This paper presents the experiences of well clean-up operations carried out in the development wells of Akpo deepwater field. Akpo is located 135 km offshore Nigeria in 1400 m of water depth. The reservoirs consist of faulted, unconsolidated, turbiditic channel and lobe sands with complex architecture. The fluids in each reservoir are near-critical. The field is currently producing about 175,000 barrels of condensates per day. Current sand control techniques are Frac-Pack (FP), Stand Alone Screen (SAS) and Expandable Screen (ES). Early data acquisition during well clean-ups was essential in other to optimise the development strategy, ensure a production ramp-up in line with expectation and reduce remaining uncertainties which were mainly linked to sand communication within channel complexes, fluid behaviour, and faults behaviour (seal or conduit). The paper covers the clean-up design, execution, operations monitoring, data acquisition, and fluid sampling, along with the challenges and constraints encountered in the process for the different wells. It describes how the challenge of hydrates formation, exacerbated by the deepwater environment and peculiar nature of the reservoir fluid, was handled to ensure successful well clean-ups. It also gives an example on how the early data acquisition program impacted important field development decisions.