Intelligent Completions (IC) are deployed with the high hopes of frequent data utilization and zonal selectivity maneuver to optimize production continuously. The permanent downhole presence of measurements like pressure, temperature, rate, water-cut, gas-break provide downhole indicators and trending analysis of production performance and injection conformance. These are utilized not only to maximize hydrocarbon production but also to reduce surface handling of water and/or gas, improve injection efficiency, and reduce carbon and environmental footprint. However, the reality could be different from the evaluation stage to the application stage. The asset production engineers or the reservoir engineers face real challenges when it comes to design, downhole installation, data transmission, real-time analysis, and optimization to deliver the real value of the initial investment. These suboptimal application factors, multiplied by the complexity of IC deployment and execution with existing hardware constraints, have limited the progression towards digital well technology. By analyzing such trends, a new advanced completion optimization methodology has been devised, leveraging the latest technology and innovation, IC deployment simplification, and electrification efforts in the industry. This paper analyses the underutilization reasons of digital well technology, such as - the ability of design and implementation, the downhole data measurement, complexity of modeling and optimization, and the bottlenecks in applying the learning from the Intelligent Completions data to optimize production. It is then compared to the easing transition to the future digital-wells, advanced modeling capabilities that are driving the oilfield digitalization by next-generation Intelligent Completion. This digital transition ranges from ease-of-deployment to ease-of-optimization and eventually towards cloud-enabled decision making. The new era of IC electrification deployment and digital solutions are twinning to provide an integrated platform to maximize value and justification for more future digital wells. A fully digital system to control reservoir and optimize the product is becoming a reality with the transformation of modeling capability and enabled by simplification of IC deployment, and this is the digital future of IC optimization. This digital solution is continuously feeding asset subsurface, modeling, and optimization team with productivity or injectivity indexes and other inputs required for reservoir steady-state and transient evaluation. The IC industry continues to be integrating into the new solution frontiers of logging-while-producing, the testing-while-producing capability to the eventual optimizing, modeling-while-producing future, leading towards a true digital oilfield of the future.

The drilling records of Extreme Reservoir Contacts (ERC) like Extended Reached Drilling (ERD) and Multi-Lateral wells(ML) continue to be broken. From the initial limit of MD 10,000ft to now almost 50,000ft with extended reach depths and from dual-lateral to quad-laterals’ with 40,000-50,000ft reservoir contact. Completions rule of engaging with this type of wells continues to play ‘catch-up’. As a result, getting the full potential out of these extreme wells with limited completions options had always been a challenge. Recent innovation in "wireless electric connect/disconnect" technology combined with all electric integrated intelligent completions architecture has addressed these challenges. The well completion design is an all electrical system that provides a multi trip connect/disconnect system enabling seamless communication between upper and lower completions enabling permanent downhole monitoring and control, at the sand face. The highlight of this digital edge solution and deployment architecture enables completions to deploy in ERC wells meeting targeted drilled depths and achieving reservoir goals. The digital enablement provides real time downhole data for permanent production logging and zonal well testing capability while producing. Production and reservoir management is at finger tips of the end user. A new innovative down hole electric telemetry enabled data transmission and power to be distributed across multiple sensors like pressure, temperature, water cut and electric flow control valve. Run on a single electrical cable, this digital completion technology with its induction coupling capability continue to complete record-drilling wells and makes today's completions limitations a history. It is now a reality for fully-digitalized Intelligent Completions solution, which can support any well type scenarios; multi-zones, horizontals, multi-laterals and extended reached drilling (ERD), including subsea completions. Each zone can be equipped with a permanent downhole infinite position valve-control, flowmeter, water-cut sensor and/or pressure/temperature gauges. This allows real-time reservoir measurement and supports ‘Dial A Rate’ flow control. Conventional flow control valves depend on hydraulic actuation system, although the technology has worked for decades, it has some inherent limitations such as need for multiple control lines limiting the number of zones, maximum depth of deployment as well the response time of hydraulic systems for very long completions. Electric valves are free from these limitations by design and provides lot more flexibility in the hands of the completion engineer. The multiple sensors measurement and data integration is achieved with a single surveillance, monitoring, diagnostics and valve-optimization production software to ensure real time data streaming, management and bringing insights to production and reservoir engineers for production optimization through remote valve control. This digital solution of Intelligent Completions technology can finally claim that completions is no longer the limiting factor, effective reservoir management with intelligent completions can follow wherever the drill bit can go. It has been deployed worldwide from the Middle East to the open Sea in Pacific to enable zonal production-control and reservoir management. Its borderless completions architectures and standardization of modular system is the answer for Digital Oilfield and Data driven continual production optimization and reservoir management without intervention. For the first time in Completions history, extended drilling records are matched with completing the entire well to Measured Depth (MD) with fully digitized solution of multi-zone measurements, infinite-control valves and real time data enabled production optimization system.

This paper compiles recommendations from a broad range of sources into a single document to aid future intelligent completion installations and operations. While emphasis was placed on subsea completions, these recommendations can be readily applied to differing well types. Important differences between production wells and injection wells are addressed. While it may appear that intelligent completion equipment can be treated as "commodity items" like many other completion components, this is not recommended. Intelligent completions are complex systems with design and operational requirements that span many engineering disciplines and impact many well components. Changing well temperatures and reservoir pressures generate unique and sometimes very challenging design conditions, with thermally-induced pressure gains in the control lines being an example. Failing to address all load cases, selecting the wrong control fluid, failing to properly clean even a single component, or employing the wrong operating practice even once, can permanently risk the integrity and/or operability of the intelligent completion. This paper reviews each component within the intelligent completion and details a systemic approach for identifying risk and optimizing its design. The recommended process starts with the control fluid and methodically works through the rest of the intelligent completion components and processes. Systems engineering can lead to important insights to overall system specification, risks, and operating recommendations. Numerous recommendations and learnings from past projects are shared. Additionally, the need to properly manage and operate the intelligent completion doesn't end with handover to Production. Recommendations for optimizing system longevity and diagnosing non-conformances are also provided. A spreadsheet-based method of accurately assessing pressure gains in control lines is described, as are several recommended additions to the tree and other parts of the intelligent completion system. Explanations for anomalous behavior seen on several projects, which become clearer through the lens of systems engineering, are shared.