Agostinho Calderon

A Mechanistic Model for Horizontal Gravel Pack Displacement

This article presents the detailed formulation for each of the three steps of a horizontal gravel pack displacement operation, including sand injection and alpha/beta waves propagation. The main core of the model, aiming the definition of alpha wave height, is based on a well known two layer model. Initially developed for hydrotransport applications, this kind of model has been adapted by several authors for drilled cuttings transport analysis. Besides, a comparison between theoretical predictions and pumping charts from a field operation performed in Campos Basin is presented. Gravel Pack, Modelling, Sand Control, Stratified Flows

A Comprehensive Methodology to Analyze The Impact of the Sand Control Technique on the Efficiency of an Horizontal Well

Abstract. Sand production in unconsolidated formations has brought heavy injury for the oil and gas industry around the world. Million dollars have been invested in sand control techniques. Among the several sand control systems existing, Open Hole Gravel Pack (OHGP) is the one adopted for horizontal well completions in the offshore Brazilian fields. With the experience in the development of such fields, some assets start to consider the adoption of less conservative sand control strategies, such as the use of stand alone premium screens (SAS). The present work proposes a methodology for evaluating the impact of the sand control technique in the productivity or injectivity of a horizontal well. Several parameters, such as damage rate (DR) and productivity or injectivity index per horizontal effective length (PI/Lef) were used to compare similar wells equipped with different sand control techniques. The main goal of the study is to address the following questions: Is there any formation damage due to the gravel pack during production lifetime of a well? The wells equipped with stand alone screen exhibit formation damage? Wells equipped with OHGP have the same performance when compared with wells equipped with SAS? Stand alone completion is a good alternative path for multilateral and extend reach wells?