[pt] Um dos maiores desafios para a produção de hidrocarbonetos em reservatórios de arenitos pouco consolidados é o controle da produção de areia. Os mecanismos envolvidos nesse fenômeno são complexos e isto é resultado de uma grande variedade de fatores, como por exemplo, a magnitude das tensões in situ, a resistência mecânica da formação e as operações de desenvolvimento do poço. Este problema pode ser resolvido ou amenizado até níveis aceitáveis através de estratégias de completação específicas, como instalação de telas ranhuradas ou do gravel pack, desde que haja uma previsão do potencial de produção de areia da formação. Apesar do grande número de modelos numéricos desenvolvidos para prever este comportamento, a consistência dos mesmos pode ser questionada, uma vez que podem ser observadas diferenças entre as predições e os dados de campo. Para validar esses modelos, são necessários dados confiáveis, que podem ser obtidos através de ensaios de laboratório. Os objetivos do trabalho foram determinados considerando esses pontos, além da questão do uso em larga escala do gravel pack como técnica de controle da produção de areia nos campos brasileiros. São eles: (i) investigar o comportamento de um sistema de contenção de areia instalado em uma formação com potencial de produção de areia, (ii) verificar a influência do aumento de tensão efetiva na produção de areia e entender como a carga é transmitida para o sistema e (iii) validar um modelo numérico desenvolvido para o estudo de campo. Para ensaios, realizados em uma célula poliaxial sob condições controladas, utilizaram-se blocos de grandes dimensões. Foram analisados 5 casos representativos, sendo cada um deles simulado 4 vezes. O primeiro caso consiste na verificação da formação de um breakout em poço aberto, sem a utilização de nenhum sistema de contenção de areia. Os outros quatro casos são reproduções do sistema gravel-tela, com diferentes configurações. Os resultados foram satisfatórios e de acordo com eles, é possível identificar uma tendência de comportamento para cada cenário: gravel com distribuição uniforme no anular e diâmetro de partícula utilizada no gravel. A verificação de um modelo numérico, desenvolvido na Petrobrás, foi feita a partir destes resultados e mostrou uma boa aproximação de resultados de laboratório. / [en] A major problem during hydrocarbon production from poorly consolidated sandstone in the influx of sand, or sand production. This problem is complex and can occur as a result of a large variety of reasons, like magnitude of the in situ stresses, formation strength, and wellbore-development operations. If the potential for sand production could be predicted, then the problem may be solved or reduced to an accepteble level by proper completion strategy, such as the use of stand alone screens or gravel pack. Although a large number of numerical models for sand production prediction hava been developes, the consistency of the models could be questioned, due to the differences between the predictions and field observations. To improve and validate these models, reliable data are necessary. This study has been developed based on these concerns, and also, considering the massive use of the gravel-pacck as sand control technique on Brazilian fields. The objective were (i) investigation of the gravel-pack system behavior, (ii) varifacation of the increase on effective stress on sand production and (iii) validation a numerical model developed for field sand production prediction. The large-scale tests were carried out on a poliaxial cell. It was selectes 5 representative cases, and they were developed on an artificial well, under controlled conditions. On the first one, it was observed a breakout formation on an openhole. On the other 4 cases, it was simulated the gravel pack, submitted to different conditions, each of them reproduced 4 times. The numerical model was developed by Petrobras/Roncador field engineers, using a commercial numericak modeling program. Results were satisfactory. According to them, is possible to identify a behavior tendency for each condition: the influence of the gravel uniform distribution on the annulus and the influence of gravel diameter. The numerical model showed a very good approach to the laboratory results.

Improving methods of hydrocarbon production and developing new techniques for the creation of natural gas storage facilities are critically important for the petroleum industry. This dissertation focuses on two key topics: (1) mechanisms of sand production from petroleum reservoirs and (2) mechanical characterization of caverns created in carbonate rock formations for natural gas storage. Sand production is the migration of solid particles together with the hydrocarbons when extracted from petroleum reservoirs. It usually occurs from wells in sandstone formations that fail in response to stress changes caused by hydrocarbon withdrawal. Sand production is generally undesirable since it causes a variety of problems ranging from significant safety risks during high-rate gas production, to the erosion of downhole equipment and surface facilities. It is widely accepted that a better understanding of the mechanics of poorly-consolidated formations is required to manage sand production; which, in turn, enables the cost effective production of gas and oil resources. In this work, a series of large-scale laboratory experiments was conducted in fully saturated, cohesionless sand layers to model the behavior of a petroleum reservoir near a wellbore. We directly observed several key characteristics of the sand production phenomenon including the formations of a stable cavity around the wellbore and a sub-radial flow channel at the upper surface of the tested layer. The flow channel is a first-order feature that appears to be a major part of the sand production mechanism. The channel cross section is orders of magnitude larger than the particle size, and once formed, the channel becomes the dominant conduit for fluid flow and particle transport. The flow channel developed in all of our experiments, and in all experiments, sand production continued from the developing channel after the cavity around the borehole stabilized. Our laboratory results constitute a well constrained data set that can be used to test and calibrate numerical models employed by the petroleum industry for predicting the sand production phenomenon. Although important for practical applications, real field cases are typically much less constrained. We used scaling considerations to develop a simple analytical model, constrained by our experimental results. We also simulated the behavior of a sand layer around a wellbore using two- and three-dimensional discrete element methods. It appears that the main sand production features observed in the laboratory experiments, can indeed be reproduced by means of discrete element modeling. Numerical results indicate that the cavity surface of repose is a key factor in the sand production mechanism. In particular, the sand particles on this surface are not significantly constrained. This lack of confinement reduces the flow velocity required to remove a particle, by many orders of magnitude. Also, the mechanism of channel development in the upper fraction of the sample can be attributed to subsidence of the formation due to lateral extension when an unconstrained cavity slope appears near the wellbore. This is substantiated by the erosion process and continued production of particles from the flow channel. The notion of the existence of this surface channel has the potential to scale up to natural reservoirs and can give insights into real-world sand production issues. It indicates a mechanism explaining why the production of particles does not cease in many petroleum reservoirs. Although the radial character of the fluid flow eventually stops sand production from the cavity near the wellbore, the production of particles still may continue from the propagating surface (interface) flow channel. The second topic of the thesis addresses factors affecting the geometry and, hence, the mechanical stability of caverns excavated in carbonate rock formations for natural gas storage. Storage facilities are required to store gas when supply exceeds demand during the winter months. In many places (such as New England or the Great Lakes region) where no salt domes are available to create gas storage caverns, it is possible to create cavities in limestone employing the acid injection method. In this method, carbonate rock is dissolved, while CO₂ and calcium chloride brine appear as products of the carbonate dissolution reactions. Driven by the density difference, CO₂ rises towards the ceiling whereas the brine sinks to the bottom of the cavern. A zone of mixed CO₂ , acid, and brine forms near the source of acid injection, whereas the brine sinks to the bottom of the cavern. Characterization of the cavern shape is required to understand stress changes during the cavity excavation, which can destabilize the cavern. It is also important to determine the location of the mixture-brine interface to select the place of acid injection. In this work, we propose to characterize the geometry of the cavern and the location of the mixture-brine interface by generating pressure waves in a pipe extending into the cavern, and measuring the reflected waves at various locations in another adjacent pipe. Conventional governing equations describe fluid transients in pipes loaded only by internal pressure (such as in the water hammer effect). To model the pressure wave propagation for realistic geometries, we derived new governing equations for pressure transients in pipes subjected to changes in both internal and external (confining) pressures. This is important because the internal pressure (used in the measurement) is changing in response to the perturbation of the external pressure when the pipe is contained in the cavern filled with fluids. If the pressure in the cavern is perturbed, the perturbation creates an internal pressure wave in the submerged pipe that has a signature of the cavern geometry. We showed that the classic equations are included in our formulation as a particular case, but they have limited validity for some practically important combinations of the controlling parameters. We linearized the governing equations and formulated appropriate boundary and initial conditions. Using a finite element method, we solved the obtained boundary value problem for a system of pipes and a cavern filled with various characteristic fluids such as aqueous acid, calcium chloride brine, and supercritical CO₂ . We found that the pressure waves of moderate amplitudes would create measurable pressure pulses in the submerged pipe. Furthermore, we determined the wavelengths required for resolving the cavern diameter from the pressure history. Our results suggest that the pressure transients technique can indeed be used for characterizing the geometry of gas storage caverns and locations of fluid interfaces in the acid injection method.

[pt] Quando um poço de petróleo é completado em arenito brando e pobremente consolidado é possível que ocorra fluxo de areia para dentro do poço. Problemas derivados da produção de areia incluem a obstrução do poço, abrasão de revestimentos e ferramentas, colapso do revestimento e necessidade de separação e disposição, em superfície, de areias impregnadas por óleo. Contudo, em reservatórios de óleo pesado, a alta viscosidade e abaixa produtividade significam que os problemas mencionados acima são menos críticos. Nestes casos, alguma produção de areia é aceitável para aumentar a produtividade.A produção de areia é notória em arenitos mal consolidados, mas também podem ocorrer em arenitos coesivos e medianamente resistentes como resultado da perturbação imposta à rocha durante as operações de perfuração, completação e produção Provavelmente o principal efeito é a destruição da cimentação mineral que produz uma região com material granular na vizinhança do poço. As forças de percolação criadas pelo fluxo podem então arrastar as partículas sólidas para o interior do poço.Um modelo contitutivo que seja capaz de reproduzir o comportamento tensão-deformaçãoresistência de arenitos é de grande interesse para estudos da previsão da produção de areia. Este tema é o ponto central desta tese.Uma revisão dos artigos relacionados com os mecanismos de produção de areia é apresentado no capítulo 2.Dois arenitos brandos obtidos de afloramentos foram caracterizados. Após a diagnose petrográfica realizou-se o tratamento e processamento de imagens da lâminas para mensuração da distribuição granulométrica, parâmetros texturais e dimensão dos poros. Os argilominerais foram investigados por difração de raios- X, usando quatro tipos distintos de preparação de amostras. A porosidade e a permeabilidade intrínseca foram determinadas usando um porosímetro de Boyle e um permeametro à gás. Empregou-se um algoritmo para análise multivariada dos dados para distinguir entre grupos de arenitos com propriedades físicas semelhantes.Realizou-se um exercício numérico, usando soluções analíticas para a distribuição das tensões na parede de um poço, com o objetivo de se identificar as possíveis trajetórias de tensão que ocorrem, considerando as tensões in situ, a perfuração e a produção de fluidos.Foi desenvolvido um programa experimental de ensaios mecânicos que inclui testes uniaxiais,triaxiais convencionais e hidrostático, além de carregamentos seguindo a trajetória de p constante. Estes ensaios serviram para obtenção dos parâmetros do modelo de Lade, bem como para caracterizar o comportamento geomecânico dos arenitos. Deve-se mencionar que os corpos de prova estavam totalmente saturados com água e com óleo. Usou-se um algoritmo de otimização para identificação dos parâmetros do modelo. Por fim, avaliou-se a capacidade do modelo elastoplástico de Lade & Kim para descrever o comportamento tensão deformação dos arenitos estudados. / [en] When a well completed in a poorly consolidated and weak sandstone is produced, sand inflow from reservoir can occour. Problems arising from sand production include sand bridging and wellbore plugging; tools and casing abrasion requiring frequent workovers; casing collapse and distortion in the production zone; sand separation at surface and disposal of an environmentaly contaminated sand. However in heavy oil reservoirs, high viscosity and low production rates means that the problems mentioned before are far less than in high rate light oil wells. In these cases, some sand production can be accepted in order to increase productivity. Sand production is a conspicuous phenomena in poorly consolidated sandstones, but can also occur in cohesive medium-strong sandstones as a result of rock fabric damage during drilling, completion and production activities. Probably the main disturbance imposed to rock is the breakage of mineral cement, which produces a region of a granular yielded material around the bore. The percolation forces created by fluid flow can drag the solid particles to the well. A constitutive model that can be able to simulate stress-strain behavior is of major interest to sand production prediction. This theme is the central point of this work. A review of published articles related to sand production mechanisms is presented in the second chapter. Two weak sandstones obtained from outcrops were characterized. After a diagnosis under petrographic thin sections, an extensive image treatment and processing were carried out to measure grain size distribution, textural parameters and pore dimensions. Clay mineral were investigated by mean of X-ray diffraction techniques, using four distinct kinds of sample preparation. Porosity and intrinsic permeability were determined using a Boyle s principle porosimeter and a gas permeameter. A multivariate data analysis (cluster analysis) algorithm based on distance measures were applied to distinguish among groups with similar physical properties. A numerical exercise using analytical solution equations for the stress distribution on the wall of the well was done to determine the stress path, considering drilling and production effects. A experimental program of rock mechanic tests including uniaxial, conventional triaxial, hydrostatic and proportional loading, besides tests following a (p) constant path, were run in order to characterize the rock behavior as well as to obtain the constitutive model parameters. It must be mentioned that samples were water and oil saturated. An optimization algorithm for of model parameters identification were used and the Lade & Kim elastoplastic constitutive model was evaluated for describe stress-strain relation of sandstones.

[pt] A produção de petróleo em alta vazão a partir de reservatórios formados por arenitos friáveis requer a instalação de sistemas de contenção de sólidos para preservar equipamentos de superfície e subsuperfície. Os projetos de explotação para campos constituídos por estes reservatórios têm na completação uma etapa fundamental na construção do poço. Dentre as diversas operações de completação, a instalação de sistemas de contenção de sólidos é uma das mais complexas e envolve uma ampla gama de recursos humanos e financeiros. A alteração no estado de tensões atuante sobre a formação é uma das principais fontes de carregamento dos sistemas de contenção mecânica de sólidos instalados em poços horizontais. O objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver um modelo para avaliação do desempenho de sistemas de contenção de sólidos do tipo gravel pack quando submetidos aos esforços relacionados ao comportamento geomecânico das formações produtoras e a variação de pressões durante a vida produtiva de um poço de petróleo, permitindo a otimização de projetos destes sistemas sob a ótica da resistência ao colapso das telas. O carregamento imposto sobre estes sistemas é avaliado através da implementação do modelo de Mohr Coulomb solucionado numericamente através do método de elementos finitos (MEF). O programa comercial ABAQUS™ é utilizado em função da sua flexibilidade para solução de modelos não-lineares. Foram analisados sistemas de contenção de areia com os conjuntos de telas tipicamente utilizados na indústria de petróleo. Em nenhum cenário analisado foram verificados indícios de colapso dos tubos indicando a possibilidade de redução da sua resistência mecânica. / [en] Global increase in energy demand and the lack of opportunities on shore or in shallow waters are driving production of hydrocarbons towards deep and ultra deepwater basins, where reservoirs are usually formed by weak and unconsolidated sandstones that require sand control methods to prevent damage in surface and subsurface equipments. Guidelines to select sand control systems are primarily based on sand exclusion, seeking to optimize balance between oil rate and fines production. Another aspect, often overlooked, is collapse strength of the system formed by the sand control equipment and the formation itself, subjected to mechanical loadings that change during life of the well. This contribution presents a method to evaluate collapse strength of sand control systems taking into account mechanical interaction between the formation and sand control screens. Elastoplastic models are used to represent granular materials. Three sand control systems were studied: gravel pack with premium screens, stand alone premium screens and pre-packed screens. A model to describe contact between granular materials (gravel and formation) and soil-pipe interaction is proposed. Results demonstrate that perforated base pipes used in premium screens may be oversized for applications under regular operating conditions.

[pt] Este trabalho visa simular situações que levam uma rocha a ruptura considerando o fluxo de fluidos, em uma tentativa de correlacionar os mecanismos envolvidos na ruptura ao processo conhecido como produção de areia em rochas reservatório, ou seja, a produção de sólidos durante a extração de hidrocarbonetos. Há algum tempo este assunto tem sido tratado do ponto de vista da mecânica das rochas dada a similaridade do seu comportamento com outros fenômenos estudados nesta área. Como se trata de um processo de extração de fluidos, a sua influência deve ser considerada no comportamento mecânico da rocha. Assim, simulações numéricas, representativas de situações favoráveis a este fenômeno, foram analisadas, utilizando-se, para tal, o programa comercial de elementos finitos ABAQUS, que permite a simulação do processo de acoplamento fluido mecânico. Dada a flexibilidade demonstrada pelo pacote numérico, possibilitou-se a implementação de um modelo elastoplástico e a verificação de sua eficiência na representação do comportamento da rocha reservatório neste processo. A implementação numérica baseou-se no conhecido modelo de Lade-Kim. Este modelo é apropriado à descrição do comportamento de materiais geomecânicos granulares. Trabalhos experimentais em paralelo procuram determinar os parâmetros do modelo de Lade-Kim. Estes parâmetros são usados na análise numérica. / [en] This work aims to simulate situations that take a rock the rupture considering the fluid flow, in an attempt to correlate the involved mechanisms in the rupture to the know process as sand production in rocks reservoir, that is, solid production during hydrocarbon extraction. Numerical simulations using the commercial finite element program ABAQUS, reproduce fluid-mechanical coupling, and allowing the implementation of an elastoplastic rock material behavior. More precisely, the author implemented a numerical routine based on the well-known Lade-Kim elastoplastic model, which can suitably describe the behavior of geomaterials subjected to external stress-strain fields.

Cette étude vise à améliorer la compréhension d’un phénomène observé lors de l’exploitation de réservoir de stockage de gaz naturel : la venue de sable dans le puits de forage. Cette venue de sable peut être due à des facteurs structurels ou à une fatigue du matériau suite aux cycles de pression de gaz. Ce travail se concentre sur l’aspect comportement du matériau et il est composé de plusieurs parties complémentaires. Le critère de rupture de type Drucker-Pragger est identifié en contrainte effective triaxiale sans pression de pore. Son utilisation avec pression permet ensuite d’évaluer la pression de gaz critique entrainant la rupture. Cette pression est ensuite appliquée à 80% de sa valeur pour observer si des phénomènes différés peuvent survenir. On a en effet obtenu la rupture dans plusieurs cas après avoir maintenu cette pression pendant un long laps de temps et montré que les cycles de pression endommageaient significativement le matériau. En parallèle, la perméabilité du matériau sous contrainte axiale décroît constamment, malgré sa dilatance, ce qui selon nous, confirme la venue de sable. Enfin nous avons montré que l’endommagement du matériau accroît notablement sa légère anisotropie naturelle et s’accompagne d’un impact très clair sur les couplages poro-mécaniques (coefficient de Biot). Cette partie du travail donne ainsi des outils qui pourraient être utilisés dans la description des effets structuraux induits par les variations de pression de gaz autour du forage. / This study aims to improve the understanding of the phenomenon of sand production around borehole during exploitation of natural gas storage. The source of sand may be due to structural factors or fatigue of the material because of the cyclic injection and extraction of gas pressure. This work focuses on the mechanical behaviors, transport properties and poromechanical proprieties of a sandstone. The Drucker-Pragger failure criterion is identified with triaxial effective stress without pore pressure. It can be used to evaluate the critical gas pressure causing rock failure at constant confining pressure and deviatoric stress. 80% of the critical gas pressure is then applied to observe whether different phenomenon will occur. Several cases of rupture are obtained after maintaining this gas pressure for a long time and cyclic loading-unloading of gas pressure damages the material significantly. At the meantime, the permeability of the material under axial stress decreases constantly even at volumetric dilatation stages which confirms the phenomenon of sand production. Finally, we find that mechanical damage increases its slightly natural anisotropy and it has a very significant influence on the poro-mechanical behaviors (Biot’s coefficient). This part of the work can be used to describe the structural effects induced by gas pressure variation around the borehole