Selection of Optimal Sand Exclusion Methods for Wells in The Onshore Niger Delta: The Ibigwe Field Case Study

Sand production is a pertinent issue in oil and gas well engineering and a major cause of concern for the production engineer. He can plan for it, or he can prepare for it, albeit he would rather have it nipped in the bud right from the well’s completion phase. Sand production is costly, reducing the lifetime and durability of pipelines and production facilities, inadvertently impacting the company’s balance sheet negatively and in some cases reducing the life and productivity of the well itself. This paper critically evaluates sand production in the Niger Delta, using the Ibigwe field operated by Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited as a case study. It proffers optimal sand exclusion methods for wells in the Niger Delta by analysing various subsurface datasets and historical sand production from offset wells within the field. The subsurface datasets identified as relevant to this study include sonic transit time, depth of burial of zones of interest, particle size analysis, geomechanical data (specifically unconfined compressive stress logs), Rate of Penetration (ROP) and other data logs. Evaluating all relevant data to the subject is imperative as discovered during research; none of the datasets listed above can be analysed in isolation, rather interdependently. The selection of an optimal sand exclusion method consequently affects the deployment of an effective completion mechanism and as such, this endeavour should be carried out conscientiously.