Askco develops offshore solids monitoring instrument

Askco Instrument Worldwide Solutions has developed an instrument, Sandbox, which monitors solids during offshore operations by using direct, online filtration techniques.

The unit provides a well flowline monitoring program that samples fluids and filters solids as small as 10 microns. Sandbox is used to determine the type and content of suspended solids, including sand, proppant, corrosion and erosion products, and organic deposits.

Sandbox technology applications include:

• Positive identification of a suspended solid causing noise level increase on an acoustic sand monitoring device.
• Determining particle size distribution of sand to determine if there is a problem with downhole sand control.
• Used to quantify the amount of sand production in pounds/day or grams/day, when sample volumes are collected accurately.
• Determining the shape or morphology of the particles of the solid sample.
• Used with sand injections, and to correlate quantity of sand verses other sand sensor response.
• Collecting samples for analyses for diagnosis work.

In most scenarios, a measured volume of liquid is collected through a pre-weighed filter and then prepared for shipment to a designated lab or to Askco. The sample is then cleaned at the lab, weighed, and a report is made. This will determine the amount of sand being produced.