SPE SA-0632

INTEGRATING ADVANCED WELL COMPLETION TECHNOLOGY IMPROVED WELL

PERFORMANCE & MAXIMIZED RECOVERY -- CASE HISTORY
A. H. Sunbul, K. S. Al-Mohanna, H. B. Al-Qahtani, D. E. Hembling, SPE, Saudi Aramco; and G. Salerno, Baker Oil Tools

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2006 SPE Technical Symposium of Saudi openhole packers provided a cost effective method to
Arabia Section held in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 21-23 May 2006.
equalize the inflow from the entire horizontal section,
This paper was selected for presentation by the Technical Symposium Program Committee
following review of information contained in full manuscript submitted by the author(s).
increasing well PI and prolonging well life.
Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum
Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does
not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or Completion Selection
members.
A companywide review of over 800 horizontal well
Abstract completions performed in 2004 showed non-uniform
The combination of two new technologies – a inflow profiles in horizontal wells resulted in
production equalizer system combined with in-situ gas premature water / gas production, loss of production
lift or electric submersible pumps (ESP) _ have been and reserves, and a decrease in profitability. In
successfully implemented in Saudi Aramco offshore addition, water management is a challenge for offshore
oil fields to optimize well rate and recovery. Merging fields due to high cost of separation and the negative
these technologies has allowed Saudi Aramco optimal impact on backpressure caused by water production in
completion methods to exploit the remaining reserves the pipeline network. Case histories showed that early
from both Khafji and Safaniyah sandstone reservoirs. water breakthrough from cemented and perforated
completions resulted in a severe drop in the individual
This paper describes the benefits of integrating well productivity. The early water breakthrough was
production equalizer technology with artificial lift (In- associated with poor inflow profiles caused by
situ gas lift or ESP) to optimize production, delay permeability variations and formation damage from
water / gas coning, ensure uniform inflow, and prolong perforating.
well life. A case history from Saudi Aramco will be
presented, where these integrated technologies resulted The introduction of equalizer completion system in
in significant saving for the operator, and improved 2002 was successfully evaluated in several horizontal
production performance in horizontal offshore oil wells (SPE 85332). The system consists of stand-alone
wells. premium screen fitted with a proprietary low velocity
flow regulator. The objective of this regulator is to
Background prevent highly productive zones from producing too
The offshore fields in Saudi Arabia are sandstone much; hence allowing the pressure in the wellbore to
reservoirs with good petrophysical properties. These be lowered to pull harder on the lower productive
fields have been producing since the mid-fifties, and zones. If the well path is close to either water and/or
the production mechanism is a strong water drive. gas, it will prevent any undesired coning effects that
Natural depletion and proximity of the water created a lead to premature water and / or gas break through.
new challenge for sustained production. Horizontal
wells were introduced in the early nineties to sustain The system was deployed in the open hole of the
production target. Prior to 2003, most horizontal wells horizontal well with self energizing external casing
drilled in the sandstone offshore reservoirs were packers (ECP) called MPas packers. Zonal isolation in
completed as cemented and perforated liner each 450’ of lateral section (Fig. 1) demonstrates the
completions. This method proved to be less then ability to balance the inflow into the screen liner with a
optimal as only a small fraction of the net pay specially designed inflow control device (Fig. 2). ICD
encountered produced resulting in early water or gas uses the helical channels, as shown in Fig. 2, as a
arrival leaving many reserves behind. The introduction restrictive element to impose a pressure distribution,
of a uniform control device along with mechanical
and then control the production along the entire length A common solution for adding energy into the
of the wellbore (Reference-2). production stream for incremental recovery is the
application of artificial lift via submersible pump or
gas lift. To increase the reserve recovery for Z-279,
the method of artificial lift chosen to restore
Liner Packer Equalizer Screen
UNIFORM-FLOW Screen
Mechanical ECPs production had to be compatible with the installation
of a sand retention completion required to produce oil
Fig. 1: The UNIFORM-FLOW Production System and water without producing formation sand.
As Run in Z-253
Production was restored in Z-279 by utilizing a
completion system called In-situ Gas Lift.

The In-situ Gas Lift completion design and

methodology utilizes the gas cap in the K reservoir to
lift the oil column allowing sustained oil production as
reserves are depleted and the oil water contact moves
Sand Screen Helical Channels Base Pipe up into each interval. To address future isolation of
water production, the completion design is segmented
into two separate intervals allowing commingling of
production and isolation as necessary to prevent water
production. A completion is also installed in the gas
cap for delivery of the gas into the production stream
Fig. 2: The UNIFORM-FLOW Screen and to provide rate control of the gas lift gas as
with Detailed View of Regulator Section
illustrated in Fig. 3.
The original completion methodology used in the Z
field did not include sand control as a completion
option. If incremental oil is going to be recovered, the
oil is going to be produced along with water. To
prevent sand production which occurs with the
introduction of water into the production stream, a
sand retention device such as a sand screen is needed. S l i d i n g
s l e e e v s
The screen selected is premium screen designed to O
w
r i f i
/
c e s

have great durability and resistance to erosion and

plugging.

Artificial lift selection G a s c a p

Artificial lift was also thought to achieve incremental

reserve recovery after the well had stopped producing S l i d i n g s l e e v e

due to water production. The strategy was different O i l z o n e

for each field. Z&M fields had a gas cap above the
reservoir that could be used for Gas lift, while S field S l i d i n g s l e e v e

does not have a gas cap, so an ESP system was O i l Z o n e

selected. Initially a cased hole vertical well was

selected to trial test the in situ gas lift technology. The
Z-279 was previously drilled into the K reservoir
where the production zone is divided into two separate Fig. 3: Natural Gas Lift
intervals that are supported by a strong aquifer. In the Completion Design
Z area, at water cut range from 10% to 30%, the
hydrostatic pressure of the production fluid exceeds Sand Production Challenge:
the production energy of the reservoir and kills the The original completion methodology used in the Z
well. To further add to the production challenges, with field did not include sand control as a completion
the onset of water production, the formation produces option. If incremental oil was going to be recovered,
sand. the oil would need to be produced along with water.
To prevent sand production which occurs with the
introduction of water into the production stream, a
sand retention device such as a sand screen is needed.
For Z-279, the sand screen selected is the Excluder
2000 for both the oil and the gas zones. This type of WC, % 0 10 30 50 70
screen is the most applied premium screen in the oil
WHP 815 764 678 586 500
industry designed to have great durability and GLR 403 363 282 202 121
resistance to erosion and plugging. GLR from 546 506 431 355 280
Nat. Gas lift
To achieve isolation of encroaching water for the two Gas rate 1.71 1.74 1.79 1.84 1.88
producing intervals in the K reservoir, selectivity is Mscf/d
achieved between the oil zones by integrating a ∆P available, 215 164 78
concentric string with sliding sleeves into the sand psi
control completions. These sliding sleeves are shifted Table 1: Required Gas Rate with Increasing Watercut
mechanically to commingle or isolate production.
Introduction of gas lift into the production stream
without having separate gas lift facilities is achieved Pressure Drop through 1/4" Orifice
by integrating a completion in the gas cap with the
sand control completions in each of the two oil 350

producing intervals. For the upper completion and the 300

Pressure Drop, psi

gas lift, the idea is to provide a simple and reliable 250
solution that is easy to operate. Effective gas lift is 200
achieved with sliding sleeves containing orifice inserts 150
that control the rate of gas injected into the 100
hydrocarbon production stream. This gas reduces the 50
hydrostatic column and allows the well to flow (orifice
0
selection is illustrated below). 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Gas Rate (MSCF/D)

In-situ Gas Lift System Fig. 4: Pressure Drop for ¼ in. Gas Lift Orifice
The natural gas lift system utilizes the K reservoir gas
cap as the energy source for lifting the oil production Reference Pressure at Orifice
as water encroaches into the production zone. For Z- Pressure, psi
279, the gas cap sandface completion consists of a 2200 2250 2300 2350 2400 2450 2500 2550
stand alone screen with a Baker SC-1 GP packer 5300

placed opposite the gas zone. A 4-½ in. OD screen is 5400

placed in front of a perforated interval (+/- 18 ft) and 5500

gas is injected into the tubing using a CMU Non-
Depth, feet

5600 WC 30%
WC 0%
elastomeric sliding sleeve with tungsten carbide 5700
WC 10%
orifices. 5800 WC 50%
WC 70%
5900
GAS
The natural gas lift sleeves may be opened with slick 6000
line as the water breaks through and the production 6100
target can no longer be met. The orifice sizes selected
(1/4 in. and 3/8 in.) is based on the pressure Fig. 5: Reference Pressure vs. Water Cut
differential at the orifice. The differential pressure at
the orifice was calculated building a two-well system, At watercut levels below 40%, the well is able to
one from bottom hole to injection point and the second produce more than 8,000 bbl/d. Slightly larger orifices
one from the injection point to surface. The simulation (9/32 to 11/32 in.) enable the well to produce at higher
intent is to get the pressure at the injection point that rates and higher water cuts.
will determine the amount of gas injected with a given
orifice and calculate the new WHP pressure based on The tubing size affects the amount of gas required
the amount of gas injected as shown in Table 1 and mainly due to changes in friction. Table-2 listed
Figs. 4 and 5. The amount of gas injected changes below shows the effect of the tubing size on the total
with the increase in pressure differential resulting from GLR required for a maximum anticipated flow rate:
changes in watercut at a given rate. The result is an
increase in the GLR, thereby providing enhanced
lifting capabilities.
RATE 8000 bbl/d, 30% WC lift in the upper gas cap. The gas lift system can be
Tbg size 3½ 4½ 5½ operated via slick line when the production target
GLR >900 480 431 cannot be met
required
Table 2: Required GLR for different tubing size

Impact of Natural Gas Lift System on Completion

Skin
With the natural gas lift option integrated into the
sandface completion, it is possible to overcome
formation damage / completion skin using the energy
provided by the lifting system. In the plot shown
below, three simulations with a completion skin of 0,
10, 20, and 30 have been made in order to demonstrate
how the natural gas lift potential can improve the
completion efficiency. The plot is showing, at a given Natural Gas lift
production rate of 12000 bbl/d, the amount of gas with Equalizer
delivered by the system with a ¼ in. orifice for a skin Gas Green
value up to 30 and a water cut <30% and for a 3/8 in. Oil Red
orifice choke the skin value and a WC >30%.

The amount of gas delivered is a function of water cut

and skin, and the amount of gas needed for lifting
purpose at a given rate of 6,000 bbl/d could be up to
2.5 MMscf/d.
Gas Required for Lifting @ 6000 bbl/d

4
Gas injected, MMscf/d

3.5
3 Fig. 7: Z-345 Natural Gas Lift Completion
0 skin
2.5
2
10 skin Schematic
20 skin
1.5
30 skin S field case histories
1
0.5 In this field the artificial lift method selected was an
0
ESP pump to be set above the equalizer completion set
0 20 40 60 80
in the horizontal section (Fig. 8). Also, the upper part
Water cut, %
of the completion was partially cemented to isolate the
upper zone. One of the concerns was formation
Fig. 6: Completion Skin Impact on Required Gas damage induced during pump change out and cleanup
Rate vs. Water Cut after pump change out. To minimize formation
damage, the completion approach integrates an
Integration of Artificial lift and equalizer electrical submersible pump (ESP), along with a
completion reservoir control valve (RCV). Running such a
The following step was to couple the optimum completion provides fluid loss control, reservoir
technologies for new drilled wells consisting of an isolation during an ESP workover or change out,
Equalizer Production System with artificial lifting. reducing formation damage during workovers as the
Additionally, each field uses different lifting pay zone will not be exposed to the kill fluid, and also
techniques (ESP for S field and In-situ gas lift for Z& reduces rig time due to a reduced number of
M fields). operational issues.

The Well Z-345 (fig. 7) was the first equalizer with in-
situ gas lift system, and it consisted of an equalizer
application installed in the reservoir, and an in-situ gas
 from the hole and help with inflow and filter cake lift
1
off. This is critical for equalizer completions to avoid
2
plugging screens and inflow device and avoid settling
of solids in the equalizer channels. Most completions
3

4
will be run in a conditioned OBM as completion fluid
5
to save rig time, maintain hole stability, and reduce
damage caused by emulation resulting from poor OBM
6
to brine displacements.
7

8 Flow for clean up : It is critical to insure that the well

9
is fully unloaded while the rig is on location and make
10
sure the equalizer channels do not become plugged
11
with drilling mud and debris. Wells without gas cap
lift, will require coil tubing to provide the required
12

underballance to initiate flow. For wells with gas cap

13
lift, use the gas cap lift to unload the well, no coil
14
required. Plan for 24 hrs of flow after first oil to
15
surface. The offshore optimization team will provide a
bean-up program to increase rate to insure each
16
compartment gets unloaded in the equalizer.
17
Screen Size: 6-5/8 in. Equalizer screen is preferred
over the 5-1/2 in. The bigger size production equalizer
18
screen with blank pipe and MPas packer will provide
19 future well intervention capability for zonal isolation
in long horizontal wells completed with equalizer.
20

Also it will provide flexibility to install future smart

21
well completion if needed. During the planning phase
22
a review should be done for each well plan to assess if
23
the larger 6-5/8 in. screens can be deployed.

Nomenclature
Fig. 8: S-XX ESP & Equalizer Completion ESP = Electrical Submersibles Pump
ECP = External Casing Packer
Conclusion & Recommendations GLR = Gas Liquid Ratio
MRBD = Thousand Reservoir
Integrating artificial lift with equalizer technology will
Barrels Per Day
help control inflow, improve sweep, minimize water ICD = Inflow Control Device
production and prolong well life. The following YP = Yield point
recommendations are based on lessons learned for the WC = Water Cut
Z-345 and S-XX installations and should be PSD = Particle Size
implemented for future wells completed with this Distribution
technology: Leff = Effective Producing Length from
Net Pay Within the Horizontal
Drilling Fluid: Formation damage is a concern when Section
drilling pay zones as reduction in near wellbore LC50 = Lethal Concentration, 50%
PCF = Pounds Per Cubic Foot
permeability may be severe due to solids invasion,
PPM = Parts Per Million
filtrate leakoff, polymer plugging, water blockage, IEOM = Invert Emulsion Oil
fines migration or scale formation. Therefore it is Mud
necessary to minimize formation damage during OWR = Oil-Water Ratio
drilling, completion. Always utilize a new OBM SFOM = Solid-Free Oil Mud
designed for the pay zone. Never utilize mud from OBM = Oil Based Mud
uphole drilling operation. Ensure the PSD is correct RCV = Reservoir Control Valve
and maintained during drilling operations (Reference- FBHP = Flowing Bore Hole Pressure
3). SIBHP = Shut-in Bore Hole Pressure
Completion Fluid: The completion fluid can be a DIF = Drill in Fluid
PI = Productivity Index
reconditioned or fresh batch of same DIF. Remove all
MPas = Baker External Packer
drill cuttings and drop YP to allow solids removal
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Saudi Aramco for their
permission to publish this paper and the information within,
and extend their thanks to Baker Oil Tools for their
unlimited cooperation & continuous support.

References
1. SPE 85332 New-Technology Application to Extend
The Life of Horizontal Wells By Creating Uniform-
Flow-Profiles: Production Completion System: Case
Study
2. IPTC 10177 New Technology to Increase Oil
Recovery by Creating Uniform Flow Profiles in
Horizontal Wells: Case Studies and
Technology Overview
3. Ayers Jr, R.C., Sauer Jr., T.C., and Anderson P.W.:
“The Generic Mud Concept for NPDES Permitting
of Offshore Drilling Discharge,”JPT (March 1985).