Improvement of methods for combat with sand in production wells

Abstract

Today, a large number of methods are used to combat the flow of sand along with the reservoir fluid, which must be divided into the following groups: improving the operating conditions of wells, under which sand rises along with the fluid from the well; creation of technology and equipment that allow retaining sand in the annulus. Methods that are used according to the first group are rarely used due to the fact that conditions arise for hydroabrasive wear of all equipment that comes into contact with sand, disturbance of the formation structure in the bottomhole formation zone, sand deposits in surface equipment and in the well sump when wells are shut down. The most promising method of combating these manifestations are technologies and equipment used according to the second group: injection of cement, foam-cement and cement-sand mixtures into the annulus of the well bottom zone; downhole filter application; injection of sand with a large fraction of grains and gravel into the bottomhole zone of wells; injection of synthetic resins into the annulus of the bottomhole zone of the well; combined methods, including the above. Titanium screens and gravel packs are the most effective means of preventing formation failure. Keywords: downhole reservoir; sand plug; well; steam-thermal impact.