Expandable Sand Screen (ESS®) was first field trialed in 1997 with the idea that eliminating the annulus between the sand screen and wellbore would improve downhole sand control, while allowing enhanced reservoir performance and management. By the end of 2012 ESS was installed in 677 wells, with over 418,184ft of screen deployed globally. As such, ESS has matured as a viable sand control technology combining Openhole Gravel Pack (OHGP) functionality with the installation simplicity of a Stand-Alone Screen (SAS) completion. With performance, reliability and long-term well life expectancy of paramount importance to field development economics, an extensive installation database has been maintained. Over the past 15 years, observation and analysis of design, planning, field implementation and useful life cycle has been documented in this database. This performance insight provides the foundation for future reliability and has been used to identify learning opportunities, influencing the product evolution and technology application envelope. With performance and reliability analysis provided and discussed in detail the applicable ESS envelope is outlined. Product design enhancement, methodical application evaluation and rigorous operating procedures result in improved successful use. Analysis of both infant and production failure trends are presented and show improvement. This data is used to estimate future life predictions using recognized reliability analysis tools. The applicability of ESS in openhole wells is highlighted, with continuing performance in oil producers, gas producers, water injectors and underground gas storage applications. There are various sand control technologies successfully utilized in reservoirs around the globe. This study outlines the applicable envelope for ESS use, providing insight to enable informed evaluation, life-of-well risk appraisal and ultimately reliable sand control completion selection for existing or new field development appraisal.

Expandable Sand Screens (ESS) have been commercially available and applied in excess of 600 wells since 1999. ESS systems have performed well in a variety of application types, reservoir conditions and sand control environments. ESS systems were identified at an early stage of their development and implementation to have specific benefits and potential in order to complete multizone reservoirs in openhole in addition to the original goal of providing a viable alternative to openhole gravel packing. Such a multizone system has been developed and applied in various projects globally. One such application where the ESS in a multizone reservoir that has achieved initial client objectives has led to subsequent further adoption and completion flexibility as result of performance. Initially specified as the preferred sand face completion for water injectors, the implementation of ESS in a West Africa deepwater field development has evolved significantly over 24 months. The world's first 7.0" Multi-Zone ESS completion deployed and expanded from a floating vessel in deepwater, the project, in addition to setting some of the very early design goals, functional specifications and qualification requirements, has also driven some of the evolution of this openhole multizone sand face completion system. Performance of the ESS completion in water injectors from equipment supply, system installation, operational efficiency and subsequent injectivity drove the client completion team to open the application envelope by also applying the technology into producer wells. The producer wells have also yielded equally favourable performance results - operational efficiency, low NPT and excellent productivity. The paper will detail the early design goals, functional specifications and qualification testing to allow system use as the base-case water injector completion, the evolution of the ESS system and adoption through the development of the deepwater project, describing lessons learned and overall performance of the ESS system in both water injector and producer application types.

Summary Expandable-sand-screen (ESS), a technology concept envisaged by Shell and initially developed by Petroline, was first field trialed in 1997 with the idea that eliminating the annulus between the sand screen and wellbore would improve downhole sand control and allow enhanced reservoir performance and management. By the end of 2012, ESS was installed in 677 wells, with 418,184 ft of screen deployed globally. As such, ESS has matured as a viable sand-control technology combining openhole-gravel-pack functionality with the installation simplicity of a standalone-screen (SAS) completion. With performance, reliability, and long-term well life expectancy of paramount importance to field-development economics, an extensive internal installation database has been maintained for Weatherford's ESS systems. Over the past 15 years, observation and analysis of design, planning, field implementation, and useful life cycle have been documented in this database. This performance insight provides the foundation for future reliability and has been used to identify learning opportunities, influencing the product evolution and technology-application envelope. With performance and reliability analysis provided and discussed in detail, the applicable ESS envelope is outlined. Product-design enhancement, methodical application evaluation, and rigorous operating procedures result in improved successful use. Analysis of both infant and production failure trends are presented and show improvement. These data are used to estimate future life predictions by use of recognized reliability-analysis tools. The applicability of ESS in openhole wells is highlighted, with continuing performance in oil producers, gas producers, water injectors, and underground-gas-storage applications. There are various sand-control technologies successfully used in reservoirs around the globe. This study outlines the applicable envelope for ESS use, providing insight to enable informed evaluation, life-of-well risk appraisal, and, ultimately, reliable sand-control-completion selection for existing or new field-development appraisal.