Overview: Wellbore Integrity, Sand Management, and Frac Pack (September 2005)

Abstract

My October 2004 Overview “Wellbore Stability and Sand Control” began with a narrowly focused comment on near-well-bore-failure modeling and the difficulty of predicting the consequences of this failure to operations. I then introduced my opinion that the key value of geomechanics technology is to provide a consistent reference frame against which well failure-to-production trends can be measured. This year’s Overview “Wellbore Integrity, Sand Management, and Frac Pack” continues to broaden the science of well failure, reaching out beyond the failure event to understand the effect on the entire production system. The operational goal is to ensure that the well system designs provide production reliability, availability, and maintainability throughout the economic life of the asset. To achieve this goal, one must be able to characterize wellbore integrity reliably and understand completion dynamics, from sand failure and sand production to sand management in the production system. It is of particular interest to characterize completion-performance behavior reliably over time, including near-completion reservoir flow mechanics. The papers selected for this month’s review begin to satisfy these rigorous goals. Available from the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org SPE 90164 - “Novel Perforating System Used in North Sea Results in Improved Perforation for Sand-Management Strategy,” by Hillestad, E., Statoil A/S, et al. SPE 90530 - “The Significance of Non-Darcy- and Multiphase-Flow Effects in High-Rate Frac-Pack Gas Completions,” by Lolon, E.P., SPE, Texas A&M U., et al. SPE 94758 - “3D Analysis for Wellbore Stability: Reducing Drilling Risks in the Oriente Basin, Ecuador,” by Torres, M.E., SPE, Schlumberger, et al.