Abstract
The chemical sand consolidation methods involve pumping of chemical materials, like furan resin and silicate non-polymer materials into unconsolidated sandstone formations, in order to minimize sand production with the fluids produced from the hydrocarbon reservoirs. The injected chemical material, predominantly polymer, bonds sand grains together, lead to higher compressive strength of the rock. Hence, less amounts of sand particles are entrained in the produced fluids. However, the effect of this bonding may impose a negative impact on the formation productivity due to the reduction in rock permeability. Therefore, it is always essential to select a chemical material that can provide the highest possible compressive strength with minimum permeability reduction. This review article discusses the chemical materials used for sand consolidation and presents an in-depth evaluation between these materials to serve as a screening tool that can assist in the selection of chemical sand consolidation material, which in turn, helps optimize the sand control performance. The review paper also highlights the progressive improvement in chemical sand consolidation methods, from using different types of polymers to nanoparticles utilization, as well as track the impact of the improvement in sand consolidation efficiency and production performance. Based on this review, the nanoparticle-related martials are highly recommended to be applied as sand consolidation agents, due to their ability to generate acceptable rock strength with insignificant reduction in rock permeability.
Highlights
70% of the total world’s petroleum are located in poorly consolidated reservoirs [1,2]
The tendency and rate of sand production are influenced by many factors related to the degree of formation consolidation and flow characteristics
Parlar et al [43] experimentally investigated furan resin composition which encompasses solvents, oil wetting agent and nonemulsifier and coupling agent to consolidate sand formation. This furan resin method showed that the maximum unconfined compressive strength is more than 2000 psi and the retained permeability is more than 100% for clays, 68% for clean sand with the average permeability (80–85)% at measurement temperatures of 38 ◦ C, 66 ◦ C, 93 ◦ C and 121 ◦ C
Summary
70% of the total world’s petroleum are located in poorly consolidated reservoirs [1,2]. The mechanical techniques are more costly and time-consuming comparing to the chemical methods [17] They have some other problems such as the decrease in productivity index, complexity of the installation equipment, damage during installation, workover issues, zonal isolation difficulties, screen collapse and plugging and erosion of equipment [3]. Chemical sand consolidation methods involve injecting reactive chemicals down to a target loose sand formation to create a bonding force between the loose sand grains, Figure 2 These methods can be used to make up the formation matrix, increase the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the sand formation to withstand the drag forces and maintain the sand formation permeability [20]. The present paper discusses the performance of the chemical sand consolidation methods, with focusing on polymers, at their expected application conditions
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