Canyon Express: Design and Experience on High-Rate Deepwater Gas Producers Using Frac-Pack and Intelligent Well Completion Systems

Abstract

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.

Intelligent Completions: Lessons Learned From 7 Years of Installation and Operational Experience

“…In addition to the intelligent completion flatpack, safety valve lines, and chemical or methanol injection lines may be required. 1 This configuration must be planned with the utmost care with due regard to wellbore restrictions, tubing hanger issues and operations considerations.…”

Case Study: Aconcagua and Camden Hills Fields Utilize Intelligent Completions To Optimize Production and Reservoir Performance

“…Two of these companies, Marathon Oil and Total, completed their wells under a joint completions agreement benefiting from joint design teams and "economies of scale" in purchasing agreements 3 . To meet the economic challenges for the development of these three otherwise marginally economic fields, three companies collaborated on development of the subsea systems 1,2 and shared contractual agreements for the surface facilities.…”