Development of the first expandable sand screen

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Development of the first expandable sand screen

Metcalfe, P. / Whitelaw, C.

Eliminating the annulus between sand screens and the wellbore allows the well to be slimmed down by one casing size. This can result in dramatic well cost savings. Wells that require numerous casing strings to reach their objective, such as those in deep water environments, could benefit from such screens because they liberate an additional casing string for the same surface casing size. Once installed against the wellbore, an expandable screens would allow enhanced reservoir management activities. Zone isolation or treatment would be possible because of the elimination of the annulus. This paper describes the development of the first expandable sand screen from its concept to its successful application in producing wells. An expandable screen construction was developed using slotted tubes encased in filter strips. A filter media was chosen for the screen that offered the best balance between plugging resistance and sand retention efficiency. New manufacturing techniques were developed to produce the screen in commercially viable quantities and with the required quality. The screens were applied in both cased and openhole applications in offshore and land environments. The trials proved that the screens could be expanded to eliminate the annulus present in traditional sand control equipment applications. The system proved easy to install and reduces the likelihood of screen failure due to plugging and erosion.