COMPLETIONS TODAY

Monobore Completion System Provides

Low-Cost Completion Option

Many wells completed today could be cementing the completion in the well-

Conventional
classified as short-life or harvest wells. bore. Later options include staging the

One-Trip GL
Two-Trip GL
Monobore
Some of these would not be economi- cement process to include equipment
cally feasible using high-end completion that would increase the life of the well
components and methods. Monobore and ensure its safe operation.
wells can be a solution to this problem. Significant time and effort have been
The full-length paper discusses sev- expended to develop a more reliable
eral methods in which monobore well system for completing these wells and
design can save considerable time while increasing their productivity, making
lowering the overall completion cost. them even more attractive. Specially
designed cement-through components,
Introduction including safety valves and gas lift (GL)
When a well has a single produc- equipment, can be credited with mov-
tion-tubing size from the pay zone ing these monobore completions to
to the surface of the completion, it is the next level. The inclusion of a reli-
categorized as a “monobore” comple- able safety valve speaks for itself with
tion. Although there are certain limita- regard to producing these wells safely,
tions to this type of completion, there but introducing the GL alternative at

2.5 million

1.60 million

1.85 million

1.67 million
are many advantages that make it a the beginning has increased the over-
USD

USD

USD

USD
very attractive alternative to conven- all production significantly. Wells that
tional completions. Drilling cost and were estimated to produce 500 to 600
reduced equipment list are the great- B/D were improved to 1,200 to1,400
est motivators to pursue a monobore B/D. The majority of these completions
well because they directly affect the have been completed in the Gulf of
cost to complete. Most of these wells Thailand, but there are other fields in
would not have been feasible if the only the world that are candidates for this Fig. 1—Completion types.
option was to complete them in a more system, and equipment has been mobi-
traditional manner. However, if there lized to some of those areas. The monobore completion in Fig. 1
were a system that reduced rig time represents the most basic disposable-
and decreased the equipment list (e.g., Cement-Through System well completion. It consists of only tub-
packers and sliding sleeves), while The cement-through system is: ing, cemented in place, and a safety
still safely completing the well, these • A true monobore system valve. Because of its simplicity, it is the
wells would move from the category • Cement-friendly components most economical. However, it provides
of unfeasible or marginal to profitable • Designed for a one-trip deployment no options to either facilitate unloading
or, in some cases, highly profitable. • Uses a staged cementing system the well or maximize the production of
One of the early methods was simply • Includes pressure cycles through- the well. Also, the absence of a packer in
out the process to verify component this design does not allow for remedial
This article, written by Assistant Tech- integrity. work to install any equipment to pro-
nology Editor Karen Bybee, contains Fig. 1 shows the typical completion long the life of a well with this design.
highlights of paper SPE 124797, that has been used and the estimated When looking at the two-trip GL
“Monobore Completion System Provides cost for each completion type. The completion, which was used before the
Low-Cost Completion Option,” by Don conventional completion includes a creation of the cement-through sys-
Ingvardsen, SPE, and Jim Kritzler, fully cased wellbore, zonal isolation, tem, there is some additional jewelry
SPE, Baker Hughes, originally prepared conventional (noncement-through) GL incorporated in the assembly, includ-
for the 2009 SPE Annual Technical side-pocket mandrels (SPMs), and a ing GL mandrels. However, the addi-
Conference and Exhibition, New safety valve. This represents a proven tion of a second trip to complete makes
Orleans, 4–7 October. The paper has system but is substantially more costly this less appealing in these marginal
not been peer reviewed. than any of the other options. wells. Basically, the lower section is

For a limited time, the full-length paper is available free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

68 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2010

 out the completion process (Fig. 2). It
was necessary to know what locations
existed where residual cement could be
left behind after the cementing process.
One of the most critical of those loca-
tions was the SPM. Residual cement in
certain areas of the SPMs could have
made it difficult, if not impossible,
to change out a GL valve or replace
a dummy valve with a GL valve. The
simulations highlighted the locations
where design enhancements were war-
ranted to induce turbulence and allow
for self-cleaning of these critical com-
ponents. Similar design concepts have
been used in safety valves to prohibit
the accumulation of sand in the valves,
and this demonstrated the need for tur-
Fig. 2—Turbulent characteristics. bulent flow throughout the SPM body.
Rounding out the completion was
run and cemented and then the upper hydrostatically closed circulating valve a packer that could handle the high
completion is run and stabbed into the (HCCV), hydraulic packer, and land- circulating rates without the element
lower section. ing collar/shoe track. All of this kit is being affected. It uses a zero-extrusion
The right-hand illustration shows designed specifically to tolerate the element and a no-slip system. Finally, to
the cement-through single-trip system cementing process without degrading finish out the completion, a safety valve
that maximizes productivity of the well its performance and can be run in half that is cement tolerant was added to the
while providing the most value to the the time of the two-trip system. system. However, in certain applica-
customer. The equipment from top to The design process included exten- tions, a safety valve may not be required.
bottom would include a cement-safe sive fluid-dynamics simulations to doc- Possibly the most important part of
safety valve, cement-through SPMs, ument the fluid characteristics through- this design is the HCCV. The purpose

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of this component is to clean excess ular, the North Sea area has adopted a
cement from the annulus, allowing the completion method that uses a minimal
GL portion of the well to be used. The amount of completion components and
following is a typical completion pro- uses cement to strengthen the annulus.
cedure: An inherent problem in these wells is
• Install entire completion into well- formation subsidence that, in many
bore. cases, has damaged the casing and ren-
• Pump cement to approximately dered the well inoperable. The ability
300 ft above packer. to cement through the tubing string of
• Chase wiper plug down to landing a true monobore completion can serve
collar. as a method to preserve the integrity
• Increase pressure to 3,000 psi to of the well tubulars but also reduce by
set packer. as many as 4 days the amount of rig
• Increase pressure to 4,000 psi to time required to complete these wells.
burst rupture disc in HCCV; annulus Typical equipment needed for these
and tubing are now in communication. wells includes a permanent packer, cir-
• Keep circulating until annulus is culating device, and surface-controlled
clean of excess cement. subsurface safety valve.
• Close in the annulus. Gone are the possible leak paths of
• Increase pressure to 4,900 psi to the polished-bore receptacles and seal
shift outer sleeve on HCCV closed; assemblies that used to be required. Avoid
annulus and tubing are now isolated. Depending on the longevity require-
• Use running tool to shift up inner ments, this equipment could be man-
sleeve in HCCV, providing secondary ufactured from specialty material to
seal for annulus and tubing isolation,
if desired.
deliver long-term service in harsh envi-
ronments. A few things to consider
wireline runs
• Run GL valves in appropriate SPM, when contemplating this completion in one subsea job
if desired. style include:
• Perforate and produce well. • Formation characteristics (Will the
This true monobore single-trip com- formation support a successful cement
pletion can reduce the completion time program?) the equivalent of
from approximately 60 hours to an • Completion and cementing proce-
average of 17 hours per completion. dure that will support the integrity and
The cement-through system can capabilities of the completion compo-
provide the following benefits when nents
applied in a true monobore completion: • Potential longevity of the well Save
• Cemented monobore wells offer based on inherent harsh environments
operators an economically viable meth-
od of completing wells with life expec- Conclusions
tancies of 3 to 5 years. Operators continue to strive for a sim-
• A significant reduction in rig time
and nonproductive time is possible.
ple low-cost solution for completing
these 3- to 5-year life-expectancy wells.
hours rigtime
• Adapting this technology can pro- Simple tubing-only monobore wells
vide completion solutions for enhanced continue to be the mainstay in many
productivity and safety.
• It can reduce man-hours on the
areas. The success rates continue to be
approximately 90%, mainly because of
Our eRED computer
controlled open/close ball valve
rig floor. the reduced number of components in simplifies well operations
• Fewer accessory tools and trips can the completion and a simple, repeat-
by removing wireline runs,
reduce the risk of fishing operations, able completion procedure. This is not
which can be costly and time consum- to say that there have not been any providing dramatic savings
ing. issues in this approach to well comple- on rig time and all associated
• Life and productivity of the well tions, but they have contributed to costs and risks.
can be extended with the use of a lessons learned and ultimately helped
proven GL system. to improve the reliability of the system. Visit our stand at
The one-trip monobore completion
Monobore Injection Wells is still the preferred method of comple- ATCE 2010
Advances in monobore applications tions in the Gulf of Thailand. More Florence
have indicated that injectors can ben- than 300 of these wells have been com-
efit from this technology also. In an pleted in 27/8-in. and 31/2-in. tubing.
effort to reduce rig time to complete The proven value of this completion
water-injector wells, a true monobore
concept has been developed. In partic-
technique could lead to its increased
use in other parts of the world. JPT
t +44 1224 275000
redspiders.com
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2010