ABSTRACT

 A major problem faced by the oil industry, especially in the Niger delta oil wells where the reservoir formations are mostly unconsolidated is Sand Production.

Most of the existing models for sand production prediction are better suited for wells not in the Niger delta which begs for the development of new models to ensure the accurate design of sand control facilities.

This work developed a simple analytical model for sand production prediction using the sand arching phenomenon and validated it using field data previously published on sand production prediction. The results show that the model can reliably predict sand production and that sand production will be negligible at arch radius below 1ft. Further investigation also show that higher flow rates and fluid viscosity causes increased sand production.