Summary Well architecture advances from conventional wells to horizontal. Then multilateral wells, which have maximized reservoir contact, have been paralleled by advances in completion-equipment development. Passive inflow-control devices (ICDs) and active intervalcontrol valves (ICVs) provide a range of fluid-flow control options that can enhance the reservoir sweep efficiency and increase reserves. ICVs were used originally for controlled, commingled production from multiple reservoirs, while ICDs were developed to counteract the horizontal well's heel/toe effect. The variety of their applications has proliferated since these beginnings. Their application areas now overlap, resulting in it becoming a complex, time-consuming process to select between ICVs or ICDs for a particular well's completion. This publication summarizes the results of a comprehensive, comparative study of the functionality and applicability of the two technologies. It maps out a workflow of the selection process on the basis of the thorough analysis of the ICD and ICV advantages in major reservoir, production, operation, and economic areas. It provides detailed analysis of Reservoir-engineering aspects, such as uncertainty management, formation heterogeneity, and the level of flexibility required by the developmentProduction and completion characteristics, such as tubing size, the number of separately controllable zones, the completion of multiple laterals, and the value of real-time informationOperational and economical aspects, such as proper modeling, gas-and oilfield applications, equipment costs and installation risks, long-term reliability, and technical performance. The results of this work's systematic approach form the basis of a screening tool to identify the most appropriate control technology for a wide range of situations. This selection framework can be applied by both production technologists and reservoir engineers when choosing between passive or active flow control in advanced wells. The value of these guidelines is illustrated by their application to synthetic- and real-field case studies.
Horizontal and multilateral completions are a proven, superior development option compared to conventional solutions in many reservoir situations. However, they are still susceptible to coning toward the heel of the well despite their maximizing of reservoir contact. This is due to frictional pressure drop and/or permeability variations along the well. Annular flow, leading to severe erosion "hot-spots" and plugging of screens is another challenge. Inflow Control Devices (ICDs) were proposed as a solution to these difficulties in the early '90s. ICDs have recently gained popularity and are being increasingly applied to a wider range of field types. Their efficacy to control the well inflow profile has been confirmed by a variety of field monitoring techniques. An ICD is a choking device installed as part of the sandface completion hardware. It aims to balance the horizontal well's inflow profile and minimize the annular flow at the cost of a limited, extra pressure drop. Fractured and more heterogeneous formations require, in addition, the installation of annular isolation. The new technologies of Swell Packers and Constrictors can provide this annular isolation in an operationally simple manner. This paper describes the history of ICD development with an emphasis on the designs available and their areas of application. These technical criteria will be illustrated using published field examples. The ICD's flexibility will be shown by its integration with other conventional and advanced production technologies e.g. Stand-Alone-Screens, annular isolation, artificial lift, gravel packs and intelligent completions in both horizontal and multilateral wells. It will be shown how the value of such well-construction options can be quantified using commercially available, modelling simulators. Simple, but reliable, guidelines on how to model the performance of ICDs over the well's life will be provided. This technique can thus be used as part of the value quantification process for both the evaluation of completion options and for their detailed design. 1 Introduction Horizontal and multilateral wells are becoming a basic well architecture in current field developments. Advances in drilling technology during the past 20 years facilitated the drilling and completion of long (extended reach) horizontal and multilateral wells with the primary objective of maximising the reservoir contact. The increase in reservoir exposure through the extension of well length helped lower the pressure drawdown required to achieve the same rate and enhance the well productivity 1–2. Major operators have proved the advantages of such wells in improving recovery and lowering the cost per unit length. The production from thin oil column reservoirs (e.g. The Norwegian Troll Field) became a reality thanks to such wells 3–4. However, the increase in wellbore length and exposure to different reservoir facies came at a cost. Frictional pressure drop caused by fluid flow in horizontal sections resulted in higher drawdown-pressure in the heel section of the completion, causing an unbalanced fluid influx. Hence, coning of water and gas toward the heel of the well was observed. Variable distribution of permeability along the wellbore also results in variation of the fluid influx along the completion and an uneven sweep of the reservoir. Annular flow is another challenge often encountered when horizontal wellbores are completed with Stand-Alone-Screens (SAS) or with pre-perforated/Slotted liners. Neither of these completion options employs any form of isolation between the casing and the formation (i.e. external casing packers). Annular flow, which is dependent on many parameters such as the size of the clearance between the sandface and the liner (screen) outer diameter, still imposes several problems including: dislodging of the sand grains causing erosion of the sandface, formation of "hot-spots" and plugging of the sand screens 5–6. Previously, the elimination of such phenomenon required the utilization of gravel packs or installation of Expandable Sand Screens (ESS), which often had a significant impact on the well productivity and/or involved a very complex operation 6–7.
Formation damage created during drilling or workover operations significantly reduces the performance of many wells. Long, horizontal and multilateral wells crossing heterogeneous, possibly multiple, reservoirs often show greater formation damage than conventional wells. This is partly due to the longer exposure of the formation to the drilling and completion fluid due to the well geometry as well as to the greater overbalance pressure often applied during drilling such wells and poorer cleanup. The typical well clean up process involves flowing the well naturally or aided by artificial lift to remove the external and internal mudcake and flow-back the mud filtrate. This process can be effective in conventional wells but is not adequate in long horizontal and multilateral wells suffering from increased frictional pressure drop along the wellbore and heterogeneity. The cleanup efficiency is improved by employing Advanced Well completions. Inflow Control Valves (ICVs) control the contribution from individual laterals or a specific zone along the extended horizontal wellbore. Inflow Control Devices (ICDs) equalise the contribution along the (long) completion length. In addition, Autonomous ICDs can manage the influx of unwanted fluids. This paper studies the cleanup performance of such wells completed with these advanced, downhole flow control technologies. It provides valuable insights into how these completions improve the well cleanup process and compares the ability of (A)ICD and ICV technologies to provide the optimum:Drawdown to lift off the filter cake formed by different mud systems (without causing sand production).Recovery rate of the invaded mud filtrate. Guidelines for Advanced Well Completion cleanup along with simulated results of synthetic and real field cases are included. 1 Introduction Formation damage is a deterioration of the near wellbore, reservoir formation characteristics. It has been described as: "The impairment of the invisible, by the inevitable and uncontrollable, resulting in an indeterminate reduction of the unquantifiable" [1]. Its causes include: "physico-chemical, chemical, biological, hydrodynamic, and thermal interactions of porous formation, particles and fluids and mechanical deformation of formation under stress and fluid shear" [2]. These processes can be triggered at all stages of the well or field's life: drilling, workover, completion, gravel packing, production, injection, stimulation, etc. Formation damage reduces the absolute formation permeability and/or causes an unfavourable relative permeability change; both of these will adversely impact the well and reservoir performance. Increasing the well-reservoir contact has become an increasingly popular well construction option. It brings a number of potential advantages - increases in the well productivity, drainage area and sweep efficiency plus delayed water or gas breakthrough. Drilling, workover and (re)completion are all major interventions that result in severe formation damage in Extended Reservoir Contact (ERC) wells. External and internal mudcakes are often formed at the sandface in addition to mud filtrate invasion into the near wellbore area during these interventions. Increased levels of formation damage is to be expected in ERC wells compared to conventional wells due to the increased exposure to the reservoir, use of a higher overbalance pressure and the increased time required to drill and complete these wells. Both water and oil based mud are used to drill ERC wells. Polymers are added to these mud systems to enhance their ability to suspend drill cuttings within the long and tortuous wellbores so that they can be circulated to surface. These polymers will absorb on water wet, formations; altering the irreducible water saturation around the wellbore and complicating the water based filtrate's flow back during the cleanup process.
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