HDR – Don’t be afraid of the Sand-man

After discussing the recent HDR announcement of oil flowing at 1500 bopd with a techo mate of mine in the oil industry, I see this result as a good sign and proves that oil can be flowed from Ching. OK the rate wasn’t as high as we had all hoped, but there were technical issues that constrained the well’s production. Once these are sorted, the well should be able to produce a lot more. My mate tells me that the problems with flowing a well prone to sand production include pipe erosion, clogging up separation equipment at surface and possibly placing the test objectives in jeopardy. Basically, not something you want to do if you are not fully setup for it.

Apparantly, sand control is a typical hurdle that most oil companies deal with when producing from unconsolidated sandstone. This means the sand grains are not cemented together and are therefore produced to surface with the oil. The good news is these kind of reservoirs are known for some of the highest porosity and permeabilities seen in the industry. Permeability relates to the quality of the rock and is a major factor in determining the rate at which the oil well flows. The high rate wells in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa, which have the capability to produce in excess of 30,000 bopd all have specially designed completions (downhole equipment) to keep the sand at bay.

I’m not saying this well is capable of producing more than 30,000 bopd, but the real potential of Chinguetti may have been masked by the Sand-man.