Multilateral completions are vital in the oilfield development of thin-layered reservoirs by enhancing field economics and oil productivity through improved reservoir exposure while reducing operating costs. Gas and water coning in thin oil columns can compromise production longevity. The first successful subsea implementation of dual-lateral infill horizontal wells completed with autonomous inflow control devices (AICDs) is discussed. The reservoir is located in an offshore field in the North West Shelf, Australia, and includes a thin oil rim with gas and water breakthrough challenges. Long horizontal wells are typically completed as open hole with standalone screens (SAS) or gravel packs, which can create nonuniform reservoir influx along the wellbore. Water or gas coning can cause uneven reservoir drainage that can result in valuable bypassed oil being left in the reservoir. Advanced well architecture using multilateral horizontal wells with AICDs has been used to extend production life while also reducing production costs and handling and treating unwanted fluid. Technical Advancement of Multilaterals (TAML) Level 5 dual-lateral AICD completion design considerations along with the implementation methodology and well flow performance with AICD completion are discussed. The primary objective when designing these infill wells was to access bypassed oil. Two dual-lateral horizontal wells were successfully drilled with a total reservoir length of approximately 10 km. Both of the sandface completions were enhanced with the deployment of fluidic diode AICDs and swellable isolation packers placed along the main bore and lateral to create a uniform drawdown while also limiting both gas and water production sourced from an existing gas cap and water aquifer. The first case study in the offshore field in Australia where advanced completion techniques were used in combination with a TAML Level 5 dual-lateral AICD completion to maximize reservoir exposure, enhance oil production, and control gas/water breakthrough to increase oil recovery is discussed.
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