From Intelligent Injectors to Smart Flood Management: Realizing the Value of Intelligent Completion Technology in the Moderate Production Rate Industry Segment

Abstract

This paper is a case history which examines the successful application of Intelligent Completion (IC) technology in a cost sensitive, mature, onshore North American environment where an existing hydrocarbon miscible flood (HCMF) horizontal injection well was retrofitted to manage the injection support of two geologically distinct reservoir regions covering two well patterns. The value of IC technology is explored in this early deployment which saw a relatively low cost application targeted towards a mature asset. The beneficial results of this application of IC technology were measured in terms of well intervention cost savings and affected oil production. This paper presents a relative comparison of those benefits. Though this application of IC technology was originally justified by the avoidance of certain future well interventions to modify the injection profile, an analysis of the affected pattern production in the post-installation period showed that the benefit to the operator was appreciably more from enhanced reservoir management than from the cost savings which were associated with workover avoidance. Based on the success described in this case history, and reflecting upon the trends of intelligent well and smart field technology, the authors explore reasons for its relatively slow uptake in moderate production rate, brownfield applications. Large scale reservoir management of miscible flood projects using intelligent well and smart field technologies should provide significant value in terms of improved solvent/oil ratio through more efficient monitoring and management of the flood. This is probably the most compelling value proposition for IC technology application in moderate production rate land applications. This case history is intended to provide credible evidence of the benefit of IC technology in an application with cost challenges analogous to those faced by operators who are responsible for cost sensitive, moderate production assets. Secondly, it is intended to encourage the IC technology providers to develop more solutions for the brownfield segment of the industry, where profitability and value definition can be challenging. Introduction Intelligent completion technology provides the ability to partition a wellbore into distinct segments, and to monitor and control the flow of fluids into or out of each segment, upon demand, without physical intervention. The first integrated application of this technology took place in the North Sea in 1997, and to date, close to 600 wells have been equipped with intelligent well completions world wide. The key elements of intelligent well technology are packers or seal elements which allow partitioning of the wellbore, flow control valves, downhole sensors, power and communications infrastructure, and a surface data acquisition and control system to remotely gather data and actuate the flow control valves. The downhole sensors may be electronic or optical fiber based, and typically measure pressure, temperature or flow rate. The function of the flow control valves may be binary (on-off) or choking, and are typically adjusted by hydraulic or electro-hydraulic actuation systems. Each wellbore segment is usually associated with a separate hydrocarbon reservoir, a separate layer or compartment within a reservoir with complex geology, separate laterals in a multi-lateral well, or with segments of long horizontal wells. By using the capabilities of downhole monitoring and flow control, the flow of fluids into or out of the reservoir can be modified to restrict or exclude unwanted effluents, to commingle separate reservoirs in a controlled fashion (Konopczynski, 2003) and to improve the hydrocarbon recovery efficiency of the development project. Intelligent completions have been applied to production wells, injection wells, and dumpflood wells (Glandt, 2003) in offshore platform, subsea and land based locations.