Application of Omani local sands in gravel packing

Sand production has a direct effect on the hydrocarbon reservoirs during the petroleum production process. Sand particles produced in the production process lead to having certain negative results on the production of the well, and it also affects the subsurface service equipment lifetime, for example, well integrity, pumps, and flow line pipes. Production companies have used different techniques to manage sand production. Gravel packing is one of the most common techniques used by the companies. In order to sustain the sand ability to prevent sand production, selected sand used as a gravel pack should be under certain criteria and standards (API and ISO). In this paper, several tests have been conducted to test the ability of local sand samples that are collected from different areas in Oman to be potentially utilized in gravel packing. Wahiba sands in Sharqiya region in Oman are the area under study and different sand samples from different area locations have been collected. To test the eligibility of local sands, different standard tests have been conducted. These tests include particle size distribution, roundness and sphericity, acid solubility, turbidity, crush resistance, and density. As for comparison, an Ottawa gravel sand sample, used in gravel packing, has been also tested to find out its general features. The study region and other regions never studied in Oman provide local materials instead of importing gravel to be used for industries. In addition, this paper can be considered a new addition to the literature and the industry. Experimental findings resulted from testing Wahiba’s sands met the required specifications as the particle size distribution of size 40/70 has been reached after using the extra process of sieving analysis. Other tests of sphericity, roundness, acid solubility, turbidity, crush resistance, and density also met the International Standards Organization (ISO) standards. For blocks B, D, and E, the sphericity and roundness values are less than 0.6, acid solubility results are less than 3%, turbidity values are less than 250 (FTU), and crush resistance is less than 8%. Project cost as of local availability is the main advantage of Wahiba’s sands to be utilized in gravel packing applications.