The Completion

ChallengeModeling
Potential Well Solutions

Advanced completion, or smart-well, technology

is set to play a key role in the development and
management of oil and gas fields. Today, the
exploration and production industry faces oil-price
fluctuations and increasingly hostile operating
environments. Smart-well technology is helping
operators in the Middle East and Asia to meet these
challenges. In this article, Mustafa Sengul of Saudi
Aramco, Burak Yeten of ChevronTexaco and Fikri
Kuchuk of Schlumberger outline the value of
multilateral techniques and examine how detailed
modeling of possible multilateral strategies can help
asset teams to optimize field development.
 dvanced completion can be 12,000 shorter lateral branches may prove to
A defined as using technologies that
include monitoring and controlling
Africa
Asia
North America
Western Europe
be more cost-efficient than producing
the same reservoir section through
10,000
Australasia Others
well and reservoir performance Latin America a single, longer horizontal borehole
without having to deploy a rig or mast 8,000 because spreading the production

to alter the physical configuration of
the well. This capability, and the
strategy of minimum intervention
that it makes possible, can reduce the
economic, health, safety, environment
risks associated with hydrocarbon
production.
When combined with multilateral
wells, advanced completions allow the
asset team to manage the reservoir
more effectively and increase the
production and recovery rates. The
exploration and production industry
has always understood how to
optimize economic value through
active management of the reservoir.
But, until now, market conditions
have never provided the impetus for
implementation. Technology is a key
element in the advanced completion
story, but it is the need to overcome
USD million
inflow across two or more laterals
6,000 reduces the frictional pressure losses
during production.
4,000 When a multilateral approach
has been selected for reservoir
2,000 development, the key challenges
facing the asset team are placing
0 the laterals accurately within the
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 productive zones and controlling the
Year flow of reservoir fluids to maximize
production and recovery rates.
Figure 1.1: Expenditure on deepwater exploration and production projects shows a rising trend for Emerging advanced completion
many areas of the world as easily recoverable reserves become harder to find. technologies allow asset managers to
optimize reservoir performance in real
time, and these powerful techniques
Accelerated and optimized field development
look set to dominate the management
of multilateral reservoirs for years
Conventional field development
to come. Advanced completions
offer unrivalled flexibility and
responsiveness, but, in this approach,
Advanced well completions operators must perform a costbenefit
Production

new economic challenges that has
driven the industry toward the
advanced completion concept.
In many parts of the world, easily
recoverable reserves are becoming
harder to find. For the operators who
are aiming to replace their depleting
assets and meet future demand,
the challenge is to explore deeper
reservoir formations, many of
which are in deepwater plays or
geographically remote locations,
with relatively small hydrocarbon
reservoirs (Figure 1.1). The whole
process of asset management will
have to change if these projects are
to be economically viable.
Conventional completion
techniques tend to result in delayed
production and lower net present
value (NPV). Oil and gas operators
want to accelerate production and
so secure economic benefits as soon
as possible (Figure 1.2). As a wells
life cycle progresses, numerous
interventions for data collection, a key
part of the reservoir characterization
process, and subsequent closure or
opening of new reservoir zones will
be required. In some cases, these
interventions can be the largest
single cost in the life of a well. Well-
Number 5, 2004
Early production facilities
High-resolution
seismic data
Figure 1.2: Advanced completion technology helps to accelerate production and increase recovery
levels, thereby helping to secure economic benefits as soon as possible.
normal completions, but in new and
remote subsea plays, intervention
needs can be so demanding that the
field becomes uneconomic.
These factors define the arena in
which advanced completions must
operate: they have to be able to
accelerate production; reduce the
need for well intervention, particularly
downhole; and deal with the geological
complexity and uncertainty of new or
remote subsea fields.
Advanced completions deliver
flexibility in production management
that allows operators to fine-tune
production from each well and so
achieve optimal depletion. This and
Conventional
completion
technology
Traditional field
development
Conventional
seismic data
Time
number of interventions should reduce
costs and boost NPV. In addition,
operators may also reduce well risks
through eliminating difficult well
operations that could compromise
well integrityand improve safety
performance levels by removing
personnel from those operations.
The value of multilaterals
Multilateral completions increase
productivity by penetrating more
of the reservoir than a single-bore
vertical or horizontal well (Figure 1.3).
Multilateral wells allow higher flow
rates at lower pressure drops. In
analysis on a field-by-field basis.
Advanced completion technologies
allow operators to reconfigure
well architecture at will and to
acquire real-time data without well
intervention. However, there are
additional benefits that can be gained
from remote monitoring and control
of a well. For example, operators can
optimize reserves by choking zones
with high gas/oil and water/oil ratios
eliminate intervention, which
removes the risk of losing the well
and reduces operating expenditure
minimize health, safety, and
environment risks
acquire more accurate data that
will facilitate informed decision
making earlier in an assets life
optimize surface facilities and so
reduce capital expenditure.
The information gathered by smart
wells provides a clearer image of the
asset. When improved understanding is
reached early in a reservoirs life cycle,
the operator will reap greater rewards
from the application of that knowledge.
Figure 1.3: Carefully planned multilateral completions increase productivity
by penetrating more of the reservoir than single-bore vertical (top) or
geometrically steered horizontal (middle) wells. Multilateral wells (bottom)
are cost-effective and increase total recovery.

Number 5, 2004
intervention costs are significant in the accompanying reduction in the certain situations, producing through

6 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review 7
 Marginal field exploitation
Advanced completion technology may
also help operators to develop marginal
fields. Minimal water production,
coupled with the high oil-recovery rates
that are possible with an advanced
completion, makes the technology a
natural choice for small or isolated oil
accumulations (Figure 1.4).
In the future, permanent reservoir
monitoring will continue to expand its
applications, and production control will
become a standard part of completions.
There will also be more integration
between downhole technology and field
management software. This means
much greater field automation.
Downhole oilwater separation
systems (Figure 1.5) enable engineers
to separate produced fluids in the
well. This separation results in an oil-
rich stream being brought to surface,
with the separated production water
being reinjected. These systems will
accelerate production, increase the
recoverable reserves, and offer
Figure 1.4: Advanced completion technology is the natural choice for small or isolated oil
Number 5, 2004
accumulations because of its tight control of water production coupled with high oil-recovery rates.
8 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review
environmental advantages such as
energy savings and smaller topside
processing facilities.
Autonomous actuation of control
devices in response to changes in
water quality, injection pressure,
or inflow water cut will improve
the reliability of separation systems
and enable operators to schedule
maintenance by predicting the time
to failure using output from the
condition-monitoring sensors.
Reservoir management
Advanced completion technology has
many potential applications. The most
pressing need identified by the industry
is minimizing the costs of the intrusive
interventions that are required to
prevent water breakthrough and sand
influx problems.
In the longer term, the ability
to make real-time decisions for all
surface and subsurface activities
is the key to optimizing reservoir
management, and advanced
completions will play a central role.
Advanced completions will be
particularly useful for water flow
control in horizontal injectors;
monitoring and control of electrical
submersible pumps (ESP); intelligent
gas lifting; multilaterals and the
solution to crossflow; and intelligent
data analysis and control.
Until recently, the main impediments
to the adoption of advanced completion
technology were concerns about the
reliability of intelligent completions and
their lack of track record. To overcome
these obstacles, Schlumberger has
worked to prove and improve the
reliability of its systems at every stage
in their development. The company has
adopted build on what you know as
its guiding design principle and has
developed new systems from proven
technologies.
At the strategic level, this has
involved identifying and clarifying
the risks, and undertaking
experimentation, testing, and
reliability monitoring and analysis,
Surface Downhole
separation separation
Producer Injector Autoinjector
Pressure
maintenance
Figure 1.5: Downhole oilwater separation
systems reduce the scale of surface facilities.
before carrying out integration testing
and installation trials. This work has
shown that there is no single solution
for reliability testing. Engineers need
to combine knowledge from field
experiments, laboratory tests, failed-
equipment postmortems, and
mathematical analyses in their quest
for improved reliability.
Making knowledge work
The range of sensors and
measurement devices that can be
fitted in wells is expanding rapidly.
These systems provide data on
reservoir pressure, temperature, flow
rate, and even fluid composition. And,
when the well features inflow control
valves and chokes, data transmitted to
surface can be translated into direct
corrective action. This process-control
loop allows engineers to optimize well
performance and, by extension, the
performance of entire fields. Data
gathered can be used to continuously
update field models so that asset
teams can make informed decisions
in every phase of field development.
Evaluating advanced well
completions in Ghawar field
Saudi Aramco has conducted an
evaluation study on the potential
benefits of deploying and utilizing
advanced completion technology within
the Arab-D formation of the Ghawar
reservoir (Figure 1.6). The study
focused on the flanks of the reservoir
where the remaining dry oil column is
less than 40-ft thick. The aim was to
explore the applicability and efficiency
of advanced completion as a method
for producing the remaining oil.
Qatar
Ghawar
field
Saudi Arabia
Well control optimization
A typical advanced completion well,
with control and monitoring devices
installed, divides the wellbore into
several independent branches
(Figure 1.7). The ultimate aim of this
approach is to balance the inflow
rates for each branch and, thus,
maximize oil production. The main
objectives of any well optimization
study are to determine how many
downhole flow control valves are
required and where they should
be placed, and then to develop the
optimum scheduling for their use
in fluid control operations.
Packer
Liner
Valve
Tubing
each layer and allow the reservoir engineer to
control production rates to minimize water influx.
Figure 1.6: A detailed
completion simulation
project was conducted
in part of Saudi
The Gulf Arabias Ghawar field.
The number and the location of
the control devices are influenced by
reservoir heterogeneity, particularly
faults, fractures, and boundary
conditions. Engineers can estimate
the number and the location of the
valves needed in the wellbore by using
reservoir connectivity information,
which can be derived from reservoir
characterization. Reservoir sections
with high flow ratesthose dominated
by stratiform super-permeability
(super-K) features or fractureswill
lead to high inflow for a particular
segment of the well.
Where the well intersects one or
more super-K layers, engineers will
Figure 1.7: This
schematic of a smart well
shows how fluids from three
separate zones are brought together
in the tubing. Valves control the inflow from
Number 5, 2004
Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review 9
 have to equilibrate or reallocate the 5500ft
inflow along the wellbore to avoid
or delay coning and/or cusping of
5560ft
the driving fluids. Under these
circumstances, advanced completions
5600ft
can help to achieve balanced and
efficient reservoir depletion. Another
approach might involve cycling
production from different segments Water support
of the well to control the rise of the Figure 1.11: The detailed permeability
water/oil contact (WOC). distributions and the thin layers that represent
Fractures have a significant effect on the stratiform super-K features are shown in a
flow rates in Ghawar, and the number cross section through the simulation model.
of fractures that intersect the well and
their location will determine how many
valves are required to control flow
and where they should be located.
2000
Downhole control valves should be Vertical well 1
placed at strategic locations, and their 1800 Vertical well 2
1600 Vertical well 3
real-time monitoring capabilities used

Oil production rate (STB/D)

to evaluate optimum settings.
Ghawar field is highly heterogeneous,
so it may be necessary to deploy a
control device for each branch within
any multilateral well. This would
ensure that the asset-management
team could retain flexibility in
production allocation regardless of
reservoir heterogeneity. At present,
multilateral technology does not offer
tubing or liner completions within the
branches (except in the case of Level 6
multilateral wells) so valves should
be deployed on the main trunk.
In the evaluation study, Saudi
Aramco wanted to explore the
potential benefits of applying smart-
well technology. The project team
Figure 1.9: A three-dimensional view of
the conceptual simulation model. The red blocks
indicate oil, blue blocks water, and the blocks in between the
transition zone between oil and water. The model consists of a
Number 5, 2004
Figure 1.8: ECLIPSE reservoir simulation software was used to model the performance of flow
control devices in the Ghawar study area.
generated a multisegment well model
using ECLIPSE* reservoir simulation
software and used this model to model
the flow control devices (Figure 1.8).
To establish the relative value of
multilaterals, the study team compared
three different well options: a set of
three vertical wells; a horizontal well;
and a three-branched multilateral
(trilateral) well. The horizontal and
trilateral wells were modeled as
advanced completions. The team
developed a three-dimensional model
that captured the approximate
existing oil and water distributions
and the location of the oil/water
transition zone (Figure 1.9).
Ghawar is a carbonate reservoir
with stratiform super-K layers and
fractures. Although the matrix in the
upper zones has good permeability and
makes significant contribution to fluid
flow, the fractures and the stratiform
super-K layers, where present, provide
the most efficient fluid flow paths
within the reservoir (Figure 1.10).
Stratiform super-K layers
Fracture layers
Figure 1.10: The orientation of fractures and
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 200
Figure 1.12: Vertical well performance over the course of the simulated
production period. Well 2 watered out before the end of the simulation
period. Well 3, located furthest from the fractures, delivered the highest
production rates throughout.
A cross section through the
simulation model shows detailed
permeability distributions and the thin
layers that represent the stratiform
super-K features (Figure 1.11). The
WOC is set at 5560 ft and the
structural high is seen at 5500 ft. The
reservoir units dip gently to the east,
with peripheral injection and a weak
aquifer providing pressure support to
the model from the east. Porosity and
thickness values are represented as
being homogeneous within each layer.
The stratiform super-K layers are
2-ft thick. The average oil column is
around 40-ft thick. The model included
the Arab-D zones 1 and 2: generally,
zone 2 has much better porosity and
permeability than zone 1.
400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
Time (days)
Well options
For the horizontal and multilateral
options, the study also examined the
potential benefits of using advanced
completion technology. An ECLIPSE
multisegment well model was used to
evaluate the pressure drops within
the horizontal well and in the laterals.
Vertical wells
The first option used three vertical
wells. The performance of each well
(Figure 1.12) is directly influenced by
its proximity to the fractures within
the reservoir (Figure 1.13).
The wells were located 1600-ft
apart. The lowest completions in
the wells were situated immediately
above the water/oil transition zone.
Vertical well 1
Vertical well 2
Vertical well 3
Figure 1.13: Plan view of the vertical well
positions showing fracture locations and
orientations.
Each well was allocated to produce
2000 STB of liquid and was set a
constraint of 250 psi of tubinghead
pressure. During the simulations,
any completion where water cut
exceeded 65% was automatically
worked over and its production shut
off by the simulator.
Vertical wells 1 and 2 required
several workover operations. Well 2
watered out before the end of the
simulation period because it was very
close to a fracture, whereas well 3,
which required no workovers and
produced steadily, was located far
away from the fractures.
For the vertical wells, the
cumulative oil production after 1800
days of simulation was 4.37 MMSTB
a recovery of 24%.

Number 5, 2004
25 33 10 grid. The movable oil originally in place is estimated at 18 MMSTB. stratiform super-K layers on the simulation grid.

10 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review 11
 Horizontal well installed at the heel of the well and a The standard horizontal well, which early stages before water broke 4000 Branch A

Branch oil production rate (STB/D)

The next option was a single
horizontal well about 1-km long
and intersecting both fractures
(Figure 1.14). In the simulation,
the well was not completed at the
fracture; this followed current field
practice. Selective perforation was
applied whenever possible, especially
in thin oil zones. Selective perforation
requires a liner, as do advanced
completions. However, by not
completing the horizontal well at or
around the fractures, the detrimental
effects of fractures (such as
accelerated water breakthrough)
are greatly reduced.
As it had been decided not to
packer placed close to the midpoint
(Figure 1.15). The left branch of the
packer had a liner completion, while
the right branch had a tubing
completion that was required for
the flow control device. The well was
then ready for cycling, which simply
involved opening and closing the
valve for set time periods so that
production alternated between the
heel and the toe of the well. This was
done to test whether water moving
through the matrix might recede from
the areas around the choked branch.
It was hoped that this approach
would help to reduce water cut and
so increase recovery. However, high
matrix permeability in zone 2A
was not completed at and around the through. The greater length of Branch B
fractures, produced 5.74 MMSTB of branch C, which it was believed might 3000 Branch C
oila recovery of 32%. boost oil rates, had little effect on
production.
Multilateral well 2000
Plots of water cut for each branch
The third option considered in (Figure 1.18) indicated that the water
the study was a trilateral well with content in branch C barely reached 1000
the laterals positioned so as to 10%, while the other branches
be consistent with previous well watered out early. Water built up 0
configurations. All three laterals quickly in them and reduced the 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
and the main trunk were horizontal overall oil production. Time (days)
(Figure 1.16). Production from the trilateral well, Figure 1.17: Oil-production profiles without smart control.
The first simulation for this without smart control, amounted to
configuration was performed without 6.16 MMSTB of oila recovery of 34%.
advanced completion technology.
Figure 1.17 shows the oil production
Trilateral well with 0.8
profiles for individual branches. The advanced completion 0.7
6-MMSTB production target was The next step was to transform the 0.6

Branch water cut

complete within the fractures, there
was almost no potential application
for an advanced completion in the
horizontal well. There was no
preferential coning tendency, nor an
obvious path for water breakthrough.
However, to test the technology,
a single flow control device was
Branch A
prevented this technique from distributed unequally among them and well into an advanced completion unit 0.5
working efficiently. When a side was resulted in imbalanced production. by deploying control devices. Three Branch B
0.4
choked, the water did not recede, but Branch A, which was closer to the valves were installed, one for each 0.3 Branch C
moved quickly to the open branch heel of the well, tended to pull more lateral, on the tubing within the main
0.2
through the highly permeable matrix. than the other branches because of trunk to act as gates to the main
0.1
Cycling was more effective, but the pressure losses along the main trunk. trunk. Altering the closure of each
0.0
incremental recovery obtained was Branch B produced significantly more gate controlled the flow. Each lateral 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
little more than 1%. than branch C, especially during the was an openhole completion and had Time (days)
its own branch within the main trunk
as a result of separation provided by Figure 1.18: Water-cut profiles without smart control.
the packers.
Well
Well
A
A An algorithm was developed to
determine the optimum closure of 6000 Branch A

Branch oil production rate (STB/D)

the valves at various time steps, Branch B
thereby maximizing the cumulative 5000
B
B Branch C
oil production. 4000
With optimized valve settings, the
oil-production profiles showed that 3000

C more production was allocated to 2000

Figure 1.14: Areal view of the horizontal well
completions. The heel of this well is
highlighted with a green circle.
Figure 1.15: Side view of the horizontal well
completions. The white ellipse indicates the
packer location.
branch C than to the other branches
(Figure 1.19). The production 1000
allocation was reset at 720 days to 0
favor branch C, while production from 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
branch A was in rapid decline. Branch Time (days)
Figure 1.16: Areal view of the trilateral well B, with its direct connection to the
Figure 1.19: Oil-production profiles with optimized valve control.
completions. A green circle indicates the heel of fracture, was given the smallest
the main trunk. Branch A was closest to the heel production allocation.
and branch C furthest from the heel. Branch B The smart trilateral well produced
intersected one of the fractures, and branch A 7.14 MMSTB of oil, which corresponded 6000 Trilateral well
was situated close to the other. Branches A and to a recovery of 40%. A comparison

Oil production rate (STB/D)

5000 Smart trilateral well
B were approximately 2000-ft long and branch C of oil production from the original
around 3000-ft long. All branches had openhole trilateral well with that of the smart 4000
completions and were fully perforated. The main trilateral well indicated an incremental 3000
trunk was not perforated. recovery of about 1 MMSTB
(Figure 1.20). Applying smart-well 2000
technology accelerated production and 1000
reduced water cut by almost 5% after
five years. 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
The horizontal well had an
Number 5, 2004

Number 5, 2004
Time (days)
incremental recovery 31% higher
than the three vertical wells, and the Figure 1.20: Oil-production profiles for the original trilateral and the smart trilateral wells.

12 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review 13
 trilateral well with smart control had
an incremental recovery 16% above
that of its conventional counterpart.
All the alternatives with laterals
had substantially higher incremental
recoveries than the three vertical
wells. The additional production
obtained from the smart trilateral
well was around 3 MMbbl. Recovery
from the trilateral well was not
substantially better than that from the
horizontal well because branches A
and B were the main producing
laterals on the trilateral well and their
combined lengths almost matched the
length of the horizontal well. There
was, therefore, little difference
between the two wells, except that
the trilateral well had wider areal
exposure to the reservoir. This and
the additional lateral (branch C)
added 427,000 bbl to production.
Field economics would have to be
used to help the asset team to select
the best development option.
The importance of
heterogeneity
All of the simulations and optimizations
were repeated for various types and
combinations of heterogeneity, such as
fractures and high-permeability layers,
to assess the cumulative production in
each case (Figure 1.21).
Where there was no special
heterogeneity, the three vertical wells
performed adequately, but not as well
as the unconventional alternatives,
which produced about 20% more oil
than the vertical wells.
Neither the horizontal nor the
vertical wells performed well when
exposed to stratiform super-K
features, since these layers are
continuous and bring water quickly
from the aquifer to the wells.
The trilateral wells were least
affected by the presence of stratiform
super-K features. Their wider areal
coverage meant that drawdown was
distributed in a plane. As a result,
the super-K layers could not influence
the well from a single point (as in the
vertical well) or from a line of points
(as in the horizontal well). The
incremental production obtained
by applying each well type would,
Number 5, 2004
therefore, be crucial in establishing
the economic viability of any planned
development and would allow the asset
14 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review
7.5 completion, may have contributed to
Vertical Trilateral
a reduction in the skin effect and the
Horizontal Smart trilateral
much improved productivity index.
Cumulative oil production (MMSTB)
6.5 Since production startup, the
multilateral well has surpassed all
previous field productivity levels and
5.5
achieved a stabilized rate of 5500 B/D
of oil and 4.5 MMcf/D of gas. These
4.5 rates are three to four times the net
oil-production rate for any other well
in the field. From spudding to ESP
3.5 startup, the job was completed in
36 days2 days ahead of schedule.
2.5
No Medium Super Fracture + Fracture + Fracture Reassessing mature reservoirs
heterogeneity permeability permeability super medium
permeability permeability Weizhou field in Beihai Bay, China,
(Figure 1.24) is a mature field where
Figure 1.21: The simulations and optimizations were repeated for various types and combinations of pressure has slowly fallen and
heterogeneity to assess the cumulative production in each case. producing wells have been converted
to use ESPs. Oil production from the
field has declined, but the continued
use of ESPs has raised the drawdown
20
Figure 1.23: A RapidConnect multilateral completion system helped to boost well productivity in pressure and increased the volume
17 an established Java Sea field. of water produced from the reservoir.
16
Faced with high water cuts in some
Incremental recovery (%)
15
that come with smart-well technology. Evaluation and Imaging While Drilling wells, the operators selected several
Once the performance of each lateral services, and PowerPak* steerable wells for temporary abandonment.
12
has been established, with or without motors. The RapidConnect system In 1999, the operating company
10
7 choking, a control strategy could then provided optimal mechanical decided to use multilateral wells as
be developed. protection of the junction between a cost-effective alternative to drilling
5 the two lateral wellbores with the least new wells. In June 2000, a candidate
3
2 Multilateral triples production amount of flow restriction. Shaker well was selected and approved. The
screens helped to minimize formation first step was to isolate the lower
0 A RapidConnect* multilateral damage by optimizing particle size uneconomic production zones. A
No Medium Super Fracture + Fracture + Fracture
heterogeneity permeability permeability super medium completion system, which provides for mudcake and flowback. During casing exit window was milled to
permeability permeability selective drainhole access and completion, the drill-in fluid was expose new formation, and a
connectivity, with expandable sand allowed to flow back through the directional pilot well was drilled
Figure 1.22: The incremental production obtained by applying each well type is crucial in establishing screens was recently deployed in a screens. The use of expandable sand through the reservoir and into the
the economic viability of any planned development. multilateral well in the Java Sea, screens, rather than a conventional lower water-contact zone. The project
offshore Indonesia (Figure 1.23). The
team to base its technical planning on The sensitivity studies also operators principal aim was to boost
sound economic data (Figure 1.22). indicated that unconventional wells well productivity in an established
reduced the level of uncertainty field. Careful planning and detailed China
Lessons from Ghawar field concerning oil recovery. Multilateral modeling of the asset played a crucial
wells, in particular, have the potential role in the success of this project.
The comparison of completion to buffer reservoir performance Five service companies collaborated
types in Ghawar field indicated that against the unexpected effects of on the project, with Schlumberger
unconventional wells outperformed heterogeneity. Converting these high- acting as the main service provider
vertical wells in terms of accelerated performance wells into smart wells during the planning, drilling, and Vietnam
production. Multilateral wells offered would allow the asset team to improve completion phases. After completing Weizhou
major benefits, especially when efficiency and boost field performance a detailed study of reservoir data, the field Hainan
dealing with heterogeneous features by allocating the appropriate team optimized well placement using Laos
of the type that are commonly production to each lateral. the Bima multipurpose service vessel South China Sea
encountered in Ghawar. Drilling It may be difficult to determine the to drill two sacrificial vertical wells.
multilateral wells would also allow optimum production to be allocated for This careful refinement of the target
the acquisition of diverse and each lateral if there is no history- location helped the team to exploit
directional reservoir property data, matched model of the area. In this a net oil pay zone that was much Thailand
Number 5, 2004
which would enhance the reservoir case, it might be appropriate to test the thicker than expected.
characterization of the field. laterals using the permanent gauges The casing window was milled, and
both wells were drilled using synthetic
oil-base mud, VISION* Formation Figure 1.24: Weizhou field in Beihai Bay, China.
Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review 15
 team then logged the pilot and
evaluated it. This helped to identify
the water contact level within the
producing reservoir. After logging, the
pilot well was isolated using cement.
The project team devised a second
directional plan that would allow
them to drill a long, horizontal lateral
in the reservoir above the water
contact level. The trajectory of this
lateral well was controlled using
logging- and measurement-while-
drilling packages. The production
lateral was completed openhole with
screens and isolated from the pilot
hole by a long external casing packer.
Installation of the RapidConnect
multilateral connection system was
a key element in the success of the
project. The RapidConnect system
allowed engineers to tie back the
producing lateral to the main bore
and provide additional reinforcement
at the junction against overburden
pressure applied by the formation.
The RapidConnect system will also
allow reentry for the lateral and main
bore in future operations and isolation
of the lateral if required. The well is
being monitored and evaluated as it
continues to produce oil at rates
significantly above the initial value.
Managing data throughout the
life of a field
In the future, there will be much
greater volumes and a wider range
of well data; these data will be
gathered continuously throughout
the life of a field. At present, data
are usually restricted to point values
of temperature and pressure within
the wellbore and to some flow
profiling. However, there is
considerable uncertainty and
ambiguity in this approach.
The additional data gathered
from future wells will fall into two
categories: in-well data and between-
well data. Within this decade, oil and
service companies will definitely
enhance the quality of in-well data,
and gather more detailed and accurate
pressure, temperature, water-cut,
viscosity, and compositional profiles.
These will provide substantially more
information about the day-to-day
Number 5, 2004
performance of both reservoir and
well. However, acquiring between-well
16 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review
data is a major challenge. If an asset
team could image the structures and
fluid flow between wells, it would
represent a dramatic step toward
managing reservoirs as
processproduction systems.
These developments will help to
move reservoir management away from
imprecise visualization of what appears
to be happening toward more precise
mapping of fluid fronts and reservoir
properties throughout the reservoir.
More data, more detail
The volume of well data gathered
will increase dramatically, and this
will influence how the asset team
handles and uses data. Traditionally,
wellbore data have been low volume
and relatively simple. In the future,
reservoir management will rely on
two-way communication between
surface and downhole, with a high-
volume data stream from the bottom
of the well to the surface. This will
provide detailed information on
pressure, temperature, and fluids.
Surface data-handling systems
and associated network links to the
reservoir database are well-developed
areas of technology. Transmission
speeds and bandwidth will undoubtedly
improve and will allow the teams to
share information more effectively.
As teams change the way they
control assets and move from a
simple, extractive model to managed
process control, a key consideration
will be the design of the reservoir
database system. This must store data
continually collected from many fields
and wells, and provide ease of access
to numerous technical specialists.
Software enhancement
The first challenge facing the software
Openhole neutron porosity
Figure 1.25: The complex interaction
.45 of (p.u)
datasets from various sources and at Openhole density porosity
.45
varying scales presents a significant
challenge to the industry. Seismic, well,
and production data all influence the
reservoir model and simulations
based on it.
developers is how to improve data
visualization and interpretation.
Interpretation of reservoir behavior
requires analysts to examine data at
many different scales. For example, a
geoscientist examining a 3D image of
a reservoir unit may want to examine
the pressure history of a particular
well that penetrates the unit and then
switch to examining a specific build-
up from that well. The complex
interaction of datasets at varying
scales presents a significant challenge
to the industry (Figure 1.25).
An improved understanding of
reservoir structure and behavior must
then be applied to the practical issue of
enhancing the fields economic value by
accelerating production, increasing
recoverable reserves, or both.
In some oil provinces, engineers are
installing downhole systems that allow
them to control reservoirs in the same
way as process plants. This requires a
very detailed understanding of
reservoir structure and facies
variations (Figure 1.26). In their
simplest form, reservoir partition
systems divide the reservoir into
management intervals. A typical
interval would comprise a group
of sands or limestones, which are
expected to behave as a single flow
unit, usually with impermeable layers,
such as shales, above and below
(Figure 1.27). The ability to
differentiate clean sands from shaly
sands or shales gives a clearer
indication of pay thickness, which can
be difficult to establish in thin-bedded
Seismic
data
Compressional
-0.15 and shear
l Tri-lateral
coherence nal Smart tri-lateral
Model
(p.u) -0.15 100 (s/m)
Production
Well data
data
GR
Petrophysical Static Proportion of FMS FMS/log
results FMS image heterogen. conductivity
50
00
50
00
50
00
50
Figure 1.26: Reservoir facies derived from image heterogeneities and
openhole logs in a lower Cretaceous limestone sequence. This degree of
detail is essential in reservoir development and helps reservoir engineers
to plan multilateral wells.
reservoirs, and allows the asset team
to calculate the sand/shale ratio and
define flow units between major shale
boundaries. In the wellbore, zonal
isolation packers separate the
production liner into these managed
intervals, which are typically between
10- and 30-m thick. Between the
packers, variable chokes regulate the
movement of fluids in or out of the
reservoir management interval. The
key components of this system are
power supply, surface facilities,
control devices, instrumentation, and
communications.
The emergence of multilateral wells
has greatly improved reservoir
management. Increased reservoir
coverage allows greater control and,
potentially, access to more oil. By
adopting a multilateral technique,
reservoir engineers can use the primary
wellbore to
produce oil from low-permeability
areas in heterogeneous reservoirs
access a large number of high-
productivity fractures
reach several reservoirs
Core
FMS perm. indicator
Units
facies facies 0.2 Core perm. 2000 Clean sand
Gamma-ray
Algal-rud. R Sand
interpretation Conductivity
A Shale
Pel.-skel. G/P ranges
Average
conductivity
Dense
B
on FMI
pad
Forum W
Dense
C
Forum W
D
Layer
Dense lithotypes
Algal W/P
E
Skel. LM
F
Algal W/P
Figure 1.27: The high-resolution conductivity measurements recorded
by the FMI* Fullbore Formation MicroImager help geologists to calculate
sand/shale ratios and identify the sedimentary features that influence
reservoir performance.
manage water and gas injection more as dehydration, separation and even
effectively. chemical or energy conversion. Moving
Controlling the flow from multiple surface processes downhole presents a
laterals is critical to their success. Basic range of technical challenges. However,
flow modeling indicates that the the potential benefits are minimal
highest-pressure lateral will dominate surface facilities and wells that deliver
the system and restrict flow from the only the desired production fluids.
laterals where pressures are lower. The technology associated with
Downhole choking devices can help advanced completions is moving
engineers to maximize production by rapidly. Those who adopt this approach
choking back flow from high-pressure to well control and field management
laterals. Supplying power to the laterals are helping to define how the industry
is still a major challenge. will develop over the coming decades.
Future field developments will
deliver improved understanding of the
reservoir that should help to increase
recoverable reserves beyond the 35%
typical in existing fields and to enhance
the value of each new field. At the
same time, the reduced need for well
interventions, for either data acquisition
or changing well configurations, should
cut operating costs.
Going underground
Number 5, 2004
In the future, advanced completions
may also offer processing options such
Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review 17