Petroleum Engineering Department

“Completion Design”
Lecture #2

Barham S. Mahmood
barham.sabir@koyauniversity.org
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Outline
Introduction
Completion Design Considerations
Bottom-hole Completion Techniques
Selection of Production Conduit
Completion String Facilities
Completion String Components
Factor affecting on well completion designs
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Introduction
 After exploratory drilling confirms the presence of an oil or natural gas
reservoir, the hydrocarbons are brought to the surface.

 Once the design well depth is reached, the formation is tested and
evaluated to determine whether the well is to be completed for production,
or plugged and abandoned.

 This decision is taken based on the information available on reservoir

characteristics.

 To complete the well production, casing is installed and cemented, and the
drilling rig is dismantled and moved to the next site.
 A service rig is brought in to perforate the production casing and run
production tubing along with downhole equipment.

 The installation of surface safety equipment takes place and production

begins.
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What is well completion?

 Well completion creates a dependable pathway to the
surface for the hydrocarbons.

 Once the well is drilled, it has to be made ready for the

safe and efficient production of oil.

 The term ‘completion’ describes the assembly of Down

hole tubulars and other safety equipment that is required
to enable the safe and efficient production of oil or gas
from the well after it has been drilled.
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Generally completion process consist of:

a) A method of providing satisfactory communication between the reservoir and
the borehole.
b) The design of the tubulars (casing and tubing) which will be installed in the
well.

c) An appropriate method of raising reservoir fluids to the surface.

d) The design, and the installation in the well of various components used to
allow efficient production, pressure integrity testing, emergency containment
of reservoir fluids, reservoir monitoring, barrier placement, well maintenance
and well kill.

e) The installation of safety devises and equipment, which will automatically shut
a well in the event of a disaster.
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Before knowing the classification of completion, must know the main

objective from wells drilling as following:

1- Exploration and evaluation wells

This type of wells is drill for exploration and evaluation.

2- Production wells
The wells are drilled and completed for produce oil, gas and sometime
water produce.

3- Injection wells
The wells are drilled and completed for inject water or gas or chemical
material and sometimes petroleum products.
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4- Measurement and observation wells

The wells are drilled and completed for observation the reservoir (reservoir fluid
behavior, reservoir pressure, etc...).

5- Special operation wells

The wells are drilled and completed for special operation such as to kill the below
out well.
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Completion Design Considerations

 Before a production well is drilled, a great deal of planning must
be undertaken to ensure that the design of the completion is the
best possible.

 A number of factors must be taken into consideration during this

planning stage, which can broadly be split into:

a) The objective of well drilling

b) Reservoir considerations and

c) Mechanical considerations
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a) Objective of well drilling

 The objective of well drilling is very important factor in well
completion design, may be the purpose from well drilling is
clear from beginning or changed with time.
 A certain well completed as producing well then after that
convert to injection well or observation well depend on the
reservoir conditions.
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b) Reservoir considerations
Its include the following factors

1. Natural rock reservoir

The geological and experimental studies that conduct to

delineate the nature of rock reservoir (type of rock, including
fault, reservoir permeability, etc…) is important to select the
adequate completion design.
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2. Producing rate
To provide maximum economic recovery is often the starting
point for well completion design. Among other factors producing
rate should determine the size of the producing conduit.

3. Multiple reservoirs
Multiple reservoirs penetrated by a well pose the problem of multiple
completions in one drilled hole. Possibilities include multiple
completions inside casing separated by packers, or several strings of
smaller casing cemented in one borehole to provide in effect separate
wells. Other possibilities include coming of hydrocarbons from separate
reservoir downhole, or drilling several boreholes from one surface
location.
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4. Reservoir drive mechanism

Reservoir drive mechanism may determine whether or not the

completion interval will have to be adjusted as gas-oil or water-oil
contacts move. A water drive situation may indicate water
production problems. Dissolved gas and gas drive reservoirs
usually mean declining productivity index and increasing gas-oil
ratio.
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5. Secondary recovery requirements

Secondary recovery needs may require a completion method
conductive to selective injection or production. Water flooding
may increase volumes of fluid to be handled. High temperature
recovery processes may require special casing and casing
cementing materials.

6. Stimulation
Stimulation may require special perforating patterns to permit
zone isolation, perhaps adaptability to high injection rates, and a
well hookup such that after the treatment the zone can be
returned to production without contact with killing fluids.
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7. Sand control
Sand control problems alone may dictate the type of completion
method and maximum production rates. On the other hand, reservoir
fluid control problems may dictate that a less than
desirable type of sand control be used.

8. Artificial lift
Artificial lift may mean single completions even where multiple zones
exist.

9. Workover requirements
Workover frequencies, probably high where several reservoirs must
be drained through one wellbore, often dictate a completion
conducive to wireline or through-tubing type recompletion systems.
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c) Mechanical considerations
 The mechanical configuration or "well hookup" is often the key to
being able to deplete the reservoir effectively, monitor downhole
performance, and modify the well situation when necessary.
 The mechanical configuration of the well is the key to being able to
do what ought to be done in the well from the standpoint of
controlling the flow of reservoir fluids, oil, gas, and water.
• Functional requirements
• Operating conditions
• Component design
• Component reliability
• Safety
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Completion Methods
 Wells can be producers or injectors.
 Completions can produce oil, gas and water.
 Completions can inject hydrocarbon gas, water, steam and
waste products such as carbon dioxide, sulphur, hydrogen
sulphide, etc.
 More than one purpose can be combined either simultaneously
(e.g. produce the tubing and inject down the annulus) or
sequentially (produce hydrocarbons and then convert to water
injection duty).
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Conceptual Design
Principal decision areas are:

Bottom hole completion technique

Selection of Production Conduit

Completion String Facilities

Completion String Components

23”-27” bit for drilling
18-5/8” casing
Cementing
17-1/2” bit for drilling 30” conductor pipe
13-3/8” casing
Cementing
12-1/4” bit drilling 18-5/8” casing
9-5/8” casing
Cementing
Drilling, if necessary 13-3/8” casing
7”liner and cementing, or…

Bottomhole 9-5/8” casing

Completion

7” liner
Produce formation
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Bottomhole Completion Techniques

1. Open Hole Completion

The production casing is set on top of
Production
production zone before drilling the
casing
production formation that contains the
hydrocarbon fluids, and then after
casing was cemented, producing
formation drilled.
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Advantages
1. Adaptable to special drilling techniques to minimize formation damage or
to prevent lost circulation into the production zone (cement loss)
2. No perforating expense
3. Log interpretation is not critical since entire interval is open ( open hole re-
logging is possible)
4. Full diameter of pay zone
5. Can be easily deepened
6. Easily converted to liner or perforated completion (or other types of
completion)
7. With gravel pack provides excellent sand control
8. Require minimum rig time on completion
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Limitations
1. Excessive gas and water production difficult to control
(gas and water coning )
2. Selective critical section in production zone for fracturing
or acidizing more difficult
3. May require frequent well-bore cleanout
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2. Cased Hole Completion

The production casing is cemented

through producing zone and perforated

Advantages Production
casing
1. Excessive gas or water production
can be controlled more easily.
2. Can be selectively stimulated.
Perforation
3. Log and formation samples
available to assist in decision to
set casing or abandon
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4. Full diameter opposite pay.

5. Can be easily deepened.

6. Will control most sand, and is adaptable to special sand

control techniques.

7. Adaptable to multiple completion techniques.

8. Minimum rig time on completion.

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 Limitations
1. Cost of casing cement and perforating for long zones may be
significant.
2. No adaptable to special drilling techniques to minimize
formation damage.
3. Log interpretation is critical for most of logs except production
logging.
4. Well productivity is less than productivity of open-hole well
completion.
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3. Perforated completion
This is divided into:-
A. Screen and Liner completion Production
casing
B. Perforated Liner completion
C. Slotted liner completion

A. Screen and Liner completion

The production casing is set on top of
producing zone, than the screen and Screen and
liner
the liner is set through producing assembly
zone
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 Advantages
1. Adaptable to special drilling techniques to minimize formation
damage or to prevent lost circulation into the producing zone.
2. No perforating expense.
3. Log interpretation is not critical since entire interval is open
4. Do not require frequent well-bore cleanout.
5. Will control most sand, and is adaptable to special sand control
techniques.
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 Limitations

1. Excessive gas or water production difficult to control.

2. Selective critical section in production zone to fracturing or

acidizing more difficult.

3. Wellbore deepened is not easy.

4. Requires more rig time on completion

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B. Perforated Liner completion

The production casing is set on top of

producing zone, then the producing Production casing
zone was drilled after that the liner is set
and cemented through producing, then
perforated
Liner

Perforation
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 Advantages
1. Adaptable to special drilling techniques to minimize formation
damage or to prevent lost circulation into the producing zone.
2. Gas and water production easy to control.
3. Selective critical section in production zone to fracturing or
acidizing more easy.
4. Can be easily deepened.
5. Will control most sand because the liner obstructed sand
movement, and is adaptable to special sand control techniques
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 Limitations

1. Cost of casing cement and perforating for long zones may be

significant.

2. Log interpretation is critical for most of logs.

3. Requires more rig time on completion.

4. Difficult conduct good cement operations for liner compare with

the first stage of casing cementing
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C. Slotted liner completion

The production casing is set on top of
producing zone, then the producing zone
was drilled after that the slotted liner is set
 Slot or screen gauge is simply the width of the
opening in inches multiplied by 1,000
For instance
 A 12-gauge screen has openings of 0.012 in.
Routine slot widths are 0.030 in. or larger.
 The minimum slot width that can be achieved is
about 0.012 in.
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 Advantages
1. No perforation and cementing cost
2. Adaptable with gravel pack sand control (can be used together)
3. Can be easily changed

 Limitations
1. Control of gas and water production is not easy
2. Selective stimulation is difficult (Zonal isolation is impossible)
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Conceptual Design
Principal decision areas are:

Bottom hole completion technique

 Selection of Production Conduit

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Selection of Production Conduit

 Tubingless casing flow

 Casing and tubing flow

 Tubing flow without annular isolation ?

 Casing flow without annular isolation

 Tubing flow with annular isolation


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Basically there are two tubular configuration methods of

completing a well:
1- Conventional tubular configuration
 Single zone completion
 Multiple zone completion
2- Unconventional tubular configuration
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Conventional tubular configurations

The conventional completions methods consist of production
casing have outside diameter grater than 4 ½ inch, and include;
1- Single-zone completion
Factors leading to selection of single-zone “conventional”
completions:
 High production rates.
 Corrosive well fluids.
 Operator tradition.
 High pressures governmental policies.
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 Probability of well competition for single-zone depending on

objectives from well drilling, and that include:

A. Well produce through production

casing
This type of completion use in wells
produce with high production rates and
medium or low closed, flowing
pressures.
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B. Well produce through production casing and production

tubing

 In this type of completion the

well produce through annulus
and tubing in same time.
 the production rate in this type
being less than in type of
producing through production
casing.
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 Valid reasons for tubing may include:

1) Better flow efficiency.

2) Permit circulation of kill fluids, corrosion inhibitors or paraffin
solvents.
3) Provide multiple flow paths for artificial lift system.
4) Protect casing from corrosion, abrasion, or pressure.
5) Provide indicate of monitoring bottom-hole flowing pressure.
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C. Well produce through production tubing

 The well completed by using tubing
and single production packer

 In this completion the maximum

potential of well to produce by high
flow rate impossible, compare with
the well produce through production
casing and the well produce
through production casing and
production tubing.
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 A packer should be run only where it accomplishes a valid

objective such as:

1) Improve or stabilize flow.

2) Protect casing from well fluids or pressure however, it
should be recognized that use of a packer may increase
pressure on casing in the event of a tubing leak.
3) Contain pressure in conjunction with an artificial lift
system or safety shut-in system.
4) Hold on annular well-killing fluid.
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D. Well produce by pumping

In this type the well produce by

pumping, where the tubing run in
hole with pump seating nipple to
depth below working fluid level in
well
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E. Gas lift well

This type used in wells drilled in
formations have low pressure
(formation pressure could not rises
the fluids to surface), where the
gas injected through annulus and
by special lift mandrel (Valve), the
gas inter inside tubing , that help to
rise the oil to surface through
tubing by reduce the weight of oil
column (fluid hydrostatic pressure).
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Conventional tubular configurations

2- Multiple-zone completion
Factors leading to selection of multiple completions:
 High producing rate
 Faster payout
 Multi-reservoir control equipment's
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 Numerous configurations are possible utilized single or

multiple strings of tubing:
A. Single-well with alternate completion
B. Dual completion-single packer, single tubing string
C. Cross-over dual completion –single tubing
D. Parallel dual packer completion
E. Parallel dual packer with two alternate completions
F. Triple completion
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1. Single-well with alternate completion

 This type is used when the well
penetrate two producing formations.
Isolated by using dual production
packer, the alternate formation started
to produce after the lower producing
formation stopped producing.
 Blast joint used in tubing part in front
of alternate producing formation to
resist the erosion that cause by
produce fluids, because the blast joint
have thick wall
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2. Dual completion-single packer, single tubing string

There is both tubing and annulus flow. This is the lowest
cost conventional dual Completion

Limitations
 Upper zone cannot be produced through
tubing, unless lower zone is blanked off.
 Casing subject to pressure and
corrosion.
 Only lower zone can be artificially lifted.
 Upper zone sand production may stick
tubing.
 Work-over of upper zone requires killing
lower zone.
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3. Cross-over dual completion –single tubing

 Again, There is both tubing and annulus flow.
 Advantage is that cross-over choke permits
upper zone to be flowed through tubing.

Limitations
 Casing subject to pressure and corrosion.

 Must kill both zones for work-over of upper

zone

 Any zones impossible can be artificially lifted.

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4. Dual completion-Parallel string-multiple packer

Advantages
 Can lift several zones simultaneously.

 Concentric tubing and wire line work-

over practical in all zones.
Limitations
 High cost.

 Susceptibility to tubing and packer leaks.

 Hesitation to perform stimulation

treatments or workover of individual zones
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5. Parallel dual completion with two alternate

completions
Limitations
Difficult of treating or even re-
perforating individual zones unless
well is killed and tubing is pulled.
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6. Triple completion

In this completion design three

production tubing used with
production packers. In this type
could produce with high production
rates in one well
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Unconventional tabular configuration

 This completion called permanent well

completion (PWC).
 Involves cementing several strings of pipe
inside one well-bore.
 Originally this concept was applied to
strings have outside diameter less or equal
4 ½ inch.
 The concept should not be thought of as
being limited entirely to low volume
producing or injection wells.
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Advantages
 Reduced cost-initial completion and future work-over costs
are reduced

 Each zone is independent and can be worked on without

disturbing the other completions.

 Communication between strings is easily located and

eliminated.
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Limitations

 Restricted production rate.

 Corrosion and paraffin control more critical.

 Higher risk due to pressured well fluids.

 High rate stimulation treatments are more difficult.

 Long-zone sand control more difficult.

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Conceptual Design
Principal decision areas are:

Bottom hole completion technique

 Selection of Production Conduit

 Completion String Facilities (Next lecture)

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