The challenge of remedial sand control lies in the fact that the system must pass through restrictions in the upper completion before ideally conforming to the inner diameter (ID) of the zone requiring sand control. The complete paper describes the qualification of a multilayer, open-cell matrix polymer (OCMP) system for the first horizontal deployment in an offshore gas well. The system is capable of being deployed remedially through tight tubing restrictions while providing conformant sand control in a horizontal wellbore without the need for gravel packing, making the approach particularly valuable for scenarios where surface space is limited.
Background
During 2006, gas Wells CH-20, CH-19, and CH-18 were originally drilled and completed in the B2 zone in the Chuchupa field offshore Colombia. Wells CH-20, CH-19, and CH-18 experienced water breakthrough from the aquifer in late 2016, 2018, and 2020, respectively.
