Sand Probe Installations – An Effective Technology for Mitigating Sand Erosion Incidents in Marcellus Surface Production Facilities

摘要

The large fluid and sand volumes associated with multi-stage, horizontal shale fracture completions have placed a major burden on the operating efficiency and integrity of surface equipment designed to handle sand-laden flowback. Many methods have been attempted to reduce and/or eliminate sand production during flowback and ongoing operations but due to a variety of flowing conditions sand flow to surface is inevitable. Talisman has worked extensively on implementing the use of sand probes to effectively monitor and mitigate incidents related to sand erosion of surface piping related equipment. This simple, low cost solution has made a major impact on Talisman’s operating philosophy. As the use of sand probes was not part of Talisman’s standard wellsite design, testing was required due to the occurrence of multiple sand related incidents following removal of flowback equipment. Although sand flow is greatly reduced following an initial period of flow (30 to 60 days), the slugging nature of horizontal wells provides a significant risk for unexpected large quantities of sand to damage permanent separation equipment, surface piping and valves. Installing sand probes has successfully demonstrated the ability to shutdown wells prior to compromising the mechanical integrity of surface piping/facilities. An initial pilot test was performed on several wells to determine whether or not sand probes were capable of providing adequate indication of erosive flow conditions. This paper details those tests and the results thereof. As the probes proved to be functional, Talisman now has over 100 installs in its Marcellus operating area. Sand probes, although not a new technology, did prove to be challenging in this application. Several changes have been made since the first design in order to improve performance. In addition, much emphasis was put on the operating philosophy of the probes and actions required following device trips. This paper will share that information.