Design Optimization of Slotted Liner Completions in Horizontal Wells: An Analytical Skin Factor Model Verified by Computational Fluid Dynamics and Experimental Sand Retention Tests

Abstract

AbstractThe term skin is used to describe pressure drop caused by a flow restriction near the wellbore. The skin factor of wells completed using slotted liners can be explained by a number of phenomena including: the flow across the slots, flow convergence towards slots, near wellbore permeability, and occlusion of liner open area due to corrosion and scale deposition. This paper introduces an analytical skin model for the slotted liner, which incorporates these phenomena, and can be used to optimize the slotted liner design. The introduced analytical model was verified by physical and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models.The proposed analytical skin factor model for slotted liners is based on slot width, slot density, the spatial distribution of slots, and near-liner permeability. The model also incorporates partial plugging of slots. The model is validated using experimental Sand Retention Testing (SRT) data. A series of SRT experiments were conducted at different flow rates for two Particle Size Distributions (PSD) from the McMurray Formation in Northern Alberta. The experiments were also modeled by the CFD to better understand the flow dynamic near the liner.Results of the analytical model and experimental tests were generally in agreement. However, results of the analytical model deviate from experimental tests for narrow slots and high flow rates. In these cases, the analytical model predicts smaller skin than the experimental tests. For cases related to narrow slots and higher velocity the pore plugging close to the liner is significant which was not modeled in the analytical model. Moreover, for very fine sand (low permeability) sand-pack the deviation from the experimental results is higher in comparison with medium uniform sand (higher permeability) sand-pack. CFD simulations showed the effect of the slot width on the depth of the convergence zone, which is not included in the analytical model. Since the analytical model follows the experimental results for common flow rates in thermal production, the model could be used to assess the skin for different possible designs and choose the best slot specifications that minimize the skin.This paper presents the details of an analytical model for the skin factor verified by experimental data and CFD simulation. This analytical model can be used to optimize the liner specification for the best flow performance. This paper also outlines the limitations of the analytical models for calculation the skin/pressure drop.