Sand Data Acquisition in Gas Terminal: Challenges and Opportunities

To maximize the hydrocarbon production from wells with sand, the new operating philosophy adopted for sand control. It focusses on limiting production based on the acceptable erosion risk instead of sand production rate. To achieve this, combination of sand production data and laboratory analysis on particle size of the produced sand is crucial. This paper aims to present the challenges and solutions applied for gas terminal sand data acquisition and lab analysis to obtain representative sand data. A discussion on typical sand acquisition technologies is discussed. The experience from sub-optimal performance within the company are analyzed, the improvement opportunities are identified. Due to the volatile nature of condensate as compared to crude oil, alternative to conventional sampling method need to be applied for gas terminals. Dual particle filtration setup was developed to capture the wider particle range down to 1 micron. The data acquisition was conducted using a closed loop sand sampling system where the outlet of the sampling equipment is connected back to the processing system. To cover the dynamic of sand production, the data acquisition conducted at both normal and pigging operation for 6 hours continuous duration. The collected samples were analyzed using Automated Minerology imaging technology for particle sand distribution and minerology determination The facility was not designed to receive sand including sand sampling facilities, hence imposed several challenges to acquire the sand data. From the experience during the sampling activity, there are few good observations and lessons learnt from utilizing the innovative approach as follows. The online continuous sampling allows longer sampling duration without causing interruption to operation. The dual particle filtration ensures as much as possible solid particles that pass through the system will be filtered for analysis. The close loop sampling setup minimizes the exposure of harmful hydrocarbon to the personnel with might contain hazardous contaminant. Sampling that is conducted at different operation mode i.e., normal and pigging will provide wider range of sand PSD and volume. Due to fines sand, only a small volume of sample was captured at the filter and insufficient for the analysis using conventional LPSA/Dry Sieve method. The recent technology approach via Automated Minerology imaging technology eliminates the issue of limited sample volume. The experience from the sand data acquisition activity enhances understanding and provides opportunities to explore other sampling technologies/techniques and analysis methods. It is important for the team to assess in totality.