A Fiber-Optic Inspection System for Prepacked Screens (1999)

A Fiber-Optic Inspection System for Prepacked Screens Syed Hamid; Syed Hamid Halliburton Energy Services Inc. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar G. Scott Lester; G. Scott Lester Shell Deepwater Production, Inc. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Darrell W. Adkins Darrell W. Adkins Halliburton Energy Services Inc. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, Caracas, Venezuela, April 1999. Paper Number: SPE-53797-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/53797-MS Published: April 21 1999 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Hamid, Syed, Lester, G. Scott, and Darrell W. Adkins. "A Fiber-Optic Inspection System for Prepacked Screens." Paper presented at the Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, Caracas, Venezuela, April 1999. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/53797-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Latin America and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference Search Advanced Search AbstractScreens are one of the most critical components of a well completion. A screen failure is generally serious, requiring a workover, a sidetrack, or, in the worst case, abandonment of the well. Prepacked screens are used extensively in well completions primarily where there is an increased concern for sand control reliability. These screens have performed successfully in the industry with a few exceptions. One of the reasons for the varying degrees of performance is the difficulty in the inspection of this type of screen.Performance of a prepacked screen depends on pack thickness and pack tightness (or density). The local pack thickness is dictated by the concentricity of the inner and outer jackets of the screen. Eccentricity between the inner and outer jackets leads to thin packs (on one side) resulting in high, localized fluid velocities, which tend to promote erosion of the screen. It is difficult to nondestructively measure the pack thickness and tightness. As a result, the screen must be inspected by the conventional method by shining light from inside and visually inspecting for defects. At best, this is a qualitative method that is inherently operator-dependent. To overcome these difficulties, a fiber-optics-based system has been designed and tested to inspect the prepacked screens. A mathematical model has also been developed to predict the passage of light through a pack of gravel.Due to the availability of this inspection system, several modifications have been made in the screen manufacturing process that achieve previously unattainable concentricity and pack tightness. A large number (i.e., 550) of screens have been tested using this technique with excellent results. The different pack thicknesses and gravel sizes can be easily discerned with this inspection technique, which leads to a better quality product. Keywords: spe 53797, inner jacket, scott lester, outer jacket, optical power, intensity, gravel, fiberoptic inspection system, upstream oil & gas, screen jacket Subjects: Screen selection, Sand Control, Completion Operations This content is only available via PDF. 1999. Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.