Monitoring of Sand Concentration in Some Oil Wells in the Niger Delta Area of Nigeria

The quantity of sand from five oil wells A, B, C, D, and E were determined by Sieving process. 20 Liters of crude oil from each of the wells were separated into five 5-liter poly cans with each poly can containing 4 liters of crude samples, 1-liter petroleum ether and 1 ml demulsifier. Crude oil samples from each well were sieved with a 70-mesh size (106 μm size) sieve to recover sand particles. This process was carried out for each of the wells for eight (8) consecutive days and wells were allowed a period of rest for three (3) months. The process was then repeated for another eight (8) consecutive days. Results obtained after sixteen (16) days of analyses show that the quantity of sand produced from each of these wells follow the trend E C A B D. Results obtained for the % increase in sand produced from wells A, B, C, D, and E were; 9.434, 12.180, 20.440, 20.000 and 20.000 % respectively. Results obtained from the extrapolated sand produced from wells A, B, C, D, and E with respect to their daily crude oil production were: 210,278.000, 85,800.000, 411,711.000, 17,150.000 and 577,500.000 g respectively.