SPE 128606

Novel through tubing Sand control Solution for failed Gravel pack- Alpha Well -
4L case study.

Yahaya I.O, Opusunju A, Ajaraogu B, Agbogu G, Williams O, and Uchendu C.-SPDC Udeh M, Oyetade T, Bakare M -
Schlumberger

Copyright 2009, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

Introduction
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 33rd Annual SPE International Technical
Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, Nigeria, August 3-5, 2009.
Well Alpha-4 is a dual string producer with the long
string (Alpha-4L) completed on the S7000E horizon.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as Production from this conduit prior to close in for sand
presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
production was 2900 bopd on choke 52/64”. The main
position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at objectives for intervention on Alpha-4L were:
SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper • To clean out sand from the wellbore and
for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is
prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 • Apply remedial sand control technique and restore
words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous
acknowledgement of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O.
sand free production to recover remaining oil
Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.
Sand production in various wells in the Niger Delta is
often a result of low overburden pressure, changes in
Abstract the mechanical properties of the reservoir or poor
Alpha field is situated in SPDC’s OML 22 in the eastern completion methods. These factors lead to sand
part of the Niger delta belt, some 60kM NW of Port production and wellbore instability. Static’s show that
Harcourt. The field discovered in 1986, currently has 9 over 60% of the wells in this region were completed with
wells completed and 13 drainage points. Well A-4L is installed IGP usually ranging from 4.5” to 5.5” bore, in a
one of the completed intervals on the S7000E horizon. 9-5/8” Casing and the production tubing usually 2-3/8” to
Production from this interval began in April 1997 and oil 3-1/2” size.
recovery averaged 2000 STB/D. Sand production was
anticipated under normal drawdown from production One of the many challenges therefore for asset owner in
onset and as such the well was completed with sand- the Niger Delta includes managing production while
control measures in place. avoiding formation sand production; for very clear
After about ten years of production, a significant amount reasons which include erosion of downhole, surface
of sand was observed during routine sampling of the equipments and the high cost of handling produced
well. This condition resulted in the closure of the well for sand.
high sand production.
Thru-tubing Gravel pack Method using screens and
To restore production from the well, current economic blanks designed to be deployed through tubing then set
realities favored through tubing intervention. Two major inside tubing, casing or another bigger GP screen has
types of through tubing remedial sand control solutions been identified as alternative way of non-rig re-
were considered namely mechanical and screen-less completion, when it can safely be deployed. The method
(chemical consolidation) methods. A proprietary HDR is employed mostly for the following reasons:
squeeze pack technique (mechanical method) was • Cost Efficiency - The operation does not require a
identified as the best solution that meets post workover rig since the screen assembly can be
intervention production requirements and also affords deployed with standard coiled tubing equipment or
completion longevity. Total cost of deployment to wireline and the well returned to production faster.
recover 0.75MMbbl of oil was USD$0.650M compared to
• Effectiveness – Sand production is controlled
projected USD$5.0M for possible hoist re-entry.
allowing production to match previous rate or better.
• Quick intervention – Operation could be
This paper details the deployment process of this Novel
accomplished quickly without impacting existing well
solution that has successfully restored production from
completion jewelry or deferred production in dual
Well A-4L.
completion.
• Maintenance Costs - maintenance costs associated
with surface and downhole equipment due to sand
production are now eliminated.
2 I.O. Yahaya, A. Opusunju, B. Ajaraogu, G. Agbogu, O. Williams, C. Uchendu, M. Udeh, T. Oyetade and M. Bakare SPE 128606

Selection criteria: System description:

Although the remaining reserves identified could support The HDR Squeeze Pack (proprietary design of Supreme
restoration via workover for Alpha-4L, it was more Services) can be completed using various types of
attractive to approach it thru tubing due to the following:- screens and packers and is available for various tubing
• Cost reduction, which will also enable other sizes. The HDR tool design allows a squeeze pack to be
opportunities to be pursued to maximize return on
performed with high rate and high density slurry pumped
investment.
from surface, yet dependable mechanical isolation on
• The short string was producing a substantial amount
the annulus when completed. Deployment system was
of oil and shutting in this string for the duration of a
a combination of a number of wireline and coil tubing
workover will mean substantial loss of producing
days. runs. System components from bottom to top are:
• Mechanical risk was adjudged to be lower.
• It was considered a good opportunity to select and • Bull plug
appraise a thru tubing remedial sand control solution • Screen assembly-(Deployed BJ Coil-Flo FM 125
as quite a number of wells in the asset have either microns Screens)
been closed in or the production constrained for • Flow diversion valve
similar reasons. • Blank pipes
• Polished nipple for HDR
Treatment Design • HDR vent top assembly
• Sealing overshot
Based on the well objective, the treatment design was
• Top packer
focused on identifying solution to the following:
• Gravel pack technique to be deployed
• Carrier medium for the proposed proppant
• Sand Cleanout strategy and fluid due to reports of SSTT SAE
initial difficulty encountered in previous wellbore RETRIEVABLE
cleanout attempts PACKER

Gravel Pack Technique SEALING OVERSHOT

FOR HDR
After thorough review of the gravel pack solutions
available, the HDR squeeze pack option was selected. CENTRALIZERS
This allows a squeeze pack to be carried out at the
same time providing adequate annulus isolation. BLANKS
The HDR Squeeze Pack involved deploying small
diameter screens through tubing and placing it inside the
previous screens. Gravel is then placed in the old
screen-new screen annulus to serve as the filtering
SCREENS
medium.
As part of the assessment, well models using Prosper
were constructed to estimate the potential of the conduit
post thru tubing activity. From the results, it was
concluded that a completion skin of +18 will be
introduced due to the reduced effective diameter. Gravel BULL PLUG-WITH
pack sand retained permeability of 100,000mD (20-40 RELEASED FD VALVE.
carbolite) was imposed on the model resulting in a
gravel pack skin of 9. The well potential based on all
Fig 1- System components
constraints and new completion was 1500 bopd on
choke 32/64. The fluid contacts in the reservoir are
uncertain. The assumption was that the producing GOR The HDR vent top assembly is retrieved prior to
will be at Rsi, and the present GOC though uncertain installing the isolation packer thus this system after
was expected to still be above the top perforations. deployment allows the well to flow into the lower screen
Sensitivities were also run on the water cut. At the time up the blank tubing and into the production tubing.
the well was closed in water cut was 0%. However due
to the contact movement in the field, 10-30% water cut
was a realistic expectation at well rates predicted. This
was also supported by the reservoir modeling results.
3 Novel through tubing Sand control Solution for failed Gravel pack SPE 128606

Gravel Carrier Fluid Design Other Pre Job Preparations Challenges:

The basic considerations while selecting the appropriate • BHA deployment to depth: - CTU models were run to
carrier fluid include the suspension properties, confirm that the BHA could indeed be placed under
admissible friction pressure due to placement through the current scenario.
tubing as against normal Drill pipe conveyance in normal • Communication between long and short string:-
Gravel pack jobs typically 4 ½ and 5-inch pipes, Steps were included in the procedure to establish
operational simplicity and leakoff properties. To achieve probable communication between the long and short
an improved gravel transport into the perforations and strings both during and post sand clean out prior to
the screen-casing annulus, a good and adequate BHA deployment.
suspension is required. • Concurrent operations: - Safety was critical. SLB rig-
up frame ensured that minimal interference with the
After a sand simulation, 2% KCl was considered as a
suitable proppant carrier medium. This achieved a low producing conduit. Pressures were also continuously
friction pressure and aided by fluid leak off into the monitored both onsite and remotely due to the
formation will provide a higher packing efficiency. The availability of V-monitors
2% KCl considered for this project was confirmed
suitable based on the result of a Sand Management Job Execution:
Software. Fluid leakoff to the formation will result in a
higher packing efficiency in the perforation tunnels, and Following is a summary of the main operational steps-
the carrier used was able to provide it. • Carry out wireline run to determine HUD
• Perform tubing sand wash with CTU
Initial Proppant Design • Wash screens/open up perfs to reservoir using
Schlumberger DAD acid conveyed down CT pipe
Sand type: 20/40 Carbolite • Deploy BHA with CTU
Carrier Fluid Type 2% KCL Brine • Pump gravel pack-via production tubing
Total Proppant to be washed 2280 lbs • Wash out excess sand with CTU
Total Proppant in new Blank Annulu 317 lbs • Retrieve HDR vent assembly
Total new Blank Coverage: 100 % • Deploy packer assembly via wireline/CTU
Total New Screen Coverage: 100% • Lift well back to production.
Expected Top of Sand: 8964ft
Total Proppant in new Scree Cleanout was achieved to a depth of 9455 ftah despite
304 lbs several challenges (see fig 3 -plugged adjustable
Annulus:
Total Proppant in Void 295 lbs choke), which translates to 3ft below the bottom
Perforation Pack Factor in Void 14.12lbs/ft perforations. Wireline runs were carried out for depth
correlation.
Table 1: Completion proppant fill-up design
CT run was first attempted with a 1.69 regular nozzle but
Sand Cleanout Consideration this was subsequently changed to a Jet blaster system
due to challenges with getting returns on surface or
A previous wireline investigation encountered HUD. Prior minimal improvement on ROP during the cleanout of the
attempt to perform tubing cleanout by sand bailing also production tubing section. The cleanout fluid was also
failed. Based on these information comprehensive nitrified to enhance returns.
cleanout strategy was developed with Wellbore The following fluids where used during this stage
Simulator (WBS) Module in CoilCADE (Schlumberger
proprietary software). • 2% KcL brine (base fluid)
• 1.75ppb J164 HEC gel (active gel)
Assumptions modeled during the sand cleanout design • 1.0ppb J572 PowerCLEAN gel. (sweep gel)
with Schlumberger WBS software included, clean out
design with complete fill and or sand bridging; also For the second section of the cleanout below the
modeled case for fill with high specific gravity and fill size production tubing, the CT BHA was changed to
up to 1.0 cm in diameter (based on sample recovered at PowerCLEAN Nozzle and 1.0ppb J572 PowerCLEAN
surface) The simulation confirmed that cleanout was gel. (The PowerClean system is Schlumberger
possible in all cases; the model also generated cleanout proprietary offering for a complete wellbore fill removal
schedule, as well as recommend possible cleanout fluid service to provide successful well cleanouts at the first
and CT BHA.) . attempt, regardless of well conditions)
4 I.O. Yahaya, A. Opusunju, B. Ajaraogu, G. Agbogu, O. Williams, C. Uchendu, M. Udeh, T. Oyetade and M. Bakare SPE 128606

The nature of returns captured in the flow back tank is Table 2 Final BHA tally
shown in fig 2.
Once this assembly was landed in the well, a ball was
dropped in the CTU swivel connector sub, pumped
through the reel and allowed to gravitate to bottom.

Item OD ID Length Depth(top)

Bull plug w 1-1/4" NU 2.054 0.33 9452
10RD box
BJ coil flo screen 2.05 1.38 45.11 9406.5
Flow diversion valve 2.054 1.234 0.5 9406
Blank pipe c/w 2.25 1.38 90 9316
centralizers
Polished niple for 2.0 1.38 1.56 9314
HDR
Fig 2- Samples of recovery Sealing Overshot for 2.17 1.39 2.76 9312.5
HDR
SSTT SAE Packer 2.55 1.36 4.3 9308
Pressure was then applied to disengage BHA from the
setting tool. After confirmation of the BHA release, the
CTU was pulled out of hole and the injectivity test was
repeated prior to commencing slurry pumping
operations. During the pumping operations (see table 3
for design pump schedule), the slurry mixed on the fly
with the sand control wasp equipment was bullheaded
down the production tubing using a triplex pump. The
proppant traveled down the production tubing and with
the unique design of the vent screen, effectively diverted
around the screen assembly; into the interval via the
“damaged screen”. Screenout was achieved at a surface
pressure of 2000psi.
Fig 3-Plugged choke

Following the successful sand Cleanout operation,

Injectivity test was carried out with 2%Kcl fluid ahead of
deploying the TTGP and in preparation for pumping the
proppant. The test was used to evaluate the planned
treatment rate and confirm that the carried fluid would be
adequate to carry out the operation Result from the
Injectivity tests evidenced a need to perform a
Screen/Perf wash. The treatment was conveyed down
CT. 10 bbls of DAD 15X (Schlumberger Dynamic Acid
Dispersant) was pumped and over displaced into the Fig 4 -Treatment plot.
formation. Results from post treatment indicate a great
improvement in injectivity. Settling was allowed overnight. A Coiled Tubing run was
The TTGP assembly was then deployed in the well with performed with the power clean system to wash out
CT in two runs. The first run comprised of the excess sand to just below the HDR top sub. Wireline
blank/screens up to the HDR vent assembly. was deployed to retrieve the HDR top sub revealing the
top part of the receptacle for the sealing surface of the
overshot. The sealing overshot and the packer which is
the top part of the BHA was then installed on a second
5 Novel through tubing Sand control Solution for failed Gravel pack SPE 128606

trip with the Coiled Tubing. The through tubing packer completely a successful project. More importantly is the
sealing integrity was pressure tested to 500psi. In uncompromised QHSE aspect of the operation.
summary, tool was deployed as recommended by the The major producers in the Niger Delta have shown
manufacturers. Detailed job report (ref 4) has been interest in deploying TTGP on some of their marginal
issued. wells as an initiative to forestall further sand production.
The lessons learnt on this project will definitely improve
the quality of services that will be delivered for TTGP
P ost jo b G ravel V olum e estim ates:
cuf t
T U B IN G
operation to the prospective clients across the Niger
B lank/ Tubing Volum e: 3. 11
S creen/Tubing V olum e: 0.605 Delta of Nigeria.
V olume b/w old and new s c reen 2.375
TT-PACKER
92 95'
V ol. b/w old sc reen/ cas ing / Perf s 5.413
T ot al 11. 503
93 08'
Acknowledgement
The authors will like to thank the management of SPDC
BLANK
C A SIN G for granting the permission to publish this paper. Special
thanks to our colleagues in SPDC Land team (west), for
their efforts towards realizing this opportunity. We also
9 423'= X N
appreciate our senior colleagues for their contributions in
the preparation of this work and also the field teams for
S
N
IO
T
N
E
E
N
E
E
the support during activities onsite.
A R R
R C C
O S S
F
R D
L W
E
P O E
N
We are also thankful to Ndukwe Agwu, SPDC RWI
PLUG 94 55'
Engineer, and Godfrey E.,SLB completion specialist.
Special thanks also go to Jesse Johnson of Supreme
Fig 5- Sandface completion illustration Services, US and all the CT crew members who were
key to this success.

Nomenclature
Results:
MSDS Material Safety Data Sheet
The sand clean out, BHA deployment and gravel
DAD Dynamic Acid Dispersant
pumping operations were successful. Well was nitrogen
BHA Bottom Hole Assembly
lifted back to production and is currently producing on UA/UC Unsafe Act /Unsafe Condition
choke 20/64”. The production rate is currently 850 bpd HUD Hold Up Depth
(0% BSW) at this choke size. Close monitoring and MASP Maximum Allowable Surface Pressure
progressive bean-up to potential on choke 32/64” is RIH Run In Hole
expected within the next couple of months depending on LIB Lead Impression Block
resolution of other field challenges. WHP Well Head Pressure
ScSSSV Slickline conveyed Subsurface safety
Learnings: valve
• Well control was critical during the BHA deployment
especially for the screen sections. Though the well References
was static, kill fluid was properly lined up and ready 1. Restarick H.L , Fowler, S.H. , and Sedotal, W.P.
for pumping downhole to regain hydrostatic control if
“Thru-Tubing Sand Control Techniques Reduce
the need arises.
• Synthetic materials recovered from the well were of Completion Costs,” paper SPE 23130 presented
different sizes. Sample points proved inadequate at Offshore Europe Conference,Aberdeen,3-6
due to the relative size of the particles. Recovery September 1991.
looks more like perf balls and SCON materials. 2. C.C Lee, SPE, and M.C Darby, Schlumberger
• Good injectivity was critical to the success of the and T.R. Popp, Unocal Indonesia Company
pumping operations.
• Proper fluid deign is essential in sand cleanout “Effective Thru-Tubing Gravel Pack Methods in
operations. Attaka Field” paper SPE 72132 presented at
• Daily review of observed UA/UC’s in addition to job SPE Asia Pacific Improved Oil Recovery
hazard analysis ensured safety of operations. Conference, Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia.
Conclusion
The TTGP installation on Well A-4L being reviewed is 3. Michael J. Economides, Shari Dunn-Norman,
6 I.O. Yahaya, A. Opusunju, B. Ajaraogu, G. Agbogu, O. Williams, C. Uchendu, M. Udeh, T. Oyetade and M. Bakare SPE 128606

Larry T. Watters:- The Petroleum Well Gravel-Pack Completions - a Case Study OTC
Construction Book published by John Wiley and 15129
Sons.
4. W.Gordon Graves, William K.Ott,P.E and Joe D 6. Martin Udeh, Ayuba Sule et al :-Schlumberger
woods:-Mature Oil & Gas Wells Downhole Well Services Sand Cleanout and Vent Screen
Remediation World Oil Handbook. Installation Proposal
5. Mohamed Zaini B. Md Noor, Kasim B. Selamat, 7. Taiwo Oyetade et al :-Alpha- 4L Schlumberger
Abdullah B. Kasim, Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd., Sand cleanout and TTGP screen installation
and Sharifudin Salahudin:- Revitalizing a Mature Evaluation report.
Sand-Prone Field by Installing Enhanced

Table 3: Design Pumping Schedule

Gravel Gravel Gravel

Stage Fluid Rate(bpm) Slurry(bbl)
Type Conc(PPA) Mass(lbs)
PAD 2% KCL 3 20 None 0

0.5PPA 2% KCL 3 152 20/40C-Lite 0.5 3200

Flush 2% KCL 3,2,1 82 None 0

Table 4: Proppant Result

Sand type: 20/40 Carbolite
Carrier Fluid Type 2% KCL Brine
Total Proppant to be washed 2280 lbs
Total Proppant in new Blank Annulus 317 lbs
Expected Top of Sand: 8964ft
Total Proppant in new Screen Annulus: 304 lbs
Screenout Pressure: 2178 psi
Total Proppant in Void 295 lbs
Total Proppant Pumped: 3200 lbs
Total Proppant Below polished Nipple: 920 lbs
Actual Top of Sand in Tubing: 8856ft