Screenless Completion Applications Restore Sand-Free Production with Cost Effective Intervention in La Yuca Field, Colombia

Abstract Sand production is a common problem for oil and gas wells producing from the younger age unconsolidated clastic reservoirs. Formation solids production will cause operational problems varying from expensive sand handling problems to the complete loss of a productive zone or even the possibility of lost well control, due to eroded surface or even abandonment. This is the case of La Yuca field in Colombia, where sand production is a common problem leading to frequent artificial lift pump failures, lost production and well shutdowns. Several methods exist to limit formation sand and fines production, from sand and production management to changes in the completion architecture, including perforation strategies, standalone screens, open and cased hole gravel and frac-packing techniques. These last two include the use of a screen to hold the control gravel or proppant in place acting as the retention media to the formation sand. A method known as screenless completions advocates the elimination of the screen to hold proppant in place. Advantages of such technique are a simpler method and intervention inherent to the elimination of screens and associated jewelry, lower cost and maintaining full wellbore access for future interventions. This is in addition to gaining sand control and providing stimulation through fracturing. However, when the application involves high rates, low temperature and limited closure stress it has been historically difficult to keep proppant in place. A process of locking the proppant has been developed using a two-part polymeric system that works in a wide range of temperature and stress conditions. This two-part system consists of a proppant with a coating and a chemical activator that react to create bonds to create a self-supporting proppant pack. This system has been deployed in several wells in La Yuca effectively restoring wells to sand-free production while simultaneously stimulating the production capacity of the wells. This paper will present the basis of the technology and two screenless completion application case histories in Colombia. It will be helpful to engineers looking to control formation sand giving guidance in candidate selection and screenless completion design in a variety of remedial applications.