A well was completed in April 2014 and put online a day after completion. However, it was shut-in shortly after due to a production trip. Massive sand production (2 000 pounds per thousand barrels) was observed during the restart of the well. Sand free production could not be achieved by performing multiple choke reductions. The sand shut-off intervention failed and distributed acoustic sensing indicated multiple sand entry points along the wellbore. A concentric coiled tubing (CCT) sand vacuuming operation was planned to be performed in order to clean out the well and reinstate production. A previously used conventional sand cyclone, and flowback system for CCT cleanout operations, needed to be replaced. This large unit had low separation efficiency resulting in excessive amounts of solids being transported to the process facilities. For a higher separation efficiency, this original unit was replaced by a compact (200cm x 200cm footprint) patented dual vessel desander, a passive design with no internal motor, and a stackable filter unit. The system was first put into operation during a CCT sand vacuuming intervention to reinstate the production from the well. The use of the system resulted in major cost savings due to the introduction of a less complex surface solids removal system, and majorly reduced footprint, giving a reduced rig up/rig down time and improved HSE. In addition, the system resulted in increased operational efficiency due to the 100% removal of solids from the flow stream. This paper describes a CCT sand cleanout operation where a dual vessel non-motorized desander, with a stackable filter unit, was used and discusses a case study presenting operational considerations, system description and results of the operation.
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