Chemical sand consolidation: From polymers to nanoparticles

Fahd Saeed Alakbari, Mysara Eissa Mohyaldinn*, Ali Samer Muhsan, Nurul Hasan, Tarek Ganat

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The chemical sand consolidation methods involve pumping of chemical materials, like furan resin and silicate non-polymer materials into unconsolidated sandstone formations, in order to minimize sand production with the fluids produced from the hydrocarbon reservoirs. The injected chemical material, predominantly polymer, bonds sand grains together, lead to higher compressive strength of the rock. Hence, less amounts of sand particles are entrained in the produced fluids. However, the effect of this bonding may impose a negative impact on the formation productivity due to the reduction in rock permeability. Therefore, it is always essential to select a chemical material that can provide the highest possible compressive strength with minimum permeability reduction. This review article discusses the chemical materials used for sand consolidation and presents an in-depth evaluation between these materials to serve as a screening tool that can assist in the selection of chemical sand consolidation material, which in turn, helps optimize the sand control performance. The review paper also highlights the progressive improvement in chemical sand consolidation methods, from using different types of polymers to nanoparticles utilization, as well as track the impact of the improvement in sand consolidation efficiency and production performance. Based on this review, the nanoparticle-related martials are highly recommended to be applied as sand consolidation agents, due to their ability to generate acceptable rock strength with insignificant reduction in rock permeability.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1069
JournalPolymers
Volume12
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 1 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Chemical sand consolidation
  • Epoxy
  • Nanoparticles
  • Polymers
  • Resin
  • Sand control

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Polymers and Plastics

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