Abstract:  
Reservoirs requiring sand control is growing at a fast pace in the oil industry.  Fluids play an important role in successful design, execution, and performance of sand control completions.  Due diligence is required in developing and selecting appropriate fluid otherwise it could result in completion failure.  In deepwater environment, failure is not an option otherwise the cost associated can be very high.

There has been significant development in fluid technology to address challenges in both cased and open-hole completions.  The fluids used in cased hole are very different in terms of chemistry plus properties when compared to those used in open-hole.  Following are the objectives of this lecture:
• Familiarize audience with key fluid technologies
• Discuss benefits and limitations – technically supported by data
• Review development processes
• Demonstrate success with the aid of case histories
• Identify technology gaps


Biography:  
Bala Gadiyar is a Principal Engineer at Schlumberger, based in Houston, Texas. He has 14 years of industry experience out of which 12 years have been in sand control.  His expertise is in the area of sand control fluids and pumping.  He has published 20 SPE papers and is actively involved in many SPE events and organizing committees.  Bala has six US patents and eleven US pending applications most of which are related to sand control fluids.  He holds a BS degree from University of Pune, India, MS and PhD degrees from University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, USA, all in petroleum engineering.