The integrity of sand control method is often compromised as wells get older and the field becomes more mature. An operator in East Malaysia pursued a cost-effective alternative remedial sand-control solution to restore the functionality of its sand control completion and provide unhindered oil production in a well. The well, located offshore Sarawak Malaysia, was a single string oil producer completed in 1987 with gravel pack and screens. It was a producing well for several years until the gravel pack completion failed and the well started to produce excessive sand. The well was beaned down (BD) to achieve an acceptable sand production limit by the operator of below 15 pound per thousand barrels (pptb). The initial remedial sand control measure was to install a thru-tubing screen, hung inside the production tubing. The thru-tubing screen failed to control the formation sand and a second 200 micron thru tubing screen was installed. That screen managed to control the sand production at acceptable levels but induced significant pressure drop, which reduced the oil production from the optimum level of production.Workover (WO) operations would involve pulling the existing completion, and re-gravel packing the zone would be costly. In addition to cost, induced mechanical skin in a gravel pack might not be lower than thru-tubing screen application. Chemical consolidation treatments using solvent-based resins historically have been used successfully as alternatives to remedial sand control, although their application, has typically been limited to short intervals.An aqueous based consolidation resin was developed that provides some advantages compared to conventional solvent based resin systems. The aqueous based resin system uses an internally cured water-based epoxy resin. Unlike the solvent based resin systems, which have a low flash point, the aqueous base consolidation resin system is not flammable. It is safer and less complex operationally. The consolidation-fluid mix can also be foamed for diversion purposes to treat wells with relatively large variations in permeability over longer zones compared to the solvent based resins. This paper describes the treatment background, engineering approach, laboratory testing, fluid design stages, quality assurance/ quality control (QA/QC) procedures, and the treatment execution for the chosen well. The field trial showed no sand was produced after treatment. In fact, the production rate was twice that of the production rate with the thru tubing screen in place. The promising result from this well creates new opportunities for simple, environmentally acceptable, and cost-effective remedial sand-control solutions for the operator.

During the low oil price period, PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) embarked on an intensified approach to prioritize the production enhancement and idle well reactivation (PE/IWR) activities in its Malaysia operations. To monetize the remaining reserves from these 2,000 active and idle strings, comprehensive opportunity management system which covers opportunity identification, evaluation and prioritization, planning, execution and tracking the activities are implemented. The identified opportunities from the active and idle wells inventory and integrated field review are initially assessed at a high level based on three criteria, value (the estimated Unit Enhancement Cost, UEC), probability of success and doability which indicates how quickly it will be restored. After the due diligence work completed, the opportunities will progress to the multi-disciplinary technical commercial value assurance committee for approval then followed by planning and scoping the detailed execution. All prioritized, approved and planned opportunities are then turned into execution pipeline and properly tracked into a systematic methodology for post job analysis, evaluating the success of the jobs and recording the lessons learnt for improved future jobs is also addressed in this article. This article also outlines the examples of comprehensive and successful approach of idle string reactivation activities which gone through this opportunity management system via fishing operation, scale removal treatment, gas lift optimization, behind casing opportunities, acid matrix stimulation and surface facilities rejuvenation. This approach has significantly improved the percentage of active wells in entire domestic operation from 50 to 53%.

Successful Wellbore Clean Up (WBCU) operation is one of the key aspects in delivering a high productivity well. Conventionally, in this phase, a series of surfactant and solvent pill is circulated downhole to "clean" the well. Poor job execution at this stage usually will result to tremendous amount of time to clean out the well or worst leaving the well with a "dirty" brine. Eventually this will lead to impairment in the well productivity. The Operator experienced strings of non-performance in their WBCU operation. This is reflected by extensive circulation time and poor quality of the brine downhole. Coupled with pressing low crude oil price, the Upstream business of the Operator collaborated with their Downstream counterpart to co-create their own in house, low cost and high performance WBCU chemicals. Not only that the new chemicals resolved the operational issues faced by the Operator, it also created significant values within the company itself. The paper will discuss the process and implementation of the novel WBCU materials within the Operator's operation. The performance of a WBCU surfactant is measured by its effectiveness in cleaning various types of downhole residues as fast as possible. The design of the new WBCU surfactant hinges on these criteria. In the lab, the performance of the material is measured using a "cleaning efficiency" test at different drilling fluids densities and WBCU formulations. Series of iterations were performed to determine the best chemistry for the WBCU surfactant. Finally, a field trial was conducted in one of the Operator's well, Well T-2 to gauge the product's performance in the real environment. The field trial in well T-2 was successful in achieving a cleaner brine at a rate faster than well T-1, a similar well of the same campaign. Well T-1 used a conventional surfactant and solvent product in the current market. The WBCU used in well T-2 managed to reduce the final NTU of the brine up to 45% as compared to final NTU observed in well T-1. A reduction in the operation hours up to 4 hours was also seen in well T-2. This has contributed to cost savings in rig time up to USD 75K. The successful performance delivery of the Operator's in-house products has showcased a fruitful collaboration between different workstreams within the Operator. Deep understanding in the chemistry of solvent and surfactant from the Downstream business helps to solve the pain points by the Upstream business. Insights on product performance and applications are transpired within the team to innovate a solution with better performance at lower cost. This has paves way for more opportunities in product development especially in specialty chemicals.