Abstract
Shunted screen gravel packing is a kind of technology which is difficult to complete gravel packing with the conventional method in low fracture pressure formation and long wellbore length condition. According to the characteristics of LS 17-2 deepwater gas field, the shunted screen packing tool was designed and the gravel packing process and packing mechanism were analyzed. The variation law of the flow friction, flow rate distribution in multichannel, and other parameters of the shunted screen gravel packing were analyzed and calculated. The friction calculation model of different stages of gravel packing was established. A gravel packing simulation software was developed to simulate the friction in different stages of shunted screen gravel packing. The parameters such as sand-dune ratio, pumping sand amount, packing length, and packing time in the process of packing were also calculated. In deepwater horizontal well gravel packing, the results show that the friction ratio of the string is the largest in the stage of injection and α-wave packing. While the friction increases rapidly in the stage of β-wave packing because the carrier fluid needs to flow through the long and narrow washpipe/screen annulus. Particularly when the β-wave packing is near the beginning of the open hole, the packing pressure reaches the maximum. The calculated results are in good agreement with the measured results of the downhole pressure gauge. The model and software can provide technical support for the prediction and optimization of gravel packing parameters in the future.
Highlights
For offshore deepwater oil and gas reservoir development, in order to reduce the number of wells and obtain higher sandfree production, sand control measures need to be taken
In a conventional gravel pack, gravel slurry is injected into the wellbore/screen annulus, where gravel is packed into the wellbore/screen annulus to control formation sand entry into the wellbore
The gravel in the wellbore/screen annulus is often blocked in advance, resulting in the premature sand bridge in the wellbore/screen annulus, especially in the long wellbore or low fracture pressure formation
Summary
For offshore deepwater oil and gas reservoir development, in order to reduce the number of wells and obtain higher sandfree production, sand control measures need to be taken. The gravel in the wellbore/screen annulus is often blocked in advance, resulting in the premature sand bridge in the wellbore/screen annulus, especially in the long wellbore or low fracture pressure formation. For these special cases, despite the use of low-density gravel, the addition of drag reducers to the carrier fluid, multiple α-wave or multiple β-wave packing, and other targeted countermeasures [4–7]. With the extensive use of open hole completion gravel packing in offshore, gravel packing with shunted screen was gradually applied to open hole completion [9–22] This technology is being used more and more widely, most of the field applications of this technology have not been studied on the mechanism of shunted screen gravel packing. The calculated results are in good agreement with the data of LS 17-2 deepwater gas field in the South China Sea, which provides technical support for the design of shunted screen gravel packing in the future
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
