Screenless Completions: Cost-Effective

Sand Control in the Adriatic Sea

E. Pitoni and F. Devia, Eni SpA Agip E&P, and S.G. James, SPE, and N. Heitmann, Schlumberger
Summary
Many gas reservoirs in the central Adriatic Sea, offshore Italy, are
formed of laminated, low-permeability, dirty sandstones, with as
much as 50% clay content. Initially, wells were completed with
gravel packs, but the nature of the formations caused productivity
to decrease in some gas fields because fines plugged the gravel
packs. In the past few years fracpacks have been used to alleviate
the fines migration problem. However, there are many gravelpacked wells which are either sanded up and shut in or underperforming because fines have plugged the gravel-pack screens.
These wells do not currently justify the expense of an immediate
full rig workover.
A candidate zone was selected to evaluate the viability of a
screenless completion technique for competent sand control. We
placed a highly conductive tip-screenout fracture in the zone, using recent innovations in fracturing fluid technology and proppant
flowback control additives, to eliminate sand production. Successful implementation of this technique was confirmed by posttreatment production more than 2.5 times the normalized rate of
the initial gravel-pack completion. No formation sand or proppant
was produced back to surface during production. The screenless
completion technique provided a cost-effective and reliable rigless
rehabilitation technique.

Introduction
Several gas reservoirs in the Adriatic Sea are formed of lowpermeability, dirty sandstones; the Giovanna field, located in the
Adriatic Sea Fig. 1, is one example. Its reservoir is composed of
turbiditic sediments interbedded with sand, silt, and clay. The average formation permeability to gas is 12 md, with clay content
close to, and frequently more than, 50%. All of the original wells
in this field were completed with openhole gravel packs; one
inside-casing completion and one conventional completion Giovanna 6, pool 10 were also installed in two sublayers pools to
assess the productivity and longevity of these kinds of completions in very dirty sands.1 Many different sandstone streaks, more
and more often encountered by wells in the Adriatic Sea, such as
in the Giovanna field, are grouped and completed in pools.
The Giovanna 6 well was completed with 2 83-in. dual-string
completion technology. The short string was extended in front of
pool 10 by a perforated 2 83-in. extension pipe inside the casing.
The well was put on production in December 1992, sanded out
completely at the end of 1994, and consequently shut-in.
We selected the latest innovative viscoelastic surfactant fracturing fluid technology for field trial in the Giovanna 6 well, pool 10,
and the operator decided to use the upper zone of pool 10 as a test
for a rigless, screenless sand-control completion technique. Successful application would confirm that the screenless completion
sand-control technique could be applied to other wells throughout
the area, while failure could be remedied in any similar future
application. Screenless sand-control completion technology is of
particular interest for dual-string completions in the Adriatic Sea.
It will allow low-cost development of any numbers of layers to be
produced by the short string, which otherwise could not be
drained using conventional sand-control technologies without exCopyright 2000 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper (SPE 67836) was revised for publication from SPE 58787 first presented at the
2000 SPE Intl. Symposium on Formation Damage Control held in Lafayette, Louisiana,
2324 February. Original manuscript received for review 20 April 2000. Revised manuscript received 23 August 2000. Paper peer approved 12 September 2000.

SPE Drill. & Completion 15 4, December 2000

pensive recompletion. Effective low-cost screenless completion

technology will considerably reshape gravel-pack completion
strategies.
Design
Several authors have discussed the use of fracturing to prevent the
production of unstable formations. Bale et al.2 applied the indirect
vertical fracturing technique to produce a weak formation sand
free. In this method a stronger interval is perforated adjacent to
the weak target interval and a hydraulic fracture is designed to
grow into the target zone. Correctly applied this can be a powerful
technique but it requires detailed knowledge of the formation lithology and in-situ stresses and the presence of a competent zone
next to the target zone.
Kirby et al.3 used 0 phased perforating over a short 30-ft
interval followed by a tip-screenout designed fracture with proppant flowback control to prevent sand production. The objective
was to cover all the perforations with the fracture; if the proppant
remains in place formation sand cannot enter the wellbore. Resincoated proppant was used to prevent proppant production. Malone
et al.4 have tried a similar technique using 180 phased perforations in a steamflood application.
The same general idea has been used successfully in over 70
fractures to prevent formation production from horizontal wells in
weak chalk formations in the North Sea.5,6 Perforations are shot at
the top and bottom of the wellbore over a limited interval
(5 ft) to ensure that the fracture covers all the perforations.
Rigorous testing of resin-coated proppants undertaken prior to the
treatments ensured that proppant flowback could be controlled.
Fletcher et al.7 discussed the development and application of a
technique for predicting the fracture properties required to prevent
sand production from out-of-phase perforations. For a given rock
strength, the fracture length and conductivity affect the drawdown
that can be applied before formation sand is produced from perforations not connected to the fracture. The concept has also been
applied by Ortega et al.8 to prevent sand production in deep wells
in a high-stress environment.
Application to Giovanna 6, Pool 10. The reservoir properties for
the well are given in Table 1. The initial completion included a
perforated extension pipe of the 2 83-in. short string, inserted inside
7-in. casing, which was perforated over the entire 190-ft interval
at 120 phasing, with deep-penetrating shaped charges. The effective perforation diameter in the 7-in. casing was between 0.2 and
0.3 in. Details of the number and size of the holes in the perforated extension pipe were not available, but we assumed that the
holes were between 0.5 and 1.0 in. in diameter. Sand fill was
recorded inside the tubing over the entire interval.
Since the Giovanna 6 well had already been perforated in 1992,
no newly engineered solution requiring optimized perforating for
a more effective screenless completion was possible. In addition
the low permeability and consequently the very low matrix injection rates of the zone prevented the use of conventional formation
consolidation resins, either alone or followed by fracturing. Therefore, the only available option for the well was to clean out the
sand fill from the upper part of the tubing, between the perforated
liner and casing, and to place a highly conductive fracture into the
formation to decrease the production through the out-of-phase
perforations. The lowest part of the conventional completion was
to be left protected by a sand plug to avoid excessive fracture
growth towards the bottom of the perforated part. Actual formation mechanical properties were not available, so using the optimization method of Fletcher et al.7 was not possible. Therefore, to
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Fig. 2Completion of Giovanna 6, pool 10 showing the proposed location of the fracture.

Fig. 1Location of the Giovanna field, offshore Italy.

maximize the chance of success, we designed a tip-screenout fracture incorporating the best available fluid technology to maximize
the fracture conductivity. The proposed completion with the original hardware in the well is shown in Fig. 2.
Three key objectives which had to be met for a successful and
effective screenless sand-control completion were to
bypass any formation damage,
create a highly conductive path to economically deplete the
field, and
control sand and fines production by connecting the sand
streaks with a single, wide fracture Fig. 3 combined with effective proppant flowback control.
We selected the proppant, fracture fluid, and proppant flowback
control type to optimize the fracture conductivity.
Proppant Selection. The relatively low closure-stress environment 3,000 psi in the zone made the choice of sand as a proppant easy on economic grounds. However, the choice of proppant
size was more difficult since there were conflicting requirements.
Maximizing fracture conductivity required the largest proppant
size possible. To prevent invasion of formation particles into the
proppant pack, the situation was reversed, with the smaller proppant being better. The selected proppant size to prevent the ingress of formation sand was 40/60 U.S. mesh. This size would not
prevent invasion of the proppant pack by fines, as evidenced by
the many gravel packs plugged up by fines, especially in the Giovanna field. However, the presence of the fracture would significantly decrease the gas velocity in the formation, thereby decreasing the likelihood of fines transport into the fracture during
production. The benefit of fracturing to minimize the risk of fines
production has been demonstrated in similar formations by the
significantly increased lifetimes of fracpack completions compared with gravel-pack completions.
Fluid Selection. Fluids viscosified with hydroxyethylcellulose
HEC have been used traditionally, after shearing and filtration,

for fracpack completions in similar formations in the Adriatic Sea.

However, the HEC fluids form a filter cake on the fracture faces in
such low-permeability formations, leading to higher fluid efficiencies and fractures that were too long and too narrow.
Recent experiences in gas fields of similar lithologies have confirmed that HEC fluids cannot be used to maximize fracture conductivity. Tip-screenout fractures are not obtainable, and fracture
geometries are unfavorable with respect to fracture length and
width.
Crosslinked guar-based fluids are unwanted in low- to
moderate-permeability formations in the Adriatic Sea because
polymer-based crosslinked fracturing fluids inevitably cause wallbuilding characteristics and nonremovable residual damage.
After Agip performed comprehensive studies and fracturing
simulations, we identified a new, nondamaging, viscoelastic surfactant VES fracturing fluid meeting the key objectives outlined
above. VES fluids do not contain solids, are polymer free, do not
form a filter cake on the fracture wall, and do not leave any
residue in the fracture and formation. These fluids have been
shown to provide the highest retained fracture permeability up to
100%.9 In this application 5% methanol was necessary to maximize the retained permeability in the formation.
VES fluids have demonstrated very good gravel suspension capabilities at extremely low apparent viscosities 20 cp at
170 sec1. We confirmed that the fluids gravel suspension proficiency is based on the network structure of its micellar aggregates and the associated elasticity, rather than on the minimum
required apparent viscosity of 100 cp (25 cp) of conventional
viscous fracturing fluids. By minimizing the fracturing fluid viscosity, we could achieve the short, wide fracture required for the
pool 10 formation. In addition, the field application of the VES
fluids is easy and viscosity can be generated with minimal shear.
Any required fracturing-fluid viscosity adjustments can be per-

TABLE 1 RESERVOIR PROPERTIES OF GIOVANNA 6,

POOL 10
Reservoir temperature
Permeability (gas)
Permeability (water)
Clay content
Average grain size
Closure stress
Depth

294

108F
12 md
2 md
50%
0.0011 to 0.0013 in.
3,000 psi
5,735 ft

Pitoni et al.: Screenless Completions

Fig. 3Schematic showing a single, wide fracture connecting

sand and shale streaks.
SPE Drill. & Completion, Vol. 15, No. 4, December 2000

TABLE 2 DETAILS OF THE FRACTURE PLACED IN

GIOVANNA 6, POOL 10
Fracture half length
Propped fracture height
Propped width
Dimensionless fracture conductivity
Total proppant pumped
Maximum net pressure

Fig. 4Permeability measurements of proppant and 2% KCl in

comparison with proppantVES fluidfiber at 110F.

formed by simply adding more VES product directly to the fluid

or by diluting with brine to obtain the desired final viscosity. No
expensive filtering and shearing, attributed to HEC-based fracturing fluids, are required; that represents substantial logistic and
time savings. This was a significant advantage given the space and
mixing equipment available on the platform. Finally, no polymer
degradation would occur, because VES fluids are polymer free.
Proppant Flowback Control. When fracturing for sand control,
it is critical that proppant flowback is tightly controlled
exchanging formation sand production for proppant production is
of no benefit. Although curable or partially curable resin-coated
proppant has traditionally been used for proppant flowback control following fracturing, we chose fibers for this application for
several reasons.
First, fibers work by a physical reinforcement mechanism,
rather than by chemical bonding, as is the case with resin-coated
proppants. Fibers therefore work efficiently at low reservoir temperatures without the need of an activator. Second, the inert materials of fibers are compatible with all fluids, including VES fluids, allowing the choice of optimal fluid system for a given
application. Third, wellsite addition of the fibers allows lastminute pumping schedule changes; the immediate dispersion of
the fibers into the slurry is advantageous.
The effect of fibers on gravel permeability was also investigated to avoid any damage caused by proppant crushing and consequent damage to the interbedded fibers. We found that in lowclosure-stress environments (3,000 psi) fibers increase the
permeability of a proppant pack above that of the base proppant
alone. The increase in proppant-pack permeability caused by the
addition of fibers has been observed before with 20/40 U.S. mesh
sand10 and 16/20 ceramic and resin-coated ceramic proppant. No
data were available for 40/60 U.S. mesh sand, so we performed
two conductivity tests under the reservoir conditions of the Giovanna 6 well. One test was a baseline measurement on the 40/60
sand and 2% KCl solution, while the second contained 40/60
sand, 1.5% by weight of alkali-resistant glass fibers, and the viscoelastic surfactant fluid. The physical conditions for both tests
were identical. The results Fig. 4 clearly show that the combination of fiber and VES fluid gives proppant-pack conductivity
that is higher than the base proppant alone at 1,000 and 2,000 psi
closure stress. Under the 3,000 psi closure stress of Giovanna 6,
the proppant/fiber/VES fluid combination has a retained permeability 95% of that of the base proppant and 2% KCl. No other
proppant/fluid/proppant flowback material combination could provide similar permeability to the base proppant alone under these
conditions. Fibers were finally accepted as one of the suitable
products to be tested in the Giovanna 6 well, pool 10.
Pitoni et al.: Screenless Completions

15 ft
39 ft
3 in.
33
22,500 lbm
700 psi

Job Execution
Three key parameters controlled the fracture treatment design.
First, the requirement for maximum fracture conductivity necessitated a tip-screenout TSO design. Second, the unfavorable
completion scenario limited the proppant concentration that could
be safely pumped to 6 lbm/gal. Finally, the small diameter tubing
and a weak snap-latch connection and its pressure limitations dictated that the pump rate be limited to 5 bbl/min. In fact all injected
treating fluids were heated to 104F to avoid any tubing contraction and possible snap-latch opening. In addition logistics and
limited space on the platform allowed only batch mixing of the
slurries at three proppant concentrations 2, 4, and 6 lbm/gal.
Coiled-Tubing Sand Clean Out
1
We used 1 4-in. coiled tubing to clean out the top 39 ft of the fill
inside the perforated extension pipe. Cycling the coiled tubing up
and down over the interval also removed the sand between the
perforated pipe and casing. A sand plug was set with the top of
sand at 5,754 ft, leaving 39 ft of perforations open for fracturing.
Fracture Treatment
We premixed all slurry stages in batch tanks and added the VES
product directly into fresh water, containing 4% by weight KCl, at
a concentration of 0.625%. The viscosity developed to the required level without any hydration time; onsite laboratory analysis
measured 18 cp at 170 sec1. For stabilization of the high clay
presence in the Giovanna formation, we added 1% permanent clay
stabilizer. The proppant was added to the tanks while simultaneously circulating and agitating the slurries but we saw no evidence of gravel sedimentation. Finally, we switched the recirculating pumps off and added the fibers with only paddle mixing
continuing. The excellent suspension properties of the VES fluid/
fiber combination were confirmed by the lack of any settled sand
at the bottom of the mixing tanks even after prolonged residence
with just paddle agitation.
The pad fluid, VES fluid at 0.625%, was also premixed. The
treatment was underdisplaced by 10 bbl, corresponding to 2,580 ft
of tubing fill, to reserve sufficient slurry volume to stress and to
inflate the fracture width after screenout and to leave slurry above
the perforations in case fracture growth occurred after closure.
Reducing the pump rate to stop lateral fracture extension promoted tip screenout. The net pressure further increased and resulted in a mature, very wide fracture. The well was cleaned up
with coiled tubing and put immediately on to production. No sand
or gravel production occurred. No fibers were returned from the
fracture.
Results
Full details of the fracturing design, job execution, and result
evaluation have been given in a separate paper.11 However, a
summary of the results is given in Table 2.
The parameters obtained from the evaluation of the fracture
treatment clearly indicate that we achieved our required objectives. The fracture height remained confined over the targeted
interval, while the high net pressure generated a very wide fracture and consequently a very high dimensionless conductivity.
The fracture remained confined because of the VES fluid; this
result will allow the planning of multiple staged fracpacks without
the risk of intersection of consecutive fractures.
SPE Drill. & Completion, Vol. 15, No. 4, December 2000

295

Fig. 5Production data from pool 10 for the initial completion,

perforated pipe and casing, and the screenless completion.
The gas and water production rates for the initial completion
have been normalized to the ratio of zone sizes of the initial and
screenless completion.

Fig. 5 shows the production data from the initial completion

and the screenless completion. Water and gas production rates
from the initial completion have been normalized in the ratio of
the zone sizes of the initial and screenless completion. The gas
production rate appears relatively stable until August 1993, when
the gas rate and the wellhead pressure start to decrease and water
production increases. This could indicate that the increase in water
production has initiated sand production, leading to wellbore fill
and decreased production.
Following the screenless completion the 39-ft zone was produced for approximately 2 21 months Fig. 5. The production rate
was more than twice that of the initial completion rate normalized
to account for the different interval lengths. This is a conservative
estimation because a lower tubing pressure and higher water cut
are consistent with depletion of the zone.
The completion produced for 2 21 months without any sand or
proppant production prior to being shut-in for a major workover
of all zones, which was programmed after the very favorable production results. The field trial of both the first application of a
VES fluid in Europe coupled with the first screenless completion
sand-control technique for Eni Agip has been considered as highly
successful.
Implications for the Giovanna Field. The success of the screenless completion treatment with high production rate and high
flowing pressure resulted in a significant increase in the production potential of Giovanna 6. On the basis of this increase, we
implemented a full-scale, unscheduled rehabilitation program on
two wells in the Giovanna field and are now extending it to a third
well candidateall because of the excellent VES fluid performance and the very good early production results of the fully
rehabilitated Giovanna 6 well. These recompletions were multiple, stacked fracpacks with screenless completions on the short
string. The results confirmed the expected increase in potential.
Implications for Other Adriatic Fields. The success of the Giovanna 6 screenless sand-control completion treatment persuaded
Eni Agip to try a screenless completion solution on a secondary
zone of a well in a new field development in the Adriatic Sea. The
secondary zone, completed with the short string, would not normally have been completed and produced. Because the zone had
not yet been completed, we used an optimized perforating strategy
followed by a fracturing treatment discussed earlier by Kirby
et al.3
The zone of interest was perforated with 0 phasing, 6 shots/ft,
0.3-in. entrance hole, over a 26-ft interval. We designed a tipscreenout fracture using 30/60 U.S. mesh ceramic proppant, VES
fluid, and fiber technology to control proppant flowback. The
296

Pitoni et al.: Screenless Completions

treatment design was less aggressive than that for Giovanna 6

because of the risk of a premature screenout at the wellbore; there
was a lack of suitable rock mechanics data for the zone. Consequently, a tip screenout followed by a matured fracture packoff
was not fully achieved in this case.
Initial production results from this treatment were nevertheless
encouraging, with sand-free production at an economical, sustainable rate. More detailed data are currently not available since this
secondary zone has been shut in to allow the main zones to be
produced.
Eni Agip has significant interest in finding improved and reliable completion practices for their Adriatic fields that frequently
consist of up to 12 separate laminated pools. Currently, with 7-in.
casing selective gravel packs cannot be installed on the short
string, thus limiting the number of zones that can be completed.
Accessing these zones in the future will require an expensive,
5
full-scale workover. For 9 8-in. or greater casing, only one selective completion can be made on the short string and consequently
a future full-scale workover cannot be avoided, even with different casing sizes.
If screenless completions prove efficient and reliable, then any
number of layers could be completed without any problems associated with casing diameter. In addition, drilling a 6 81-in. borehole
to cement a 5-in. casing would be possible while still allowing all
zones to be completed for gas production in a sanding environment. This would provide significant savings in the drilling and
completion phases without compromising productivity.
Conclusions
We successfully used a screenless completion as a remedial treatment for a sanding formation on the Giovanna 6 well. The screenless completion was performed rigless, yielding substantial savings over a rig-based workover. Production from the zone
following the screenless completion was 2 21 times that of the initial production from the zone, normalized to the same production
interval. Following the cleanup period, no sand or proppant was
produced during the 2 21 months of production, even though formation water was produced.
The success of the treatment resulted from careful design and
execution of the treatment with several key parameters:
A tip-screenout fracture provided a high-permeability fracture
to divert flow away from the perforations not connected to the
fracture.
Using a low viscosity, viscoelastic surfactant, fracturing fluid
that is nondamaging maximized fracture permeability.
Fibers prevented proppant flowback.
The success of the treatment provided a significant increase in
the potential of the Giovanna 6 well, resulting in unscheduled
rehabilitation of the entire well and two additional offset wells in
the same field. In addition, a screenless completion was performed
on a secondary objective in a new zone of an adjacent field.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Eni Agip and Schlumberger management for permission to publish this work, as well as the personnel of the Eni Agip and Schlumberger districts for their hard
work that made this pilot job a success.
References
1. Moricca, G. et al.: Dual Openhole Gravel Pack in Shaly Fine
Sands, SPEDC December 1995 226.
2. Bale, A., Owren, K., and Smith, M.B.: Propped Fracturing as a Tool
for Sand Control and Reservoir Management, SPEPF February
1994 19; Trans., AIME, 297.
3. Kirby, R.L. et al.: Brief: Screenless Frac-Pack Completions With
Resin-Coated Sand in the Gulf of Mexico, JPT September 1996
840.
4. Malone, B.P. et al.: Startup of a TSO Fracturing Campaign in a
Shallow, Heavy Oil Steamflood, paper SPE 38096 presented at the
1997 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference, Kuala Lumpur,
1416 April.
SPE Drill. & Completion, Vol. 15, No. 4, December 2000

5. Norris, M.R. et al.: Multiple Proppant Fracturing of a Horizontal

Wellbore: An Integration of Two Technologies, paper SPE 36899
presented at the 1996 SPE European Petroleum Conference, Milan,
Italy, 2224 October.
6. Norris, M.R. et al.: Multiple Proppant Fracturing of Horizontal
Wellbores in a Chalk Formation: Evolving the Process in the Valhall
Field, paper SPE 50608 presented at the 1998 SPE European Petroleum Conference, The Hague, 2022 October.
7. Fletcher, P.A. et al.: Using Fracturing as a Technique for Controlling Formation Failure, SPEPF May 1996 117.
8. Ortega, L., Brito, L., and Ben-Naceur, K.: Hydraulic Fracturing for
Control of Sand Production and Asphaltene Deposition in Deep Hot
Wells, paper SPE 36461 presented at the 1996 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, Colorado, 69 October.
9. Samuel, M. et al.: Polymer-Free Fluid for Fracturing, paper SPE
38622 presented at the 1997 SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 58 October.
10. StimLab Proppant Consortium, Phoenix, Arizona 1996.
11. Pitoni, E. et al.: Polymer-Free Fracturing Fluid Revives Shut-In
Well, World Oil September 1999 77.

SI Metric Conversion Factors

bbl 1.589 873
cp 1.0*
F
(F32)/1.8
ft 3.048*
ft3 2.831 685
gal 3.785 412
in. 2.54*
lbm 4.535 924
md 9.869 233
psi 6.894 757
*Conversion factors are exact.

Pitoni et al.: Screenless Completions

E01 m3
E03 Pas
C
E01 m
E02 m3
E03 m3
E00 cm
E01 kg
E04 m2
E00 kPa

Enzo Pitoni is a senior completion and production engineer

with Eni Agip. e-mail: enzo.pitoni@agip.it. His current projects
involve water shutoff, fracpack, and screenless completion.
He worked in Eni Agips production laboratories and formed
the Sand Control and Water Shutoff and Reservoir Drill-In Fluids
Group. Pitoni holds an MS degree in chemistry from Perugia U.,
Italy. Fabrizio Devia is a completion and production engineer
at
Eni
Agips
Milan
headquarters.
e-mail:
fabrizio.devia@agip.it. His expertise focuses on innovative
sandface completions for deepwater completions. He has
worked on sand-control projects in the U.S., and coiled-tubing
fracturing operations in Canada. Devia holds a degree in petroleum engineering from Bologna U., Italy. Simon G. James
is a senior development engineer with Schlumberger based at
the
Sugar
Land,
Texas,
Product
Center.
e-mail:
simon.james@slb.com. His primary interests are proppantflowback control and novel sand-control completions. His experience includes product and solution development within
drilling fluids and stimulation services. James holds a PhD degree in physics from U. of Cambridge, U.K. Norbert Heitmann
is a senior engineer for Schlumbergers Design & Evaluations
Services for Clients group and is currently on assignment in
Milan, Italy. e-mail: heitmann1@slb.com. He oversees production enhancement and completions projects in italy and overseas. Heitmann holds an MS degree in petroleum engineering
from TU Clausthal, Germany.

SPEDC

SPE Drill. & Completion, Vol. 15, No. 4, December 2000

297