Review of Sand Production from Oil Well Completions across Depositional Environments in the Niger Delta

Abstract

Several criteria and strategies have been developed to predict sand failures and to select appropriate sand control methods for improved completion designs and to maximise oil production at moderate unit technical cost. The depth criterion, SPADE equation, Rock Mechanic Equations incorporating Brinell Hardness Number and Unconfined Compressive Strength have been used extensively to predict sand production tendencies and to propose completion types. None of these criteria and strategies has explicitly incorporated the depositional environmental factor that defines the origin of these oil-bearing formations. A recent study aimed to correlate depo-belts and depositional environments to actual sand production using historical data of producing wells in the Niger Delta but covered only the Greater Ughelli depo-belt to some depths (SPE-163010). That study indicated a predominance of high sand producers in the channel sands depositional environment of the Greater Ughelli Depobelt. This paper therefore seeks to complete the investigation across all the remaining depo-belts and litho-facies and to share the review outcomes/ findings with the goal of establishing correlation between known rock mechanic principles and models used in sand failure prediction and sand control selection as a total system approach, providing wider solutions to sand control challenges in the oil industry.

March 2017

“…Time aligned difference was computed using aligned monitor minus base survey. The amplitude difference was then calculated by subtracting the extracted amplitude balance of 1987 from 2002, to Onikoyi et. al., 2014) generate amplitude difference map for the horizon of interest.…”

Time-Lapse Seismic Monitoring of Onshore Reservoirs in Niger Delta, Field ‘K’ as a Case Study

“…Figure.1: Outline Map of the Depobelts in the Niger Delta Basin showing location of Field 'K' (Modified afterOnikoyi et. al., 2014) …”