An apparatus and a method for controlling sand production from an oil well. A sand rate comparison value determined at a given oil production rate is used to control the oil production rate by controlling the choke to set the oil production rate to a set production rate corresponding to the oil production rate. The sand rate comparison value is used to confirm that the measured reduced sand flow rate, at that given oil production rate, is below the allowable sand rate (ASR). Since the oil production rate is associated with the sand rate, the sand rate comparison value is used to control the sand rate, by being used to control the oil production rate, and so the sand rate comparison value functions as, and therefore typically comprises, or is, a sand rate control parameter.