Novel Digitalized Sand Management Strategy for Incremental Hydrocarbon Production
Authors: Gupta Abhishek , Sivakumar Vinnavadi C. Babu , Dwivedi Gaurav , Bhardwaj Kashish 
Published: November 2024

Sand management has been a longstanding challenge in the Oil and Gas industry, exacerbating the complexities further in Mature and Marginal Clastic oil and gas fields. These fields typically exhibit significantly low productivities and thereby low recovery volumes of remaining oil and/or gas in place, thereby expensive sand control measures prove economically unviable. This underscores the imperative need for the industry to embrace digitalization and data analytics in Sand Management as a means of bolstering Net Present Value (NPV) and the field economics and reserves monetization. The unmitigated production of sand in many of these fields necessitates a shift from existing and failed downhole sand control to effective and holistic sand management to circumvent and manage facility capacity constraints.

In this paper, we will introduce an innovative approach combining sub-surface reservoir sanding behaviour analysis with advanced surface sand management techniques, driven by cutting-edge digital analytic tools, which is one of its kind in the Oil and Gas Industry. Our intensive research findings and consequent recommendations include: Pioneering Digital Holistic Sand Management.Demonstrating enhancement in production rates, managing risks on the surface facilities, lower deferment of production and reduced Workover operations and costs.Decreasing Capital & Operating Expenditure: Strategies to optimize resource allocation.Reducing Carbon Footprint through sand management.Case Studies: Detailed exploration of unique algorithms and logics tailored for specific fields.

Our strategy, executed in collaboration with seasoned Sand Management professionals and advanced tools, delves into rock mechanics at a granular level and enables the assessment of well-specific sand production severity and the establishment of an Effective Sand Production Index (ESPI), which is an innovative technique for relative sand production estimation. This empowers field operators to prioritize high-risk wells, optimizing resource allocation. Furthermore, our approach involves simulated development of the Mechanical Earth Model (MEM) and Critical Drawdown Pressure (CDP) profile which enables a comprehensive understanding of the sand production behaviour of different reservoirs. On the surface, the methodology includes a unified module for simulation, analysis, and prediction of all risks associated with sand production. Notably: Particle-Specific Sand Mapping: Using detailed particle size distribution (PSD) analysis.Comprehensive Total Metal Loss Assessments: Incorporating both erosion and corrosion.Time-Based Metal Loss and Depositional Analysis: Facilitating dynamic visualization of depositional risks.Performance Coefficient Charts: Supporting Choke Health Analysis and failure prediction.Specialized algorithm for Intermittent Gas Lift wells: simulating Sand Deposition and transport behaviour during Gas Lift and Shut-in cycles.

This paper will also showcase how the tools & the strategies have been rigorously validated through successful case studies in clastic oil and gas fields around the world, affirming its capability in comprehensively and effectively addressing the multifaceted sand production risks. In summary, our approach represents a pioneering application of digitalization in holistic sand management, providing operators with a broader perspective beyond traditional downhole control measures. By adopting this strategy, industry can unlock restricted potential and, on an average, provide an 3-5% incremental production in mature and marginal fields.