Improvements in Horizontal Gravel Packing

Brian Edment
Baku, Azerbaijan

Companies have been slow to adopt openhole gravel packs for inclined and horizontal

Fraser Elliott
John Gilchrist
Brian Powers
BP
Baku, Azerbaijan

effects of gravity on gravel placement around sand-exclusion screens. Today, however,

Ren Jansen
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Tim McPike
Shell Exploration & Production Americas
Houston, Texas, USA
Henry Onwusiri
Shell UK Exploration & Production
Aberdeen, Scotland
Mehmet Parlar
Sugar Land, Texas, USA
Allan Twynam
BP
Sunbury, England
Aart van Kranenburg
Shell Exploration & Production Europe
Stavanger, Norway
FIV (Formation Isolation Valve), MudSOLV and QUANTUM
are marks of Schlumberger. Alternate Path and AllPAC
are marks of ExxonMobil; this technology is licensed
exclusively to Schlumberger.
1. Sherlock-Willis TM, Morales RH and Price P: A Global
Perspective on Sand Control Treatments, paper
SPE 50652, presented at the SPE European Petroleum
Conference, The Hague, October 2022, 1998.
Parlar M and Albino EH: Challenges, Accomplishments,
and Recent Developments in Gravel Packing, Journal of
Petroleum Technology 52, no. 1 (January 2000): 5058.
2. Tifn D, Stevens B, Park E, Elliott F and Gilchrist J:
Evaluation of Filter Cake Flowback in Sand Control
Completions, paper SPE 68933, presented at the SPE
European Formation Damage Conference, The Hague,
May 2122, 2001.
3. Ali S, Dickerson R, Bennett C, Bixenman P, Parlar M,
Price-Smith C, Cooper S, Desroches L, Foxenberg B,
Godwin K, McPike T, Pitoni E, Ripa G, Steven B, Tifn D
and Troncoso J: High-Productivity Horizontal Gravel
Packs, Oileld Review 13, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 5273.

50

well completions. This reluctance centered on operator concerns about the detrimental

these attitudes are changing. Improved techniques, specialized screens, numerous

successful installations and a proven record have increased condence in the longterm performance of this technique for controlling sand inux in high-angle wellbores.

The number of directional and extended-reach

wells increased dramatically during the past
fifteen years, especially offshore. Operators
complete many of these wells as open holes
because of the high cost and difficulty of
cementing casing and of achieving clean,
effective perforations. Long openhole sections
with large inow areas have higher productivities
than cased-and-perforated completions and are
not as sensitive to drilling or completion damage.
However, these types of completions still require
reliable sand-control measures (next page).
Gravel packing, an effective and widely used
technique, places a granular lter media, or
gravel, around metal sand-exclusion screens
inside perforated casing or open hole. The gravel
is round, well-sorted, clean natural sand or
synthetic materials sized to exclude individual
formation grains and smaller rock particles, or
finescommonly referred to as produced
sandwhile being held in place by the screens.
Completion operations involve pumping
slurries of gravel and a carrier uid into the
annulus around a screen assembly. The gravel is
deposited as carrier fluid leaks into the
formation or circulates back to surface through a
wash pipe inside the screens and a tubing
workstring. Gravel packs, used extensively in
vertical wells for decades, were less common for
high-angle and horizontal open holes in some
areas, until recently.
Sand control for open holes traditionally
consisted of stand-alone screens without gravel
packs or, more recently, expandable screens.

Stand-alone screens, however, often fail

prematurely. Operators attribute these failures
to incomplete borehole cleanout and partially
plugged screens, which result in hot spots, or
converging ow.1
Concentrated inow at discrete points leads to
increased pressure drops, screen erosion,
increased sand production and, ultimately, to a
decline in well productivity. Newer expandable
screens are run with an initial diameter that is
smaller than the open hole, and then they are
extruded against the borehole wall. These systems
show promise for some sand-control applications
if the expanded screens are strong enough to
resist rock failure and sand inux.2
However, if expandable screens are not
compliant enough to seal tightly against washedout and enlarged or irregular boreholes, their
effectiveness may be only marginally better than
stand-alone screens. Removing trapped ltercake
after screen expansion also is a concern. Frequent
screen-only failures led many operators to attempt
more openhole gravel-pack (OHGP) completions.3
Incomplete gravel packs and ineffective
control of sand caused by early job termination,
or screenout, resulting from annular blockage,
or bridges, represent significant economic
and operational risks for operators. A single
sand-control completion offshore costs several
million US dollars. Remedial interventions to
clean out sand and repair wellbore damage often
cost up to a million US dollars and involve
signicant production downtime.

Oileld Review

In-Situ Consolidation and Selective or Oriented Perforating

Cement

Intermediate
casing

Resin

Horizontal Stand-Alone Screen in Open Hole

Open hole

Production packer

Screens

Filtercake

Perforations

Production
casing

Screens
Cased-Hole Gravel Pack

Blank pipe

Intermediate
casing

Expandable Sand Screen (ESS)

Expanded screens
Production packer

Screens

Running screens

Perforations

Filtercake
Gravel

Production
casing

Screens

Cased-Hole Frac Pack

Blank pipe

Intermediate
casing

Horizontal Openhole Gravel Pack (OHGP)

Gravel
Gravel-pack packer

Screens

Gravel

Filtercake
Gravel
Fracture

Production
casing

Screens

> Sand-control methods. In-situ chemical consolidation and selective or oriented perforating in cemented casing with positive zonal isolation avoids
weaker zones or minimizes sand inux (top left). Cased-hole gravel packs control sand in laminated formations, lower quality sands and marginally
economic vertical wells (middle left). Frac packs and screenless completions combine stimulation and sand control in reservoirs with layered pay zones,
poorly sorted grains or low uid transmissibility (bottom left). In open hole, stand-alone screens control sand in formations with large well-sorted grains and
in wells with short producing lives (top right). Expandable sand screen (ESS) systems provide viable well completions, but long-term reliability has not been
established (middle right). At high inclination angles, an openhole gravel pack (OHGP) often maintains well productivity or injectivity longer than other
methods (bottom right).

Spring 2005

51

This article reviews openhole gravel-packing

techniques, including water packing and shunttube technology, which achieve higher sustained
production and more consistent sand control in
high-angle and horizontal wells than other types of
completions. A case history from Nigeria describes
the water-packing technique and postinstallation
evaluation of OHGP results in a mature,
heterogeneous reservoir with depleted pressure.
A second case history presents the evolution
of sand-control completions in the Caspian Sea
offshore Azerbaijan. This example reviews the
relative performance of different sand-control
completions, including measures taken to
improve OHGP performance while reducing
reservoir damage.
Sand-Control Methods
Produced sand, or sanding, causes problems
ranging from environmental concerns related to
facility cleanouts, processing interruptions and
proper disposal on the surface, to erosion of
subsurface or surface equipment and potential
loss of well control. Excessive sand inux can
cause tubular or completion equipment failures
downhole that delay production or result in lost
reserves if the cost to sidetrack or redrill a well
is prohibitive.4
In the past, operators often had to restrict, or
choke back, well production to levels below the
critical inflow rate that initiated sanding.
Operators successfully used this strategy in some
areas to delay installation of sand-control
measures, thus reducing upfront costs and
avoiding initial completion damage, or high skin.
However, restricting production adversely
impacts protability and may be impractical,
especially for high-cost, high-rate deepwater and
subsea wells.
Companies also used in-situ chemical consolidation to lock formation grains in place by
injecting resins and catalysts into formations,
generally through perforations in casing. However,
placing chemicals across large zones and all
perforations is difcult.5
Various techniques are available to exclude
sand from produced uids, including chemical
consolidation, cased-hole gravel packs, selective
or oriented perforating, hydraulic fracturing, frac
packs that combine fracture stimulation and
gravel packing, stand-alone or expandable
screens, screenless completions and openhole
gravel packs.
Depending on specic conditions and factors,
these techniques have been applied with varying
degrees of success. In high-angle and horizontal
openhole wells, operators use stand-alone or

52

expandable screens, openhole gravel packs and,

in a few cases, frac packs or gravel packing above
fracture-initiation pressure to control sand.6
In the past, cased-hole gravel packing was a
reliable and widely used sand-control method in
conventional vertical wells, but this technique
often results in extremely high completion skins.7
Today, most cased-hole gravel packs are performed as a high-rate water pack (HRWP) or a
frac pack, depending on local experience or
available materials and equipment. In wells with
cemented casing, selective and oriented perforating attempt to prevent sand production by
avoiding weakly consolidated intervals or
aligning perforations with maximum in-situ
stresses to increase perforation stability.8
Hydraulic fracturing for sand control involves
conventional and tip-screenout (TSO) treatments
performed in formations where a reduction in
pressure drop, or drawdown, can minimize sand
inux or, in some cases, prevent the onset of
sanding.9 Frac packing combines TSO fracture
stimulations that create short, wide hydraulic
fractures with gravel packing to control sand
production from weakly consolidated formations.10
Screenless completions combine selective or
oriented perforating, in-situ consolidation and
frac packing to control sand.11 In some areas and
under certain formation conditions, stand-alone
or expandable screens may be an alternative to
gravel packing or frac packing.12
The initial productivity of wells with standalone screens is usually good, but many of these
screen-only completions fail to adequately
exclude sand over time. Some wells completed
with unpacked screens do not fail completely,
but must be produced at signicantly reduced
rates because of partially plugged or eroded
screens. Openhole gravel packs, which provide
better borehole stability, tend to maintain
productivity and control sand longer than standalone or expandable screens.13
Economic considerations often require
operators to choose sand-control methods that
maximize completion reliability over the productive life of a well or a eld without limiting well
productivity. The cost of future interventions to
perform well workovers or recompletions is
another important consideration when selecting
and designing sand-control completions. In
high-cost, high-rate wells, expensive remedial
operations affect overall project profitability
and economics.
Gas contracts, for example, often include
penalty clauses for defaulting on production and
delivery quotas. For cost- and risk-sensitive
completions, especially in deepwater and subsea

developments, high failure rates and the

uncertainty associated with stand-alone and
expandable screens may justify the choice of gravel
packing. However, if additional data become
available to support expandable sand screen
(ESS) reliability, operators might choose to use
ESS systems more frequently.
Today, more companies view OHGP
completions as a viable sand-control completion
for inclined wellbores, especially in high-rate
wells and wells with long horizontal sections.
Because of a proven record of installation
reliability, many operators consider openhole
gravel packing as the base case for sand control
in subsea, deepwater, or large-diameter wellbores
and ultrahigh-rate gas wells.
Water Packing in Nigeria
In 2002, Shell Petroleum Development Company
(SPDC) evaluated openhole gravel packing as a
sand-control option in the Niger Delta, Nigeria
(next page).14 Previously, SPDC had drilled
30 wells with horizontal multilateral and
sidetrack sections in shallow unconsolidated
reservoirs. SPDC completed most of these wells
with stand-alone slotted or prepacked screen
liners in open hole.
In addition to the difculty of cleaning out
horizontal sections before and after installing
completion equipment, stand-alone screens
without gravel packs are prone to partial
plugging, screen erosion, sand inux and loss of
productivity, which led SPDC and other
operators to try expandable screens. These
problems often are related to incorrect uid
quality and practices during installation. Fluid
cleanliness and conditioning, if managed
properly, can reduce the number of stand-alone
screen failures.
An ESS provides larger inow area with less
wellbore friction than conventional screen
liners, but current designs do not always
adequately seal against borehole irregularities.
Like conventional stand-alone screens, ESS
systems also are affected by factors related to
uid quality, possibly even more so because of
potential plugging of small screen openings.
During 2001 and 2002, noncompliant xedcone tools were used to expand most of the ESS
systems. Today, more compliant expansion tools
are available, but they have hole-size limitations.
Expandable screens also tend to cost more,
require longer delivery times and have unproven
long-term productivity and sand-control
effectiveness. However, there have been reports
of ESS completions that have produced sand-free
for more than ve years.

Oileld Review

Niger Delta Exploration and Production Concessions

Niger River

Enugu
7

Benin City
1
4

Area of
detailed map

A F R I C A

38

N I G E R I A

3
4

34
Warri

30

26

4 4
81

16

21

46

Owerri

15
27

3
79

26

Obigbo-North field

36
Bight of Benin

Port Harcourt

2
3

11

24
2

Uyo

17

22

13

14

2 1
7

7
71

> Niger Delta, Nigeria, concession map. The Obigbo-North eld is located in the OML-11 and OML-17 blocks about 18 km [11.2 miles] northeast of Port
Harcourt, Nigeria. This eld was discovered in October 1963. The reservoir consists of unconsolidated sands with permeabilities ranging from 900 to
7,000 mD and porosities of 21 to 33%. The Obigbo-North eld comprises 66 reservoir blocks: 55 oil-bearing and 11 gas-bearing. More than 50 wells have
been drilled in the eld.

4. Carlson J, Gurley D, King G, Price-Smith C and Walters F:

Sand Control: Why and How? Oileld Review 4, no. 4
(October 1992): 4153.
5. Parlar M, Ali SA, Hoss R, Wagner DJ, King L, Zeiler C and
Thomas R: New Chemistry and Improved Placement
Practices Enhance Resin Consolidation: Case Histories
from the Gulf of Mexico, paper SPE 39435, presented at
the SPE Formation Damage Symposium, Lafayette,
Louisiana, USA, February 1819, 1998.
6. Ali et al, reference 3.
7. Waters F, Singh P, Baker C, van Wulfften P and Parlar M:
A Novel Technique for Single-Selective Sand Control
Completions Allows Perforating and Gravel Packing of
Two Zones with Zonal Isolation in One Trip: A Case
History from Trinidad, paper SPE 56668, presented at
the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Houston, October 36, 1999.
8. Behrmann L, Brook JE, Farrant S, Fayard A,
Venkitaraman A, Brown A, Michel C, Noordermeer A,
Smith P and Underdown D: Perforating Practices That
Optimize Productivity, Oileld Review 12, no. 1
(Spring 2000): 5274.
Almaguer J, Manrique J, Wickramasuriya S, Habbtar A,
Lpez-de-Crdenas J, May D, McNally AC and
Sulbarn A: Orienting Perforations in the Right
Direction, Oileld Review 14, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 1631.
Berss K, Stenhaug M, Doornbosch F, Langseth B,
Fimreite H and Parrott B: Perforations on Target,
Oileld Review 16, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 2837.
Cooper SD, Akong S, Krieger K, Twynam AJ, Waters F,
Hurst G and Parlar M: A Critical Review of Completion
Techniques for High-Rate Gas Wells Offshore Trinidad,
paper SPE 94662, presented at the SPE European
Formation Damage Conference, Scheveningen,
The Netherlands, May 2527, 2005.

Spring 2005

9. Hydraulic fracturing for reservoir stimulation uses

specialized uids injected at pressures above the
formation breakdown stress to create 180-degree
opposed cracks, or fracture wings, extending away from
a wellbore. These biwing fractures propagate perpendicular
to the direction of lowest rock stress in a preferred
fracture plane. Held open by a proppant transported in
the treatment uid, these conductive pathways increase
the effective wellbore radius by establishing linear ow
into the propped fracture and back to the well. Common
proppants are naturally occurring or resin-coated sand
and high-strength bauxite or synthetic ceramics, sized by
screening according to standard US mesh sieves.
In standard fracturing, the fracture tip is the nal area to
be packed with proppant. A tip-screenout design causes
proppant to pack, or bridge, near the end of a fracture in
the early stages of the treatment. As additional proppantladen uid is pumped, fractures can no longer propagate
deeper into a formation and begin to widen, or balloon.
This technique creates a wider, more conductive
pathway as proppant packs back toward the wellbore.
10. Saldungaray PM, Troncoso J, Sofyan M, Santoso BT,
Parlar M, Price-Smith C, Hurst G and Bailey W: FracPacking Openhole Completions: An Industry Milestone,
paper SPE 73757, presented at the SPE International
Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage
Control, Lafayette, Louisiana, February 2021, 2002.
Ali S, Norman D, Wagner D, Ayoub J, Desroches J,
Morales H, Price P, Shepherd D, Toffanin E, Troncoso J
and White S: Combined Stimulation and Sand Control,
Oileld Review 14, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 3047.
Morales RH, Pronet J, Piedras J, Gadiyar B and
Harris S: Optimization of Frac-Pack Completions Based
on Field Experience, paper SPE 84263, presented at the
SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Denver, October 58, 2003.
Gadiyar B, Meese C, Stimatz G, Morales H, Piedras J,
Pronet J and Watson G: Optimizing Frac Packs,
Oileld Review 16, no. 3 (Autumn 2004): 1829.

11. Pitoni E, Devia F, James SG and Heitmann N:

Screenless Completions: Cost-Effective Sand Control in
the Adriatic Sea, SPE Drilling & Completion 15, no. 4
(December 2000): 293297; also paper SPE 58787,
presented at the SPE International Symposium on
Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana,
February 2324, 2000.
Acock A, Heitmann N, Hoover S, Malik BZ, Pitoni E,
Riddles C and Solares JR: Screenless Methods to
Control Sand, Oileld Review 15, no. 1
(Spring 2003): 3853.
12. Richard BM, Montagna JM and Penberthy WL Jr :
Horizontal Completions2 Stand-Alone Screens Vary
in Effectiveness, Oil & Gas Journal 95, no. 32
(August 11, 1997): 6369.
Delattre E, Authier JF, Rodot F, Petit G and Alfenore J:
Review of Sand Control Results and Performance on a
Deep Water DevelopmentA Case Study from the
Girassol Field, Angola, paper SPE 91031, presented at
the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Houston, September 2629, 2004.
Al-Lamki A, Twycross J and Clarke G: Maximizing
Productivity in the Scoter Gas Condensate Field, UKCS:
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Expandable Sand Screen
Design and Subsea Installation, paper SPE 91004,
presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, Houston, September 2629, 2004.
13. Ali et al, reference 3.
Wilson A, Roy A, Twynam A, Shirmboh DN and Sinclair G:
Design, Installation and Results from the Worlds
Longest Deep-Water Openhole Shunt-Tube Gravel-Pack
West of Shetlands, paper SPE 86458, presented at the
SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on
Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana,
February 1820, 2004.
14. Onwusiri H, Onwuzurike C, McPike T and Jansen R:
Horizontal Openhole Gravel Packing in a Depleted and
Heterogeneous Reservoir, paper SPE 84159, presented
at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Denver, October 58, 2003.

53

Casing

Borehole wall
Beta wave

Slurry

Screens

Heel
10

Toe
1

Wash pipe

Blank pipe

Gravel dune

Alpha wave

Open hole

Filtercake

Typical Surface Treating-Pressure Response for Water Packing

Wash pipe
Surface treating pressure, psi

Screen

Gravel

Preflush stage
Alpha wave: slurry transport
along the screens

Annular
packoff

Slurry stage

Slurry at toe of well

Beta wave: gravel

packing from toe to heel

Displacement stage

Treatment duration, min

Borehole wall

> Water packing. Gravel packing with low-viscosity uids, usually brines, relies on gravel deposition around the
low side of a screen-borehole annulus, while a slurry with low gravel concentration moves in turbulent ow along
the top (top and bottom right). The borehole must be sealed with an efcient ltercake to minimize uid leakoff. If
circulationuid returns to surfaceis maintained, gravel moves in an alpha wave (1 to 5) toward the far end,
or toe, of a horizontal section. If the slurry dehydrates and forward packing ceases in intervals with high uid
losses, gravel lls the annulus and forms a bridge, resulting in an incomplete pack beyond that point. If bridging
occurs or after gravel reaches the toe, packing proceeds back toward the beginning, or heel, of a horizontal
section in a beta wave (6 to 10). Surface treating pressures provide an indication of how water-packing
treatments are progressing (bottom left).

These disadvantages restrict ESS utilization

in remote areas and mature elds with limited
incremental production or reserve potential.
Gravel packing, on the other hand, has proved
reliable in cased and openhole vertical wells;
recent horizontal OHGP installations have been
less susceptible to partial screen plugging and
sand erosion. An OHGP generally has lower
completion damage, or skin, sustains
productivity longer than conventional standalone screens, and may sometimes be more costeffective than current ESS systems.15
In the Obigbo-North eld, SPDC selected
Well QWSB-53 for an OHGP. This was the rst
OHGP by SPDC and the rst in the Niger Delta.
SPDC and Schlumberger performed a waterpacking treatment in mid-2002 with the objective
of achieving 3,000 B/D [477 m3/d] of sand-free
oil production. Water packing involves low
concentrations0.5 to 2 pounds of proppant

54

per gallon [0.06 to 0.24 g/cm3]of gravel

transported by a low-viscosity carrier fluid,
usually brine (above).16
The low side of a borehole packs rst until
gravel reaches the far end of a section, also
called the toe, or until gravel forms a bridge
because of formation collapse or high fluid
leakoff. Excessive fluid loss is caused by a
combination of inefcient uids, high formation
permeability and poor or damaged ltercake,
and low reservoir pressure, resulting in treatments that exceed formation breakdown, or
fracture gradient, pressure. Gravitational forces
dominate during this alpha wave, so gravel
settles out in an advancing dune front until the
particle bed reaches an equilibrium height.
When uid owing above the bed reaches the
critical velocity for particle transport, gravel
again moves toward the far end, or toe, of a
horizontal section. This alpha wave stops after

reaching the end of a workstring internal wash

pipe, the toe of a horizontal section, a gravel
bridge or collapsed formation.
A second deposition process, or beta wave,
begins packing the annulus topside back toward
the beginning, or heel, of a well. This beta wave
requires enough fluid velocity to maintain
turbulent ow and move gravel along the top of
the screen-borehole annulus.
In this Nigerian well, SPDC was concerned
about the low minimum in-situ stress of
0.56 psi/ft [12.7 kPa/m] calculated from well-log
derived values of Poissons ratio in the formation.
SPDC drilled out cement in the bottom joint of
casing and the oat shoe, and 30 ft [9 m] of pay
to perform a pressure limit test. To ensure an
adequate pressure margin for packing, engineers
used the fracture gradient of 0.64 psi/ft
[14.5 kPa/m] determined from this test as the
upper limit for placing gravel.

Oileld Review

15. Skin is a dimensionless measure of completion damage.

Positive values represent damage. Zero is equivalent to
the productivity of an undamaged formation. Negative
values represent stimulated producing conditions.
16. Parlar and Albino, reference 1.

Spring 2005

Casing cross section

Surface-controlled
subsurface safety valve

7-in. liner
6.184 in.
4.5-in. gravel-pack packer
3.958 in.
2.875-in. tubing
2.441 in.

9 58-in. casing

Openhole cross section

7-in. liner
6-in. open hole
4.45-in. screens
4-in. base pipe
3.548 in.
2.875-in. tubing
2.441 in.

FIV Formation
Isolation Valve

7-in. liner

Gravel

End of open hole

at 9,410 ft MD

Heel
Gravel-pack packer
at 8,273 ft MD

Toe

965 ft of wire-wrapped screen

> Obigbo-North eld wellbore and completion schematic. Shell Petroleum Development Company
completed Well QWSB-53 with 965 ft [294 m], or 32 joints, of screen deployed in open hole
without centralizers.

QWSB-53 OHGP
3,000

6
Injection pressure
Sand concentration
Injection rate

5
Beta wave

2,000

1,500

1,000

2
Alpha wave

500

Sand concentration, lbm/gal

Injection rate, bbl/min

2,500

Pressure, psi

SPDC then drilled a 1,000-ft [305-m]

horizontal section to total depth using a
0.49-psi/ft [11 kPa/m] water-base drilling uid.
After reaching total depth, drillers circulated the
borehole clean with no signicant uid loss,
which indicated that ltercake on the sandface
provided a good seal. To minimize screen plugging,
SPDC displaced the open hole with a solids-free
uid of the same composition as the reservoir
drilling uid without calcium carbonate, but with
additional salt to maintain a 0.49-psi/ft pressure
gradient. The casing was displaced with ltered
brine before running the sandface completion
assembly, which consisted of available screens
from warehouse stock (right).
A volumetric calculation determined that
9,237 lbm [4,190 kg] of gravel would be
required to pack the 6-in. openhole annulus.
Schlumberger pumped gravel using a ltered
12% potassium chloride [KCl] brine carrier uid.
Injection pressure and rate, and sand
concentration were monitored at surface to track
the alpha and beta waves (below right).
Gravel was placed in four stages at different
concentrations while reducing the injection rate
to adjust for injection pressure increases. In
formations with low fracture gradients, Shell
completion engineers often reduce the slurry
injection rate once a beta wave initiates to avoid
prematurely breaking down formations prior to
developing enough dune height to completely
cover the screens. This technique lays down
additional alpha waves on top of previous
dune beds.
This resulted in multiple alpha waves and
complete screen coverage. The operator pumped
a total of 13,500 lbm [6,123 kg] of gravel, but
reversed out 2,670 lbm [1,211 kg] of excess
gravel, leaving about 10,830 lbm [4,912 kg] of
gravel around the screens, which corresponds to
an actual borehole size of 6.25 in.
After gravel packing, the running tool and
wash pipe were retrieved. A 312-in. tubing string
with a tubing-retrievable subsurface safety valve
and gas-lift mandrels for future articial lift was
installed. A 10% hydrogen chloride [HCl] acid
treatment energized with nitrogen [N2] was
displaced in the horizontal section using 112-in.
coiled tubing and a downhole tool with 360
rotating jet nozzles to generate hydraulic
turbulence and make closer contact with
ltercake on the borehole wall.

0
0

20

40

60
Time, min

80

100

120

> Obigbo-North eld gravel-packing treatment. SPDC and Schlumberger pumped the
Well QWSB-53 gravel pack while monitoring injection pressure (red), sand concentration
(blue) and injection rate (green). Gravel-packing operations were performed at 3.5, 3,
2.5 and 1 bbl/min [0.56, 0.48, 0.4 and 0.16 m3/min]. The pumping prole showed pressure
responses corresponding to both alpha-wave and beta-wave gravel deposition. About
75% of the gravel was deposited during the alpha wave, leaving only 25% for the betawave deposition.

55

Post-treatment cleanup improved well

performance by diverting acid across the
horizontal section and by ensuring deeper
penetration.17 The well initially produced oil at
3,250 B/D [517 m3/d]. A spinner inow prole,
pressure drawdown and total production rate
from a memory production log indicated 100%
pack efficiency, with the entire horizontal
section producing into the screen assembly.
This completion demonstrated better initial
inflow capability and longer sustained
productivity at a higher drawdown pressures
than other wells with stand-alone screens. It also
saved the SPDC Eastern Asset Team US$ 300,000
compared with previous ESS installations.
Low-rate water packing was a technical,
operational and commercial success in the Niger
Delta. SPDC continued to improve uid quality
and uid handling, reduce nonproductive rig
time and monitor OHGP performance to
determine whether this technique was suitable
for other wells.
Horizontal openhole gravel packing was later
discontinued because of premature screenouts
and incomplete gravel packs on some other

Casing

wells. The water-packing technique was deemed

too complex to execute without proper onsite
technical expertise and supervision.
Subsequently, SPDC installed several
openhole gravel packs using Alternate Path
shunt-tube screens and Schlumberger MudSOLV
filtercake removal service, which were
extremely successful. These high-rate gas-well
completions were not horizontal, but had highangle wellbore inclinations over relatively short
intervals of about 100 ft [30 m]. SPDC continues
to evaluate Alternate Path screen technology for
longer pay intervals.
Alternate Path Technology
If gravel packing is required, operators must
choose between water packing with conventional
screens or using screens with Alternate Path
shunt tubes, two field-proven techniques for
completing long openhole sections. Mobil Oil
Corporation, now ExxonMobil, developed
Alternate Path technology in the late 1980s and
early 1990s to address problems associated with
gravel bridging (below).18

Slurry

Shunt tube

Protective shroud

Nozzles

External shunt tubes on Alternate Path

screens allow slurry to bypass any blockage that
forms in the annulus between screens and casing
or an open hole during gravel packing. This
technology helps ensure a complete gravel pack
below annular bridges.19 However, shunt tubes
restrict the size of screen that can be deployed,
which is a limitation.
Unlike water packing, this technique does not
rely on filtercake integrity. If the annulus
becomes restricted, pumping pressure increases
and slurry diverts into the shunts. These tubes
provide a conduit for slurry to bypass collapsed
hole, external inflatable packers or annular
gravel bridges at the top of intervals or adjacent
to zones with high uid leakoff.
Gravel packing with Alternate Path screens
uses gravel pumped at higher concentrations
4 to 8 lbm/gal [0.48 to 0.96 g/cm3]in viscous
carrier uids. Engineers adapted Alternate Path
screens for use in longer openhole horizontal
sections. Transport shunts without ports are
attached along the entire length of screen
assemblies to reduce friction pressures while
gravel packing long intervals; shunts with exit
ports, or nozzles, serve as packing tubes.

Borehole wall

Heel
3

Toe
1

Wash pipe

Blank pipe

Gravel

Screen

Open hole

Filtercake
Transport tube

Typical Surface Treating-Pressure Response for Shunt-Tube Screens

Packing tube

Surface treating pressure, psi

Protective shroud
Alpha wave: slurry transport
along the screens
Slurry at toe of well
Preflush stage

Borehole
wall
Annular packoff
Gravel

Slurry stage

Displacement stage

Pressure increase
as flow diverts
into shunt tube
Gravel forms

Screen
Nozzle

Treatment duration, min

Base pipe

> Alternate Path gravel packing. This technology ensures complete packing of gravel around sand-exclusion screen assemblies
and across an entire horizontal section. Shunt tubes attached to the screens provide conduits for slurry to bypass gravel bridges
and ll annular voids (top and bottom right). Shunt packing does not depend on ltercake to prevent uid loss. If the annulus
between screens and openhole packs off prematurely (1 to 3), slurry diverts into the shunts, and gravel packing proceeds toward
the toe even with no uid returns, or circulation, to surface (4 and 5). Usually, pump rates are reduced after shunt ow begins,
and treating pressure increases because of the small shunt-tube diameters (bottom left).

56

Oileld Review

Shunt Packing in Azerbaijan

BP operates the Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli
(ACG) elds in the Caspian Sea (above right).
Since 1997, BP has installed several different
types of sandface completions in 29 primary and
sidetrack wells, including both producers and
injectors. During this period, sand-control
methods evolved from water packing with
conventional screens and cased-and-perforated
completions to stand-alone screens, expandable
sand screen (ESS) systems and openhole gravel
packing with Alternate Path screens.20
Water Packing with Conventional Screens
BP completed two early Chirag producing wells,
A-02 and A-03, as openhole gravel packs using the
water-packing technique. Well A-02 produced oil
from December 1997 until March 1999 with
associated sand rates of less than 10 lbm/1,000 bbl
[28.5 g/m3] and no water. Since then, BP
periodically shuts this well in because of high gas
production. Buildup tests in December 1998 and
November 2004 indicated positive skins of 3.2 and
2.1, respectively.
Well A-03, a similar completion in January
1998, produced oil with sand rates of 2 to
3 lbm/1,000 bbl [5.7 to 8.6 g/m3]. Buildup tests in
December 1998 and July 2003 both indicated
positive skins of 4.4. Despite relatively low gravelpack efciencies of about 25% and higher skin
factors in each well, water packing with

Spring 2005

KAZAKHSTAN

as

This conguration reduces carrier-uid leakoff

into the annulus, limits slurry dehydration, and
delivers slurry to packing tubes at 4 to 6 bbl/min
[0.6 to 0.9 m3/min]. Slurry ows from transport to
packing tubes through a manifold at each screen
joint and exits through wear-resistant, carbide
nozzles to pack voids behind screens at 0.5 to
2 bbl/min [0.08 to 0.3 m3/min]. Shunts and
nozzles are designed to reduce gravel buildup
inside shunts.
Gravel does not easily make turns through
small exit ports, so large angled nozzles that
extend into the flowstream increase the
tendency for slurry to exit the shunts. Treatments
are performed using nondamaging uids with
good gravel-carrying capacity and low friction
characteristics.
Blank pipe above screen assemblies also can
be tted with transport tubes to provide a path
for slurry in the event of borehole collapse or
formation of a gravel bridge at the top of an
interval. In addition, a pipe shroud with
predrilled holes surrounds the entire Alternate
Path screen assembly to centralize the screens
within the shroud and to protect the shunt tubes
during installation.

pia
nS

Aktau

ea

UZBEKISTAN

AZERBAIJAN
TURKMENISTAN

AZERBAIJAN
Baku

ACG fields

Bahar field
Shah Deniz
field

Bulla More
field
0
0

25
25

50 miles
50

75 km

> Azerbaijan, Caspian Sea offshore oil and gas eld developments. BP has a 34% interest in Chirag
eld, part of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) megastructure development. The ACG megastructure
contains an estimated 10 billion barrels [1.6 billion m3] of oil in place, in an area that is about 30 miles
[48 km] by 3 to 5 miles [4.8 to 8 km]. Chirag eld early oil production was the rst phase of ACG
development, along with part of the Central and West Azeri eld.

conventional screens achieved acceptable sand

control. To date, neither the A-02 nor the A-03
well has produced water, and no sand has
accumulated in either wellbore. However, as BP
began drilling more extended-reach wells with
high-angle and horizontal sections through pay
intervals, completion engineers shifted to
Alternate Path screens.
Cased-and-Perforated WellsWell A-06 and
Sidetrack A-06z represent two of nine oil
producers and two water injectors in the Chirag
eld with cased-and-perforated completions. In

1998, the A-06 completion initially produced sand

at high rates that eventually stabilized at 1 to
3 lbm/1,000 bbl [2.9 to 8.6 g/m3], but with
occasional bursts that exceeded 100 lbm/1,000 bbl
[285 g/m3]. A pressure buildup test indicated a
low skin of negative 0.9.
However, after water breakthrough in early
2000, sand production increased dramatically,
and BP had to restrict outow from this well. In
November 2000, a coiled tubing workover
cleaned out sand ll and set a cement plug in the
wellbore to isolate lower sands and reestablish

17. Arangath R, Onwusiri HN and Ogoke VC: A CostEffective Approach to Improve Performance of Horizontal
Wells Drilled in High-Permeability Formations, paper
SPE 73786, presented at the SPE International
Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control,
Lafayette, Louisiana, February 2021, 2002.
Onwusiri H, Onwuzurike C, Adiodun A and Uchendu C:
Rotating Jetting Nozzle Adds Value in the Cleanup of
Horizontally Gravel Packed WellCase Histories from
Sandstone Environment, paper SPE 82237, presented at
the SPE European Formation Damage Conference,
The Hague, May 1314, 2003.
18. Shunt-screen technology was developed by Mobil, now
ExxonMobil, in the late 1980s and early 1990s and is
licensed to Schlumberger.
19. Jones LG, Yeh CS, Yates TJ, Bryant DW, Doolittle MW
and Healy JC: Alternate Path Gravel Packing, paper
SPE 22796, presented at the SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, October 69, 1991.

Jones LG, Tibbles RJ, Myers L, Bryant D, Hardin J and

Hurst G: Gravel Packing Horizontal Wellbores with
Leak-Off Using Shunts, paper SPE 38640, presented at
the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
San Antonio, Texas, October 58, 1997.
Karlstad S, Sherlock-Willis T, Rajan S, Samsonsen B and
Monstad PA: An Evaluation and Design Approach to
Gravel-Pack Treatments in the Gullfaks Field, paper
SPE 48978, presented at the SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans,
September 2730, 1998.
20. Powers B, Elliott F, Gilchrist J, Twynam AJ, Edment B
and Parlar M: A Critical Review of Chirag Field
Completions Performance Offshore Azerbaijan, paper
SPE 94824, presented at the SPE European Formation
Damage Conference, Scheveningen, The Netherlands,
May 2527, 2005.

57

58

QUANTUM gravel-pack
packer at 6,875 m MD

Oil-bearing layer

504 m of AllPAC screens

9 58-in. casing at 6,969 m MD

84-degree wellbore inclination

Transport tube

Nozzles

Screens

End of open hole at

7,481 m MD
Shroud

93

water-free production from the upper sands.

Water breakthrough in these zones during
November 2001 again caused sand production
to increase.
Early in 2002, BP abandoned the A-06
wellbore and sidetracked it to quickly restore
production. Pressure buildup tests in the new
cased-and-perforated A-06z wellbore indicated a
low skin of negative 1.6, but high sand rates
required BP to choke back production after this
well also began producing water in March 2003.
In December 2003, Well A-06z was abandoned
and sidetracked again as an OHGP completion,
which has since produced oil with low sand rates
of 1 to 3 lbm/1,000 bbl.
Stand-Alone ScreensThree Chirag field
wells, including A-09 and A-18, were completed
with stand-alone screens. In April 2002, a
pressure buildup test on Well A-09 indicated a
low skin of negative 2.8. This well produced oil
and minimal sand until water breakthrough in
September 2003 when sand rates became
excessive even at low water cuts of 3 to 6%.
Well A-18, completed with stand-alone
screens, initially had to be choked back because
of excessive sand. After BP gradually increased
the production rate over three months with
corresponding increases in sand, produced sand
began to decrease despite increasing oil rates.
Pressure buildup tests indicated an initial skin of
negative 1.8, which gradually decreased to an
extremely low negative 5. Sand inux continued
to decrease, except for intermittent bursts, but
this well never achieved maximum productivity
because of persistent sanding.
Expandable Sand ScreensBP completed
two Chirag eld wells with ESS systems. One, the
A-08z sidetrack, was drilled as a water injector.
But during the cleanup ow period in December
2002, this well produced oil with no water.
Pressure buildup tests indicated a positive skin
of 3.3. The well produced at low sand rates of 1 to
5 lbm/1,000 bbl [2.9 to 14.3 g/m3] until March
2004 when it was converted to injection.
BP installed the second ESS completion in a
sidetrack of Well A-09. The original wellbore,
A-09, had been completed with stand-alone
screens. It produced high oil rates until water
production increased in September 2003 from
less than 0.1% to 10% with signicant volumes of
sand. BP sidetracked this well as A-09z and
recompleted the new wellbore with expandable
screens in April 2004. Well A-09z produced oil
with no water and had sand rates similar to Well
A-08. However, skin gradually increased from
negative 1.5 to positive 0.3, possibly because of
increasing gas production.

Packing tube

> Chirag eld wellbore and completion schematic. BP completed Well A-19 by running and gravel
packing 504 m [1,653 ft] of AllPAC screens with two packing shunts, two transport shunts and a
protective shroud in open hole.

BP completed both A-08z and A-09z

sidetracks with relatively low-strength ESS
screens. Well logs and absence of initial or
subsequent bursts of sand common in both
cased-and-perforated and stand-alone screen
completions helped conrm a high degree of ESS
integrity. After a period of production, however,
caliper logs revealed screen deformation,
particularly across shale sections. Sand control
and well productivity have not been affected, but
long-term ESS performance is still uncertain.
Alternate Path ScreensSince November
2000, BP has installed 13 Alternate Path
completions in ve producers and three water
injectors in the Chirag eld and in ve producers
of the Azeri field. BP originally planned to
convert Well A-15-T1, the rst Chirag eld well to
be completed with Alternate Path AllPAC
screens, to water injection after a brief
production period. The sandface completion
included 380 m [1,247 ft] of AllPAC screens with
two transport shunts, two packing shunts and a
protective shroud.

Slurry diverted into the shunts midway

through the gravel-packing treatment for this
well. BP estimated a pack efciency of 94% based
on mass-balance calculations. A well log revealed
only minor voids in a few locations. Buildup tests
in July 2001 indicated a positive skin of 3.2. One
year later, skin had decreased to positive 1.8. A
production log revealed uniform inow across
the openhole section.
BP kept Well A-15-T1 as a producer, and in
December 2000, this OHGP well produced oil at
15,400 B/D [2,448 m3/d] with no water. The well
began producing water in January 2003. Water
cut increased to about 7% at the end of 2003, and
then to 14% by mid-2004. Sand rates, however,
remained at 0.3 to 5 lbm/1,000 bbl [0.86 to
14.3 g/m3] in contrast to signicantly greater
sand production from wells having stand-alone
screens and cased-and-perforated completions
with water cuts as low as 3 to 5%.
Flow from the well recently ceased because of
liquid loading, but the OHGP maintained adequate
sand control during two years of water production.
This performance established openhole gravel
packing with Alternate Path screens as the design
basis for subsequent well completions.

Oileld Review

Spring 2005

Injection pressure
Injection rate in
Fluid return rate
Sand concentration

A-19 OHGP
6,000

12
Final annular
packoff

11
9
8

4,000

7
3,000

6-ppa
concentration

2,000

6
5
Shunt flow

4
3

1,000

Sand concentration, lbm/gal

Injection rate, bbl/min

10

5,000
Surface pressure, psi

Well A-19, the longest extended-reach well to

date in the Chirag field, was drilled and
completed in December 2004 to tap an
undeveloped area of the eld, 6 km [3.7 miles]
northwest of the Chirag-1 platform. The sandface
completion included 504 m [1,653 ft] of AllPAC
screens with two packing shunts, two transport
shunts and a protective shroud (previous page).
BP calculated a gravel-pack efciency of 91%
in the A-19 well. Pressure data indicated that
slurry diverted into the shunts during gravel
packing (right).
Pressure buildup tests in January and
February 2005 indicated near-zero positive skins
of 0.5 and 0.1, respectively. The well produced oil
rates that exceeded the 20,000-B/D [3,180-m3/d]
test-separator capacity. Sand inux averaged less
than 1 lbm/1,000 bbl [3 g/m3] with no produced
water. BP expects the output of Well A-19 to
reach 29,500 B/D [4,690 m3/d], the highest rate
in this eld. This is a signicant achievement
after eight years of production, with reservoir
pressure depleted 1,000 psi [6.89 MPa] below
initial conditions.
Four other wells were completed using
similar procedures, two in the Chirag eld and
two in the Azeri eld. Both Chirag wells had
positive skins of 2. Well A-12x produced oil at
9,000 to 12,000 B/D [1,431 to 1,908 m3/d] and had
a sand rate of 0.4 to 1 lbm/1,000 bbl [1.2 to 3
g/m3]. Well A-06y produced oil at 14,000 to 15,000
B/D [2,226 to 2,385 m3/d] and had a sand rate of
1 to 2 lbm/1,000 bbl [3 to 6 g/m3].
One of the two Azeri eld completions, Well
B-05, produced oil at 42,000 B/D [6,677 m3/d]
with extremely low sand rates of 0.2 to
0.3 lbm/1,000 bbl [0.6 to 0.9 g/m3]. The second
Azeri well, B-09, produced oil at 35,000 B/D
[5,565 m3/d] and had similar low sand rates, but
is still choked back. This level of productivity is
notable because a borehole problem prevented
screens from reaching total depth, so only one
zone contributes to production.
These completions resulted in highproductivity wells. Installation of sandface
equipment was successful in all the wells except
one, Azeri B-09, where the screens got stuck
midway down the openhole section. This problem
has occurred in other areas, when screens were
run after displacing oil-base mud with waterbase uids.21 Difculties running screens to total
depth in water-base fluids motivated BP to
modify completion procedures in the next two
Azeri wells.
The Azeri Well C-04, completed in December
2004, was the first completion in the ACG
development to have sandface equipment run

2
1

0
14:16:08

14:32:48

14:49:28

15:06:08

15:22:48

15:39:28

15:56:08

16:12:48

0
16:29:28

Time, hr : min : sec

> Chirag eld Well A-19 gravel-packing treatment. BP and Schlumberger pumped the record-setting
Well A-19 gravel pack at 6 lbm/1,000 gal [17 g/m3] and about 10 bbl/min [1.6 m3/min] while monitoring
injection pressure (red), uid injection rate in (blue), uid return rate out (yellow) and sand concentration
(green). The pressure prole during pumping operations indicated responses corresponding to both
annular gravel deposition and shunt-tube diversion.

with oil-base fluids in the wellbore. The

completion equipment included 600 m [1,969 ft]
of AllPAC screens with two transport shunts, two
packing shunts and a protective shroud.
Estimated gravel-pack efficiency was 66%. A
buildup test indicated zero total skin.
Well C-01Az, a similar completion, had a
positive skin of 2.5. A higher estimated gravelpack efciency of 93% resulted from increased
drilling-fluid density and corresponding
reduction in inward movement of the hole before
gravel packing. A large-scale surface test
identified no significant problems with
displacing oil-base uids from screens, so BP
plans to use these modied techniques on future
openhole gravel packs.
Fluids and displacement procedures used in
this development program have evolved since the
rst Alternate Path completion in November
2000. Initially, BP drilled cased-and-perforated
wells and completions with stand-alone screens
using oil-base uids. Early wells with openhole
gravel packs were drilled using water-base uids
that were essentially reduced viscosity, or
thinned, mud from previously drilled hole
sections. The wells also were gravel packed with
water-base uids.
BP anticipated that wells would become more
challenging and that high-angle and longer
extended-reach wellbores would be difcult to
drill and complete using water-base uids. BP,
ChevronTexaco, Petrobras and Total initiated a
joint venture to develop oil-base uids for drilling
and completing OHGP wells.22

Reservoir sections of the first two wells

completed with Alternate Path screens in the
Chirag eld and one well in the Azeri eld were
drilled with water-base uids. A synthetic oilbase mud was used for reservoir drilling in the
next three Chirag eld producers and the next
four Azeri eld producers.
In the three Chirag eld wells and the rst
two Azeri eld wells, the entire wellbore was
displaced with water-base uid before running
sandface completion equipment. On the two
most recent Azeri wells, screens were run in oilbase mud.
To date, BP has gained signicant experience
that can be applied in other wells in the Chirag
and Azeri elds and the deepwater Guneshli
eld. Fluid systems currently available provide
BP with the option of implementing oil-base
gravel packing if necessary.
21. Brady ME, Bradbury AJ, Sehgal G, Brand F, Ali SA,
Bennett CL, Gilchrist JM, Troncoso J, Price-Smith C,
Foxenberg WE and Parlar M: Filtercake Cleanup in
Open-Hole Gravel-Packed Completions: A Necessity or
A Myth? paper SPE 63232, presented at the SPE Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas,
October 14, 2000.
Parlar M, Twynam AJ, Newberry P, Bennett C,
Elliott F, Powers B, Hall K, Svoboda C, Rezende J,
Rodet V and Edment B: Gravel Packing Wells Drilled
with Oil-Based Fluids: A Critical Review of Current
Practices and Recommendations for Future
Applications, paper SPE 89815, presented at the SPE
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston,
September 2629, 2004.
22. Wagner M, Webb T, Maharaj M, Twynam A, Green T,
Salamat G and Parlar M: Open-Hole Horizontal Drilling
and Gravel-Packing with Oil-Based FluidsAn Industry
Milestone, paper SPE 87648, presented at the
SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on
Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana,
February 1820, 2004.

59

23. Acock A, ORourke T, Shirmboh D, Alexander J,

Andersen G, Kaneko T, Venkitaraman A,
Lpez-de-Crdenas J, Nishi M, Numasawa M,
Yoshioka K, Roy A, Wilson A and Twynam A: Practical
Approaches to Sand Management, Oileld Review 16,
no. 1 (Spring 2004): 1027.
24. Ke S, Lee J, Pope TL, Sullivan P, Nelson E,
Hernandez AN, Olsen T, Parlar M, Powers B, Roy A,
Wilson A and Twynam A: Expanding Applications for
Viscoelastic Surfactants, Oileld Review 16, no. 4
(Winter 2004/2005): 1023.

60

Chirag Field Completion Skins

Dimensionless completion skin

Looking Ahead
Many recently discovered elds require sand
management.23 For example, BP estimates that
within ve years 50% of its oil and gas production
will be from weak and unconsolidated sandstone
reservoirs. In the Niger Delta region of Nigeria
where Shell Production Development Company
operates, 70% of hydrocarbon reserves lie in
shallow reservoirs prone to producing sand.
Selection of suitable sand-prevention
techniques is a challenge that requires a
substantial amount of data, acquired at
significant cost. Even then, sand-control
measures that appear viable based on initial data
often fail. This makes experience in a particular
area an important factor in planning and design
of future well completions.
Based on experience, cased-and-perforated
completions yield low skins, but produce large
volumes of sand, even before water
breakthrough. These completions require
restricted production rates and longer flow
periods to achieve postcompletion cleanup. They
also involve repeated cleanout of surface
separators, and the transport and proper
disposal of sand at surface with associated
health, safety and environmental risks. Sand ll
in wells requires frequent remedial well
interventions, and flow from these wells
eventually must be choked back signicantly.
Completions with stand-alone screens exhibit
low skins, but often produce large volumes of
sand initially. Subsequently, sand inux rates
decrease, but there still can be occasional bursts
of higher sand production. However, both casedand-perforated and screen-only completions
produce large amounts of sand as water
production increases, even at low water cuts,
necessitating expensive premature sidetracks in
some elds.
ESS completions have low skins and currently
appear to provide sand control equivalent to an
OHGP, but the long-term impact of screen
deformation, and ESS performance and
reliability after water breakthrough remain
unknown. Many initial ESS completions have
been converted to injection after short periods of
production; others were installed too recently for
conclusive evaluation.

11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

Openhole gravel pack

Cased and perforated
Stand-alone screen
Expandable sand screen
A-16
A-03

A-08Z
A-02

A-15
A-09Z

A-12X

A-01

A-06Y
A-19

A-06Z

A-08

A-10
A-07
A-05
0

10

20

30

40

50

A-11

A-18
60

70

80

Wellbore inclination (bedding plane normal), degrees

> Completion skin data for the Chirag eld. Cased-and-perforated completions
in the Chirag eld yielded low skins. Stand-alone screens also exhibit low
skins. However, both types of completions produce excessive sand as water
production increases. ESS completions have low skins and control sand
production, but their performance after water breakthrough is currently
unproven. BP has reduced openhole gravel-pack completion skins to almost
zero by continuously improving uid designs and practices. Openhole gravel
packing is a proven completion technique that controls sand even after wells
begin producing water. For these reasons, openhole gravel packing is currently
the basis of design in Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli eld well completions.

An OHGP with high pack efciencies controls

sand, even when intentionally designed with
larger gravel to allow limited volumes of smaller
nes to be produced. In addition, openhole gravel
packs tend to control sand more effectively than
other methods after water breakthrough.
Unless formations have extremely clean, wellsorted grains, subsea production and injection
wells that may produce sand and most
completions in deep watergreater than 1,000
to 2,000 ft [305 to 610 m]should be gravel
packed to avoid costly remedial interventions,
especially when large reserve volumes are
involved. Many operators now prefer openhole
gravel packing in wells with long horizontal
sections to reduce sand-related failures and
minimize associated productivity decline.
Ongoing improvements in fluid designs and
displacement procedures are helping operators
increase the productivity of openhole gravelpack completions, while reducing overall field
development and operational costs. These
improvements include reservoir drilling using
oil-base fluids, running completion equipment
and screens in oil-base fluids, displacing the
entire wellbore with water-base fluids and
gravel packing with water-base viscoelastic
surfactant fluids.24

For example, improved BP completions

practices in the Chirag eld have resulted in a
continuous reduction in completion skins to near
zero, with incremental oil productivity benets
of 600 to 800 B/D [95.4 to 127 m3/d] per well
(above). Switching to oil-base drilling fluids
increased drilling efficiency, improved hole
conditions, and reduced drag when running
screen assemblies in high-angle and horizontal
wells. In addition to environmental benets due
to eliminating discharge of water-base uids, BP
also realized savings exceeding US$ 130,000 per
well by recycling synthetic oil-base uids and
reducing gravel-packing fluid costs through
elimination of enzymes in the carrier uid.
Openhole gravel packing has evolved as
operators and service companies have gained
experience and a better understanding of
formation damage and gravel placement in
horizontal wells. It remains the sand-control
method of choice to protect screens and provide
improved sandface completions.
Successes like those achieved by Shell in
Nigeria and BP in Baku have established
operator condence in the effective application
and long-term performance of openhole gravel
packs. The reliability of OHGP completions is
contributing to a shift in the well-construction
and sand-control philosophies of many drilling
and completions teams.
MET

Oileld Review