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Water Hammer Versus Inter-layer Cross Flow – Impact on Injector Sanding
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 79th EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2017, Jun 2017, Volume 2017, p.1 - 5
Abstract
Summary
It is well-known that injectors in unconsolidated sandstones without sand control or with failed sand control can sand up as a result of massive sand influx during shut-ins. Although a number of mechanisms for such post shut-in sand production have been proposed, there is still no clarity about which if these mechanisms is mainly responsible. Consequently, taking effective measures to mitigate this sand production risk is still difficult.
In this work we address the relative importance of water hammer and inter-layer cross flow as mechanisms that may be responsible for post shut-in injector sand production. We demonstrate by means of field-calibrated quantitative sand production simulations coupled to fully transient fluid flow that water hammer only provides a limited contribution to the cumulative amount of sand produced into the injector wellbore. This is because the water hammer pulses are only of limited duration and therefore can only transport relatively small amounts of sand.
On the other hand, interlayer cross flow can be responsible for massive cumulative amounts of produced sand, particularly because the crossflow can last for a significant duration (typically, hours) after shut-in.
These results show that sand production mitigation in injectors should focus on mitigating interlayer cross flow.
© EAGE Publications BV