Sand production is one of the major challenges for mature fields in Austria. With increasing water production, the severity of the sand migration augments, leading to the shut-in of the wells. Eliminating or substantially reducing sand production at the sand face is the most viable option to continue hydrocarbon production. The project's target was to research and apply a technically sound solution readily available in Europe, with reduced HSSE risks and little economic impact. To control intervention costs, it was decided to favor sand control solutions for rig-less interventions. Collaboratively, the teams evaluated formation rock consolidation with the help of an internally catalyzed aqueous-based emulsion of curable epoxy resin (ICABECER). Laboratory testing demonstrated the system's suitability for the target wells and confirmed the viability of the planned operations scheduled to deploy the treatment via coiled tubing (CT), as well as limiting concerns about permeability reduction. Finally, field operations of the application, clean-up, and production face were monitored and evaluated. The major concern when using resins to agglomerate sand grains in a reservoir rock is that the pore space is reduced, jeopardizing the rock permeability. Laboratory testing confirmed that the permeability of the rock can be retained. Due to the simplicity of the intervention, the treatment could be deployed with standard equipment keeping it within the budgetary constraints of very mature fields. To mitigate possible risks, wells having challenging production backgrounds and scheduled for plug and abandon were selected. In these wells, previous conventional sand control measures failed, such as gravel pack installations or attempting to produce sand and separate it on surface. Post-job results demonstrated that the in-situ consolidation generated a reduction of sand content to a level allowing production of the wells. During the clean-up period of the gas well, sufficient sand was produced to erode the choke. After the well start-up period, sand production was eliminated, and the well was returned to the target rate. Monitoring of solid contents in the flow and the evaluation of coupons confirmed the suitability of the technique to establish flow with acceptable risks contributing to economic success. The cost-effective ICABECER chemical treatment, along with the methodology, opens new opportunities for the asset to prolong well life and increase the overall recovery factor from the reservoir. Technical simplicity and the reduced environmental impact of the chemicals are key for resource-saving and sustainable operations in mature fields.

Unconsolidated fine formation sand in mature Austrian gas fields jeopardizes production rates and well productivity as increasing water cut enhances fines and sand production to the well bore. The wells peak production was years ago, making well intervention challenging to stay within tight economic limits. Stabilizing the formation rock with aqueous-based resin eliminated sand production and reduced intervention costs to restore target rates. To remain within economical budget levels for the projects, engineering-focused its research on treatments that can be applied rig-less and are suitable for the Austrian gas field reservoir parameters with moderately low temperatures, reasonable interval length, depleted reservoir pressure, and dis-stacked perforations. Team collaboration resulted in proposing a rock consolidation treatment with an Internally Catalyzed Aqueous-Based Emulsion of Curable Epoxy Resin (ICABECER). Thorough planning and pre-job lab testing reduced operational risks, saved costs, and optimized outcomes. The placement technique and displacement precautions resulted in reservoir rock without notable flow path reduction, allowing quickly anticipated target rates to be reached. The treatment outcome confirmed laboratory testing where rock permeability was retained, and only small amounts of residue sand were produced during the cleanup period. The intervention's simplicity allowed using standard field equipment, minimizing cost, and calculating a business case according to tight budgetary constraints. The wells, scheduled for plug and abandon because of pretreatment sand production, demonstrated a stable gas flow with reduced sand content enabling economic gas production. During the cleanup period, sufficient sand was produced to erode surface equipment; however, after the start-up period, sand production was reduced to zero, and the well was returned to the target rate. The technical simplicity of the chemical treatment and a collaboratively engineered and optimized application open new opportunities for the asset to reduce or eliminate sand production without the need for expensive sand control installations at the sand face. Furthermore, the chemical reservoir rock stabilization prolongs well life and increases the overall recovery factor. Reducing environmental impact is also key for resource-saving and sustainable operations in mature fields.