Advancement in Openhole Sand Control Applications Using Shape Memory Polymer

Abstract

This paper summarizes a game-changing technology using shape memory polymer (SMP) to provide downhole sand control in openhole environments. An openhole completion maximizes well productivity/injectivity and longevity without the concern of plugging and/or collapsing perforation tunnels that are frequent challenges in cased-hole completions. Conventional openhole sand control techniques include stand-alone-screen (SAS), expandable screens and openhole gravel packing (OHGP). In some cases, the uniformity, size and level of compressive strength of the formation dictate the use of an OHGP completion. This has proven to be a highly effective technique and eliminates the concerns of plugging and erosion associated with a SAS. However, an OHGP is not always feasible and/or practical for some reservoirs and geographic locations. Some of the challenges of OHGP include lack of deck space and equipment, incompatibility with annular zonal isolation tools, difficulty to gravel pack across shale zones, and unavailability of equipment or fluid design to effectively gravel pack extremely long laterals without exceeding reservoir fracture gradient. The SMP technology can fill the gaps that exist with current OHGP techniques. The performance of the SMP centers on its inherent glass transition property. It is run into the wellbore in its compacted state and then activated to expand to the openhole size at the target depth when exposed to a catalyst. Once expanded, the SMP conforms to the sandface including washouts and any irregularities within the SMP expansion limit. It is porous in both compacted and expanded states with permeability of over 30 Darcy after expansion. Its filtration capability is equivalent, if not superior, to that of an OHGP application. In this paper, the SMP’s "engineered" behavior and sand control mechanism will be introduced first, followed by the performance comparison between the SMP and conventional OHGP, activation fluid design and the operational procedures. The last section will be focused on the SMP operating envelopes.

An Investigation into Current Sand Control Methodologies Taking into Account Geomechanical, Field and Laboratory Data Analysis

“…Many researchers [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] find a notably high influence of fine fractions (<50 µm) on the well operation (mainly plugging screens), as a result, the material associated with the formation of sand arches was worked out, but significant results were not achieved in by analyzing the literature (except for the connection of the aforementioned arches with the process of the natural decrease in the number of suspended particles in the first few days of well operation).…”

Chemical Sand Consolidation: From Polymers to Nanoparticles

“…This material can be used to permit all particles less than 43 microns to flow easily through the filter screen and stop the sand particles greater than 43 microns to control sand production. Carrejo et al [25], Wang et al [90], Leung et al [91], and Fuxa et al [92] used shape memory polymers to control the sand formation, (See Table 13). The used shape memory polymers have shown permeability ranges from 5 to 600 mD at temperature of 37.8-93.3 • C [25,91,92].…”

Evaluation on the Seal Performance of SMP-Based Packers in Oil Wells

“…SMPs also have a variety of applications in petroleum engineering. Thermally actuated SMPs are the most commonly used materials, for example, intelligent plugging drilling fluids [ 9 ], self-expanding cement [ 10 , 11 ], intelligent sand control technology [ 12 , 13 ], etc. Field tests and laboratory studies have demonstrated that technologies involving SMPs have significantly improved oil recovery rates [ 14 ].…”