Selection Results of Solid Material for Horizontal and Highly-Deviated Well Completion Gravel-Packing: Experiments, Numerical Simulation and Proposal

Lightweight and ultra-lightweight solid materials are being used in gravel packing for horizontal wells instead of traditional quartz and ceramsite to decrease the risk of premature plugging and improve packing efficiency. Physical and numerical simulation experiments of gravel packing were conducte...

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Main Authors: Haoxian Shi, Changyin Dong, Xinjie Zhan, Chenfeng Liu, Lixia Li, Jianrong Ji, Yanjiang Yu, Zhendong Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/10/1690
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author Haoxian Shi
Changyin Dong
Xinjie Zhan
Chenfeng Liu
Lixia Li
Jianrong Ji
Yanjiang Yu
Zhendong Li
author_facet Haoxian Shi
Changyin Dong
Xinjie Zhan
Chenfeng Liu
Lixia Li
Jianrong Ji
Yanjiang Yu
Zhendong Li
author_sort Haoxian Shi
collection DOAJ
description Lightweight and ultra-lightweight solid materials are being used in gravel packing for horizontal wells instead of traditional quartz and ceramsite to decrease the risk of premature plugging and improve packing efficiency. Physical and numerical simulation experiments of gravel packing were conducted to assess the effectiveness of reducing solid material density and investigate its impact on packing and sand control. Packed gravel destabilization experiments highlighted the importance of high-compaction degree packing for effective sand control. Further gravel packing experiments examined the packing performance of different solid materials, revealing that lightweight solids have minimal gravitational deposition effect because their density is similar to the gravel slurry, relying primarily on fluid flow for compaction. The numerical simulation indicated that lightweight ceramsite is unsuitable for horizontal and highly-deviated wells because of its poor compaction degree and sand control, especially with high-viscosity slurry. High-density particles enhance gravitational deposition, improving packing compaction and sand control. Lightweight materials are recommended only when advanced plugging of α wave packing cannot be avoided. In highly-deviated wells, high-density materials significantly improve packing stability and sand control. This study provides clear technical guidelines for selecting solid materials for gravel packing in horizontal and highly-deviated wells.
format Article
id doaj-art-0fac7332f4dd415bbe0bb731b07ca624
institution OA Journals
issn 2077-1312
language English
publishDate 2024-09-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
spelling doaj-art-0fac7332f4dd415bbe0bb731b07ca6242025-08-20T02:11:11ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122024-09-011210169010.3390/jmse12101690Selection Results of Solid Material for Horizontal and Highly-Deviated Well Completion Gravel-Packing: Experiments, Numerical Simulation and ProposalHaoxian Shi0Changyin Dong1Xinjie Zhan2Chenfeng Liu3Lixia Li4Jianrong Ji5Yanjiang Yu6Zhendong Li7Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, China Geological Survey, Guangzhou 511466, ChinaSchool of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaSchool of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaSchool of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaGuangzhou Marine Geological Survey, China Geological Survey, Guangzhou 511466, ChinaEast China Petroleum Bureau of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Nanjing 210019, ChinaGuangzhou Marine Geological Survey, China Geological Survey, Guangzhou 511466, ChinaSchool of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaLightweight and ultra-lightweight solid materials are being used in gravel packing for horizontal wells instead of traditional quartz and ceramsite to decrease the risk of premature plugging and improve packing efficiency. Physical and numerical simulation experiments of gravel packing were conducted to assess the effectiveness of reducing solid material density and investigate its impact on packing and sand control. Packed gravel destabilization experiments highlighted the importance of high-compaction degree packing for effective sand control. Further gravel packing experiments examined the packing performance of different solid materials, revealing that lightweight solids have minimal gravitational deposition effect because their density is similar to the gravel slurry, relying primarily on fluid flow for compaction. The numerical simulation indicated that lightweight ceramsite is unsuitable for horizontal and highly-deviated wells because of its poor compaction degree and sand control, especially with high-viscosity slurry. High-density particles enhance gravitational deposition, improving packing compaction and sand control. Lightweight materials are recommended only when advanced plugging of α wave packing cannot be avoided. In highly-deviated wells, high-density materials significantly improve packing stability and sand control. This study provides clear technical guidelines for selecting solid materials for gravel packing in horizontal and highly-deviated wells.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/10/1690gravel-packinghorizontal wellhigh-deviated wellnumerical simulationgravel destabilization
spellingShingle Haoxian Shi
Changyin Dong
Xinjie Zhan
Chenfeng Liu
Lixia Li
Jianrong Ji
Yanjiang Yu
Zhendong Li
Selection Results of Solid Material for Horizontal and Highly-Deviated Well Completion Gravel-Packing: Experiments, Numerical Simulation and Proposal
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
gravel-packing
horizontal well
high-deviated well
numerical simulation
gravel destabilization
title Selection Results of Solid Material for Horizontal and Highly-Deviated Well Completion Gravel-Packing: Experiments, Numerical Simulation and Proposal
title_full Selection Results of Solid Material for Horizontal and Highly-Deviated Well Completion Gravel-Packing: Experiments, Numerical Simulation and Proposal
title_fullStr Selection Results of Solid Material for Horizontal and Highly-Deviated Well Completion Gravel-Packing: Experiments, Numerical Simulation and Proposal
title_full_unstemmed Selection Results of Solid Material for Horizontal and Highly-Deviated Well Completion Gravel-Packing: Experiments, Numerical Simulation and Proposal
title_short Selection Results of Solid Material for Horizontal and Highly-Deviated Well Completion Gravel-Packing: Experiments, Numerical Simulation and Proposal
title_sort selection results of solid material for horizontal and highly deviated well completion gravel packing experiments numerical simulation and proposal
topic gravel-packing
horizontal well
high-deviated well
numerical simulation
gravel destabilization
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/10/1690
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