Thru-tubing screens restore value in a sand-challenged ultradeepwater well

Excessive sand production had shut in a well for nearly 4 years in the ultradeepwater Gulf of America; initial deferred production was 4,431 bbl/d of oil and 2.395 MMcf/d of gas. A targeted remedial solution using RemedySlot™ erosion-resistant thru‑tubing sand screens deployed via coiled tubing (CT) restored capital-efficient barrels without replacing the original completion.

Located in water depths exceeding 8,400 ft, a well in the Gulf of America relied on subsea pumps to sustain output. Escalating sand production posed a serious erosion risk to the boosting system. To protect critical subsea infrastructure from premature failure, the operator was forced to shut in the well. Subsequent analysis indicated that failure of the original sand control screens was the likely root cause of sand production.

SLB engineered a CT–deployed remedial completion using approximately 1,500 ft of RemedySlot sand screens suspended from a packer. Employing a multiservice semisubmersible vessel, the team cleaned out the well to 13,000-ft MD, deployed the remedial screens through and below the barrier isolation valve, and installed the new sand control system inside the failed completion. The entire intervention was executed in just 101 hours.

• Production was restored and stabilized at >900 BOPD.
• Sand control was reestablished.
• Subsea boosting assets were protected from erosion risk.
• Asset value was recovered without the expense of a full recompletion.

RemedySlot screens enabled the operator to unlock new life from a previously shut-in well, demonstrating the power of remedial sand control solutions to deliver capital-efficient production in the most demanding deepwater environments.