This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper OTC 17116, "Conductivity Endurance in the Unconsolidated Environment of the Gulf of Mexico," by William Whitley, SPE, Unocal Corp., and Brad Clarkson, SPE, and William J. Edwards, SPE, Halliburton, prepared for the 2005 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 2-5 May. Copyright 2005 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. The productive life of certain wells with frac-pack sand-control completions has shown a greater decline in performance than expected. In many cases, this abnormal decline, both initially and in the long term, can be attributed to loss of conductivity in the proppant pack. Because conductivity is the major design criterion for frac-pack completions, the conductivity must be optimized in the original completion and then maintained throughout the life of the well. When frac packing in weaker and unconsolidated environments, enhanced treatment materials and designs must be used to help ensure that frac-pack conductivity is optimized initially and maintained over the long term. Introduction Until recently, there was no way to prevent fines migration through the proppant pack to the wellbore. If the formation contains laminated, highly heterogeneous, unconsolidated, compactable rock, fines movement could impede the production of hydrocarbons from the well. It is common to use a frac-pack procedure with a crosslinked gel system and a ramped proppant concentration to maintain sand control and improve conductivity from the formation to the wellbore. Maintenance of these packs, in certain reservoirs, has become an issue. In the past, some wells that were frac packed tended to lose the added conductivity in a very short time. One common theory is that the formation fines “plug” the proppant pack, thereby suppressing further fluid flow to the wellbore. Following this theory, if the production of formation fines flowing through the proppant could be decreased, the conductivity of the pack could be maintained better. Hence, conductivity maintenance is a main goal of the surface-modifying agent (SMA) being added to numerous frac packs in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).