Offshore staff
ABERDEEN -- Sand Monitoring Services Ltd. (SMS) is teaming with Robert Gordon University (RGU) to investigate the extent and cost of sand production to the oil and gas industry.
“Over 70% of world’s oil and gas reserves are contained in sand reservoirs where sand production is likely to become a problem during the life of the field,” says SMS director Alistair Moncur. “Furthermore, at the 2006 IFDC Conference, BP noted that by 2010, 60% of its producing assets would be from sand-prone reservoirs. With this in mind, SMS and RGU strongly believe that a topside survey is long overdue.”
SMS/RGU will undertake a sand management survey, said to be the first of its kind, targeting industry groups including operators, service and manufacturing companies, and related government bodies. The first area of focus on topside sand and erosion management will be launched at SPE’s 4th European Sand Management Forum in Aberdeen later this week.
The main aim is to identify and review technology gaps in sand management, Moncur adds. “We will collate representative data and review, rationalize, and present findings to quantify the cost of sand production.”
Sand production is an issue which affects operations in UK southern North Sea gas fields in particular, he continues. “Sand can be effectively detected using acoustic or intrusive sand monitoring devices, but in isolation, this data is not sufficient to manage the risks and hazards associated with sand production. What is required is an integrated approach that can analyze sand production data as well as the overall process of sand management.”
Further topics on the sand management survey, which will include sand control and exclusion technologies, will be completed throughout this spring, with the results to be released later in the year.
3/8/2010
