Horizontal Open Hole Well Displacement Practices: Effect of Various 
Techniques on Well Productivity, Operational Complexity, and Overall Project 
Economics

Mathis, Stephen; McCarter, M. K.; Schottle, Gary; Upchurch, Eric R.; Gleason, Michael

doi:10.2523/62520-ms

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…For any OHGP completion, formation damage prevention is key to success. To ensure a nondamaged wellbore, proper wellbore-displacement techniques must be followed (Mathis et al 2000). For this well, upon completion of the drilling operation, the hole was conditioned with the drilling assembly still in the well.…”

Section: Gravel-pack Executionmentioning

confidence: 99%

World's First Gravel-Packed Inflow-Control Completion

Augustine

Mathis

Nguyen

et al. 2008

SPE Drilling &Amp; Completion

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The Etame oil reservoir is an ovalshaped, low-relief structure with a moderate aquifer drive. To maximize ultimate field recovery, the ET-6H well was drilled with a horizontal lateral positioned to traverse the reservoir near the structural crest and to be within the Upper Gamba sandstone throughout its length. The Gamba sandstone averages 45 ft in thickness and overlies a significant angular unconformity. The subcropping Dentale-aged sandstones and interbedded shales below this unconformity have dips to 12°. The oil column of approximately 170 ft extends below this unconformity. Previous wells in the field were completed using openhole horizontal gravel packs (OHGPs) and have experienced excellent sand-control performance. However, OHGPs offer no protection against early water breakthrough. The Gamba sand averages 30% porosity with a permeability range of 1 to 3 darcies. The Dentale sands are much more variable, with porosities of 18 to 30% and a permeability range of 50 to 1,000 md. Thus, if a portion of the lateral is situated immediately above a high-permeability Dentale sand, the well will be at risk of early water breakthrough and subsequent reduced recovery if it is completed with a standard OHGP.The operator gravel packed the ET-6H well and used a system that provides a near-uniform inflow profile along the entire lateral length to protect against early water breakthrough. The gravel packing of inflow-control devices (ICDs) presented some unique challenges because of their differences from standard sandcontrol screens.This paper describes the implementation of the world's first gravel packed inflow-control completion, including: ICD selection process, gravel-pack design, data from the gravel-pack operation, and resulting well performance.

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Section: Gravel-pack Executionmentioning

confidence: 99%

World's First Gravel-Packed Inflow-Control Completion

Augustine

Mathis

Nguyen

et al. 2008

SPE Drilling &Amp; Completion

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show abstract

“…To insure a non-damaged wellbore, proper wellbore displacement techniques must be followed. 8 For this well, upon completion of the drilling operation, the hole was conditioned with the drilling assembly still in the well. The displacement was performed by pumping two viscous push pills, followed by low-viscosity fluid consisting of 9.5 ppg NaCl completion brine.…”

Section: Hole Displacementmentioning

confidence: 99%

World's First Gravel-Packed Uniform Inflow Control Completion

Augustine

Mathis

Nguyen

et al. 2006

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThe Etame oil field, offshore Gabon, West Africa, has been producing since September 2002. The Etame oil reservoir is an oval-shaped, low-relief structure with a moderate aquifer drive. In order to maximize ultimate field recovery, the ET-6H well was drilled with a horizontal lateral positioned to traverse the reservoir near the structural crest and to be within the Upper Gamba sandstone throughout its length. The Gamba sandstone averages 45 ft in thickness and overlies a significant angular unconformity. The subcropping Dentaleaged sandstones and interbedded shales below this unconformity have dips up to 12 degrees. The oil column of approximately 170 ft extends below this unconformity. Previous wells in the field were completed using open-hole horizontal gravel packs (OHGPs) and have experienced excellent sand control performance. However, OHGPs offer no protection against early water breakthrough. The Gamba sand averages 30% porosity with a permeability range of 1 to 3 darcies. The Dentale sands are much more variable, with porosities of 18-30% and a permeability range of 50-1000 md. Thus, if a portion of the lateral is situated immediately above a high permeability Dentale sand, the well will be at risk of early water breakthrough and subsequent reduced recovery if it is completed with a standard OHGP.

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“…Field experience indicates the importance of high rate in achieving maximum productivity from open hole gravel packs. 4 After displacing the open hole to brine or solids free polymer, it is especially critical that hydrostatic pressure greater than reservoir pressure be maintained on the filter cake to keep the hole open and stable. Special care should be taken to ensure that this overbalance condition is applied for all operations until gravel is placed against the formation to help stabilize the open hole.…”

Section: Iadc/spe 77214mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple Zone Open Hole Gravel Packing Techniques with Zonal Isolation

Corbett

Vickery

2002

IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology

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fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThis paper describes techniques to gravel pack multiple pay zones in a single open hole wellbore with positive zonal isolation between zones. For vertical and moderately deviated wells, these techniques provide an alternative to traditional stacked cased hole frac-packs. Open hole gravel packing eliminates the cost of cementing and perforating casing and can be pumped with considerably less hydraulic horsepower and blending equipment than a cased hole frac-pack. Therefore, open hole gravel packs can be performed at lower cost using more readily available, skid mounted equipment set on the rig versus a stimulation vessel typically required for frac-packs.In addition, using current state-of-the-art technology, open hole gravel packs are capable of achieving high efficiency well completions with little or no productivity impairment. Open hole gravel packing has typically been limited to single massive sandstone reservoirs or the bottom pay zone in wells containing multiple zones. The techniques described in this paper allow open hole gravel packs to be applied in wellbores intersecting multiple pay zones. These methods can save considerable time and cost in suitable candidate wells.

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Horizontal Open Hole Well Displacement Practices: Effect of Various Techniques on Well Productivity, Operational Complexity, and Overall Project Economics

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

World's First Gravel-Packed Inflow-Control Completion

World's First Gravel-Packed Inflow-Control Completion

World's First Gravel-Packed Uniform Inflow Control Completion

Multiple Zone Open Hole Gravel Packing Techniques with Zonal Isolation

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