Summary This paper presents drilling, completion, well-performance, and reservoir-characterization results of a recently drilled maximum-reservoir-contact (MRC) well in the Shaybah field with a total of eight laterals and an aggregate reservoir contact of 12.3 km (7.6 miles). The well was drilled as part of a pilot program to evaluate both the practical challenges and the reservoir performance impact of MRC wells. The results to date on eight MRC wells in Shaybah indicate significant sustainable gains in well productivities as well as reductions in unit-development costs. A useful byproduct of MRC drilling is the enhancement achieved in reservoir characterization. These benefits point to MRC wells as disruptive technologies (DTs)1,2 that have positive implications for developing tight-facies reservoirs.

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThis paper presents drilling, completion, well performance, and reservoir characterization results of a recently-drilled Maximum Reservoir Contact (MRC) well in the Shaybah Field with a total of eight laterals and an aggregate reservoir contact of 12.3 kms (7.6 miles). The well was drilled as part of a pilot program to evaluate both the practical challenges and the reservoir performance impact of MRC wells. The results to date on three MRC wells in Shaybah indicate significant gains in well productivities as well as reductions in unit development costs. A useful by-product of MRC drilling is the enhancement achieved in reservoir characterization. These benefits point to MRC wells as disruptive technologies (DTs) 1,2 which have far reaching implications for developing tight-facies reservoirs.

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The current practice for offshore drilling operations requires dumping cuttings immediately after being treated at the site into the sea. In shallow waters; this practice will jeopardize the lives of sea creatures and hinder the marine traffic. Therefore, this method is not applicable for this field. There are three waste disposal methods to replace the existing method; first, the cuttings are treated on site and then shipped to land where they are dumped in special mud disposal pits. Ultimately, those pits are buried. The second option is to dump the cuttings after being treated in a sea trench near wells to be drilled. The third solution is to utilize the advanced waste management technology where the cuttings are injected back into its original environment. The last is considered to be the safest and most cost-effective method. Therefore, the company planned to implement this technique. As a step forward, Saudi Armco elected to test the feasibility of this technology. An old onshore disposal well was selected for this test. In this test, four formations were tested one after another to find out the most appropriate one for hosting the cuttings. This paper discusses and explains the test in detail. Moreover, the injection capacity of each zone tested will be projected against the test results using IPR (Inflow Performance Relationship) and OPR (Outflow Performance Relationship) curves methods.