Massive sand production during primary heavy oil recovery operations in Northeastern Alberta has resulted in severe deformation of the well casing in a number of wells. A new method for processing multi-sensor caliper data has allowed heavy oil operators to map local casing deformation features such as collapses, buckles and shears that are too localized to be identified with conventional gyroscope surveys. The processed caliper data are used to benchmark numerical simulations of the casing/formation interaction. The formation movements predicted from these simulations are used to infer the geometry of the sand producing zone and can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of mitigation strategies.

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