Increased earnings—using available sand monitoring instrumentation and knowledge to increase production, keeping safety issues in the driver's seat

Abstract

Sand production in producing fields can be a critical safety and economic factor. The behaviour of a sand reservoir as it relates to sand production is understood to a certain degree. The sand monitors that became available in the mid-1990s made it possible to use the knowledge of sand production to manage the associated safety issues more systematically. A remarkable improvement in earnings was also observed by operators who used this knowledge in combination with the available instrumentation to find higher, but still, production rates, while still maintaining a high level of safety throughout operations. During the last 15 years, management practice of sand production has developed significantly. Real-time sand monitors are now a standard instrument in many installations. Producing with real-time sand monitors, which feature a utilising alarm function that warns if the acceptable sand rate is exceeded, helps maintain safety and does not necessarily just maintain the highest possible production. This paper presents field cases where a more active use of the available knowledge and data can significantly increase production, while maintaining the highest possible degree of safety.