In 2010, Petrolera Indovenezolana S.A. (PIV), a joint venture between Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo (CVP) and the Indian company ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), started planning for two horizontal wells in the Norte Zuata (San Cristóbal) field in the Orinoco belt of eastern Venezuela. The focus for this campaign was to evaluate the productivity of horizontal wells in thin sands and avoid areas of complex geology because of the high uncertainty in the structural behavior, applying technology that provided absolute control of the drilling process into the Oficina formation. Within the Oficina formation, thin sand reservoirs with variations in thickness and dip, geologically facies changes and subseismic faults presented the main challenge to geosteering a horizontal well. Because the project faced high geological uncertainties, a pilot hole was drilled as the first stage in the first well to verify the structural levels and the continuity of the sand bodies. To achieve the above challenges, the combination of a rotary steerable system (RSS) "point-the-bit" and a deep azimuthal electromagnetic resistivity tool (DAEMR) was used. The measurements provided accurate information to the well-placement engineers for proactive decisions in real time, mitigating the possible loss of the target by these geologic uncertainties. High-quality and valuable data for real time geological model update were the expected results obtained from the effort made by PIV in the Norte Zuata (San Cristóbal) field, and the data showed the oil-producing potential of one of the main reservoir (Sand F, G). This application of high-tier technologies demonstrated that drilling and data measurements can be improved and optimized to yield added value for reservoir development and 100% net to gross (NTG) targets. This reduces operational cost, makes it possible to drill in the right place the first time, and pushes forward the limit of the achievable in terms of reservoir exposure.
The continuous increase in demand for hydrocarbon resources has pushed the oil industry to look for additional recoverable resources in increasingly challenging environments. With new prospects, oil companies have to face new technical challenges everyday due to these conditions as well as stricter environmental and safety rules. Offshore Libya is one of these challenging environments where drilling is high risk and where, for health safety and environmental (HSE) reasons, avoiding using radioactive materials in drilling and logging represents a great advantage by mitigating possible risks and costs. In order to overcome these new technical challenges and reduce cost, companies have to constantly evaluate new technology. An advanced logging-while-drilling (LWD) platform that does not use a radioactive source provided a fully integrated advanced petrophysical evaluation capability, as well as a complete set of measurements to optimize drilling in a well in offshore Libya. To overcome environmental and safety constraints, the sourceless configuration provided a unique answer for formation evaluation in high risk drilling operations in offshore environments. A fully integrated real-time petrophysical analysis of data acquired while drilling thereby significantly reduced the need for additional measurements. This technology allows fulfillment of operational objectives by significantly decreasing the exposure to drilling risks and stuck pipe. This reduced the time and cost required to properly characterize the reservoir and accommodate the strict regulations controlling radioactive material handling, without compromising the data completeness and quality. The conventional EcoScope* technology has been used all over the world in offshore environment (especially in the North Sea). However, it is the first time the EcoScope* service has been deployed in an offshore drilling environment in its sourceless configuration.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.