A New, Robust and
Extremely Versatile Sand
Control Screen
SPE Technical Lunch
3 November, 2011
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Thane G. Russell, P.Eng,, Vice President
Technology
Absolute Completion Technologies
Functions of a Sand Control Screen
1. Prevent harmful formation sand from entering the
wellbore.
2. Minimize restriction of oil production
Well Construction Trends
1. More wells per pad
2. Tighter trajectories
3. Larger diameters
4. Longer laterals
Can your sand screen survive this?
Desirable Sand Screen Properties
1. High mechanical strength
2. Longevity
3. Insensitive to PSD variations
4. High plugging resistance
5. Adequate open flow area (OFA)
6. Low cost
Is there a screen that meets these criteria?
Conventional Sand Screens
FACS
Flush Absolute Cartridge System
FACS Sand Control Screen
FACS Features
1. Premium Sintered Mesh discs flush-mounted
and tightly secured into the base pipe
2. Wide range of micron ratings available (60-800)
3. 2D square or 3D triangular weaves
4. Two disc sizes (1” dia x 0.25”; 3/4” dia x 0.17”)
5. Available in 316L or Inconel (A20, A625)
6. Variable open flow area (0–23% OFA) via # discs
FACS Advantages
1. Open Flow Area (hence cost) can be tailored to
well productivity
2. Same sand retention media as used worldwide in
Premium screens (but 3 times thicker)
3. Sand retention media is corrosion resistant
4. Cost competitive to Slotted Liner for same OFA but
2-4 x stronger in some load modes
5. Discs can be plugged with dissolvable material to
circulate/float screen to TD.
6. Robust—can be handled like casing.
Mechanical Strength Evaluations
Third-Party (C-FER) Studies
Slotted Liner (2007)
World Oil June 2007
FACS (2008)
SPE 117486 (FEA)
WHOC 2009-373 (Testing)
Common Failure Modes
Compression: Collapse:
Caliper Log
Torsion:
Torsion Strength
Torsion + Compression + Bending
Collapse Strength
Disc Pop-out Pressure (“Burst”)
Full-Scale Thermal-Mechanical Test
Worst-case operational scenario from FEA analysis:
1. Screen is heated up to 275 °C in wellbore and expands
freely.
2. Formation packs around screen thereby confining it from
expanding/contracting freely.
3. Steaming is interrupted and wellbore cools to ambient
conditions thereby generated large tensile forces.
Full-Scale Thermal-Mechanical Test
C-FER Test Procedure:
1. Heat 7” FACS joint to 275 °C
unconstrained.
2. Clamp joint at both ends.
3. Allow to cool to 50 °C while
monitoring stress/strain and
surface deformation (optically).
Conclusions:
1. FACS can handle the worst-case
operational scenario for SAGD.
See WHOC 2009-373
Sand Retention Mechanisms
Gap is sized to the
larger particles,
and sand retention
relies on arching
across the gap.
Methods of Choosing Gap Size
Method
Pros
Cons
1) Published correlations
based on PSD parameters
(e.g., D10, D50, D40/D90)
● Low cost
● Fast
● Not always reliable
2) Lab Testing on core sands
● Reliable
● Slow and expensive
● Reliable for sand(s) tested
3) Master Curves (based on
lab testing)
● Reliable for most
PSDs
● Cost effective
● Some uncertainties
Lab test
coupons:
PSDs from One Well (SAGD field)
Which PSD(s) to
choose for the lab
tests?
FACS Sand Retention Tests
PSDs of Sands Tested
New 3D Weaves for
FacsRite
Conventional
Premium Weaves
3D Name
Micron
Rating
Air Perm for
3D Weave
Air Perm for
Conventional
Weave
Fine
125
1310
600
Medium
220
1472
750
Coarse
485
1950
1200
FACS 3D Weave Results
FACS 3D Weave Results
FACS Field Experience
650 °C
THAI
FACS
FACS THAI Experience
1. First Installed Q3, 2009
2. FACS experienced temperatures 650+ °C
3. Still producing without failure
4. Client has since ordered for 12+ more THAI wells
5. Performance data is confidential
FACS SAGD Experience
1. First SAGD installation: 2010 in a producer well.
2. Client very pleased with low pressure drop.
3. Client has since ordered for 9+ more wells.
4. Four SAGD clients have ordered over 25 wells, 4 of
which will be plugged with dissolvable material to
circulate to TD.
Advantages of FACS
1) Robust in all SAGD installation/operation modes
2) Variable open flow area to 23 %
3) Premium sand retention (2D or 3D)
4) Corrosion Resistant Alloy (CRA) discs
5) Discs easily pluggable to circulate/float to TD
6) Field proven in THAI (650 C) and SAGD (275 C)
Thank You!
Questions?