High angle, openhole completions are often selected to maximize production and reserve capture from several non-homogeneous sand packages in a single wellbore. Many times, the wells will require some form of sand control. Standalone screen applications may often times be the most cost effective and simplest form of sand control, but the formation characteristics may dictate that a gravel pack is necessary. Circulating water packs, alpha-beta gravel packs, have been used worldwide, but may be challenged to achieve a complete gravel pack in certain applications. Alternate Path ® technology (APT), using the current eccentric two by two (2x2) shunt system, has proven to be extremely reliable in completely packing the openhole annulus and delivering high rate, failure free openhole completions.
Openhole gravel pack (OHGP) completions are often selected as the preferred completion technique to provide long life, high capacity, low skin completions. One drawback to OHGPs, however, is the inability to isolate undesirable water or gas within the completion interval whether it is identified during the initial completion or during any point in the production lifecycle of the well. With the recent introduction of a broad suite of Alternate Path ® Technology (APT) tools, the added functionality of true openhole zonal isolation can now be combined with the reliability of gravel packing to deliver unparalleled, long-term completion capabilities.With the advancement of the new openhole shunt packer with APT, wells have been successfully completed to provide capability for future isolation depending on production results of the well. The shunt packer can be run through 9 5 ⁄8-in casing, set before gravel packing begins, and form a seal against the borehole to provide annular isolation in either round or oval hole sizes up to 10¾-in. These openhole packers have been recently combined with shunted blank joints to provide upfront isolation of unwanted water or gas found while drilling the completion interval to increase well production rate and/or estimated ultimate recovery (EUR). This paper will describe the first installations of the equipment which combined internally shunted sand screens, openhole shunt packers, and shunted blank pipe to fully isolate water and gas sands within a completion interval while enabling a full gravel pack across the remaining completion.
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