The World's Deepest Frac-Pack Completions Using a Single-Trip Multi-Zone System: A Gulf of Mexico Case Study in the Lower Tertiary Formation

The paper is based on work performed during the design, implementation and operation of the Cascade and Chinook Field Development Project in ultra-deep water in the Gulf of Mexico. It describes the basis of design for the drilling and completion of the wells, new technology selection criteria, risk and cost mitigation plans applied during the well operations, ultra-high pressure perforating of an interval longer than 700 ft, application of the first Single-Trip Multi-Zone Frac Pack System (3 zones) in wells deeper than 27,000 ft MD, and the unique fracturing design approach used to deliver multiple fractures across 1200 ft of reservoir thickness. This case history paper will describe the pre-qualification work done with all critical systems and details of the well construction operations during the drilling and completion of the wells.The information provided will be useful for Operators to identify the technologies that are most suited for application in deep wells. It will also serve as a starting point for the design and construction of wells for other operators developing projects in the Lower Tertiary play, which is a key exploratory frontier in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (USGoM). More than 12 discoveries have been made in the Lower Tertiary, with potential recoverable reserves of several billion barrels of oil.The results and conclusions presented in this paper are related to the feasibility and benefits of using new technology and prototype equipment in the Lower Tertiary environment. Field data from critical well operations will be included.The technical contributions of the work presented in this paper are as follows: pushing the technical limits of Single-Trip Multi-Zone frac-pack systems to depths over 27,000 ft using high (>30 bpm) fracture rates and high strength proppants; enhancing the knowledge gained from ultra-high pressure (>20,000 psi) tubing conveyed perforating systems; and presenting a well design criteria suitable for high drawdown (>12,000 psi) production operations.

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“…Additional details on the use of the STMZ sand control equipment in the first two wells in the C&C project are discussed by Ogier et al (2011).…”

Section: Single-trip Multi-zone Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drilling and Completing Cascade and Chinook Wells: A Design and Execution Case History

et al. 2013

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“…Additional information on the STMZ system is discussed by Ogier et al (2011). Given the overall gross thickness of the Lower Tertiary reservoir (more than 1,200 ft), each well would require multiple-stage fractures to stimulate the entire reservoir effectively.…”

Section: Completionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Multistage Frac Packs in the Lower Tertiary Formation–Cascade and Chinook Project

Haddad¹,

Smith²,

Moraes

2012

SPE Drilling &Amp; Completion

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Summary The Cascade and Chinook Project is located in the Walker Ridge area in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), 250 miles south of New Orleans in depths between 8,200 and 8,900 ft. The oil-producing reservoir is in the Lower Tertiary Wilcox formation, with a gross sand thickness of 1,200 ft. The reservoir midpoint is at an average depth of 25,600 ft true vertical depth subsea (TVDss), with a bottomhole pressure of 19,500 psi and a bottomhole temperature of 260°F. The reservoir comprises vertically stacked thin beds of sand and fine-grained-siltstone intervals with effectively no vertical permeability. Additional information on this project can be found in Moraes et al. (2010). Multiple limitations were considered during the initial design phase of the frac-pack program. The fracs were designed taking into account the use of a single-trip multizone (STMZ) sand-control system. Some of these design challenges are briefly discussed by Cunha et al. (2009). Although this system was not crucial in the overall implementation of the frac program, it added additional complexity from an operational standpoint because of a continuous, multistage frac operation. Some of the operational limitations included service-tool erosion limitations because of maximum pump rates and proppant volumes, overall frac-vessel capacity, boat-to-boat fluid transfers, and crew fatigue. The geological complexities of the reservoir were another major challenge in completing this very thick interval. Perforation intervals had to be placed to avoid a fault (and thus a potential early screenout), avoid a water contact, comply with tool-spacing limitations, and still maximize contact with net pay. This paper addresses the approach taken to develop a fracture-stimulation program for the Lower Tertiary formation in the Cascade and Chinook Project. Some of the major questions addressed during this process include the following: How many fracture treatments are needed? What is the optimum fracture geometry? What is the desired conductivity? How to effectively position the perforation intervals? What is the desired pump rate, and is a high-density fluid needed to fracture this deep, high-pressure formation? The approach, the answers, and the treatment are discussed along with responses to additional questions that arose during the actual fracturing operations. Along with the Lower Tertiary in the GOM, the industry faces similar challenges around the world. These include reservoirs with potentially large reserves but much lower permeability (caused by depth and in-situ stresses) where fracturing is required for both stimulation and potential formation-collapse sand control. Careful planning is necessary to avoid costly learning curves in these environments.

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“…The lower Tertiary Wilcox sandstone reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico, United States, has a vertical depth of burial of more than 7900 m, a reservoir pressure of 127-135 MPa, and a maximum reservoir temperature of around 126 °C. The reservoir develops several small layers, so the single-trip multizone completion technique was developed, and the proppant selection was 20/ 40-mesh ceramic (Ogier et al, 2011). Overall, single particle size and multi-stage particle size combinations of proppant selection have been used for deep reservoir development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on Proppant Optimization and Field Test of Ultra-Deep Tight Conglomerate Sandstone Reservoir

Xiao

Kong

et al. 2022

Front. Energy Res.

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Efficient development of deep tight reservoirs in the southern margin of the Junggar Basin requires stimulation technology, and effective propped hydraulic fractures are the key to successful stimulation. To optimize the proppant selected for reservoir stimulation, the important parameters of proppant selection were determined through the proppant conductivity evaluation experimental study and field test, considering the influences of high temperature and high closure pressure. The results show that closure pressure, temperature, and sand concentration have a great influence on the conductivity of the proppant pack. The conductivity of the proppant pack decreases by about 10% at high temperatures, which is because the high temperature will rupture more proppant and thus reduce proppant pack permeability. In the long term, the Scenario B placement pattern can maintain high conductivity, and the long-term conductivity is increased by 6–26% compared with the Scenario C placement pattern. Furthermore, increasing the proppant placement concentration is conducive to the long-term conductivity of the fracture. During the operation of the test well, the treatment pressure was stable, and the fractures were effectively propped. No proppant flowing back occurred in the test production after the fracturing treatment, which achieved the purpose of the evaluation well, provided support for the large-scale development of subsequent development wells, and ensured orderly development.

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The World's Deepest Frac-Pack Completions Using a Single-Trip Multi-Zone System: A Gulf of Mexico Case Study in the Lower Tertiary Formation

Cited by 11 publications

References 16 publications

Drilling and Completing Cascade and Chinook Wells: A Design and Execution Case History

Drilling and Completing Cascade and Chinook Wells: A Design and Execution Case History

Designing Multistage Frac Packs in the Lower Tertiary Formation–Cascade and Chinook Project

Research on Proppant Optimization and Field Test of Ultra-Deep Tight Conglomerate Sandstone Reservoir

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