Abstract

Methods for controlling sand production in oil, gas and water wells are constantly changing. This paper is an attempt at focusing on the most current practices in sand control and some of the reasons behind them. Since most of the present sand control involves gravel or sand packing, a major portion of the paper discusses techniques in designing and performing gravel pack treatments. Importance in planning and executing a job by analyzing the formation sand to determine proper pack sand size, avoiding the effect of intermixing of pack and formation sands, and stabilizing of clays is emphasized.

Causes of sand production and problems associated therewith are explored along with analysis of well conditions. From this, one can better choose a specific sand control method. Mechanical methods, primarily sand packing, chemical or consolidation techniques, and combination methods (chemical plus mechanical) are presented in light of their applications and limitations.