resin application in the formation by a carrier fluid
ii. resin separation from the carrier fluid
iii. resin accumulation around the grain contact points
iv. curing of the resin

4. SUMMARY
Sand Control Management - When oil is produced from relatively weak reservoir rocks, small
particles and sand grains are dislodged and carried along with the flow. This sand production can
create erosion in flowlines and other equipment. Sand control management can be counted as
an activity which shares risks (safety, environmental, process and cost) of producing sand to the
surface vs. the risks of trying to keep it down in the reservoir using different mechanical or
chemical control techniques. Some of the sand control techniques available are;

i. Maintenance and workover –used where there is minimal sand production, low production
rates, and economically viable well service.
ii. Rate exclusion - the point of the procedure is to sequentially reduce or increase the flow rate
until an acceptable value of sand production is achieved.
iii. Selective completion practices - the goal of this technique is to produce only from sections of
the reservoir that can withstand the anticipated drawdown
iv. Plastic consolidation - plastic consolidation involves the injection of plastic resins that are
attached to the formation sand grains. The resin subsequently hardens and forms a
consolidated mass, binding the sand grains together at their contact points. Three types of
resins are commercially available; epoxies, furans (including furan/Phenolic blends) and
phenolics.
v. High energy resin placement – one of the main reasons for the lack of acceptance of chemical
consolidation techniques has been difficulties in placing the resin uniformly across the entire
target interval and restricted length. The uneven coverage is more severe in intervals greater
than about 15 ft long. Causes for this are typically attributed to differences in injectivity caused
by incomplete perforation clean-up during underbalanced perforating jobs or permeability
variations in the formation interval length.

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 High-energy resin placement addresses some of these problems. The technique injects the
resin rapidly under highly overbalanced conditions. The resin is surged into the formation at
rates that will place the resin before the formation has a chance to fail. Another benefit to the
rapid resin placement is that the technique appears to be less affected by permeability
contrasts than the matrix treatments. This characteristic leads to more uniform placement over
a long-perforated interval. This method is still experimental.

vi. Resin coated gravel - resin-coated gravel treatments can be pumped in two different ways.
The first is a dry, partially catalyzed phenolic resin-coated gravel. Thin resin coating is about
5% of the total weight of the sand. When exposed to heat, the resin cures, resulting in a
consolidated sand mass. The use of resin-coated gravel as a sand-control technique involves
pumping the gravel into the well to completely fill the perforations and casing. The bottomhole
temperature of the well, or injection of steam, causes the resin to complete the cure into a
consolidated pack. After curing, the consolidated gravel-pack sand can be drilled out of the
casing, leaving the resin-coated gravel in the perforations. The remaining consolidated gravel
in the perforations acts as a permeable filter to prevent the production of formation sand
vii. Stand-alone slotted liners or screens - slotted liners or screens have been used as the sole
means of controlling formation sand production. In this service, they function as a filter. Unless
the formation is a 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 with
formation material. 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-wrapped screen. Bridging theory and laboratory tests show
that particles will bridge on a slot, provided the width of the slot is less than two particle
diameters. Likewise, particles will bridge against a hole if the perforation diameter does not
exceed about three particle diameters.

Figure 13

viii. Gravel packing - gravel packing consists of placing a screen or slotted liner in a well opposite
the completion interval and placing gravel concentrically around it. The gravel is large-grained
sand that prevents sand production from the formation but allows fluids to flow into the well.
The slotted liner or screen retains the gravel. The gravel is sized to be about 5 to 6 times
larger than the median formation sand size. Gravel packing creates a permeable downhole

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 filter that allows the production of the formation fluids but restricts the entry and production of
formation sand

Advantages of open-hole gravel packing include;

• Easiest type of gravel pack to place because of the large annular space between the
screen and the formation. Since gravel does not have to be carried through perforations,
this technique presents minimal gravel transport problems

• Highest theoretical productivity because there are no perforation tunnels filled with gravel,
sand or dirt to restrict flow

• Lowest possible velocity for produced fluids flowing through the gravel pack

• Usually less expensive because it eliminates some casing and cementing costs.

Disadvantages of open-hole gravel pack include;

• More difficult to control unwanted water or gas production, or injection into thief zones,
within the completion interval

• Hole stability during placement of the gravel is often a problem, which may result in sand
filling the annulus around the screen before the gravel is placed.

• Screen is more easily plugged with formation sand during gravel placement than in cased-
hole completions.

• The under-reaming process may cause additional formation damage

• Generally limited to a bottom interval in multiple zone completions

• Sloughing problems may occur at the casing to open-hole interface.

5. SAND CONTROL CALCULATION

STEP I: Prepare Table of sieve data with experimental data available
STEP II: Determine the sample weight (total weight retained)
STEP III: Plot the sieve data on semi-log graph with diameter (i.e. sieve opening, in.) and
cumulative weight (%) on x-axis and y-axis, respectively with reversed x-axis data. This gives the
Sand Size Distribution Curve.
STEP IV: Determine d10, d40, d70, d90 from the curve; where for example d40 is sand grain size
when cumulative weight is 40%.
STEP V: Calculate the Sorting Factor also known as Uniformity Coefficient, C
STEP VI: Determine the critical formation sand grain size and critical gravel grain size.

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 • If C≤5 (sand is uniform, hence critical formation sand grain size =d10 and critical
gravel grain size D10=6*d10). D10 is the Gravel Design Point.
• If 5<C≤10 (sand is non-uniform, hence the critical sand grain size=d40, and critical
gravel size D40=6*d40)
• If C>10 (the critical sand grain size = d70, and the critical gravel grain size
D70=6*d70)
STEP VII: Calculate D100 (Screen Slot Size)
STEP VIII: Draw the Gravel Design Line by,

• joining point 1(D10, 10% cumulative weight) and point 2 (D100, 100% cumulative
weight).
STEP IX: Find the volume of annulus (Va), and weight of gravel needed for the pack.
STEP X: Determine the weight of each gravel size
STEP XI: Determine the gravel to sand (G-S) ratio.

Equations:
(1) Weight % = weight retained/total weight
𝑑40
(2) 𝐶 = 𝑑90
𝑥%
1−
[𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝐷𝑥 − 100]
𝐶
(3) 𝐷100 = 10
Note: x-axis has been reversed and where x=10 and C=STEP V.
2 2
𝜋(𝑑ℎ −𝑑𝑠𝑙𝑜 )𝐿
(4) 𝑉𝑎 = 4
in ft3

(5) Weight of gravel = 𝑉𝑎 ∗ 𝑆𝐺𝑔𝑟 ∗ 62.4 ∗ (1 − 𝛷𝑔𝑟 ) in lbs.

𝐷50
(6) 𝐺 − 𝑆 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = 𝑑50 with values from graphs

Exercise 1:
A gravel pack design is needed to control the sand production from an oilwell completed in an
unconsolidated sandstone formation with the data given in the Table 1a and 1b.
Table 1a
Parameter Value
Viscosity, cP 2
Formation volume factor, rb/stb 1
Reservoir average pressure, psi 3000
Drainage radius, ft 660
Wellbore radius, ft 0.292
Well diameter, in. 9 5/8
Slot diameter, in. 6¾
Formation thickness, ft 50

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 Gravel permeability, md 400
Formation permeability, md 50
Gravel porosity, % 35
Gravel SG 2.63

Gravel sizes available:

d1: 0.007 in.
d2: 0.00098 in.
d3: 0.019 in.
d4: 0.023 in.

Table 1b

US SIEVE
NO. SIEVE OPENING (in.) WEIGHT RETAINED (gm)
10 0.0787
20 0.0331
40 0.0165 2.00
50 0.0117 8.36
70 0.0083 3.82
100 0.0059 6.94
140 0.0041 30.62
200 0.0029 134.90
270 0.0021 9.68
325 0.0017 1.12
400 0.0015 0.26
197.70

Calculate:
i. the gravel design line
ii. the slot size
iii. the weight of each gravel size
iv. gravel to sand ratio
Solution:
STEP 1:

US SIEVE SIEVE OPENING WEIGHT

NO. (in.) WEIGHT RETAINED (gm) (%) CUM. WEIGHT (%)
10 0.0787
20 0.0331
40 0.0165 2.00 1.01 1.01
50 0.0117 8.36 4.23 5.24
70 0.0083 3.82 1.93 7.17
100 0.0059 6.94 3.51 10.68

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 140 0.0041 30.62 15.49 26.17
200 0.0029 134.90 68.23 94.41
270 0.0021 9.68 4.90 99.30
325 0.0017 1.12 0.57 99.87
400 0.0015 0.26 0.13 100.00
197.70

STEP II: Total weight = 197.70 g

STEP III:

110
100
Cumulative weight, %

90
80
70
60
50 Sand Size Distribution Curve

40 Gravel Design Line

30
20
10
0
1 0.1 0.01 0.001 0.0001
Sieve opening, in.

Fig. 14

STEP IV:
d10=0.0061 in., d40=0.0038 in., d70=0.0033 in., & d90=0.0030 in.
STEP V: Sorting factor or Uniformity Coefficient = 1.26
STEP VI C<5, hence sand is uniform and d10=0.0061 in. and D10=6*0.0061=0.036 in.
10
1−
[𝑙𝑜𝑔 0.036 − 100]
1.26
STEP VII: 𝐷100 = 10 = 0.007 in.
STEP VIII: See blue line in graph of STEP III
𝜋(0.8022 − 0.56252 )∗50
STEP IX: 𝑉𝑎 = 4
=12.8 ft3, and

weight of gravel needed for the pack = vol. * density = 12.8*2.63*62.4 (1-0.35) =1365.41
lbs.
Note: conversion required

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STEP X:

GRAVEL SIZES (in.) CUM. WEIGHT % WEIGHT % WEIGHT OF EACH GRAVEL SIZE (lbs)
d 0.007 100 18 245.77
d 0.0098 82 36 491.55
d 0.019 46 11 150.20
d 0.023 35 35 477.89
100 1365.41

TOTAL WEIGHT (lbs)

SEE CLASS NOTES 1365.41

0.018
STEP XI: 𝐺 − 𝑆 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = = 4.9
0.0037

References
[1] William K. Ott and Joe D. Woods (2003). Modern Sandface Completion Practices
Handbook, Published by (World Oil®) Magazine, First Edition, Gulf Publishing company,
Houston, Texas.
[2[] Christer Syltøy (2014) Master’s Thesis. University of Stavanger.
[3] Other online academic resources

Created: September 2024 (Version 1)

Created By: Engr. Dr. N. Uwaezuoke

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