AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF GRAVEL PACKS AND SLOTTED LINERS IN HEAVY OIL OPERATIONS

As hydrocarbon prices continue to fluctuate, it is imperative for engineers to come‑up with optimum and cost effective ways of managing and developing a field. This is especially true in heavy oil operations, where the margins are very small. So it is pertinent to gain a better and broader understanding on how things such as completions technique can be optimized to gain the maximum value for the company. This work presents an analysis/evaluation of gravel packs and slotted liners in a heavy oil field in California. The objective of this work is to compare gravel packs and slotted liners from a production and sand control standpoint. This work also has a secondary objective of re‑evaluating the performance of old gravel pack wells that have been sidetracked using slotted liners. Also the effect of several variables such as flow rate, oil viscosity and API gravity on sanding in a heavy oil operation will be looked into. The results of this work indicate that there is not a "one size fit all" solution to the problem of sanding in a heavy oil field. So it is imperative that all feasible completion techniques be analyzed and their impact on production and economics be considered. The conclusions and recommendations from this study will provide an insight through which petroleum engineers in heavy oil operations will make educated decisions on how to optimally complete a field and also get the most bang for the buck.