Published by the DTI Oil & Gas Directorate for the reservoir engineering and IOR community in the UK.
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Sand Management Network, School of Engineering, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

Babs Oyeneyin, Reader in Petroleum/Offshore Engineering, School of Engineering, Robert Gordon University outlines the scope of the recently established sand management network (b.oyeneyin@rgu.ac.uk)

A Sand Management Network has been established with specific focus on the North Sea
The Network will among other objectives:

• Use web and physical meeting forums to develop and extend the knowledge base on Sand Management in the North Sea, share and exchange technology, experience and specialist information on sand management including the identification of technology gaps
• Be funded by a small number of "Network Sponsors" - companies operating in the North Sea with an interest in sand management.
• Be managed by a dedicated "Network Manager" who will gather data, facilitate meetings, organise events and generally run the Network.

More that 80% of oil/gas reservoirs are clastic formations in various degrees of unconsolidation and the need for effective management especially for mature fields, which are being gradually depressurised, is becoming increasingly important.

Development of appropriate strategy for the management of reservoirs with sanding problems is rather complex and requires an integrated approach to finding the optimum solution to solving the problem. This requires integration of key aspects of reservoir characterisation, drilling, completion and production technologies including sand tolerances (Seabed wellhead/flowlines, topside facilities).

Key issues involved the sand management technology include:

• When to initiate sand control
• Integration of the different technologies involved
• Sand monitoring techniques
• Prediction of sanding potential(Different techniques available)
• Completion strategy
• Sand Control Methods(Various methods available)
• Performance evaluation criteria
• Topside Facility Management

Debate on the most effective sand management strategy has been intense for many years, with different companies adopting different strategies.

With this in mind and in order to promote appropriate best practices as well as improve the knowledge base in the North Sea, The Robert Gordon University in consultation with a number of industry bodies initiated a move to establish a "Sand Management Network" with focussed objectives. These include:

1. To act as a technical and business forum for the exchange of ideas on key technology issues and needs based upon shared experiences, specialist information and appropriate collaboration.
2. To source, collate and analyse field and research data.
3. To develop a comprehensive database of the collated data and incorporate into knowledge based system.
4. To propose appropriate benchmarking standards for sand management to the wider industry.
5. To facilitate the dissemination of the results of the analysis to the corporate membership and the wider industry.
6. To develop an integrated sand management strategy and benchmarking standards / best practices for the North Sea.
7. To facilitate technology transfer workshops/seminars on topical sand management issues and innovations

A number of operating and service companies have already agreed and are willing to fund a Sand Management Network (SMN) for the North Sea Region

The SMN plan to:

1. Hold dedicated seminars / technology workshops on topical issues identified by the Network Technical Steering Committee.
2. Develop a dedicated Network Website, which will provide information access to the wider industry on the developed Sand Management best practices, seminar/workshop proceedings, etc.
   

The Network is to be managed 5-man Technical Steering Committee selected by the membership. The Steering Committee will facilitate the activities of the Network in terms of strategy and focus.

A dedicated Network Manager working in conjunction with The Robert Gordon University would be responsible for the day-to-day administration/management of the Network

Further details from Dr. M.Babs Oyeneyin, C.Eng, Reader in Petroleum/Offshore Engineering, School of Engineering, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, b.oyeneyin@rgu.ac.uk

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