For the last 30 years, wells in the field have been suffering from medium to high corrosion rates in both near surface and downhole components. Remedial measures had been implemented in order to restore Well Integrity with different techniques. Corrective actions aside, a strong preventive approach is needed to better understand the root causes of such corrosion rates and scenarios where the integrity of specific wells has been seriously compromised due to corrosion problems.Taking a step further and considering the big implications of new projects such as Artificial Islands project, where the company will be drilling & completing over 300 Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) wells, Well Integrity input as a discipline becomes critical in order to ensure previous problems will not be repeated and all lessons learned throughout the years will be wisely taken into consideration when designing a new well to remain integral during its whole expected life.Understanding of the current corrosion mechanisms in the field was the key to find not only solutions, but also, to create an approach aimed to improve the future completion for Island wells in terms of design, materials and many other factors.An extensive multidisciplinary approach was carried out in order to successfully complete a full study in one of the pilot wells completed with Inflow Control Devices (ICDs), which will be analyzed in detail in this paper, covering the following areas:i. Well design and configuration ii. Well monitoring and performance review iii. Well diagnosis and failure investigation iv. Post-Failure modelling and well prediction v. Preventive/Corrective actions for future wells. Corrosion management and prevention of scale deposits were the two main challenges encountered during this project, which was launched and completed with the main objective of evaluate and optimize the ICD completion design in one Maximum Reservoir Contact (MRC) pilot well in the field, the findings and lessons learnt were used to upgrade the current well design and improve the development plan for the field.
As part of the Islands Project which involves the use of 4 artificial islands to drill & complete over 300 ERD wells in a giant offshore oilfield, several completion designs have been piloted to test & monitor their suitability for the brownfield development. One well design incorporated the use of Inflow Control Devices (ICDs) & swell packers which was ZADCO's first use of such technology in a production well. The technology was installed in the pilot well to test in-flow control along a 10,000ft lateral & to manage future water production. The Paper will cover: The design of the well detailing the ICD configurations & swell packer arrangements providing 15 compartments along the reservoir section, The inflow performance recorded annually along the lateral showing differing results, The outcome of an extensive intervention program in 2013 utilising different logging tools to record internal & external data, live camera to view condition in low water cut well & venturi tool to recover downhole samples that concluded the mechanical failure of ICDs in the heel, The extensive post-failure investigation undertaken such as extensive review of installed ICD design, flow assurance, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, laboratory testing for different conditions & materials, comparison of modelled with actual data to determine failure mode & The way forward for future ICD installations with initial short term solution & plans for future long term design solutions to give a required 30 year life.
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