Abstract
Production of large volumes of water, coupled with production of formation sand and fines from oil and gas wells, often curtails the potential production of hydrocarbon. It is therefore highly desirable to decrease the volume of water and mitigate the solids produced from producing wells. Water and sand control generally have been addressed as separate problems with different treatment solutions. This paper discusses the development, and presents the field testing results, of a 2-step process that combines both water- and sand-control treatments into a single treatment.
Laboratory experiments were performed to examine the impact of these combined treatments. The relative permeability modifier (RPM) treatment results in water permeability reduction with little or no reduction in permeability to oil. Treatment with a consolidating agent transforms the unconsolidated formation sand and/or loosely packed proppant into a cohesive, consolidated, yet highly permeable, pack. The combined process has been field tested successfully. Results from field tests have shown that this process helped reduce on average 50% of water production, effectively eliminated the production of formation sand, and allowed the wells to withstand high production flow rates.
