SPE 150581

Ultra-Lightweight Proppants: Best Practices for Long Horizontal Gravel Packs

Offshore Brazil
A.T. Jardim Neto, F.G.M. Prata, and J.R. Gomez, Baker Hughes; and C.A. Pedroso, M.O. Martins, and D.N. Silva,
Petrobras

Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the North Africa Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Cairo, Egypt, 2022 February 2012.
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 have not been reviewed
by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or
members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is 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 acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
Operators developing reservoirs and producing them from deep and ultra-deepwater wells are pushing the technical limits
regarding horizontal extension. Deepwater wells completed in uncosilidated formations usually have low fracture gradients, severe
leak-off zones and/or significant wash outs. Long horizontal open holes, therefore, may become technically difficult or
economically unfeasible to gravel pack using conventional fluids and gravels.
Typical completions offshore Brazil start from a 9 5/8-in. or 10 3/4-in. casing, where a 5 1/2-in. premium screen and tubular
string is hung along an open hole drilled with 8 1/2-in. or 9 1/2-in. bit. Horizontal extensions range from 980 to 4,000 ft.
Ultra-lightweight proppants have enabled gravel packing in these longer horizontal open holes. The reduced gravel density
allows a significant reduction in pumping rate, which avoids fracturing the formation, minimizes fluid losses and eliminates the
risk of premature screen out due to excessive gravel settling.
This paper summarizes the procedures and results of almost 60 wells that have been gravel packed using ultra-lightweight
proppants technology pumped for a local operator.

1 - Introduction
Horizontal openhole gravel packs (HOHGP) have become the completion choice for many operators around the world,
especially in permeable and unconsolidated formations. When it comes to deepwater and ultra-deepwater completions, operators
have reached the limit as far as horizontal extension is concerned. Offshore Brazil, especially in the Campos and Espirito Santo
basins, HOHGP has become the preferred completions methodology applied by the local operator to develop post-salt reserves.
The most common gravels pumped to pack horizontal wells offshore Brazil used to be natural gravels and several mesh sizes of
conventional ceramics gravels. These particles densities (from 2.65 to 2.73 g/cc) cause a high degree of difficulty with regards to
proppant transport; hence, increased dune height may lead to premature screen-out might at low pump rates.
A lower-density proppant would be easier to
transport with unviscosified fluids such as completion
brines, thus allowing reduced pump rates to circulate
proppant at the bottom of the screen and successfully pack
the entire horizontal open hole.
In this context, the ultra-lightweight proppants
(ULW) can span the operational pumping window to
perform the HOHGP more easily and safely. Two types of
ultra-lightweight proppants have been used for this
propose, one with a specific gravity of 1.25 g/cc or

Figure 1 Percent of HOHGP Performed by the local operator using ULW

proppants through last seven years.

SPE 150581

another one with specific gravity ranging from 1.75 to 1.90 g/cc, (ULW-1.25 and ULW-1.75 respectively).
By using them, most of the problems faced with conventional gravels have been overcome and the difficulties with Extended
Reach Wells (ERW), low fracture gradient, washout zones and fluid loss have been mitigated.
At the time of writing, the ultra-lightweight proppant had been successfully used by the local operator in 57 wells offshore
Brazil with horizontal extended reach sections. Figure 1 shows the percent of HOHGP pumped using conventional ceramic and
ULW proppants during the last seven years.
Based on these results, ULW proppant is a technology that can be used in wells with the most stringent conditions for
horizontal gravel pack placement: ultra-deep water depths, low fracture gradients, low API gravity oils, and horizontal extensions
greater than 4,000 ft.
Other approaches are available when these conditions are present. However, the use of ULW proppants in HOHGP operations
has shown to be the simplest and most effective way to pack the whole horizontal well and provide an efficient sand control.
2 Well Configuration and Completion
Usually fields in Campos and Espirito Santo Basins are developed with a minimum number of wells, some of them being
ERW. In order to reduce the number of casings, a slender well is usually drilled and completed. Generally a 30-in. conductor pipe
is jetted first (3 joints) and then a 17 1/2-in. riserless phase is drilled with seawater and cased with 13 3/8-in. (surface casing) to
1,000 1,200 ft below the mudline. Next, a 12 1/4-in. phase is drilled with synthetic oil base mud and then cased to the top of the
reservoir with 10 3/4-in. or 9 5/8-in. casing. Finally the horizontal open hole is drilled at 90 degrees to final depth with 8 1/2-in. or
9 1/2-in. and drill-in fluid (DIF). Finally, the DIF is replaced by the completion brine after the final horizontal extension is
reached. In sequence, the lower completion assembly is driven down in the well. Figure 2 shows a typical wellbore configuration.

Figure 2 Typical Wellbore Diagram.

The lower completion comprises an isolation packer and 13Cr premium screens. The gravel pack is executed with a special
horizontal single-trip tool system (HST). The HST system, shown in Figure 3, allows gravel packing and stimulation of the
horizontal well in a single trip, to save rig time and reduce the potential for fluid loss to the formation. Available for a wide range
of applications, the system maintains well hydrostatic pressure, prevents pressure surges on the formation (positive ball seats), and
allows selective stimulation or cleanup of the sand-controlled region. This tool has been widely used by the local operator to
complete horizontal wells, especially where stimulation is needed and flowback is not available to break down the filter cake.

Figure 3 Horizontal single-trip completion system operation schematic.

SPE 150581

3 - Lightweight Proppant Technology

Horizontal gravel packs around the world typically employ natural gravels or conventional ceramic proppants, which are
pumped using a viscosified fluid, such as a linear gel or crosslinked gel, or unviscosified fluid like completion brines, to achieve
the well-known alpha/beta wave sequence. As operators push the limits of horizontal openhole interval lengths, especially in
formations with low fracture gradients, it may become technically difficult or economically unfeasible to perform the gravel pack
with conventional fluids and gravels. Longer horizontal openhole wells rises the pressure losses in lower completion assembly and
may require that HOHGP operation to be pumped at lower rate, which on the other hand can result in excessive settling and
eventually plugging. For this scenario, ULW proppant technology was introduced to pack horizontal wells.
When using conventional proppants, the challenge involves the large specific gravity difference between the proppant and the
completion brine, which drags the gravel to settle on the lower side of the hole. If too much gravel settles, the risk increases for
generating a gravel plug, which would leave a void in the completion from the plug to the toe, resulting in failed sand control. That
possibility may be higher in deepwater wells due the extreme conditions including longer horizontal intervals, low formation
fracture gradients, washed-out zones, severe fluid leakoff and the presence of a rat hole.
One approach to address this challenge includes providing an alternate path for the proppant slurry flow if a gravel plug is
formed. However, this solution increases the completion cost by adding special screens, and reduces the completion ID to
accommodate the alternate path through these screens.
An alternative approach that has been applied offshore Brazil is to pump ULW proppants, which allow significant reductions in
pumping rate (to avoid fracturing the formation) without risking premature settling and screen-out (exceding the maximum dune
ratio). As such, the ULW proppant technology allows longer wells to be packed. Because ULW gravels have a small difference in
density compared with the completion brine, there is low to no settling.
This new technology can economically overcome most of the problems associated with HOHGP in offshore operations, such as
extended-reach wells, low fracture gradients and deepwater operations.
4 - Extending Operational Pumping Window
The operational pumping window (safe zone) for HOHGP is defined as the gap between the minimum rate (rate which 85%
dune ratio is achieved) and maximum rate (rate when formation fracturing pressure is achieved) to perform the job (see Figure 4).

Qmin

Qmax
Safe OHGP Zone

Premature
Bridging
Zone

Fracturing
Zone

Figure 4 HOHGP Operation Pumping Window.

The back pressures applied to the formation during HOHGP execution are the pressure drop across the washpipe, the crossover
tool (XO), the casing annulus and mainly the fluid filtration through the screen/washpipe. The first and instinctive way to reduce
pumping pressure is to reduce the pumping rate. Although it seems to be a generic solution, reducing the pump rate also reduces

SPE 150581

the proppant transport velocity, creating a higher alpha wave. Reducing proppant transport velocity increases the chance of a
premature screenout, especially in offshore wells due to the rat hole.
The rat hole is a small section, normally 15 to 30 ft long, in which the diameter is greater than the openhole diameter. The rat
hole is located immediately after the last casing and has diameter equal to the bit size of the previous phase, generally 12 -in. for
wells offshore Brazil. During the alpha-beta process, for a given rate, the slurry velocity in the rat hole is smaller than the velocity
in the open hole due to the bigger diameter found in that well section. The reduction in proppant transport velocity increases the
risk of premature screen out at the end of the rat hole. In addition, the eddy effect can cause a screenout inside the open hole. After
the turbulence of the rat hole/openhole interface (significantly diameter change), a big dune is deposited, as shown in Figure 5.
For that reason, decreasing the rate in order to reduce the pumping pressure can dangerously increase the dune height, especially
near or in the rat hole.

Figure 5 Alpha wave development through the rat hole.

The ultra-lightweight proppants allow lower pump rates to achieve the same dune height when compared to conventional
proppants. Because the pressure drops are proportional to the square of the pump rate, reducing the pump rate can significantly
reduce the pressure drop. The possibility of pumping HOHGPs at low rates increases the length of the horizontal section that can
be packed and allows packing of wells with low fracture gradients, eliminating the need for expensive mechanical devices.
5 - ULW Proppants
Ultra-lightweight proppants have been employed extensively for gravel packing and hydraulic fracturing jobs for a decade.
Development of the proppants was directly related to development of deformable particles for sand flowback control in fracturing.
Researchers efforts yielded new materials with desirable properties such as significantly lower density than conventional
proppants and compressive strength more than sufficient for most hydraulic fracturing and gravel pack applications.
Two avenues of ULW particle development research were traveled. The first avenue was a porous ceramic using novel resin
technology to coat the particle without invading the porosity effectively encapsulating the air within the porosity of the particle.
Encapsulating the air preserves the ultra-lightweight character of the particles; the resin coating significantly increases their
strength and crush resistance.
The second avenue traveled by researchers toward an even lighter particle was to find a resin-impregnated and then, coated,
cellulosic particle. The cellulosic substrate is sized, ground walnut hull, which due to be nearly neutrally buoyant in flowing
streams of carrier brines. Resin impregnation and coating enhance the particles strength beyond that afforded by the unaltered
walnut hulls alone.
5.1 - ULW-1.25
The ULW-1.25 is a resin-impregnated and coated, chemically modified walnut
hull. Particle size and a somewhat irregular shape work with the resin processing
to enable permeable proppant packs to stress environments as high as 8,000 psi
(Figure 6). The bulk density of the particle is 0.85 g/cm3, and the specific gravity
is 1.25.
The ULW-1.25 is a highly angular particle, which yields a high permeability at
low closure stresses and no fines produced as stress increases. Conductivity at
stress for 20/40 mesh ULW-1.25 is given in Table 1. The lightweight nature of the
ULW-1.25 yields a 2:1 width advantage over standard proppants: Large particles
result in better packing and conductivity
Figure 6 - Picture showing the angularity of the ULW-1.25.

SPE 150581

Table 1 Conductivity and Permeability of 20/40 mesh ULW-1.25 Proppant at 1 lb/ft .

The first offshore Brazil well gravel-packed with ultra-lightweight proppant used ULW-1.25 and was packed in 2005. From
2005 through 2011, 11 other wells have been gravel-packed using exclusively with the ULW-1.25.

5.2 - ULW- 1.75

The ULW-1.75 is a porous ceramic particle with roundness and sphericity common to conventional ceramic proppants, as
shown Figure 7. Resin chemistry and processing technology have been developed to coat the particles, protecting the porosity
from fluid invasion. If the resin coating or carrier fluids penetrate the porosity of the particle, the density would increase and the
particle would lose its low-density properties. The bulk density of ULW-1.75 ranges from 1.10 to 1.15 g/cm3 and the specific
gravity from 1.75 to 1.90.

Figure 7 - Picture showing the sphericity of the ULW-1.75.

Conductivity at stress for 20/40 mesh ULW-1.75 is given in Table 2. The increased sphericity and roundness provide the high
proppant pack porosity, translating to increased permeability at higher stresses with little regard for the effects of temperature. The
porosity encapsulated by the coating resin yields 35% less weight than regular ceramic proppants, and the entrapped air within the
pores increases buoyancy.

Table 2 Conductivity and Permeability of 20/40 ULW-1.75 Proppant at 1 pound per ft .

Looking exclusively from the standpoint of the conductivity of a gravel pack, the effective stress acting on the proppant is
crucial in choosing the best ULW technology to be applied. In comparing Tables 1 and 2, its clear that to pack wells under low
effective stress (about 1,000 psi) the ULW-1.25 conductivity of 5,388 mD-ft is the better choice. For wells under higher effective
stress (>2,000 psi), the ULW-1.75 package provides higher conductivity and may be the better choice.

SPE 150581

The first gravel pack pumped using the ULW-1.75 was performed in the late 2007. Because of its sphericity and roundness
attributes as well as its better performance in the high-effective stresses commonly found in reservoirs offshore Brazil, the ULW1.75 has been pumped more than the ULW-1.25 over the last few years. By the end of 2011, 40 more wells have been packed
using exclusively ULW-1.75.
6 - Combined Package
Due to the different friction when pumping alpha and beta wave, same mesh proppants with different specific gravities can be
used to pack each wave. The beta wave sees higher friction than the alpha wave, so a lighter proppant may provide some
advantage in the beta wave. The lighter proppant also has lower tendency to settle and allows further reduction in the pump rate
during the beta wave with minimial risk of generating a proppant plug.
Fluid transport mechanisms show that lighter particles fall or settle more slowly than heavier particles. Static particle settling
evaluations were conducted in fresh water to determine the differences in settling rate between conventional proppants and the
ULW particles. Median sized 20/40 mesh particles of each proppant were used for the evaluation. Stokes law (presented by the
equation below) calculations giving the fall velocity in ft/minute are presented in Table 3.

v = 1.15 x 103 (d2prop / fluid) (SG prop SG fluid)

Where velocity (v) is in ft/min., diameter (d) is the average particle diameter and is fluid viscosity in centipoise.

Table 3 Static settling rates for various proppants as derived by Stokes law.

As shown above, the static settling velocity of ULW-1.25 particles was 75% lower than the settling rate for the conventional
ceramics and 62% lower than the settling rate for the ULW-1.75. Intuitively, pumping ULW-1.25 during the beta wave can
drastically reduce the settling velocity, allowing lower rates to transport the proppant without risk of plugging in the proppant path.
The lower settling velocity of ULW proppant is especially valuable to avoid settling in some narrowing zones that may be
present in the proppant path. These narrow regions are frequently found in wells with shale zones isolated by reactive packer
and/or mechanical ECPs. In such scenarios, the gravel pack should be pumped at the maximum possible rate, to avoid proppant
settling in the narrowing regions.

SPE 150581

7 - Case Histories
7.1 - Case History #1 (ULW-1.25)
One application of the ULW-1.25 in HOHGP is described in the
first case history. The job was initially planned to be performed using
a conventional ceramic proppant; however, during the circulation test
there was a severe fluid loss. Performing the HOHGP in such a
situation using the conventional proppant could compromise the
operation since the equivalent rate at the open hole was very low due
to the leakoff. To overcome this problem, the local operator decided
to use ULW-1.25, which expanded the operational pumping window,
allowing a successful operation.
The well was drilled to a total depth of 13,073 ft. The horizontal
section was 2,312 ft long with an average of inclination of 90
degrees. The openhole caliper estimate was 9.0-in and water depth
4,327 ft. Reservoir permeability was approximatelly 2,000 mD and
porosity 30%.
Fracture gradient was 0.56 psi/ft, obtained from a leakoff test at
the 9 5/8-in. casing shoe. The reservoir pressure was 3,637 psi. As a
carrier fluid, a 9.2-ppg sodium chloride brine was used. Table 4
presents all the information for this well.
Table 4 Well Data, ULW 1.25 Case History.

7.1.1 - Circulation Test

A circulation test was performed before the gravel pack in order to determine the friction pressure and check the fluid returns.
The fluid returns were lower than the pumping rate, due to a severe fluid loss as shown in Table 5. As the leakoff rate was
increasing with pumping rate, performing the job at high rate would not significantly increase the equivalent rate into the open
hole. In this scenario, performing a gravel pack with a conventional proppant was not feasible due to the high settling at the low
rate that would occur in the open hole.

Table 5 Circulation Teste, ULW 1.25 Case History

Simulation showed that for a fluid loss of 30%, the alpha wave dune height for regular ceramic proppant (SG = 2.70) would be
approximately 92% if pumped at 4 bpm rate, i.e., above the 85% of dune height assumed to be the maximum ratio to successfully
perform the gravel pack. The alpha wave for the same leakoff and pump rate using ULW-1.25 was below the 85% dune height
limit. Figure 8 shows the simulated alpha wave heights for regular ceramic (left) and ULW-1.25 (right).

Figure 8 Simulated alpha wave dune heights for conventional ceramic proppant (left) and ULW-125 (right), at various leakoff percentages.

SPE 150581

7.1.2 - HOHGP Pumping

The job was successfully pumped using the ULW-1.25 at 1.0 ppa of proppant concentration at surface. The slurry pumping rate
was 4.0 bpm with a return rate of approximately 3.0 bpm. The surface pumping pressure dropped from 260 to 190 psi from the
beginning of the job until the proppant reached the crossover tool 63 minutes later, beginning the alpha wave propagation. During
the alpha wave propagation, the pressure slowly increased from 190 to 280 psi. The wavefront reached the bottom of the screen at
168 min to start the beta wave. The return rate increased to 3.8 bpm, and the pumping pressure increased from 280 to 560 psi over
the next 37 minutes. The increased return rate was attributed to the proppant pack covering the leakoff zone(s). After 205 minutes
elapsed time, the screenout occurred (4.2 bpm and 1773 psi) finishing the operation. A total of 30,400 lb of proppant were
pumped, and 8,900 lb were reversed out, leaving 21,500 lb packed in the openhole section, which is equivalent to 9.1-in. openhole
diameter. The total mass packed during the alpha wave was 15,450 lb, with 6,050 lb packed during the beta wave. Table 6 and
Figure 9 show data from the operation.

Table 6 HOHGP Design vs. Executed, ULW -1.25 Case History.

Figure 9 HOHGP Pumping/Surface Data, ULW-125 Case History

SPE 150581

7.2 - Case History #2 (ULW-1.75)

The job selected to describe one application of the ULW-1.75 was
performed on Jubarte field in the Espirito Santo basin. Before this well
was completed, several premature screenouts occurred when completing
wells in the Jubarte field; among other screenout prevention tactics,
measures, the operator decided try lightweight proppant technology in
the field.
The well was drilled to a total depth of 12,674 ft. The horizontal
section, with an average of 90o of inclination, consisted of 2,772 ft of
open hole from the last casing shoe. The openhole diameter was
estimated at 8.6 in. and the water depth 4,382 ft. Reservoir permeability
ranged from 100 to 1500 mD and porosity from 20 to 40%.
A leakoff test performed at the 10 3/4-in. shoe determined the
fracture gradient being 0.59 psi/ft. The reservoir pressure was 3,740 psi.
A 8.7-ppg sodium chloride brine was used as the gravel pack carrier
fluid. The fluid in the well before the gravel pack was a 9.2-ppg sodium
chloride brine.
A circulation test was performed before the job to determine the
friction pressure and verify fluid loss. At the planned pumping rate for
the job, no leakoff was experienced. Based on well, reservoir and
circulation test results, a final simulation was performed to determine
maximum pump rate and pumping pressure behavior. Table 7 presents
the complete information about reservoir and well completion.

Table 7 Well Data, ULW 1.75 Case History.

7.2.1 HOHGP Pumping

The job was successfully pumped with 1 ppa of proppant concentration at the surface. The surface treatment pressure dropped
from 1,403 to 1,229 psi from the beginning of the job until proppant reached the crossover tool after 17.7 minutes and the alpha
wave began. During 44 minutes of alpha wave propagation, the pumping pressure was stable. When beta wave started at 62 min
elapsed time, the pumping rate was 9.9 bpm and the pressure increase forced a reduction in rate in steps to 7.1 bpm. During the 58
minutes of beta wave propagation, the pumping pressure increased from 1,252 to 1,574 psi. The screenout ocurred after 120
minutes of elapsed time at 7.1 bpm and 2,016 psi. A total of 47,997 lb of proppant were pumped, and 1,694 lb were reversed out of
the well. A total of 46,303 lb were packed in the openhole section (equivalent to an 8.7-in. openhole diameter). The total mass
packed during the alpha wave was 25,240 lb, with 21,063 lb packed during the beta wave. Table 8 and Figure 10 show data from
the operation.

Table 8 HOHGP Design vs. Executed, ULW -1.75 Case History.

10

SPE 150581

Figure 10 HOHGP Pumping/Surface Data, ULW-1.75 Case History

7.3 - Case History #3 (Combined ULW-1.25 and ULW-1.75)

The job selected to describe one aplication of the
combined lightweight proppant package was performed
in the Albacora field, Campos basin. The job execution
combined ULW-1.75, pumped during the alpha wave
propagation, and ULW-1.25, pumped immediately after
the begining of beta wave propagation.
The well was drilled to a total depth of 11,352 ft. The
horizontal section was 2,608 ft long with an average of
90 degrees of inclination. The openhole diameter was
estimated at 9.0 in. and water depth at 1,237 ft. Reservoir
permeability was approximately 1,500 mD, and porosity
was 25%.
A leakoff test performed at the 9 5/8-in. shoe
determined the fracture gradient was 0.60 psi/ft. The
reservoir pressure was 3,065 psi. An 8.9-ppg sodium
chloride brine was used as the carrier fluid, replacing a
9.3-ppg sodium chloride brine.
To isolate a shale zone, one reactive packer and two
mechanical ECPs were placed in the lower completion
through the interval from 9,923 to 9,963 ft.
Table 9 Well Data, Combined ULW-1.25/ULW 1.75 Case History.

SPE 150581

11

The reactive packer and mechanical ECPs narrow the pathway of the proppant. The external diameter of the lower completion
in that zone was about 8 1/8 in. To avoid proppant settling in the narrow region which could result in a premature screen out or
impair the zone isolation, the job was planned to be pumped at the maximum possible rate without fracturing the formation, using
ULW-1.75. Finally, the operator decided to pump the ULW-1.25 during the beta wave to further improve performance.
The lower SG of ULW-1.25 results in a lighter slurry, reducing the hydrostatic pressure acting on the open hole. In an 8.9-ppg
sodium chloride brine, the slurry density is about 9.0 ppg for ULW-1.25 and 9.3 ppg for ULW-1.75. Lower hydrostatic pressure
allows higher rates during the beta wave propagation, or at least delays the need to reduce the pump rate. Maintaining the higher
rate reduces the settling velocity which is already lower for the ULW-1.25 because of its nearly neutral buoyancy in the brine
stream.
7.3.1 - Circulation Test
A circulation test was performed before the gravel pack in order to determine the friction pressure and check the fluid returns.
At pumping rates above 9.0 bpm, a small leakoff was observed, as shown in Table 9. Based on well, reservoir and circulation test
results, a final simulation was performed to determine the maximum pumping rate and pressure behavior during the job. The
maximum pumping rate was fixed in 9.0 bpm based on the simulation of a job completed using ULW-1.75, which represents the
critical situation.

Table 10 Circulation Test, ULW-1.75 Case History

7.3.2 - HOHGP Pumping

The job was successfully pumped with 1 ppa of proppant concentration at surface. The surface pumping pressure dropped from
1,202 to 835 psi from the beginning of the job until the proppant reach the crossover tool after 33 minutes and the alpha wave
began. During the 47 minutes of alpha wave propagation, the pumping pressure decreased from 835 to 684 psi. The pressure
reduction during the alpha wave can be attributed to the density difference between the fluid in the well and the carrier fluid.
When the beta wave began at 80 min elapsed time, the pumping rate was 8.9 bpm. When the pumping pressure began to increase
rapidly, the rate was reduced to 8.5 bpm, which was mantained until the screenout. During the 38 minutes of beta wave
propagation, pumping pressure rose from 684 to 1,080 psi. The screenout occurred at 118 minutes of elapsed time (8.5 bpm and
1,482 psi. A total of 36,521 lb of proppant were pumped, with 7,310 lb reversed out of the well. A total of 29,211 lb were placed in
the openhole section: 22,496 lb of ULW-1.75 pumped during alpha wave, and 6,725 lb of ULW-1.25 pumped after the beginning
of the beta wave propagation. Figure 11 shows data from the operation.

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Figure 11 HOHGP Pumping/Surface Data, Combined ULW-1.25/ULW-1.75 Case History.

8 - Conclusions
1 The use of ULW proppants has proven to be an effective approach to pack long horizontal openhole sections in more than 50
wells completed offshore Brazil.
2 - The ULW-1.25 was introduced in Brazil in 2005 and has been applied successfully to gravel pack wells under extreme
conditions such as low fracture gradient, severe fluid loss and washed out zones;
3 The ULW-1.75 was introduced in Brazil in 2007 and has largely replaced ULW-1.25 in recent years for gravel packing wells
under extreme conditions due its sphericity and roundness attributes;
4 - A combined package comprising ULW-1.75 during the alpha wave and ULW-1.25 during the beta wave is an advantage
because the lighter proppant reduces the settling velocity during beta wave allowing lower rates;
5 - Considering only conductivity of the gravel pack, the ULW-1.25 may be the best choice to pack wells under low (about 1,000
psi) effective stress, with the ULW-1.75 better for wells under higher effective stress (> 2,000 psi);
6 - The ULW proppants are the technology of choice of the local operator offshore Brazil and have become a trend to overcome
most of the problems associated with HOHGP in offshore operations.
7 Although there are several approaches to provide a successful HOHGP execution, the ULW proppant is the simplest and most
cost effective.

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13

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the management of Petrobras and Baker Hughes for the permission to publish this paper.
Nomenclature
BPM =

Barrels per Minute

DIF =

Drill-in Fluid

ERW =

Extended Reach Well

FT =

Feet

HOHGP =

Horizontal Open Hole Gravel Pack

HST System =

Horizontal Single Trip System

ID =

Internal Diameter

LBM =

Pounds

PSI =

Pounds per Square Inch

SG =

Specific Gravity

STP =

Surface Treating Pressure

ULW =

Ultra-Lightweight Proppant

XO =

Cross Over Tool

ECP =

External Casing Packer

SI Metric Conversion Factors

Bbl

cP

Lbm

mD

Ft

In

Psi

1.589 873 E 01 = m3
1.0* E 03 = Pa . s
4.535 E-01 = kg
9.869 233 E 04 = m2
3.048* E 02 = m
2.54* E +012 = mm
6.894 757 E + 00 = kPa

*Conversions factors are exact

References
1.

2.

3.
4.

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Horizontal Gravel Pack Technology, paper SPE 94945 presented at SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering
Conference held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 23 June 2005.

14

SPE 150581

5.

Carlos A. Pedroso, SPE; Eduardo Sanches, Nilvan Oliveira, Lucia Fernandes (Petrobras); Ian J. Mickelburgh, SPE; Guelber
Schumacker (Schlumberger): New Solutions To Extend the Application Window of Horizontal Openhole Gravel Packing, paper SPE
96257-PP presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., 9 - 12 October

6.

7.

2005.
William D. Wood, SPE, Harold D. Brannon, SPE, Allan R. Rickards, SPE, Chris Stephenson, SPE;BJ Services Company:
Ultra-Lightweight Proppant Development Yield Exciting New Opportunities in Hydraulic Fracturing Design, paper
SPE 84309 presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., 5-8 October
2003.
Allan R. Rickards, BJ Services, Harold D. Brannon, BJ Services, William D. Wood, BJ Services, Christopher J. Stephenson, BJ
Services, Members SPE: High Strength, Ultra-Lightweight Proppant Lends New Dimensions to Hydraulic Fracturing Applications,
paper SPE 84308 presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., 5-8

October 2003.