The Ring Seal Floating Packer is a simple and low cost sealing device for use in steam injection wells and is proven to be an effective mechanical device for controlling and blocking the passage of fluids in an annular space between the tubing and casing. The Ring Seal Packer can be compared to a piston in a cylinder: Pressure forces acting upon a piston result in up and down motion while the piston maintains a seal against the cylinder (casing) wall. Compared to a conventional thermal packer, the Ring Seal Packer does not require an expansion joint allowing the injection tubing to thermally expand and contract while the Ring Seal Packer moves up and down the casing maintaining its sealing ability. This paper covers the following areas: Mechanical DesignLaboratory testing providing loading confirmation for deployment.Field results at PEMEX Samaria oil field, Mexico, Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS)California field results of CSS into vertical wells with multiple zones above and below the RSP.Field results at Mansarovar, Colombia.ConclusionReferences

A novel and simple sand control technology has been developed and field tested featuring a prepacked liner consisting of thermosetting resin coated sand grains bonded by heat onto a perforated steel base pipe to form a solid, porous, and permeable cylindrical sand liner that can be installed into a wells requiring sand control. The Resin Coated Prepacked Sand Control Liner is a cost effective tool that can be applied to a variety of wellbore situations requiring remedial or primary sand control. The liner does not use wire wrapping and is constructed using standard oil field tubulars and commercially available thermosetting resin coated sand. The liner fills a need in certain sand control situations that cannot be solved using conventional technology. The Resin Coated Prepacked Liner is used with and without secondary gravel packing, depending on the well and reservoir conditions. The Resin Coated Prepacked Liner is currently installed in one well in the Long Beach Field, Southern California as a field test in a problem well that has historically experienced wellbore sand accumulation and repeated pump failures. Since installation in June 2002, the well has been sand free with an unexpected increase in oil production. Introduction A new sand control technology utilizing a solid, resin coated, prepacked liner has been developed and patented that provides oil producers with an alternative tool for use in wells experiencing sand control problems. The Resin Coated Prepacked Liner has been successfully applied in the Long Beach Field in Southern California. The present state of art in conventional sand control technology includes wire wrapped screens, narrow gauge slotting capability, improved wellbore filtering, and better gravel placement methods. Though not necessarily considered conventional, some high tech equipment has also become available, including sintered metal filters, and expandable metal screens. Excluding the latter, the basic concept of sand control technology however, generally remains unchanged; that of placement of a gravel medium between the sand face and the wellbore to restrict the invasion of formation material into the producing conduit. This technique has been in use for decades, and has been very effective in accomplishing its intended objective. As with most technologies however, some limitations and shortcomings have been experienced, usually occurring in the form of loss of sand control resulting from a number of controllable or uncontrollable causes. These, to name a few, include liner slot corrosion or erosion, gravel pack voids resulting from gravel pumping interruptions, wire wrap screen tears during installation or mishandling, gravel pack contamination with formation solids due to improper wellbore fluid conditioning, and non-concentric pack placement because of poor liner centralization. A variety of other causes of lost sand control have been experienced by operators over the years, but the remedies available to improve their longevity has been limited. This paper presents a novel concept and alternative to conventional technology that was designed and developed to help solve some of the above mentioned problems, and provide some versatility for an operator to consider when faced with correcting a sand control problem well. The design, development, construction, and testing of the liner are discussed, as well as its performance in a remedial application in the Long Beach Field, Southern California (Los Angeles basin). Unconsolidated sandstone formations make up a significant share of producing oil and gas reservoirs in California, as well as many other regions in the United States. Well completions employing sand control technology are common. With these completions also come the unfortunate early or eventual problems mentioned above. Well economics and well conditions will determine if the lost production can be restored, but considering the present costs associated with full sand control repairs, it is not uncommon for these wells to be shut in permanently, or remain idle for long periods of time. If repairs can be made, they usually involve modifying the wellbore to a smaller diameter and installing a gravel packed liner. If wellbore space is restrictive, then a redrill of the well is the only remaining alternative, or abandonment if the costs of operations, repair, or redrill are excessive.

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