Sand production during the life of a well can cause severe operational issues and expensive repairs to the operator’s facility and pipeline. An onshore operator in Gabon facing this challenge was forced to shut down a well to protect the production infrastructure.
The well produced gas at a high rate, and the abrasive effects of high-velocity sand posed an erosional threat to the production pipeline. To avoid major production deferment, the operator required a rapid sand management solution to restore production and prevent any further damage to its facilities.
To meet the challenge, SLB provided its Production ExPRESS rapid production response solutions fluid preconditioning package. The high rate of gas flow with large amounts of sand required special treatment so that the produced fluid would meet the facility limits on solids content.
The deployed package was thoroughly engineered and adapted to the operator’s requirements using surface well test equipment to deliver a mobile solution in the shortest possible time. Combining robust technologies with experienced personnel helped ensure the operator could meet the plant acceptance criteria, enabling continuous, solids-free production.
By deploying the Production ExPRESS solutions package, the operator was able to continue producing gas reliably at a rate of more than 100 MMcf/d. This helped the operator save significant costs by avoiding pipeline damage and potential facility shutdown. Although the fluid preconditioning was a temporary solution, it helped the operator achieve an additional 4 years of uninterrupted production.
