Effect of Shear Stress Buildup at the Interface of Sand Control Screen and Oil Sand on the Screen Performance in SAGD

SAGD 防砂筛管与油砂界面剪切应力的积累对筛管性能的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-06257
• 负责人: Nouri, Alireza
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=679677
• 关键词: Effect; Shear; Stress; Buildup; Interface

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is the main thermal technique for in situ heavy oil recovery in Canada. This technique employs two horizontal wells that are supported against collapse by the installation of screen liners called Sand Control Devices (SCDs). SCDs are designed to (1) control sand production while allowing the flow of reservoir fluids into the well; and (2) allow the discharge of fine materials to avoid plugging of the screen and pore spaces behind the screen.***SAGD projects have high operating and capital expenditures. Issues related to SCD performance, such as excessive plugging, cost the Canadian oil industry a significant amount of time and money. Due to the lack of certainty in SCD performance prediction, the industry often opts for conservative, more expensive design decisions. With recent volatility in oil prices, avoiding unnecessary costs is critical for Canada to remain competitive in today's oil market. A better understanding of SCD performance would help to optimize the design of less expensive completions, such as slotted liners, to improve their performance, avoid expensive alternatives and reduce wellbore intervention costs.***The proposed research is concerned with the fundamental investigation of the impact of shear stress buildup at the SCD-formation interface on sand production and plugging. The stress builds mainly due to reservoir thermal expansion, which is restricted by the SCD. The hypothesis is that the shear stress exacerbates sanding by destabilizing sand bridges behind the slots. Currently, design criteria are excessively conservative, resulting in either the use of expensive SCDs such as wire-wrapped screen, or the use of narrower slots in slotted liners, hence, increasing plugging potentials and lowering wellbore productivity. An SCD design which allows wider slots combined with the installation of slip joints to relieve the interface shear stress is hypothesized to result in similar amounts of sanding compared to the use of narrower slots without slip joints. The use of wider slots reduces slot plugging and allows a lower number of slots to be cut in the liner, hence, less SCD manufacturing costs and improved liner integrity. ***An improved SCD design is expected to lead to the development of procedures and technologies that result in higher wellbore productivity, lower well completion and workover costs, and lower environmental impact due to smaller amounts of produced contaminated sand. The outcome is lower capital and operating expenditures for the heavy oil production industry which will enable Canadian industries to compete despite low oil prices. Another benefit to Canada is the training of HQP that will advance testing methods, create scientific and practical knowledge in a critical area, and disseminate through journal and conference publications. These will help Canada to assert its position at the forefront of R&D in science and engineering.

蒸汽辅助重力排水（SAGD）是加拿大原位重油回收的主要热技术。该技术采用了两个水平井，通过安装称为沙控制设备（SCD）的屏幕衬里来支持崩溃。 SCD设计为（1）控制沙子的产生，同时使储层流体流入井中； （2）允许排放精美的材料，以避免屏幕和屏幕后面的孔隙空间。*** SAGD项目具有较高的运营和资本支出。与SCD绩效有关的问题（例如过度插头）损失了加拿大石油行业的大量时间和金钱。由于缺乏SCD性能预测的确定性，该行业通常选择保守，更昂贵的设计决策。随着油价最近的波动，避免不必要的成本对于加拿大在当今石油市场中保持竞争力至关重要。更好地了解SCD性能将有助于优化较便宜的完成的设计，例如开槽的衬里，以提高其性能，避免昂贵的替代方案并降低井眼干预成本。应力主要是由于储层热膨胀而受到SCD限制的。假设是，剪切应力通过破坏插槽后面的沙子桥的稳定而加剧了打磨。当前，设计标准过于保守，导致使用昂贵的SCD（例如线包装屏幕），或者在狭长的衬里中使用较窄的老虎机，因此增加了插头的潜力并降低了Wellbore的生产率。 SCD设计允许更宽的插槽与安装滑动接头相结合，以减轻界面剪切应力，从而与使用较窄的插槽没有滑动接头相比会导致相似的打磨量。较宽的插槽的使用减少了插槽的堵塞，并可以在衬里中切割较低数量的插槽，因此SCD制造成本和改善的衬里完整性。 ***预计改进的SCD设计将导致程序和技术的开发，从而导致较高的井眼生产率，较低的井完成和改进成本以及由于较小量产生的污染沙子而造成的环境影响降低。结果是重石油生产行业的资本和运营支出较低，这将使加拿大行业能够竞争油价低。加拿大的另一个好处是对HQP的培训，该培训将推进测试方法，在关键领域创建科学和实践知识，并通过期刊和会议出版物进行传播。这些将有助于加拿大在科学与工程领域的研发最前沿地位。