Study on Identification Method of Sand Production Type in Unconsolidated Sandstone Reservoir

Abstract

Sand production refers to the phenomenon in the production process of an oilfield where sand grains from the formation flow into the wellbore and block the flow channels due to excessive production pressure differential, loose cementation of rocks, and other reasons. The sand production from formations is influenced by various factors and exists in multiple forms simultaneously: based on the microstructure of weakly cemented sandstone, the rock particles of sandstone are classified into skeletal sand and loose sand. However, existing research methods can only study the mechanism of sand production from loosely cemented sandstone from a macroscopic perspective. In order to achieve a refined classification of sand production types from loosely cemented sandstone during water flooding processes, this study proposes an experimental method for identifying the types of sand production from loosely cemented sandstone reservoirs. While quantitatively calculating the types of sand production from loosely cemented sandstone reservoirs, this method also fundamentally reveals the microscopic mechanism of sand production from loosely cemented sandstone reservoirs, obtaining accurate analytical results of sand production types.