Subsea well completion design and implementation in TotalFinaElf's Aconcagua Field and Marathon Oil Company's Camden Hills Field posed unprecedented challenges. Water depths in the area of planned development (up to 7209 ft) were greater than for any well previously completed in the world. Limited gas reserves in this high-cost, deepwater environment precluded future economic intervention, so the completion design had to balance the potential complexity of multiplezone production with high life-of-well reliability. Conducting the completions from a dynamically positioned (DP) drilling vessel, which had not yet been done at the time completion planning was underway, presented additional challenges. The extensive pre-planning, preparation for contingencies (for both the installation and production phases), and application of lessons learned for continuous improvement throughout the six-well installation program are presented in this paper. Because of limited space, only the most essential lessons can be discussed here.

To maintain profitability in the development of marginal fields, many new technologies and concepts have been exploited. One of the most promising technologies has been the "Intelligent Well Concept," which allows the operator to produce, monitor, and control the production of hydrocarbons through remotely operated completion systems. These systems are developed with techniques that allow the well architecture to be reconfigured at will and real-time data to be acquired without any well intervention. This paper concerns a case history in the Gulf of Mexico in which an operator was able to justify completion of marginal wells based on the cost savings generated from innovative technologies. from the master control station (MCS) to a control system subsea.Power (both electric and hydraulic) and communication are transmitted subsea via an electrohydraulic umbilical before being "split off" to individual wellheads or production manifolds.

Economic success of deepwater and ultra-deepwater developments often depends on the use of innovative technologies that can increase production and minimize workover needs to achieve the sought-after field efficiency during the productive life of the field. Intelligent completion technology, a new concept for the oilfield, is one of the technologies that can support these needs. This well completion concept allows the operator to obtain real-time or near-real-time reservoir data, and then, to reconfigure the wellbore production/injection architecture to adapt to the information obtained. Along with pipeline, platform, and subsea system synergies, three fields in the Gulf of Mexico – Aconcagua, Camden Hills, and King's Peak – are using intelligent completion technology to optimize a marginal reserve base. Located in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 173, 217, 305, 348 and Desoto Canyon Blocks 133 and 177 in 6200- to 7200-ft of water, the production from the three fields will be tied to the Canyon Station host platform, 55 miles from the most distant well location. Though slight variations exist between the intelligent completion systems being installed in the three fields, the basic design in each consists of:A production packer with a hydraulic and electric bypassA gauge package for measuring shut-in and flowing pressure from two sand-controlled zones2 control valves with metal-to-metal seals to control flow from both production intervalsA shroud to isolate flow between upper and lower production intervals. The piston-actuated control valves will be functioned through a direct hydraulic link from the subsea control module. Pressure applied at the subsea control module will allow hydraulic fluid to be directed to the open side of one piston, the open side of the other piston, or the close line, which is common to both valves. Introduction The three individual offshore fields, King's Peak, Aconcagua, and Camden Hills, that will tie production to a common platform are described below. The field locations are shown in Fig. 1. King's Peak. Mississippi Canyon 173 and 217 and Desoto Canyon 133 and 177 comprise the King's Peak Field, operated and owned 100% by British Petroleum. Located in 6200–6800 feet of water, three of the four King's Peak wells will be completed using intelligent completion techniques. The dry gas field has an initial reservoir pressure of approximately 6800 psi. This water drive gas reservoir is part of a sub-salt development constrained by the deepwater depositional environment. The King's Peak basic configuration is shown in Fig. 2. Aconcagua. Located in Mississippi Canyon Block 305 at a water of depth 7000 ft and operated by TotalFinaElf, the Aconcagua Field will produce from four Text W aged reservoirs, designated as the Red, Green, Orange, and "C" sands. There are four production wells planned for this development owned by TotalFinaElf 50%, Mariner Energy 25%, and Pioneer Natural Resources 25%. The layered sands contain dry gas at approximately 6600 psi.

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractAs part of the Canyon Express project, four intelligent completions were installed in the Total Aconcagua Field and two in the Marathon Oil Camden Hills Field, Mississippi Canyon Blocks 305 and 348 respectively, in ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico. As a result of production optimization objectives and reservoir conditions, the intelligent completions have been utilized extensively to enhance field performance since installation and host platform commissioning in 2002.With the use of direct hydraulic open/close valves, various zones have been shut-in and cycled open to optimize production. The objectives of this paper are to provide an overview of using intelligent completions to improve well performance, to discuss the reliability of the intelligent completion equipment three years after installation, and to qualitatively present the value proposition of reservoir management of intelligent completions.Faced with reservoir depletion, suspected sand production, and water influx, the intelligent completions have proven themselves useful in the management of these assets.

The economic success of deepwater and ultradeepwater developments often depends on the use of innovative technologies that can increase production and minimize workover needs to achieve the sought-after field efficiency during the productive life of the field. Intelligent completion technology, a new concept for the oil field, is one of the technologies that can support these needs. This wellcompletion concept allows the operator to obtain real-time or nearreal-time reservoir data, then reconfigure the wellbore production/ injection architecture to adapt to the information obtained.Along with pipeline, platform, and subsea system synergies, three fields in the Gulf of Mexico-Aconcagua, Camden Hills, and King's Peak-use intelligent completion technology to optimize a marginal reserve base. Located in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 173, 217, 305, and 348 and Desoto Canyon Blocks 133 and 177 in 6,200 to 7,200 ft of water, the three fields' production will be tied to the Canyon Station host platform, 55 miles from the most distant well location.