Innovative methods for improvement of production efficiency at wells with sand production: Technological metrics and their role

Sand production in production and injection wells is a critical factor that reduces productivity and operational reliability, necessitating innovative control methods. The study aimed to develop a scientific basis for improving the production efficiency of wells prone to sand production using innovative sand control techniques and a system of key performance indicators for their implementation, using typical offshore production conditions as an example. The work uses numerical modelling, scenario analysis using long-short-term memory algorithms and recurrent blocks with controlled updating, simulation of processes in a digital twin of the well, and verification of the results according to American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 14E and ISO 17824:2009 standards. The study determined that the implementation of intelligent monitoring systems increases the accuracy of sand detection from 65% to 85% and reduces the number of missed events by 40% compared to threshold schemes. The average operating time of a well without particle removal increased by almost 1.5 times, and specific operating costs decreased by 20%. Practical “before/after” cases have shown that limiting depression in combination with modernising the filtration system increases operational stability (increasing sand-free time from ~45% to ~70%), while controlled pumping with chemical stabilisation reduces the skin factor from ~6 to ~2.5 with a 12-15% increase in productivity. The results demonstrate that the integration of digital twins, predictive analytics algorithms, and combined physical and chemical methods forms a new paradigm for sand control. This ensures coordinated growth in productivity, reliability and environmental sustainability, confirming the strategic potential of digital transformation in the oil and gas industry