Discussion and Comparison of Horizontal-Well Performance in Bouri Field AS, Jafar and LS. El-Agell, SPE, Agio Oil Co., H.H. Al-Atfar, SPE, AlFaten U ‘summary Seven horizontal wells were drilled in Bouri field, offshore Libya, {and put on production hetween 1989 and 1992. This paper pre- sents the experience gained in producing and monitoring these wells over the past few years, Comparison of well basic charac- teristics and performances with offset conventional wells indicates, their higher productivity and general superior performance. Dif- ferent monitoring activities conducted on these wells are dis. cussed, including transient rest analyses and production logs. Free gu production was found to be related to the combined phenom ena of coning and fracture flow mechanism. These discussions Show that, in most of the cases, prociction of water and gas is inevitable as long as economic vil rates are to be maintained. The targets set for these wells in terms of recovery increase and prev duction troubles reduction were at least partially fulfilled, Introduction Bouri field is an elongated E-W-orientated anticline located ia the Libyan offshore about 120 km NW of Tripoli. The field was dis joovered in the 1970 and started on production in 1988, from the eastern two sectors (3 and 4). The pay interval is the uppermost member of the Metlsoui formation from the Early Eocene age, at an average depth of 8,000 ft subsea level, with a lithology domi= ‘ated by Nummulitie limestones. The reservoir comprises a thick oil ring of around 300 ft overlaid by an extended primary gas cap and underlain by wate. The resultant drive mechanism is a com bination of aquifer activity and gas-cap expansion, Different Fault sets cut the structure with varied local intensity, affecting more dominantly the southern flank, where water advance is mostly appreciated, These faults and their associated network of fractures tnd microfractures affect the characterises of the rocks and in- fluence, to one degree or another, the productivity and the flv ‘dynamics inthe reservoir Horizontal Wells OF the 55 wells drilled for field development, seven were drilled a horizontals (HWS), The other wells are conventionals (CWS), comprising slanted wells with up 10 65°, and two verticals. The ‘original objective was to efficiently drain the reservoir oil helow the gas cap (Fig, 1). Optimizing the production rates while keep Ing low drawdowns should help 10 minimize the gas eoning ten sency. Geological Brief. The particular target ofall horizontal diling in the field was the stratigraphic layer of Metlaoui formation desig nated as U2. The layer forms the lowermost interval of the pay zone (Fig. 2) and is further divided into three subunits (ftom ‘bottom to top), U2a, Ub, and U2e. The fist subunit represents zone of good petrophysical properties with an average thickness ‘that exceeds 80 ft in the interested area, Besides having excellent lateral homogeneity it also contains some 20%e of the original ei in place (OOIP) i the developed area. I was the target of most of the HWS in Sector 4. The unit gradually diminishes toward the west, and disappears completely in the Sector 3 area. The inter ep © 200 ove of Fela Enpeem ‘Tha pe SPE S21 wa ved x puto ry pape SPE et ost ata Tt Sr Euopan Perm Con, Hy, 28 Oi Cea 300 ape per sooved fugit 00 SPE Reservoir Eval. & Eng, 3 (6), December 2000, ‘mediate subunit U2b is composed mainly of cemented Nummu- lie Fimestone that forms a compact 20- to 30-f well traceable layer extending all the way above U2a. It represents a presumed ‘tural barrier to gos expansion, further promoting U2a as a fa ‘orable position for the HWS. The upper subunit Uc has a much Wider areal extension than the lower two, covering the total de- ‘eloped area with an average thickness of 80 ft and ith fxirly good properties. I was the target of the 10 horizontal wells in Sector 3 and one in Secior 4. Relevant wel information is found in Table I, On the other hand, a thick zone of poor-porosity socks that Ties directly below layer U2 was envisaged to hamper the ‘water advancement ‘The frst five horizontals, all in Sector 4, were actully located below the gas cap. The other two were drilled ina part ofthe field with highly complicated structural setting owing 10 extensive {aultng (Sector 3), thus biting the pay Zone atthe edge ofthe gas, cap, as seen in Fig, 1 ‘Completion and Stimulation. The main objectives of completing and stimulating the HWS in the field were to remove the forms: tion damage and to obtain the maximum contributing length along the completed interval. Early experience in the field had high: lighted the necessity of acid treatment to start production, as the Nummulitie porosity was being badly damaged by drilling apers tions. Following the poor experience of the simulation and the consequent flaw profile in the frst horizontal (B4-09H), several variations in completion design and stimulation techniques were ‘tempted. Feedback from transient resting and production logging results helped to optimize the implemeated specific acid volume a8 1 DBI, Spotting acid by coiled tubing with movement along the perforated interval was found very effective. The use of exter nal inflatable casing packers (EICP) with selective stimulation of intervals! was an extra aid. A summary of data is shown in Table 2, together with the resultant perforation efficieney (PE) defined 8 the ratio of the contributing to total completed interval, Aci treatments successfully stimulated the HWS to skin factors of ~4 (Tables 3 and 4), recalling thatthe wells were not able 10 flow initials Monitoring Activities. Routine Flow Testing and Production Allocation. Flow tests were run on the basis of one test per month with a two-phase separatr. In this way, accurate production allo ton is allowed by means of continuous updating of deliverabil ity curves, in addition to close observation of any change in well performance caused by free gas or water flow. Produced water shows the tendency to form a strong emulsion with oil, Because of the method of sampling for watereat determination, il rate is usually underestimated. Procuction results in igh-water-cu wells are considered less reliable. Statie Pressure. Initial static pressure for each well was mea: suted through stabilized buildups. The low frequency of static pressure records on horizontal wells is eaused by the long shatin limes required for stabilization, with the corresponding loss of production. Nevertheless, some 26 pressure surveys were fun oe those wells in total. The magnitude and the trend of decline in pressure (Fig, 3) reflect the reservoir pressure behavior in the field Pressure-Transient Tests Analysis, All the wells were tested before being put on steam. Pressure buildup andl drawdown tests ‘were evaluated analytically by 1wo different approaches, The frst, approach used a commercial computer software adopting a el M64 TEVROOOAGYSETINSS 000.50 567wee 9 Fie mest ne . wind yr ett, [vee te _— Fig. 1~Bourfield-dovoloped sectors map showing the horizon- tal wells and the offset conventionals. Porosity model that takes into account transient (unrestricted) in- ‘erporosity flow. The second” model resorts to manual interpreta tion, considering an infinite conductivity horizontal sell with, homogeneous atid anisotropic porous media of finite lateral ex tent, The applied dual-porosity model provided an excellent match to the pressure-transient data, However, an equally acceptable maich was obtained with the homogeneous system. The typical Signature of dual-porosity behavior did not appear in clear form fon these tess, although the signature itself isnot unique to at rally fractured systems, It is possible that fluids are being pro- duced as result of expansion of both fractures and rook matin media, thus giving the system a homogeneous-like behavior.” Analysis results of the two approaches ave presented in Tables 3 ang. It should be pointed out, however, that a direct comparison ‘of results might not be meaningful owing to differences in such basic inputs a the contributing well length and formation total thickness between the 1Wo analyses, These differences reflect not only the areas of inherent uncertainty that still shade the test analyses of the HWS. but also the state of art and the personal touch involved, Comparison with cone analysis was not helpful ‘owing 10 the high scatter ofthe data (Fig. 4) und the fact that no cores were eut in the subject horizontal wells, Transient analysis results are not available forthe last drilled Well B3-19H. In some cases the drawdown data were found more eligible for analysis because of short buildaps, Adequate transient, times are ertical for 8 conclusive analyses, and it was estimated that some 100 hours are required to obtain suflicient data in the Bouri horizontal wells, ‘The following observations can be made about these tests: The carly time response is dominated by wellbore storage for time durations ranging from & few minutes to 2 hours (all shut-ins took Fig. 2-Schematie cross section in Sector 4 showing the rela- tive position of a horizontal well place on the surface: the frst radial flow period was observed in ‘most ofthe tess: pure linear low was observed in a few eases; no evidence of directional permeability exits; Vertical permeability is mostly ofthe same order of magnitude as horizontal permeabil- ity; effective ack stimulation was achieved; and in many of the long duration tests, the late time response is affected by a constant-pressure boundary. caused by the proximity of the gas ‘cap andor the aquifer. "An example pressure-transient diagnostic plot ane analyses of Well BS-13H are shown in Fig. 5. The well’s drainage area is, lndeciain by the tight layers of the Lower Nummulitic member Wellbore storage effect is seen to diminish after about 4 minutes, “The frst radial flow develops for about | hour and is believed 0 take place inthe tual thickness of layers Ua, U2b, and U2e (Fig 2). Windicates a permeability of 23 mad and a negative mechanical skin, confirming the suecess of the stimulation job. The following linear flow period is affected by the partial continuity of pressure upward in layer U3, exhibiting no sharp “halfslope"” Hine. The regression match was generated based on resolving the said per- meability into &y=40 md and y= 13 md. The total completed length of a vercally centered well was adopted in the interpreta tion, The late dip in the curve is related tothe lateral boundaries of the drainage area. The wel is elose to the southern flank with the strong aquifer activity: hence, a constant-pressure boundary om ‘one side was added 10 achieve the match shown, Production Logging, These surveys were run pritmatily 10 in vestigate the flow profile of the HWS ater acid treatment, this providing a means for evaluating the stimulation effet. Except for Well B3-19Hf with openhole completion, all HWS Were surveyed, usually early in the well’s life. The logs were analyzed qualita: lively for the flow profile, They helped als inthe identification of some flow anomalies, such asthe low diversion behind the un mented Tiner in Well B4-D9. In the case of B3-I8H, the logs helped to identity the gas entry zone, Factors that constrained the Wide use of these logs in reservoir management of HWS include the high cost and operational complications (the logging tools TABLE 1-HWS BASIC AND PRODUCTION DATA (Gas B.Threugh Present (1986) (coc iii ee : Well Comaletion Stand Of Rate Time Cum Ol Rate GOR Cum. ol No, Unit (vert) BOPO days MMSTB BOPD SCFISTa MMSTB B4-03H Lee 155 1,500 750 «<1 00 «4500 Ba09H 2a 185 2500 200-02 «500 3.000108, B4IQH UaaU2 «185-3300 8002270017048 BAz7H ea 480 2000 650 «131700240038 BazBH Ua 200 © 2,700 500 «1217700210036 B1eH ze 458 2200 200051250 520027, B1sH Lee 165 1600-35005 850 4.90018 568 Jafar, EL-Ageli, and AL-Anar: Horizontal-Well Performance SPE Reservoir Eval & Eng. Val, 3, No. 6, December 2000,‘TABLE 2-COMPLETION AND STIMULATION Liner Horizontal Per. Perl. Ada Wel ‘Completion Size “Section Length Density Volume { No Type Gh) GPF BA03H “Uncomen, slotled 5 —7,020~=«— aa 48 B409H —Uncomen, slotted «5780.85 90 B4-13H Uncemen., perforated 7 1,000 71810 BA27H Comen. peroraied 7 = 1.200 at BS B42BH Comen., perforated = 7 1.180837 78 BG-18H Cemen, pertoraed 7 = 7005012 B319H ——Openole (8 1/2) 2,000 1,500) ‘must be mounted on coiled bing). Besides, quantitative analyses, in multiphase eases are nor reliable, Fracturing Effeet. The Metlaoui formation is crossed by several ‘normal faults, which were clearly defined in the seismic survey, and evidenced by drilling. The stesses associated with these faults are believed 10 have induced a network of fractures and microfractures inthe nearby rocks. Evidences af reservoir frat ing can be briefed as follos: occasional mud losses during drill ing: eore description, of hoth conventional and orientated cores: special logging (formation mieroseanner and sonie-wave foe) high ratio of teeore permeability, exceeding 10 in cerain areas ‘ofthe fel the ultrahigh transmissibility obtained on some south fem flank wells, exceeding 120.000 md ft: and the abnormal and persistent increase of producing gas ratio (GOR) on some Sec~ tor 3 wells ‘On the other hand, no sign of dual-porosity behavior was ob- served in the majority of the pressure-transient rests, Matching of lest pressure response in all HWS and CWS was easily obvained With single-porosity models. Reservoir simulation studies on the full-field scale used to adopt a conventional single porosity sys= tem, sealing up the mobility in the faulted areas in orl to math the ‘eld performance. An attempt was made recently co use a mixed modeling system. The model allows the consideration of the dual-porosity regime in certain layers all over the tet, adopt ing it exclusively in she region surrounding the main Faults, while switching o single porosity elsewhere. In particular, sublayer Ue is treated as dual porosity hased on its core characterises. May HWS are located within the fault hands, and some impact on their performance should be expected. An attempt was made 10 chat acterize the fractutes inthe feld. It found that faults extend pre dominantly in a NW-SE general diection, with a patern of per pendicular orientation of the associated Tracts, This is Particularly true in Sector 3. Acconding to this pattern, Well B3 ISH, which was died parallel to the faut, has more chance to be eu by fractures than Well B3:19H, This may explain the better production performance of the former well. Assessment of Horizontal-Well Performance. In addition 10 be- ing a risky decision the introduction of horizontal-well drilling in the Bout field represents a major landmark in the development of the field, Solid economie basis should he considered to justify the higher cost of drilling and completing these wells. A sound per Jafas, El-Agei and AL-Aur: Horizontl-Well Performance formance comparison of HWS 10 that of CWS is a very useful tool. As mentioned earlier a main target of HWS was to raise the Productivity and improve vil recovery. Direct comparison in Sector 4 reveals thatthe resultant productivities in some HWS of average, double those of the CWS (Fig. 6), with eases of several folds, Information about the CWS can be found in Tabl Production Performance, On fel production startup the wells wore opened at high rates i the range of 1,500 to 3,20) BOPD, corresponding 10 & bortombole drawdown of 250 psi. Shortly thereafter the wells were choked dowsn based on the early free gas breakthrough in the HWS itself (Well B4-09H) and in offset cws, Gas Production, Free some de 1s production alfected all HWS to ee. Gas breakthrough is usually first seen as a rise in ‘owing wellhead pressure, rather than a pinpoint inerease in the ‘measured GOR, owing to the inherent fluctuation of ow mea Surements. In most of the cases, it occurred after producing & nulative oil exeeeding 0.5 MMbbL (Table 1), Free gas dow continued to affect the HWS despite lowering the drawdown (6 100 10 150 psi, leading to decline in oil rate, Well B4-09 is an extreme example. It is worth mentioning that possible cause of free gas production inthis well is the poor cement bond behind the 9¥-in. casing against the gas zone, ‘Vertical communication in the reservoir is Known to be very high. and calculations based on some of the reliable published correlations! indivated aerial rate for gas coning in the range of 200 to 400 BOPD. This range overlaps the accepted economic oi Fate limit in the field: dherfore, the wleraion of high gas produc tion seems inevitable, A higher trend of producing GOR in Sector 3 characterizes the HWS performance. As the wells are not located directly below the fs cap, the high gas rate is atibuted to the role of fractures in the Hlow process in the reservoir. On the other hand. free production in Sector 4 below the gas-eap indicated a clea tend of Sabilization for the last two years (even decline in one Well). This, can be atributed to the gas eap Shrinkage influenced by the rea Live stabilization in field pressure Water Production. Ali the HWS Started on production with some 5 to LOM water cut, which can be atributed to capillary effects, The field-presumed oilfwater contact is at least 130 ft below and is separated by a tight harrier layer. Only in the ese of Well B4-13H has water production rose 10 alfeet the well perfor- TABLE 3~TEST-ANALYSIS RESULTS (DUAL-POROSITY) B31eH —B403H —«BAODH BATH BATH «BADEN | = | In 8 29 2 36 2 12 ky 20 23 52 30 13 ce a 1 18 8 13 10 Ss -2 13 13 29 5 38. » 00053 0.005 0.0055 0.0001 0.008 0.008 t os od os 0.08) 1 15 SPE Reservoir Evil, & Eng., Val. 3, No. 6 December 20005TABLE 4—TEST ANALYSIS RESULTS (SINGLE POROSITY) BA-13H see Bea panicled |. oe a 7 =e ee oo Ss | see 02 7 0.02 ot — ee as - 7, £ 300 non” g . : i : a a 8 ee RF FB Hed Fig, 3-Statie pressure measurements in HWS. 1000 ee 100 3 i % . go - * 3 ei 1 s i'lae patos oo. ° 10 2» 20 Porosity, % Fig. 4—Core porosity vs, horizontal permeability in layer U2a, Fig. 5-Example of pressuretransient test matched results. response and 570 alas, B-Agel and AL-Atar: Horizonal-WellPerormanes : _. E = Fig. 6-Initial productivity indices of HWS and CWS. mance seriously. The well reduced dey ol on statup but broke t0 water a few months later. Water cut increased slowly to exceed 30%, The well is still considered the best producer in the sector despite losing some 25% of it oil potential for water and free gas production. This well has two distinguishing features that may Contribute to its behavior: its ocation nearest to the southern flank fof the structure, where the aguifer activity is known to be at its Ped, and the wavy projectile ofthe horizontal section penetatin the two Sublayers U2a and U2e Comparison With Conventional Wells. By the end of 1995 horizontal wells had produced more than 20 NIMBBI of cil, com: Pring 12% of the cumulative field recovery. The ratio increases to 16% in Sector 4. However, its obvious that this ratio does not represent direct indication owing to the different start-up times. of the wells. Rather, some representative indices were adopted to compare with offset conventional wells, Referring to the map of Fig. | and also to Table Si can be seen thatthe comparison is based on the CWS having one or more of the following features: ‘completion inthe same unit {U2}: wells nearest in location to the TABLE §-CWS DATA Peroraies | wet Ccompievon tanatn | te Unit o | Bros Uta 35 Bere 2a Bs Be39 2) ime e022 use 7 e423 2a 7 | 8428 U2a 96 Be90 uauze 182 | ee33 usuze 120 | soos usuze 124 | b.08 ue 100 | eat uate 73 | Bs13, uaz. %0 83 U2s “6 SPE Reser Eval & Eg, Vo. 3, No. 6, Deemer 2000RP RRR RAR ‘we Fig. 7-HWS vs. CWS: comparison of cumulative ol production. HWS; andor wells having similar reservoir position (e... below the gas cap) Starting With economics, it is useful to recall that the average ‘cost of drilling and completing a horizontal well in the field is about 15% higher than chat of a conventional well (based on the ‘group of wells in Table 5). The cost of some HWS was, in fact, less than che highly deviated extended-reaeh CWS Three comparison indices were considered that are closely te lated to the main objectives ofthe HWS and the relevant reservoir problems: the il cumulative production, the eil rate, and the pro «ducing GOR, Figs. 7 through 9 demonsrate the comparisons Cumulative Production. Tecan be stated here that the HWS of Sector 4 include the biggest producers of the sector Three wells, show superior performance, achieving up to twice the oil produc tion 3s that of the CWS completed in the same layers, The low producer BA-03H is still among the hest in the secior (compared With B4-22 of the same completion). Only Well BS-O9H shows a downgraded performance related to the early gas breakthrough ‘that continued to influence the well severely. In Sector 3, Well B3-I8H still shows a superior prodetion performance, rivaled ‘only by the conventional Well B3-13, which is partly completed in the better permeability Layer U3. It is of particular interest to ‘compate the (wo CWS, B3-08 and B3-15, completed inthe same sublayer with less recovery. The other Horizontal B3-19H shows, 4 deteriorated performance. This wel is suffering a high free-gas, influx due to fractaring, bu itis sil comparable to the former two cows Average Oil Rate. Some HWS show the highest oil withdrawal fates in Sector 4. Despite ofthe severe rate decline from star-up, levels. three of the HWS are performing very well. The los hort zontal Producer B4-O9H shows 2 end of stabilized rate. tis, interesting to recall that the sun of the present oil rates forthe five HWS in the sector is 6,750 BOPD. compared to 7,000 from the Jafar, El-Ageli and A-Auar: Horizontl-Well Performance other nine CWS in dhe gas-cap atea. In Sector 3, the rates of the HWS ae still declining, affected by the inereased ee-gas pro Auction. Some CWS Tovated in other “fault blocks" in the sector show exceptionally good performanee, Average Cumulative GOR. This parameter is defined here as the ratio of total gas co total oil produced. In Sector 4, the HWS, 8 behavior Ties intermediately between very high gas producing CWS and the other wells on the edge ofthe gas eap that did not suffer free gas production. It is interesting to note that the peo- duced GOR of Well B4-13H presents the lowest among the HWS. Pressure support supplied by the aquifer activity helped to hamper the gas coming by minimizing the pressure deassdown, In Sector 3, HWS are among the highest GOR wells with @ tendeney of fast and persistent increase. owing to the highly faulted nature of the Conclusions + Horizontal wells helped 10 inerease the overall field recovery and to improve the sweep efficiency ofthe area belovr the gas cap. + The overall performance of the horizontal wels is superior to ‘that of the conventionals in terms of total oil production, + Horizontal wells in Sector 4 show a generally better perfor mance than Sector 3, and include some of the best producers in the field ‘In spite ofthe low drandown applied, all the horizontal wells ‘underwent fee gas production, indicating the good Vertical con- ‘ductivity inthe reservoir in the Form of matrix vertical permeabi ity andlor fractures, ‘Free-gas production seems inevitable for economic oil rates and has to be tolerated by the surface facilities, SPE Reserve Eval. & Eng, Vol, 3, No. 6, December 2000 S71oo ae oe en Fig. 9-HWS vs. CWS: comparison of average producing gas- to-oil ratio, + Well petformance in Sector 3 is more affected by reservoir fracturing than Sector 4. Free-gas production in this area is ani uted to the upward communication to the gas cap through a net Work of fractures and microfractures, ' Warer-production inerease is limite. «= Pressure-transient analyses were fairly conclusive. They com: firmed the high conductivity inthe reservoir showing no evidence of directional permeability. However, they gave no clue to the role ‘of secondary porosity in the flow process, The analysis might be refined if longer transient times are applied, ‘Flow profile along the horizontal sections. was optimized through proper completion and stimulation techniques. Nomenclature ‘yy, = horizontal permeability in LE, md S72 Jafar EL-Agel, and Al-Atar: Hoizonal-Well Rerormance say. = horizontal permeability in y. L2, md ky = vertical permeability. L?, md skin factor, dimensionless time for end of wellbore storage, t, hour fracture € total system storatvity ratio ‘Acknowledgments ‘The authors thank the Agip Oil Co. Lid. (Libyan Branch) for permission to publish this paper. This work is based on several intemal company reports prepared by U. Vergine, H. Jalool, S, Kurbo, M. ALMabeuk, A. Faitur, 1, Pentoli, M. Pupil. and many ‘others, to whom all we fect gratetul. The help of G. Ghelardont and of E, Hills also highly appreciated References 1. Josh. SDs Horizont. Well Technology. PennWell Publishing Co. Tuk, Oshshom (1991 Aguilera, Ret af: “Well-Test Evaluation snd Singl-Well Simul ‘i Study. Bou Fil, Lipa. a study propane by Serspetol Lis for Teknica Pewoleum Seevices Li, Calpaty (May 1993) 3. APAMUn HLH, o? ola “Presse Analyst of Horizontal Wells, Bout Field." study prepared tor Apip Oil Co, by ALTakaddum Consult snk, Ppl Laya (19921 4. Cincocley, He "Wall Test Analysis for Naturlly Fractured Reser: Soins” IPT Ganary 1996) 51 5. Lichinborger, G-" “Data Acquisition and HorigonaWell Pressure- Transient Dat, Inception of IPT Bebraty 1998) 15, bbl >< 1.589873 fe x 3.048 psi x 6894757 SPEREE ‘Adnan S. Jafar isc senior reservoir engineer with Agip Oil Co. {Uibyan Branch), Tipol. He worked previously with South Ci Co. in Basroh, Iraq, and has 20 yeais of diversied experience. in petroleum and reservoir engineering, Jafar helds 88 and MS ‘degrees in petfoloum engineering, bath from the U, of Bagh- God. Hazim H. Al-Atfar is an assitant professor ond former head of the petroleum engineering Dept. ot the U. of Bagh- dod, Previously Al-Atfar held technical and consuating pos Hons in Libya. and! Tunisia; he hos researched and published, ‘work in production optimization ond transient testing. He holds 12 BS degree from the U. cf Baghdad. an MS degree from the. U. of Caifomnia ot Berkeley, and o PhD degree from the Calo rade School of Mines, clin petroleum engineering. Ibrahim S.. EL-Agel is the Planning and Reservoir Dept. Manager at Aaip Oi Co. (Libyan Branch). Before joining Agip he setved as the engineering head in the West Libya Ol Fold Project with ‘AGOCO, and as an oilfield manage’ with NOC. E-Agel holds 2.85 degree in petroleum engineering trom EHFatan U. in Tipo SSPE Resevoir Eval & Fg, Val 3, No. 6, Devember 2000