Publications

The problem of sand production is one of the most important concerns and is fairly common in hydrocarbon producing activities, especially in oil production. This has to be strictly prevented in oil production optimization since it can have negative effects. Sand accumulation can cause damage to the subsurface and surface equipments. It can decreases the efficiency of the equipment and the oil production as well regarding sand accumulation in the subsurface equipments. This problem is commonly found in the unconsolidated formation of wells that have been producing for a long period of time. Many methods, either mechanical or chemical, can be used to overcome the sand problem. A mechanical solution can be conducted using a gravel pack, sand screen, or slotted liner, whereas chemical ones can be by injecting chemical substances into the formation to strengthen the sand intergrain bonds. One of the chemical substance that can be used commonly is epoxy resin. Unfortunately, epoxy resin has several shortcomings. This chemical has a negative effect on the environment. It is also a non-renewable substance. This chemical causes a permeability reduction to the core 42.62% (Asadurrohman, 2013). In this paper, the authors undertake a laboratory study to overcome the sand problem by using another chemical substance: polyurethane. Polyurethane is made from the castor oil plant is environmentally safe and renewable. The coreflooding method is used to represent the real condition of the reservoir. This laboratory study yielded very interesting results. The core sample was found to have increased compressive strength of 485.08 psi with a reduction in permeability of only 2.65%. The authors concluded that polyurethane is able to overcome the sand problem. * Institute of Technology Bandung Keywords: sand problem, polyurethane, compressive strength, permeability reduction