System and method for controlling flow through a sand screen

摘要

A system and methodology utilizes a technique for filtering sand; distributing a flow of fluid; e.g. distributing an inflow of gas or condensate; and limiting the potential for erosion of completion components in a wellbore. The technique may be useful in production applications, but the technique also can be used in fluid injection applications, e.g. gas injection applications. The technique employs a base pipe and a sand screen surrounding the base pipe. The base pipe comprises a plurality of flow restriction openings of reduced size and deployed in a selected pattern along the base pipe. The size and arrangement of the flow restriction openings reduces the peak flux of radial fluid flow through the sand screen to a rate less than a sand screen erosion rate.

主权项

1. A method of preventing component erosion in a well, comprising:
forming a base pipe with a plurality of flow restriction openings extending radially therethrough; limiting the average diameter of each flow restriction opening to 8 mm or less; placing a screen around the base pipe to filter particulates from an inflowing fluid stream; spacing the plurality of flow restriction openings along the base pipe to reduce a peak flux through the screen and to create a distributed inflow of fluid which maintains a flow rate of the inflowing fluid below an erosion flow rate across the screen; and varying perforation density along a length of the base pipe to optimize a flow distribution pattern by varying the sizes of flow restriction openings along the base pipe, the varying perforation density providing a relatively greater restriction of flow in sections of the screen otherwise exposed to the highest radial flow of fluid through the screen.