The benefits of drilling multilateral wells in slot limited applicationssuch as offshore platforms are well known. Using multilateral technology in aproject can minimize facility costs, reduce drilling costs, maximize reservoirexposure and reach secondary targets. When a project is in the planning stage, there is often resistance to multilateral concepts due to a perception ofincreased operational risks and doubts that the economic benefits will be fullyrealized. The key to broadening the implementation of this technology ismatching actual opportunities with robust, reliable multilateral systems. In a project in the Arabian Gulf, an operator implemented the use ofTechnical Committee for the Advancement of Multi Laterals (TAML) level 5pressure isolated junction systems with through tubing access to develop asingle reservoir in a slot limited application. Both pre-milled and retrievableoriented milled window technology were used as a platform for the completedjunction. This illuminates how this technology is used in new or existingwells. A study of how the unique operational issues were solved illuminates thesuccess of the application of this technology to this project. It will alsoprovide an insight into best practices to aid in the planning and execution ofother complex well types. Operational and economic results, as compared tosingle lateral wells on the same platform, provide insight into many advantagesrealized in this program. Introduction The prevailing reservoir management philosophy in Saudi Arabia is tomaximize reservoir exposure in each well. This is projected to increase theproductivity of each well or drilling slot. This will also reduce well problemsthat are exacerbated by high draw down such as coning or cresting, solidsproduction, or wellbore stability. Multilateral technology can assist in theapplication of this philosophy in several ways such as: Adding more footagethrough the addition of laterals, increasing the drainage area by covering moreareal extent with laterals, and making the drilled footage more productive byadding flow control and remedial capabilities to the well. In a field development the Arabian gulf, the primary zone of development atthis time is a sandstone, though several other zones are indicated in thearea. Ongoing reservoir management considerations suggested that multilateralwells would accelerate production from the eastern flank of the field. The project team was challenged with maximizing reservoir drainage from theplatform. To achieve this plan, medium reach horizontal wells along withmultilateral legs were evaluated in the reservoir model. Although all of thewells on the platform were indicated as potential for applying multilateraltechnology, only the last two were planned due to expected delivery time forthe equipment. A sub-team from the Marjan project team was formed with thefollowing objectives:Technically evaluate the drilling and completion equipment on the market forre-accessible drilling junctions.Determine the available completion alternatives.Evaluate full cycle operations and costs (drilling, completion, workover andproduction) to evaluate the long term operating/workover cost of the well.Evaluate the applicability of this technology to other areas within SaudiArabia.