Gravel Packing

Gravel packing is a sand-control strategy that is used to avoid the creation of sand. Gravel packing, like hydraulic fracturing, is utilized at considerably lower pressures. Formation sand is created by the disintegration of formations around wells. This is especially common in sandstone, limestone, and other related rock formations. The primary purpose of gravel packing is to stabilize the formation and keep the well productive.

During this process, a steel screen is installed in the well, and the well is subsequently filled with gravel of a certain size to prevent formation sand from passing through. A slurry of correctly sized gravel, water, and different chemicals must be pumped between the casing's slotted liner and the wellbore.