SPE 68747

Clean up and Well Testing Operations in High-Rate Gas-Condensate Field Result in

Improved Sand Management System
Jiten Devender Kaura, Alex Macrae, David Mennie, SPE, Halliburton Energy Services

Copyright 2001, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

between 500 and 580 bar, and the temperature ranges from
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and 125ºC to 145ºC. At present, the operational strategy is to
Exhibition held in Jakarta, Indonesia, 17–19 April 2001.
hydraulically fracture all wells by means of up to five stacked
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
proppant fractures using a 'tip screen-out' design to intercept
presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to as much of the 200-to 250-m reservoir height as possible. The
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at wells must be cleaned up and tested to evaluate fracturing
SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper
results and to obtain reservoir information prior to production.
for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is To meet the start-up gas production targets, up to five rigs,
prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300
words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous two fracturing units, and two well-test units plus associated
acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O.
Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.
services were contracted. An integrated service contract
covering cementing, fracturing, coiled tubing, perforating and
well testing was awarded to enable and encourage contractor
Abstract ownership for the entire scope of work.
During development of high pressure/high temperature
(HP/HT) gas wells in Oman, clean-up operations that remove Design Considerations
up to 10 tons of proppant fracture material from individual gas The objectives of the system were to 1) reduce the time
wells have become routine. The continuing development of between tests and 2) assist the customer in achieving the target
fracturing, clean up and testing processes in the HP/HT well- of delivering gas capacity of 40 million m3/day over a period
testing environment has provided a unique opportunity to of two years. To meet these parameters, two well test units
fulfill the need for enhancement of proppant clean-up are being used.
equipment and methods. Several key factors, summarised as follows, impacted the
Efforts have been concentrated on improving clean-up design and operation of the well test units:
times, equipment efficiency and refining the design of the • The proposed system would be capable of stand-alone
desander/filter sand management system (SMS). As a result of operations.
the improvents, the clean-up and testing processes have • The system would be a skid-mounted mobile unit for field
undergone significant modification. locations.
During the initial phase of the project, numerous • Max. condensate flow rate: 700 m3/day (15,000 bpd)
challenges had to be overcome, and improvements were made • Max. gas flow rate: 3 MM m3/day (105 mmscfd)
in the solids clean-up process. This paper will describe how • Operating pressure: 105 bar (1,500 psi)
proppant and other solids materials were managed during the • Design Pressure: 690 bar (10,000 psi)
wellbore and formation clean-out process. • Operating temperature: 95 ºC (200ºF)
• Design temperature: 121 oC (250 oF)
Introduction • GVF at desander inlet: 14:1, gas:liquid by volume
The Oman LNG upstream project has developed the deep gas • Allowable pressure drop: 50 bar (725 psi)
and condensate fields in central Oman. The project currently • Proppant size: 20/40 mesh, 12/20 mesh
has a peak gas processing capacity of 40 million m3/day and • Proppant density: 3600 kg/m3 (225lbs/ft3)
an estimated peak condensate production of 12,500 m3/day. • Proppant rate 250 kg/hr (550lbs/hr)
To obtain this capacity, 36 wells are being drilled in an initial • Proppant concentration: 2.85 kg/m3 (1lbs/bbl)
phase over the first 2½ years, with a potential project • Liquid phase viscosity :0.28 cP
requirement of 130 wells. The wells are drilled vertically to • Liquid phase density: 700 kg/m3 (5.85 lb/gal)
the hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone formation at depths of • Gas phase viscosity: 0.018 cP
between 4,200 and 4,700 m and completed with a 4½-in. liner • Gas phase density: 98 kg/m3 (6.118 lbs/ft3)
with 5-in. and 5½-in. tubing. The reservoir pressure varies • Carbon dioxide: (CO2) up to 0.5%
2 JITEN KAURA, ALEX MACRAE, AND DAVID MENNIE SPE 68747

An engineered clean up and well test package was Gas, oil, water, and solids enter the cyclone tangentially
designed with the additional capability of handling sand at through the inlet under pressure, and the resulting centrifugal
surface. force causes the gas to disengage and exit through the vortex
finder (Fig. 3). The liquid passes into the conical section of the
Process and Instrumentation Diagram Description cyclone where the reduction in diameter accelerates the fluid,
The process and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) in Fig. 1a generating centrifugal forces strong enough to separate the
shows components of the mobil clean-up and well-test unit solids from the liquid. The solids are forced toward the wall
employed to test high-rate gas condensate wells in Oman. The and travel down the length of the conical section of the
components are: cyclone in a spiral pattern toward the solids outlet, the
underflow. The gas and liquid migrate toward the center of the
Production Wellhead cyclone, where the flow reverses and moves toward the
1. Emergency shutdown valve overflow through the vortex finder.
There are various theories behind the principles of
Sand Management System (Fig. 1b) cyclone-based separators. In operation, the entire wellstream
1. Wellhead desander is fed into the desander vessel and directed into the insert.
2. Wellhead filters Cyclonic separation of the solids takes place in the insert, with
3. Flushing pump solids falling through into the accumulator vessel. The
4. Proppant recovery tank with measuring system selection of insert size will suit the particular design
conditions specified.
Process Equipment The desander and accumulator vessels are separated by a
1. Choke manifold double “block-and-bleed” gate-valve system, and the
2. Three-phase separator accumulator itself drains via a similar arrangement.
3. Metering tank with transfer pump Emptying or purging of the accumulator vessel involves its
4. Flare line isolation using the valve arrangement between the desander
and accumulator, venting the accumulator to atmospheric
Production Wellhead pressure, and flushing out the recovered solids using plant
The production wellhead comprises: water or clean produced water. The accumulator vessel will be
1. Lower manual master valve filled with plant water or clean produced water before it is re-
2. Upper hydraulic master valve opened to the process in order to minimize the ingress of oil
3. Swab valve into the accumulator and to keep the solids discharge process
4. Flow-wing valve as clean as possible. The desander is left on-line during the
5. Kill-line valve purging process. Solids separated in this period will collect in
The fluids from the wellbore and the reservoir flow as a the holding space beneath the insert in the desander vessel and
mixture of gas, oil, water and proppant into the production will pass to the accumulator, once it is reopened to the
tubing and through the production wellhead flow-wing valve process.
and a 690-bar emergency shut down (ESD) valve. The ESD Purging of the accumulators is a manual operation.
valve is mounted on the flow-wing valve and is hydraulically
actuated. A high-pressure kill pump is connected to the Wellhead Desander Vessel
wellhead through a check valve onto the kill-wing valve. The The wellhead desander vessel houses the cyclone separator
ESD valve and the upper hydraulic master-valve control lines insert (Fig. 4). Access to the desander for insert change-out or
are connected to a control panel that has two pumps that maintenance is achieved via an API flange connection in the
enable the fail-closed valves to open under hydraulic pressure. top of the vessel.
The end connections on the ESD valve are 4-1/16-in. flanges Solids hold-up volume in this vessel is approximately 8
with API 6BX ring gaskets that have a pressure rating of 690 gallons. Hold-up volume in the desander vessel is sized to
bar. provide enough capacity to collect solids when the
accumulator is isolated for emptying. Manually, this process
Sand Management System takes approximately 15 minutes.
Wellhead desander. Two types of wellhead desanders were
used on these wells. The first design (Design 1) is described Accumulator Vessel
below. Separated solids are collected in the accumulator vessel
located beneath the desander vessel.
Desander Vessel (Design 1). The wellhead desander unit is The accumulator vessel is a simple cylindrical pressure
comprised of two major components: vessel that incorporates inlet and outlet connections for the
1. A wellhead desander vessel containing a single cyclone separated solids along with vent and flush connections to
insert assist the purging process.
2. A solids accumulator vessel. The solids flushing mechanism inside the accumulator
consists of one flushing connection low down on the
SPE 68747 CLEANUP AND WELL TESTING OPERATIONS IN HIGH-RATE GAS-CONDENSATE FIELD 3
RESULT IN IMPROVED SAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

accumulator which will ensure that the solids are fluidized and and where required, on the water line. Under normal flowing
flushed from potential dead spots in the vessel. conditions, this tank is always on a bypass. When a meter
calibration is to be carried out, the fluid is flowed into the tank
Wellhead Filter and allowed to settle. The calibration tank has a vent line
The desander is designed to remove 95% of produced well through which the gases escape, and a reading is taken and
solids. In order to collect remaining solids and to protect the corrected to standard conditions. The maximum allowable
choke from erosion, a dual-pod filter system is installed working pressure of the tank is 10 bar.
downstream of the desander (Fig. 5). The filter system is The transfer pump is used to pump the contents of the tank
comprised of two units, each housing two flange-connected to the flare pit and to empty the tank.
wedge-wire filter screen elements. The filter screen, with a
mesh size of 100 microns, is designed to treat flow from inside
to outside. The separated sand collects inside the screen in the Theories On Wellhead Desander Working Principle
lower part of the vessel. The filter vessel is periodically To understand the operation of the wellhead desander, four
isolated from the process, de-pressured, and the sand is fundamental parameters must be determined in terms of the
flushed to a cleaning/disposal system. Each filter can be operating and design variables. These parameters are:
flushed independently, and all valves on the desander and 1. The separation or cut size
filter units are manual. Each vessel is capable of processing 2. The flow split between overflow and underflow
100% of the specified capacity; thus, the system covers 200% 3. Sharpness of separation
of capacity. 4. Capacity – pressure drop
The wellhead filter system is installed downstream of the With the capability to calculate the above four parameters
desander system, treating the overflow (or solids depleted for a given set of conditions, it is possible to determine the
stream) from the desander. complete mass balance of the cyclone.
The objective of the wellhead filter is to catch any solids
fines that carry over from the wellhead desander. The mesh Cut Size1. It has become common practice to express the cut
size of the screen in the filter vessel is 100 µm or 200 µm. size in terms of the d50 size. The d50 size is that size having
The wellhead filter vessel was manufactured to the same equal (50%) probability of separation from the flow stream.
design code and specifications as the desander. Theoretical attempts to define the cut size in terms of
The desander vessel, accumulator, filter vessel, and the operating and design have been based on one of the following
piping spools are made from AISI 4130 material. The filter three hypotheses:
screens are made from 316 SS material.
The inlet and outlet connections on the desander and the (1) Equilibrium Orbit Hypothesis
filter are 4-1/16-in. flanges with API 6BX ring gaskets having Most of the fundamental equations used to calculate the
a pressure rating of 690 bar. separation size are based on the concept of the equilibrium
orbit. At some point in the cyclone, it is assumed that the d50
Process Equipment size particle is at equilibrium with respect to the two principal
Choke manifold. The clean fluid from the sand filters then forces acting on it — fluid drag force and centrifugal force. As
flows to the choke manifold where the pressure drop is taken illustrated in Fig. 6, the centrifugal force tends to force the
in order to provide stability to the separator. It provides a dual particle to the cyclone periphery, and the drag force tends to
path to the fluid flow — one through the adjustable choke and force the particle towards the cyclone center. As shown in
the other through the positive choke. Fig. 7, the particle in the outer periphery (where Fc > Fd) will
The choke manifold has 4-1/16-in. inlet/outlet flanged exit the cyclone via underflow; and the particles swept to the
connections with API 6BX ring gaskets. center (where Fd > Fc) will be carried over to the overflow.
Since the proppant particles are spherical in shape,
Three-phase separator. The 48-in. horizontal, three-phase assuming diameter d, the centrifugal force term becomes:
separator is capable of handling 3 million m3/day of gas.
Twenty-five hundred m3/day of condensate was used to Fc = ∏ d3 (ρs - ρ) ν2 (1)
provide differential density separation between the gas, oil, 6 r
and water by gravity segregation. The gas and water was
flared at the flare pit while the condensate was diverted to the Assuming laminar flow relative to the particle (Stokes'
condensate collection plant through the temporary lines. equation), the fluid drag force may be expressed as:
The maximum allowable working pressure of the separator
vessel is 100 bar. There are three pilot-operated relief valves, Fd = 3 ∏ d µ ω (2)
one inlet, and two pressure-relief valves on the separator.
At equilibrium, the two forces are equal, and assuming the
Calibration tank with transfer pump. The 16 m3 calibration particle to be a d50-sized particle, the expression becomes:
tank is used to calibrate the liquid turbine meter on the oil line
4 JITEN KAURA, ALEX MACRAE, AND DAVID MENNIE SPE 68747

d50 = 18 µ ω r ½ (3) Sharpness of separation. This refers to the efficiency of

(ρs - ρ) ν2 separation. It is an exponential function of the particle size and
is represented by a Rosin-Rammler type of equation:
Thus, all that remains to be solved is
• ω, the radial velocity component; η = 1 – exp -0.693 (d/d50) m … (5)
• ν, the tangential velocity component; and
• r, the radius of orbit at equilibrium. In the above equation, m serves as a direct measure of the
sharpness of separation (i.e., for a desander, an m of 3 would
Based on Kelsall's2 work and other studies, semi-empirical represent sharp separation, whereas an m of less than 2 would
expressions were developed for various terms. Based on his be relatively poor separation) 1.
own and Kelsall's studies, Lilge3 assumed the d50 size The sharpness of separation is essentially a function of the
equilibrium to be on the envelope of zero vertical velocity at a following:
radius of one-sixth the cyclone radius. Fig. 7 shows the
location of the zero vertical velocity in a cyclone. The 1. fluid properties
tangential and the radial components of velocity were 2. solids properties
calculated at the assumed equilibrium point and expressed in 3. volumetric flow rates.
terms of the operating and design variables. Substituting these
relationships in Equation 3, Lilge obtained what he called Fluid properties (viscosity and density); solids properties
“cone force equation”3: (solids size distribution), density, and concentration.
The sharpness of separation decreases with increasing fluid
d50 = 39 Di 0.87 Do 1.13 (1 – Uv) µ ½ … (4) density. It is also found that the sharpness of separation is
(1 – Di/Do) 0.8 (ρs - ρ) Qh influenced not by the desander dimensions but by the solids
properties, such as specific gravity and shape.
The above equation makes a reasonably good
approximation of the d50 particle that will be separated. Pressure drop. Since the desander works on the principle of
conservation of energy (i.e.; that energy is constant), in the
(2) Retention Time Hypothesis case of desander applications assuming that frictional energy
An issue of contention was that in one or two seconds of is constant, the equation can be written as:
residence time in a desander, it is unreasonable to assume that
equilibrium could be achieved, or even approached. An pressure energy + kinetic energy = constant
alternative approach is to consider residence time and non-
equilibrium conditions. The main proponent of this concept As the flow goes through the desander and is forced to
was Rietema, who assumed that a d50 size particle would, if spin, the kinetic energy of the flow increases. Since kinetic
injected at the centre of the inlet, migrate to the outer energy is increased, pressure energy must decrease since the
periphery in the time taken for the particle to be swept to the energy present within a system remains constant. Thus, a
underflow. Using Stokes' Law, an expression was obtained for pressure drop across the desander is observed.
the d50 size in terms of a constant, which he called the The pressure drop within the desander is required to
“characteristic cyclone number.” This cyclone number was determine the capacity of the desander. The pressure drop is a
then related empirically to the dimensional variables. function of:
1. fluid properties
(3) Crowding Theory 2. volumetric flow rates through the desander.
The crowding theory proposed by Fahlstrom4 states that Usually, the pressure drop is ascertained from the flow-
except for operations with low-feed-pulp density, the d50 size pressure gauge located at some distance upstream from the
is primarily a function of the capacity of the underflow orifice cyclone inlet and a further pressure gauge located at some
and the size analysis of the feed. According to this theory, the distance downstream of the cyclone outlet. As fundamentally
coarsest fraction of the feed is discharged by the underflow up derived equations do not include inlet losses, it would be
to its capacity limit, with the remaining fines being discharged expected they will predict lower-than-actual pressure drops.
through the overflow.
The crowding theory emphasises the effect of the apex size Operational Experience
on the cyclone in making a separation. In practice, this Since the start of project, two well test units have been
crowding effect can be observed by making a sufficient completed, and 32 wells have recovered over 120 tons of
3
reduction in the underflow orifice size. proppant, produced 200,000 m of condensate, and an initial
3
gas capacity of 50 million m /day was made available.
Flow split1. Flow split is the volume split between the In order to achieve these results, the clean up and testing
overflow and underflow. Detailed theoretical analysis is process had to undergo significant modification and
beyond the scope of the paper. improvement during the period of the project in which the
SPE 68747 CLEANUP AND WELL TESTING OPERATIONS IN HIGH-RATE GAS-CONDENSATE FIELD 5
RESULT IN IMPROVED SAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

above occurred. Efforts were concentrated on improving bakes onto the filter screens and cannot be removed by back
clean-up times with the SMS because of the need to meet gas flushing.
delivery deadlines. The above conditions were attributed to:
The main needs for improving clean-up and testing times • High-gas-flow velocities
were as follows: • mechanical design of the equipment
• Erosion • prolonged proppant and fines back production5.
1. Insert erosion
2. Desander vessel erosion High Gas Flow Velocity
3. Mating flange of filter screens erosion Post erosional analysis showed that the velocity through the
• Filter screen: plugging due to formation fines flowback desander tripled after exiting the inlet. Meticulous scrutiny of
the mechanical design and the process simulation produced
Wellhead Desander the data shown in Table 1:
Desander erosion challenges existed from an early point in the
test sequence. Initial inspections revealed that severe damage Table 1— Post Erosional Analysis
to the desander inserts with further erosion to the wall of the Vapor fraction: 0.9275
vessel body (see Figs. 8 and 9) had taken place. It was evident Temperature: 85.39ºC
that operational changes were needed. Pressure: 105 bar
First, to resolve the erosion needs, inspection frequencies
Density (gas + condensate): 110.1211 kg/m3
were shortened so that the gas velocities at which the
washouts occurred could be identified. As a part of the Mass flow (gas + condensate): 149,340 kg/hr
solution to the operational challenges, wellhead desander Mass flow (gas): 106,030 kg/hr
design 2, which offered more efficient separation and overall Mass flow (condensate): 43,303 kg/hr
performance, was introduced to the project. Gas flow: 123,620 Sm3/hr
From the investigation results, it was determined that the Gas flow: 1287.6 actual m3/hr
rating of the standard chrome carbide-coated insert be Mole weight (gas): 20.2811
downgraded by 50% to gas-flow rates of 1.5 million m3/day. SG (air = 1.0): 0.7002
This had an economic impact on the project as it had been Z Factor (gas): 0.8674
expected
3
that individual well gas capacities of up to 3 million Viscosity (gas): 0.0165 cP
m /day be tested. Condensate flow: 63.4 Sm3/hr
A typical clean out involves recovery of between 3 and 10
Condensate flow: 68.6 actual m3/hr
tons of proppant at initial gas rates up to 1 million m3/day
Mole weight (condensate): 105.8822
flowing at pressures of between 280 to 350 bar with a gas/oil
3 3 3
ration (GOR) in the region of 200m /m (CGR 350 m /million SG (water = 1.0): 0.6330
3 Viscosity: 0.3932 cP
m ). Once the initial solids have been recovered, the wells are
beaned up to a maximum drawdown of 106 bar with gas rates
of up to 3 million m3/day and condensate rates of between 750 *NOTE: The above data are based on a design-case flow rate
and 1,500 m3/day. of 3 million m3/day and associated condensate.
A variety of desander insert materials were manufactured
and tested. These included ceramic-lined; boron-diffusion The desander inlet piping is 4-in. nominal internal
plated; tungsten carbide coated; reaction-bonded and silicon diameter (ID) 690 bar piping. At the desander inlet, there is
carbide materials; however, with the exception of the original an inlet wear sleeve with an ID of 2-3/8-in. This results in a
chrome carbide-coated units, all failed to handle increased nozzle effect at the inlet because of the reduction in effective
velocities. flow area.

Wellhead Filters Based on the above numbers, the gas velocity through the
Since the wellhead desander is only 95% to 98% efficient, desander would be 131.8 m/sec (474 km/hr), and the line
small amounts of proppant were carried over to the filters. The velocities would be 45 m/sec (162 km/hr). These velocities
dual-pod filter units also incurred start-up challenges with can be calculated by the following equation:
washouts through erosion. Washouts occurred between the
interconnecting flange faces of the filters (inside the main Vg = 60 Z Qg T (6)
filter body) and in the welds connecting the filter mesh to the (ID) 2 P
interconnecting flanges.
Produced fines consisting mainly of mullite-corundum and Since Z is a constant based on temperature and pressure,
quartz, basically a crushed fracture proppant, were a continual the equation can be rewritten in the following way to get a
challenge in the filters. Standard filter back flushing will good approximation of the line velocity:
remove loose solids, but the fines build up a solids layer that
(7)
6 JITEN KAURA, ALEX MACRAE, AND DAVID MENNIE SPE 68747

Vg = 32000 Qg to run in parallel (to reduce inlet velocities), but it was

(ID) 2 P impractical to implement this design because of the initial gas-
capacity deadlines. The bean-up procedure of the well during
The flow velocity through the desander can be calculated by: clean up was revised to a less aggressive regime and limited to
a maximum solids recovery rate of less than 230 kgs
Vdesander = 3*Vg (8) proppant/hour.
Alternative desander system designs were considered in
The challenge was to reduce the flow velocities within the December, 1998 and the decision was made to have a
desander such that the erosion would be reduced or brought desander unit manufactured and supplied. The new multi-
under control. insert desander unit (Design 2) operates on a similar principle
to the single insert unit. The main difference is that rather than
Mechanical Design Of The Equipment using a single 25cm insert, six individual desander units are
All eroded desander inserts had exhibited a similar erosion encased within a similar-sized vessel body (Fig. 10). This
trend; this lead to the detailed scrutiny of the mechanical system provided:
design of the desander insert and the vessel. The erosion of the • improved vessel geometry
desander inserts was found to be the result of the mechanical • better insert inlet geometry.
design of the equipment; in practice, the proppant did not Another distinguishing feature is that design 2 does not
travel downwards but tended to remain on a fixed path around have an inlet wear sleeve. As a result, the gas flow velocities
the inner circumference of the insert. If the insert was not in design 2 are significantly lower. These reduced flow
inspected regularly and replaced, the action of the proppant velocities do not cause severe erosion.
would erode the desander vessel. The design 2 system is also operated on the tangential feed
As a result, it was necessary to find an alternative design of liquids and solids into the desander body. The centrifugal
for the insert and vessel. force induced by the flow causes solids to be pushed into the
inner wall of the device and discharged from the lower end of
Prolonged Proppant and Fines Back Production the cone. Gas and liquid discharges from the top of the
Initially it was believed that the prolonged proppant flowback desander via the vortex finder.
was due to the lack of information on fracture flowback A design 2 unit was supplied and installed in June, 1999,
procedures. As a result, flowback procedures were developed. and initial experience confirms that it is performing to
It was observed that in certain wells proppant back-production expectations. Minimal cyclone insert3
wear has been noted at
was a persistent challenge. gas rates in excess of 2 million m /day, but the design allows
Thus, it was necessary to devise a system that could curb the inlet nozzle to be replaced and the conical chamber to be
the proppant back production from the formation. revolved, thereby inflicting the potential 'wear path' on an
Fines flowing from certain wells were analysed and found unexposed area of the chamber.
to consist primarily of quartz. These fines escape from the
desander and become trapped in the filters, resulting in Operational Issues
plugged filter screens. This causes high differential pressures Modified operating methods included complete bypass of the
across the screens, and in some cases, results in burst filters. SMS in the early stages of clean up. When large quantities of
The flushing system was designed primarily to flush the solids are being recovered and gas velocities are low, the SMS
proppant that falls to the bottom of the vessel. is inefficient and prone to blockage. To solve this problem, a
Thus, a primary need was to develop an effective flushing separate sacrificial choke system was used to recover solids.
system that could flush through the internal diameter of the This bypass method enabled quick unloading of the wellbore
screens. and was generally assisted by a coiled tubing clean out when
the wellbore levels were such that the well pressure was
Design and Operational Modifications unable to lift the solids. As soon as gas returns were observed,
Since its inception, this project was faced with issues that were the well flow was switched back via the SMS to avoid choke
difficult to resolve. The intention was to incorporate design erosion, and controlled cleanup and testing commenced.
and operational modifications so that the objectives of the well Coiled tubing (CT) clean outs were frequently employed,
test could be met safely. and again, experience allowed operating methods to be
refined. Depending on the proppant levels left by the
Wellhead Desander fracturing operation, it was more efficient to commence the
Design. The vessel design was also revisited, and the internal clean up of the proppant with the CT until gas returns were
dimensions of the inlet 'wear sleeve' were increased in order to observed at surface. Then, lifting was continued using well-
reduce velocities. Experiments were run on the desander insert gas assist while lifting across the perforated area and into the
sizes, but it was clear that only the largest unit, which sump. The combination of SMS bypass/utilisation proved to
measured 25cm, would be capable of handling the capacities be an efficient method for initial proppant clean up.
involved. Modifications were carried out to enable two units A real time data acquisition system was installed to give a
real time onsite display of the differential pressures across the
SPE 68747 CLEANUP AND WELL TESTING OPERATIONS IN HIGH-RATE GAS-CONDENSATE FIELD 7
RESULT IN IMPROVED SAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

desander to provide an indication of the flow velocities within control of the gas velocities required to lift solids in an
the desander. A database of differential pressure versus the gas efficient manner was essential. Small choke sizes prevented
flow rate was set and maintained on the wells with Design 1 velocities from lifting solids, and oversized chokes resulted in
and design 2 desanders. This system, along with the insert overwhelming the system with proppant. Each well had its
inspection schedule, provided a useful comparison of insert own characteristics, but as a result of experience, a general
erosion in the two designs. procedure, which enabled efficient recovery of solids while
maintaining testing continuity, was adopted. Generally, choke
Wellhead Filters changes were varied only in 0.39mm (1/64-in.) increments
Mating flange erosion. The filter screens were manufactured between 2.38mm (6/64-in.) and 9.53mm (24/64-in.), and
in two 2-meter sections for easy handling. These two sections limitations on solids recovery amounts were set prior to
were mated using a mating flange with a metal-to-metal seal. making a choke variation. Once solids recovery rates fell
This sealing arrangement was rated to a pressure of 2 bar, but below specified levels, a more aggressive bean-up procedure
the filter units were being operated at 20 bar differential was adopted to achieve maximum drawdown at minimal
pressure. In order to increase the rating, the flanges were proppant rates. The criterion for a clean well is 0.5kgs
3
modified, and in order to effect a better seal, elastomers were proppant/day for every 1 million m /day gas produced.
inserted between the flange faces. While these modifications
were effective temporarily, the eventual solution was to weld Design Improvements on Design 2 Desander
the flanges and use them as a unit. The Design 2 desander has been in service since June 1999.
During that time, it has been observed that the vortex finders
Screen plugging due to fines. The initial resolution was to showed similar trends of erosion around the inlet/outlet and
dismantle the filter and steam clean the screens outside the the lip of the body. This indicates that the influencing factor is
vessel. For safety reasons, this necessitated shutting down the the angle of ramp on the vortex finder. After the flow exits
process, which incurred substantial downtime in the clean-up into the body of the insert from the ramp, a percentage of
program. proppant particles becomes trapped because of the form of the
One solution was to manufacture a 200-micron screen and vortex finder body, and this results in erosion.
run one pod with 100-micron screens and the other with 200- The solution was to increase the angle of the ramp in the
micron screens. This reduced the build-up of solids and vortex finder body so that the fluid exiting the ramp does not
screens-blockage, as the fines could be bypassed at low commingle with the fluid at the inlet. The approaches adopted
velocities without erosion to the downstream process. The were:
second attempted solution was to introduce chemicals into the • To build an epoxy polymer cement (EPC) coating
stream to dissolve or reduce the effects of solids build-up; this • To manufacture hardened steel inserts with a vortex finder
approach proved to be ineffective. • To improvise the manufacturing process of the original
The third method, which proved to be the most effective, insert material.
was the introduction of a jet washing system in situ. This
involved manufacturing an adaptor flange on top of the vessel Building epoxy polymer cement (EPC) coating.
to allow a jet wash nozzle, driven by a high-pressure pump, to Having identified that the ramp would need to be steeper, it
be inserted into the filter. This system washed the screens was necessary to find a simple way of determining the
internally, eliminating the need to remove them from the performance of the steeper ramp. The best method was to
vessel. This method not only saved time but also allowed the build an EPC coating on a used vortex finder. The selection of
well to continue flowing on the second filter pod while the EPC was based on its resistance to corrosion, erosion; and
cleaning was being performed. high impact resistance.
This jet-washing tool is used in conjunction with the real The flow body and the vortex finder with the modified
time data acquisition system, which displays the onsite real ramp were installed on one of the well test units.
time differential pressure across the filters. When the Following the rate test, the desander vessel was dismantled
differential pressure across the filters reaches a specific value to inspect the insert body and the vortex finders. The results
or shows a tendancy to increase, onsite personnel activate the showed that the erosion points inflicted by the flow were on
jet flushing operation. the body, but were inconclusive as the epoxy polymer cement
coating eroded resulting in similar erosion trends.
Fracture Flowback Procedures
Initial welltest data interpretation indicated that the well was Manufacturing Hardened Steel Inserts and Vortex
not performing as had been anticipated. When it was Finder
determined that the aggressive clean-up technique was proving In order to avoid any downtime and keep the system
to be detrimental to the formation, an appropriate clean-up and operating, the unit was supplemented with a supply of special
bean-up procedure was established. hardened steel inserts manufactured from AISI 4145 material.
Choke control played an important part in well clean up Since the inserts were not pressure containing parts of the
efficiency. With the well flowing through the SMS, tight system the hardness of the inserts could be increased in order
8 JITEN KAURA, ALEX MACRAE, AND DAVID MENNIE SPE 68747

to make them impact and wear resistant. These steel vortex 2 The hands-on experience of commissioning and operating
finders were built with a modified ramp in order to achieve the the system proved invaluable in optimising and refining
desired flow direction. design and operating methods.
After fabrication, these inserts were installed. When they 3 Desander Design 1 has been downrated permanently to
were inspected after a period of operation, it was observed that 1.5 million m3/day and is used on low capacity wells, whereas
the steep ramp design assisted in controlling the erosion on the the design 2 is capable of handling up to 3 million m3/day.
vortex finder inlet/outlet and the lip. Only the body of the 4 Fracture clean up and flowback procedures developed for
insert was slightly eroded. this project should be considered for flowback of fractured gas
wells.
Improving the Manufacturing Process of the Original
Insert Material. Acknowledgements
Several difficulties still had to be addressed. Because of the The authors wish to thank Petroleum Development Oman; the
toughness of the ceramic material used for the fabrication of Ministry of Oil and Gas, Sultanate of Oman; and Halliburton
the inserts, the material tended to crack during the cooling Energy Services, Inc, for their permission to publish this
period after firing in the kiln. The other initial challenge was paper.
cutting the ramp in the vortex finder. Improved processes were The authors would like to take the opportunity to specially
put in place to resolve the first problem and allow manufacture thank Mr Thomas Watt and Mr Arild Fossa for their
of the inserts from the silicon nitride material. The latter contribution to the paper, untiring support, and persistent
difficulty was also resolved. encouragement.
The authors also wish to thank Mr Alan Richardson, Mr
Performance Comparison of Desander Designs 1 Alan Smith, Mr Brian Mcwilliams, Mr Brian Sealy, Mr Ian
and 2 Patterson, Mr. Mohammed Ali and Mr Martin Roberts for
During the course of the project, observations were made and motivating and leading the welltest crew to undertake the
documented. One of the main observation studies was of the challenges posed by the system and environment and for their
capacity of the two systems. A database of pressure drop contributions.
across the desander vessel for both the units was set up and
maintained. The following observations were made: References
• Desander Design 1 showed higher differential pressures 1. Plitt, L R. A Mathematical Model of the Hydrocyclone Classifier,
for the same flow rate when compared to Design 2 (see Figs. Mineral Processing, University of Alberta, Edmonton Calgary.
11 and 12). 2. Kelsall, D F: A Study of the Motion of Solid Particles in a
Hydraulic Cyclone, Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng., 30, p.87, 1952
• Higher differential pressures across Design 1 were due to 3. Lilge, E.O.: Hydrocyclone Fundamentalas, Trans. IMM, 71,
the inlet wear sleeve at the inlet of the desander design. The p.285, 1962
inlet wear sleeve acts as a nozzle resulting in significant 4. Fahlstrom, P H: Studies of Hydrocyclones as Classifier. Mineral
increase the velocity accompanied by a pressure drop (from Processing, proceedings 6th Int. Congress, Cannes, 1963.
Bernoulli's principle) 5. Al-Zakwani, S, Pongratz, R, Fidan, E, and Kaura, J D:
• Design 1 exhibited improved slug handling capabilities “Management of Proppant and Fines Back Production in High-
over Design 2. This explanation can be using the basis of Rate Gas-Condensate wells.” SPE 68103 submitted at MEOS in
crowding theory, since Design 1 has a single insert with an Bahrain in March 2001.
underflow apex diameter on the insert of 3.5-in.. The multi-
insert design has six inserts with an underflow apex diameter S.I. Metric Conversion
of 1-in. on each; hence the effective diameter is 2.44-in.. bar x 1.0* E + 05 = Pa
Note: Observation for Design 1 is in oilfield units and those ft x 3.048* E–1=m
for design 2 is in SI units. In x 2.54 E–2 =m
The other outcomes of the observation were that 1) design °F (°F –32)/1.8 = °C
1 obeys the Equilibrium Orbit Hypothesis, and the Retention lbm x 4.535 E – 1 = kg
Time Theory, whereas design 2 tends to obey the “equilibrium gal x 3.785 E - 3 = m3
orbit hypothesis” and the “Crowding Theory.” psi x 6.895 E + 3 = Pa
mD x 9.869 E - 1 = µm2
Conclusions MT x 1.0 E + 3 = kg
1 The experience gained through the operation of an lb/gal x 1.2 E + 2 = kg/m3
unproven system has been invaluable. In considering the
success of the project, it should be noted that this system is a Symbols and Abbreviations
world's first in capacity design, and no direct experience was Fc = Centrifugal Force
available prior to its commissioning. d= Particle diameter
ρs = Solids density
ρ= Liquid density
SPE 68747 CLEANUP AND WELL TESTING OPERATIONS IN HIGH-RATE GAS-CONDENSATE FIELD 9
RESULT IN IMPROVED SAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

ν= Tangential velocity component of fluid velocity Uv = Underflow solids recovery

r= Radius within the desander η= Separation efficiency
Fd = Drag force Vg = Gas flow velocity
µ= Viscosity of suspending fluid Qg = Gas flow rate
ω= Radial component of fluid velocity in desander Z= Gas compressibility factor
Di = Inlet diameter to desander insert ID = Internal diameter of flowpipe
Do = Overflow diameter of insert P= Pressure

T= Temperature

HT-400 PUMP
10,000 psi WP

39
SAND FILTERS

MOTOR

MOTOR
10,000 psi WP 35 37
Production 5
6 PI Wing Valve 9
Service ESDV 26
Wing Swab 2 36 38
Valve 8 25 MIXINGTANK
18 20
24 40
5 7 19 21
4 Master
3 Valves CHOKE MANIFOLD PUMP PUMP
2 10 23
10,000 psi
Annulus 11
Valves 1
27 22
12 13
14 15
28
31
29 32 33
16 17
30 34
FROM
RESERVOIR DESANDER COLD RELIEF
10,000 psi WP

60 FLARE PIT
2nd Cement
Pump.

Similar to the other ATMOSPHERIC TANK

shown on this (Propant flushing tank) FLAME
ARRESTORS
drawing Vent Linev
58 COLD VENT

44

57
22
PSV PSV
PCV NOTES
1 Vent Linev
2 3 1.) ESDV-2 is bolted directly to PDOs
65 Production Wing Valve. (One some wells
56 their Wing Valve will be actuated and have
PSV designation ESDV-1.)
1 CAILBRATION 2.) ESDV-2 is a Halliburton valve.
42 TANK 3.) The Propant Flushing Tank will be located next
to the Cement Pump and gravity feed to that pump.
(Atmospheric)
TEST SEPARATOR 41 TRANSFER
1440 psi PUMP 63

43
64
LCV 62
2
53
2

BLIND
46 FLANGED
51 52
47 49 LCV 54
1
55

48 50
TO FLOW STATION

NOTE: TITLE:
Date: 25.11.97 3rd party control: OIL AND GAS IN PROCESS
SIMPLIFIED P&ID
Rev.: B Company: PDO SURFACE WELL TEST PLANT
Description: Issued for Commissioning Drawn: Arild Foss OIL IN PROCESS LNG PACKAGE
Ref.: PDO_LNG.PPT Checked: Dave Mennie
GAS IN PROCESS SAIH RAWL & BARIK FIELDS
Contract: PDO C684007 Ref. Documents:
WATER IN PROCESS DRAWINGNO.: SPID-LNG-001-B REV. B

Fig. 1a — P & ID for the clean up and well-testing operations.

 10 JITEN KAURA, ALEX MACRAE, AND DAVID MENNIE SPE 68747

Fig. 1b — SMS equipment on location with frac tanks and proppant recovery
tank in the background

overflow
vortex
finder
feed

tangential
feed inlet

Desander Vessel primary

vortex

Isolation Valves
secondary
vortex

Accumulator Vessel

spigot

Fig. 2 — Desander (Design 1) 690 bar working pressure

underflow

Fig. 3 — Desander Cyclone

SPE 68747 CLEANUP AND WELL TESTING OPERATIONS IN HIGH-RATE GAS-CONDENSATE FIELD 11
RESULT IN IMPROVED SAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Desander vessel with single insert.

Fig. 4 — Desander vessel and cyclone insert: PlanView

Filter Vessel
with wire
mesh
screens

Fig. 5 — Wellhead filters: 690 bar working pressure

12 JITEN KAURA, ALEX MACRAE, AND DAVID MENNIE SPE 68747

Fc

Fd
Radius = r

Fig. 6 — Forces acting on an orbiting particle in a desander

Overflow
Vortex Finder

Inlet

Envelope of zero
vertical velocity

Underflow

Fig. 7 — Distribution of vertical and radial

velocity of components in desander.
SPE 68747 CLEANUP AND WELL TESTING OPERATIONS IN HIGH-RATE GAS-CONDENSATE FIELD 13
RESULT IN IMPROVED SAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Fig. 8 — Undamaged insert, inlet wear sleeve and Fig. 9 — Erosion on the desander vessel wall.
damaged insert.

Multi-insert in Design 2 Desander Vessel

Fig. 10 — Multi-insert desander cyclone in plan view.

14 JITEN KAURA, ALEX MACRAE, AND DAVID MENNIE SPE 68747

Capacity curve for design 1, various GOR, 247F

average fluid conditions
300 GOR=5000
GOR=5500
GOR=6000
250
Pressure drop Psig

200
Operate below 145psi DP to minimise
erosion
150

100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Gas rate mmscfd

Fig. 11 — Observations from Design 1 desander

GAS CAPACITY / DELTA- P CURVES

3e+6

2.5e+6

2e+6
Sm3/d

Gas sm3/d
1.5e+6

1e+6

0.5e+6

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Delta P psi

Fig. 12 — Onsite observations for Design 2 desander.