SPE 100747

Expandable Sandface Completions—Design and Performance Review of Single-Zone

Applications and Journey to Next-Generation Multizone Systems
Quentin Morgan, Colin Jones, and Ally Macarthur, Weatherford

Copyright 2006, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This next generation ERC system combines slotted and
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2006 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum solid expandable technology to deliver a reservoir completion
Exhibition and Conference held in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., 5–8 November 2006.
with a combination of openhole production performance and
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
casedhole functionality. Early results from initial ERC
presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to installations are showcased to illustrate system potential.
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at
SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper Introduction
for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is In recent years there had been few radical developments in
prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than
300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous the sand control arena. When the first ESS was launched in
acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O.
Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.
1999 it was not only a radical departure from convention, it
introduced the concept of direct screen contact as a means of
Abstract overcoming the limitations of SAS and complexities
The advent of Expandable Sand Screens (ESS) technology surrounding open hole gravel packs (OHGP). The design
heralded a new era in mechanical downhole sand control by premise was that a compliantly expanded filter that could
specifically addressing perceived limitations of standalone eliminate the screen-to-wellbore annulus would promote rapid
screens (SAS) and complexities of gravel packs. To date, ESS formation stabilization and minimize the movement of sand
has been installed in over 400 wells worldwide under a variety particles around the screen under production conditions,
of operating conditions, with the majority in single-zone resulting in reduced erosion and screen plugging. In so doing,
environments. and with the large directly exposed filter surface minimising
This paper describes designs aspects and applications pressure drop in the screen, both productivity and reliability
engineering behind historical ESS applications, and discloses would also be boosted1. The role of the reduction in the
findings from a recent survey of these installations to derive annular gap in increasing completion reliability has been
key performance and reliability indices. A discussion of how discussed in Helland et al2
these findings have been used to better understand and refine ESS was initially aimed specifically at openhole
operations envelope for ESS and improve robustness of applications, with features such as large exposed filter area
applications engineering to yield greater system reliability is and variable ESS borehole contact (becoming known as
also included. compliant expansion) included to provide gravel pack
The productivity benefits of ESS technology, has been the functionality with the operational simplicity of a stand-alone
subject of several authorative papers, with growing body of screen. However, the applications envelope has over time
anecdotal evidence now in the public domain quantifying extended to encompass cased-hole environments as a
productivity gains achieved compared with other wells replacement for cased hole gravel packs (CHGP) and cased
employing variety of other sand control techniques, hole frac-packs (CHFP).
particularly in open-hole environments. Previously published papers have discussed the design and
The drive for maximum well productivity compels many construction of ESS in detail1, but a brief overview of the
operators to consider openhole completion strategies. concept is discussed here:
However, this has often not been possible through inability to
achieve effective zonal isolation. Though ESS has been 4.0” Expandable Sand Screen [ESS]. As shown in Figure 1,
interfaced successfully with available annular barrier ESS construction comprises three sandwiched layers; the base
technologies to satisfy this goal in cased hole, technical pipe, the filter media and outer protective shroud. The base
limitations have constrained use in open hole. pipe, unlike all other forms of mechanical downhole sand
This paper documents therefore an 18-month expandable exclusion technology, is slotted rather than perforated, as is
technology research and development effort that has the outer shroud. These slots open during expansion to
culminated in the introduction of a wholly new multi-zone accommodate the change in diameter, while over-lapped
Expandable Reservoir Completion (ERC) architecture, where layers of filter media slide across each other to maintain sand
selective isolation or production provides advantage. integrity. The use of slots allows expansion ratios up to 80%
greater than the original diameter and provides a larger inflow
2 SPE 100747

area than perforated pipes. The entire length of the ESS joint
is expanded, including the connectors, which are sand tight yet
allow flow through. This allows flow along the entire ESS
completion without any blank sections.
As the ESS is expanded it eliminates the annulus between
the screen and the borehole. This feature offers a number of
benefits:

• Eliminating the screen/wellbore annulus effectively

liberates an extra casing string in the well design whilst
providing the same or larger production bore.
• Removing one casing string can lead to cost reductions of
up to 20% on the total well costs.

1 EST Base Pipe 2 Woven Filter Matl 3 Outer Shroud

Slots open up Sheets slides over Slots open up
one another
Expandable Figure 2 – Axial Compliant Expansion (ACE) Tool
UNEXPANDED Base Pipe

7.0” Liner Hanger/Packer [EXP]. The EXP is a large bore

Overlapping
Layers of
permanent hanger / packer that has been designed specifically
EXPANDED
Filter Media
to be deployed with expandable sand screens. This original
Expandable
design EXP hanger is set on the first trip in the hole. After
Outer
Protective setting the EXP, the running tools are returned to surface, with
Shroud
a second trip required to expand the screens.
No change in
weave aperture Sand Control Circulating Valve [SCCV]. The SCCV is used
to prevent formation fines or solids from entering the ESS
string while running in hole. It incorporates a one way valve
Figure 1 - ESS construction showing cross-section through pre-
system which facilitates circulation to the bottom of the
shrouded and shrouded ESS assembly.

When an expandable screen is expanded to fit tightly in a ESS Performance

wellbore, the ability to manage the reservoir inflow or treat the With over 400 ESS installations totaling more than 76km
reservoir is greatly increased. With the annulus eliminated, it installed length and cumulative production history exceeding
is possible to set devices within the screen to isolate sections 1000 years, it has become possible to determine whether ESS
or to squeeze treatment fluids into the formation. In addition, does indeed offer the improvements claimed by the designers
results from production logs can be significantly enhanced and to formulate selection criteria for their use. Jones et al
because flow from the reservoir enters directly through the have conducted an extensive survey to quantify performance
screen and into the wellbore, rather than along the annulus. of these ESS completions, analyse failure mechanisms and
A further fundamental benefit of expanding the screen to the causes and derive estimates of long-term reliability3.
wellbore diameter is the ability to achieve borehole There have also been a large number of case studies
stabilization characteristics better than a well-placed gravel published which have looked at ESS performance, in a wide
pack because it can impart a force into the wellbore face. variety of well types, vertical, horizontal, gas, gas-condensate,
water and oil wells. The current maximum fluid production
Axial Compliant Expansion [ACE] Tool. A diagram of the rate is 25000bpd, the maximum gas rate is 290MMscf/d, and
ACE tool is shown in Figure 2. The front rollers are fixed and the maximum water injection rate is 40000bwpd, with a recent
pre-expand the screens to a set diameter. Hydraulic pressure is record installed length of 4274ft established for 5.5” ESS, and
used to activate the middle and rear sections of the tool which longest installation record set in 2001 at 7000ft using 4” ESS.
extend out to ensure the screens are compliantly expanded to Weekse et al4 documented the installation and performance
fully contact the borehole, even in rugous, tortuous and oval of 3 long horizontal gas wells in the Brigantine field, in the
shaped hole geometries. Southern North Sea. The wells had up to 40% improved
Expanding the sand screens to fully contact the borehole production beyond expectation. They were completed 32days
not only affords borehole support, but, by eliminating the ahead of schedule with a saving of $13.5M. These wells have
annulus behind, facilitates wide range of mechanical and been producing for over 4 ½ years.
chemical intervention solutions for pinpointing and The performance of the ESS completed wells in the gas
remediating eventual water breakthrough. condensate Scoter Field was also very good, with no evidence
of formation damage5. These wells have been producing for
over 2 years.
SPE 100747 3

The Xijang Field in China is a mature field with high water limiting formation movement and yield. This could
cut. ESS was installed in a number of wells, including a theoretically lead to a slightly lower skin16. Filtercake cleanup
multilateral6. Each lateral produced 2-3 times more production and mixing with failed formation material will also have a
than alternative fracpack and gravel pack sand control large role.
completions used previously. Figure 4 shows the openhole skin values broken down for
Due to its small running outside diameter and large final vertical (<15°), deviated (>15° & <85°) and horizontal (>85°).
internal diameter (ID) ESS is particularly applicable to The data shows no negative bias towards the deviated and
situations where reductions in final ID must be avoided, such horizontal wells, which suggests that the skins are in fact true
as in workovers and sidetracks. Oluwatosin et al7 show that formation/completion skins.
ESS completed sidetracks produced between 60-99% more
than the prognosed rates. 15.00
Openhole Customer Skin Data Analysis
40
There have been many others, which have noted increased
Data Wells
production and a reduction in costs8,9,10,11. ESS has also been All OH Skins
used as replacements for multzone CHGP12. There have also 10.00 30

been theoretical papers aimed at demonstrating the benefits of

# Data Wells
Skin Value
large ESS ID in improving sweep efficiency and recovery 5.00 20
factor of a reservoir13.
All the references cited above have looked at the
0.00 10
performance of the ESS completed wells shortly after
installation. Typically a well test will be performed just after
completion to determine the wells performance and to check if -5.00 -

All Horizontal
All OH Deviated

Horizontal
Cone Deviated
Cone Straight

Horizontal
Compliant

Compliant

Compliant
straight(<15)

Deviated
Straight
any further clean up or stimulation is needed for the well to

Cone
All OH

(>85)
(<85)
achieve its potential. A number of operators have shared the
skin values determined from the well tests. Data is available
on 98 wells; some of this data has already been published14.
Figure 3 shows an updated compilation of the openhole
skin values. Although we have no control on how the skins are Figure 4 - Openhole skins for vertical, deviated and horizontal
calculated, we have been assured that they are wells
formation/completion skin values as defined by Van ESS completed wells have now been producing for close
Everdingen and Hurst15, the effect of deviation and horizontal to 6 years. Case studies are now being published looking at
wells has been removed. The data shows that for the openhole long-term performance (Mason et al17, 19). This case study
wells there is an average skin of 0.9. This is a very low value analysed the long-term performance of an installation dating
and compares favourably with other openhole sand control back to Q4 2000, which has close to 6 years of production
completions. history. The ESS was compared to a SAS and an OHGP. The
Customer Supplied Openhole Skin Data ESS had much higher productivity and lower skin. Also the
40
# Cone OH Skin ESS appeared to maintain a low skin over the study period,
35
# Compliant OH Skin whereas the SAS became rapidly impaired. The OHGP also
30 declined but to a lesser extent. Normally in a sand prone
25 environment electrical submersible pumps (ESP) need
# of skins

20 changing regularly, but the well with ESS has had the same
ESP for more than 4 years. This is a strong testament to the
15
long-term sand integrity of the ESS.
10
To summerise the production performance of the ESS the
5 published data shows that the ESS results in low completion
0 skin and thus high productivity, and can sustain this
>-1

>0

>1

>2

>3

>4

>5

>6

>7

>8

>9

productivity over time. Where comparisons are made, the ESS

Skin Value (Range) is much better than the alternative sand control completion
Figure 3 - Compilation of Openhole Skin Values for Compliant and option.
Non-compliant ESS However production performance is not the only selection
criteria used in choosing the type of sand control to fit to a
There is as interesting split between systems expanded well.
with a fixed cone, which will not be fully compliant, and
systems expanded with a compliant expander, which will be Sand-Face Completion Design Aspects
fully compliant. The non-compliantly expanded systems For each and every ESS candidate well, it is imperative first
exhibit an average skin of 2.5 whereas the fully compliant and foremost to assess ability of these technologies to provide
applications exhibit an average skin of 0.3. This distinction long-term sand retention integrity. Only when this has been
sharply contrasts the performance benefits of compliant confirmed through extensive applications engineering is it
expansion. It is thought the reason for this contrast will be due relevant to then study and quantify productivity gains and
to compliantly expanded ESS stabilizing the formation and other technical and commercial benefits. Verifying suitability
4 SPE 100747

of open hole sand control systems requires detailed review of horizontal oil wells, fluid velocities will generally be
formation sand sieve analyses, fluid chemistry, production significantly less than this threshold velocity.
conditions and well data.
Sand sieve analyses are used to derive recommendations Filtercake Flow-Back Tests. A common concern with all
for weave size and assess plugging potential. Corrosion forms of downhole sand control in open hole environments,
potential is quantified from analyses of fluid chemistry and particularly in long reach horizontal well applications, is the
production conditions, culminating in metallurgy potential difficulty experienced lifting off the mud filtercake
recommendations to mitigate sand retention and mechanical and potential for this to plug the screens. With fully compliant
failures. Erosion is not generally an issue in open hole ESS screens, the expansion process crushes the filter cake, and
environments owing to the large in-flow area, however it will so aids filtercake removal. The filtercake nonetheless must
be necessary to review rock properties to ensure the ESS pass directly through the Hollander weave sand filter.
Screens can withstand collapse stresses induced by reservoir However, extensive laboratory tests and field experience
drawdown and depletion. suggest that filtercake flow back is not a common problem,
It will also be necessary to consider impact of well with an extensive database compiled of laboratory flow-back
trajectory on ability to deploy the sand-face completion tests of different filtercakes.
without risking helical buckling or exceeding the maximum
permissible dogleg severity and ensure there will be sufficient Mud Flow-Through Tests. Proper selection and design of the
slack-off weight available to expand the sand-face completion. drill-in fluid has a major impact on overall success of any
The chemical formulation of the Drill-In-Fluid (DIF) will horizontal open hole drilling and completion program. A
also need to be reviewed and an assessment made of the properly engineered mud system should be able to drill a near
screen plugging potential during deployment and ability to lift gauge hole, limit fluid loss, create a thin tight filter cake and
off and flow-back the filtercake during subsequent well clean- have optimum rheology for hole cleaning. In wells requiring
up operations. downhole mechanical sand control, the particle sizes of
additives used could lead to plugging of the screens if not
ESS Weave Size Selection. Various Hollander twill woven properly conditioned. The alternative is to swap out to a
wire weaves are available for use with ESS. Selecting the solids-free mud system prior to running the sand-face
appropriate weave size for controlling sand production is a completion.
critical part of the sand-face completion design process. For
open hole applications the sizing criterion developed by Expandable Reservoir Completion System Concept
Ballard & Beare18 based on the largest 5% of sand grain and Configuration
distributions is used. From the extensive experience gained from the 400+ ESS
installations to date, the base ESS technology platforms are
Geomechanical Modeling. Owing to the modest collapse now being integrated with new and conventional downhole
strength of slotted ESS, the use of this technology in open hole technologies in a move to evolve the original, single zone
environments requires careful analysis to ensure an open reservoir system into a suite of solutions aligned with
production channel is maintained throughout well life under Operators’ increasing preference to unlock the potential
anticipated changes in rock stresses arising from reservoir afforded by migrating to a multi-zone reservoir completion
drawdown and depletion. strategy.
Contrary to common perception, the ability to withstand The most common conventional approach employed to
such stresses is dictated predominantly by rock friction angle provide zonal isolation in unconsolidated formations is to set
rather than either rock strength or ESS strength, with slotted and cement casing in the wellbore to isolate between zones.
ESS proven by experiment to withstand collapse pressures in The casing is then perforated prior to the installation of a
excess of 10,000 psi in even highly unconsolidated rocks. screen and placing gravel to control solids migration. This
technique has worked reasonably well but has a history of
Metallurgy Selection. ESS metallurgy has to be thoroughly producing high skin values and, with the advent of long,
researched to ensure compatibility with prevailing in-situ horizontal completions, has often been found problematic and
reservoir conditions and fluid chemistries, including potential expensive to implement.
treatment and stimulation cocktails that might be employed at In 2004-05 Weatherford have developed an expandable
any stage during well life. In particular, the Hollander twill system that addresses these limitations by providing maximum
weave has a large surface area and low cross-section, and thus wellbore productivity while negating the requirement for
cannot be allowed to suffer any material loss through cementing and perforating; an openhole ESS installation with
corrosion as this could quickly alter and ultimately integrated solid expandable zonal isolation joints between
compromise sand retention integrity. zones.
Figure 5 shows a schematic of the ERC design concept.
Erosion Potential. Extensive erosion tests of Hollander twill The stated mission of the development project was to “Deliver
weave in accordance with Southwest Research Institute a widely applied completion technology, with sand control
(SwRI) erosion protocols led to development of a velocity effectiveness and installation efficiency better than
threshold criterion to ensure sand impingement does not conventional; productivity better than open hole; operability
compromise sand retention integrity. In long open hole better than cased hole”. The project mission stated the
following goals:
SPE 100747 5

• Compliant Sand Control [and associated productivity the new product and are common to all system components,
benefits] promoting modularity.
• Zonal Isolation Capabilities The transition between the non-expanded and expanded
• Fluid Loss Control Capability section includes solid plates behind the weave to prevent
• Full Compatibility with Selective / Intelligent Upper potential erosion over the non-compliant length.
Completions
• Single Trip Installation Expandable Zonal Isolation [EZI]. The key to
Weatherford’s new Expandable Reservoir Completion System
These goals, alongside the operator’s technical is the Expandable Zonal Isolation [EZI] device, which utilises
requirements, drove the functional specifications that proprietary rotary compliant expansion technique to clad the
constrained the product development. Table 1 details some of formation wall, effecting openhole zonal isolation.
the high-level system functional specifications. Solid expandable technology has been used extensively to
address zonal isolation challenges in the wellbore and has
been applied in both cased and openhole scenarios. In order to
System Functional Specifications provide effective isolation an elastomeric compound is bonded
Number of Trips to Install One to the outside diameter of the pipe. When the pipe is expanded
Expansion Mechanism Compliant to contact the wellbore inside diameter, the elastomer is
Target Reservoir Hole Size 8.50” compressed between the formation and the solid pipe,
Minimum Compliant Range 9.25” providing a hydraulic seal.
Selective Upper Completion Compatibility Full Unlike casedholes, drilled openholes are seldom gauge or
Sand Exclusion Functional Specification guaranteed to fall within predetermined tolerances. Therefore
Type ESS® in order to provide a competent seal, the zonal isolation device
Hydraulic Collapse 250psi must have the ability to accommodate variable borehole
Zonal Isolation Functional Specification diameters and non-circular cross sections. The EZI unit is
activated using compliant rotary expansion tool. The tool
Type Solid Expandables
delivers a compliant range of geometries designed to operate
Target Differential Rating 3000psi
and effect a seal in openhole conditions.
Table 1. Multi-zone ESS System Functional Specifications
The expandable section of the EZI unit features an
extended section of moulded, ribbed elastomer with solid end
Development of the Expandable Reservoir Completion
back-up (Figure 7). The elastomers are protected during
required involvement of the entire product, manufacturing and
deployment using cross coupling centralisers and a mechanical
operations expertise and know-how that Weatherford have
tag is located within the expandable section for positive depth
created over the last 8 years, in both slotted and solid
correlation during expansion operation. As with all of the
expanded tubulars, as well as intellectual property.
expandable reservoir system components, the connections are
The resultant system is an evolution of existing ESS
non-expanded premium couplings.
technology and incorporates compliant expanded solid tubing
to provide zonal isolation capability. When providing a sand-
Conventional Unexpanded Casing. The expandable
face completion with reservoir zonal isolation functionality, it
reservoir completion system is modular by design and can
is imperative that the system is able to fully backwards
include lengths of Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) casing
integrate with conventional upper completion components, in
between ESS and EZI joints. The casing is not designed to be
order to provide selective production and isolation
expanded, but is used to space out the completion across the
capabilities.
reservoir section – resulting in maximum completion design
Operationally, it was recognized that this next generation
flexibility.
system must have the ability to be deployed and expanded in a
Including standard OCTG unexpanded pipe in the string
single trip. This is an important feature for higher cost well
provides reference points for integration with conventional
environments where trip time is an expensive commodity.
inner string completions including ICT. This high level of
Fulfilling these various objectives culminated in the
integration with conventional technology is the hallmark of a
following system components:
mature technology offering.
Expandable Sand Screen [ESS]. A new size of ESS,
ERC Expansion System. Both the ESS and EZI are expanded
incorporating a 7.0”, 29ppf base pipe, has been created as part
using proprietary rotary compliant expansion technology. The
of the system development (Figure 6). The 7.0” platform
ESS and EZI require slightly different tool designs. The ESS
enables a greater compliant range to ensure compliance in hole
has a larger % expansion requirement with reduced force,
sizes in excess of 9.0”. The thicker wall section and optimized
whereas the EZI requires less % expansion, but higher
slot pattern also makes the new product more robust.
expansion forces. For this reason 2 different expansion tools
Unlike the original ESS® design, the basepipe is not
are required in the string. The ESS Expansion Tool is situated
slotted along its entire length; solid pipe remains at the joints
at the bottom of the string and incorporates 2 rows of 3 piston-
ends, to allow for non-expandable premium couplings.
mounted rollers. The EZI tool is situated above the ESS® tool
Unexpanded premium couplings underline the robust nature of
and has 1 row of piston-mounted rollers.
6 SPE 100747

Diverter Tool. Selecting the appropriate expansion tool for Reference

the zone requires a Diverter Tool to be incorporated in the 1. Metcalfe P. and Whitelaw C., “The Development of the First
string between the 2 tools. The Diverter Tool simply switches Expandable Sand Screen,” paper OTC 11032, presented at the
between the ESS and EZI tools using flowrate and associated 1999 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, May
backpressure. 1999.
2. Heiland J., Cook J., Johnson A. and Jeffryes B., “The role of the
annular gap in expandable sand screen completions”, SPE
EXR Liner Hanger + SAT Running Tool. These 86463
components deliver one-trip, expandable reservoir completion 3. Jones C., Tollefsen M., Metcalfe P., Cameron J. and Morgan Q.,
installation. The EXR Liner Hanger/Packer is an evolution of “Expandable Sand Screens Selection, Performance and
the two-trip EXP Hanger/Packer. The SAT tool is a fully Reliability; a Review of the First 340 Installations”, paper SPE
hydraulic running tool which features running and setting keys 97282 presented at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, UAE,
that collapse on completion of the hanger setting process September 2005
allowing the tool string to be moved through the hanger and 4. Weekse A., Grant S. and Urselmann R., “Expandable Sand
expansion of the ESS / EZI to take place. Screen: Three New World Records in the Brigantine Field”,
paper SPE 74549 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, Dallas,
February 2002.
Fluid Loss Valve [FLV]. The FLV incorporates a flapper 5. Al-Lamki A., Twycross J. and Clarke G., “Maximising
arrangement which prevents fluid loss to the formation when Productivity in the Scoter Gas Condensate Field, UKCS: A
completing a well, and allows for testing/setting upper Multidisciplinary Approach to Expandable Sand Screen Design
completion components. A shifting tool in the expansion and Subsea Installation”, paper SPE 91004 presented at the SPE
string activates the flapper, isolating the reservoir from Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston,
wellbore fluid and pressure above, following the expansion September 2004.
process. Wellbore pressure is then used to open the valve 6. Wang J.L., Aiken S., Ren G. and Yuan M., “An Alternative
following installation of the upper completion, and prior to Wellbore Stabilisation and Sand Control Technology –
Application of Expandable Sand Control System in multi-lateral
bringing the well onto production. Wells”, paper SPE 80445 presented at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil
In its open state, the curved flapper is fully enclosed within and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Jakarta, April 2003.
the wall of the completion resulting in zero flowing restriction 7. Oluwatosin A.O., Adegborioye A.M. and Anya S.O., “Reducing
following release for production. Well Delivery Unit Technical Cost Using Expandable Sand
Screens (ESS) With Medium Radius Technology On Sidetrack
Conclusion Wells”, paper SPE 84160 presented at the SPE Annual
ESS technology has amassed a substantial track record Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, October 2003.
encompassing many different open and cased hole single-zone 8. Owoeye O.O., Aihevba L.O., Hartmann R.A. and Ogoke V.C.,
and some multi-zone applications. An extensive survey of “Optimisation of Well Economics By Application of
Expandable Tubular Technology”, paper SPE 59142 presented
these installations has enabled key performance and reliability at the 2000IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, New Orleans,
data to be established, which in turn has been used to delineate February 2000.
the applications envelope for ESS. Furthermore, sufficient 9. Erivwo E., Owoeye O.O. and Ogoke V.C., “A Novel Approach
time has lapsed since commercial launch to also project long to Slim Well Delivery”, paper SPE 67725 presented at the
term performance. This complete understanding of system SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, The Netherlands, March 2001.
capabilities in conjunction with global uptake denotes a shift 10. Lau H.C., van Vliet J., Ward M., Morin D., Djamil A., Kuhnert
in industry perspective towards widespread acceptance of ESS P., Aldaz W. and Shanks S., “Openhole Expandable-Sand-
as a traditional rather than new form of sand control, offering Screen Completions in Brunei”, paper SPE 87896, January
unequivocal productivity benefits without the drawbacks of 2004.
11. Jones C., Cameron J., Owoeye O. and Baaijens M., “Production
SAS and complexities of OHGP. Issues Influencing the Choice of Completion Type in Horizontal
However, it is recognized that limitations of the Wells With Sanding Problems,” paper OTC15131 presented at
technology have constrained uptake for multi-zone open hole the 2003 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston 5-8 May
applications, while at the same time, there is a growing 2003.
industry trend to migrate towards open hole completion 12. Saeby J., de Lange F., Aitken S.H. and Aldaz W., “The Use of
strategies to unlock field productivity potential. Now, through Expandable Sand-Control Technology as a Step Change for
the development of ERC technology, combining field-proven Multiple-Zone SMART Well Completion - A Case Study”, SPE
slotted and solid expandable technology, all the zonal isolation 68634
benefits of a cased and perforated completion are available 13. Jones C. Cameron J., and MacKay E. “Productivity, Water
Breakthrough and Ultimate Recovery in Horizontal Wells With
with openhole productivity performance. a Range of Completion Types,” paper OTC 15150 presented at
the 2003 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston 5-8 May
2003.
14. Gee N., Jones C. and Ferguson, S., “Towards the Expandable
Reservoir Completion: The Case for Open-Hole Completions”,
paper OTC 16714, presented at Offshore Technology
Conference, Houston, May 2004.
15. Van Everdinging A.F. and Hurst W. “The Application of the
Laplace Transformation to Flow Problems is Reservoirs,”
Trans., AIME, vol. 186, pp 305-324, 1949
SPE 100747 7

16. Jones C., Tollefsen M, Somerville J.M. and Hutcheon R. “The

Prediction of Skin in Openhole Sand Control Completions,”
paper SPE 94527 presentation at the SPE 6th European
Formation Damage Conference, Scheveningen, The
Netherlands, 25-27 May 2005.
17. Mason D., Ramos M. J., Pena C. M., Cameron J. and Jones, C.,
“A comparison of the Performance of Recent Sand Control
Completions in the Mokoko Abana Field Offshore Cameroon”,
paper SPE 94651 presented at the 6th SPE European Formation
Damage Conference, The Netherlands, May 2005
18. Ballard T. and Beare S. “Media Sizing for Premium Sand
Screens: Dutch Twill Weaves”, paper SPE 82244 presented at
the SPE European Formation Damage Conference, The Hague,
The Netherlands, 13-14 May 2003.
19. Mason D., Evans M., Ekamaba B., Jones, C. and Cameron J.,
“The Long Term Performance of Sand Control Completions in
the Mokoko-Abana Field, Cameroon”, paper OTC 17809,
presented at Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, May
2006
8 SPE 100747

Figure 5. The Next Generation of Expandable Completion Systems is designed to be applied to multizone reservoirs that are
conventionally completed cased hole. The Expandable Reservoir Completion [ERC] combines ESS® across producing intervals, Solid
Expandable pipe between zones for isolation, and conventional casing to space the components across the reservoir.

Figure 6. A new size of ESS® was developed specifically for Figure 7. Zonal Ioslation is achieved through application of
this joint development project. The 7.0” ESS joint uses the Solid Expandable technology
same base technology but expandable connections were
replaced with conventional premium, unexpanded couplings.