Sand control application in gas wells is very challenging, especially in the application of a standalone sand screen (SAS) due to the high erosional risks. Many failures have been observed in the industry over the years causing production deferments and additional OPEX to the operators for remedial sand control operations. This work presents the performance evaluation of a unique SAS in open hole completion concept piloted in a horizontal gas well and the replication in other new wells in a Malaysian gas field. In 2012, a pilot gas well was completed with SAS with optimally placed flow segmentizers along the horizontal completion to limit the screen erosional risks. The placement was determined using a tool developed through an R&D. It estimates the optimum locations of the flow segmentizers based on the targeted SAS life or erosional velocity limit imposed. At the heart of it is a proprietary erosion model specifically developed for SAS application. The well performance was compared to adjacent wells producing from the same reservoir but completed using the conventional open-hole gravel pack. The pilot well achieved higher Productivity Index in comparison to the adjacent wells. Over the 10-year observation period, the production performance was consistent with minimal skin values and no sand production issues. Multifinger Imaging Tool (MIT) was run to measure the erosion levels in the tubing and the result indicated very minimal erosion because of sand production even after several years of production. Recently, another one (1) new infill well was drilled and completed with the same concept as the pilot well. The segmentizer placements were supported by an optimization study based on the expected production scenario. Positive flow back results with no indication of sand production was detected from the intrusive sand monitoring equipment. With the application of SAS and flow segmentizers, a cost reduction of 25% as compared to more complex application of open-hole gravel pack was realized.
Most of carbonate wells in PETRONAS Carigali Operated blocks in Malaysia are completed with pre-drilled liner. Barefoot completion is a new approach that is planned to be implemented in this particular carbonate field. This paper aims to share on how selection of lower completion based on in-house carbonate lower completion guideline could optimize overall well cost. The offset well in X field are all completed with pre-drilled liner. As an initiative to further optimize the well cost and delivering an economic field development plan, barefoot completion has been proposed as a completion strategy for the upcoming drilling campaign. Selection of this strategy has taken into account the wellbore stability during production, geochemical effect and critical drawdown, including unconfined compressive strength (UCS) based on the outcome of the geomechanical study. The advantages of the approach are mainly in reducing open-hole length thus reducing the drilling cost, secondly is eliminating all the equipment requirement for lower completion thus reducing completion cost by 14% in X field. This shows that the guideline is effective in choosing the fit for purpose and safe lower completion strategy for carbonate. The work evolved from replication of best practices and lessons learnt from the developed fields in Central Luconia. Complimentary to the existing in house completion selection guideline, the new guideline for carbonate lower completion and its implementation in this design has contributes by minimized risk uncertainty in developing carbonate reservoir to a controllable level, thus becoming reference for future similar development within PETRONAS.
Field development for brownfields nearing their economic thresholds is always challenging, especially in offshore environments. As an operator, innovative approaches are necessary to reduce capital expenditures (CAPEX) and create attractive projects. A marginal cluster consisting of three fields, namely PN, NL, and PR, is expected to reach its economic limit in the next 2 years. This paper elaborates on single-trip completion technology as a catalyst for drilling one infill well in the PR field development project. In 2017, one appraisal well was drilled in a western area of PR field to validate the presence of oil. The scope of work included evaluating reservoir productivity and acquiring bottomhole fluid samples. A drillstem test with four multirate tests was executed for this reservoir. A horizontal development well named PA-02 was proposed and categorized as an extended-reach drilling well because of the drilling complexity. Most offshore wells in shallow-water environments are completed with a conventional well completion run that takes two or more trips, which normally takes more than between 5 and 8 days. Given expensive daily rig rates, the ability to reduce completion installation time was deemed vital to the economics of the project. If the installation incurs additional unnecessary project costs, it can cause the project to be economically unattractive. Using a collaborative approach, an interventionless, single-trip sand control system was designed and selected as the optimal completion solution to meet project demands. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is one of the key enablers for the single-trip completion as it offers the utmost flexibility in both activation and contingency methods to deliver the necessary project cost reduction. At a time of uncertain global crude oil prices, the RFID-enabled single-trip completion concept discussed in this paper has become a beacon of light for operators in an otherwise dark period by allowing previously marginal or sub-economic projects to become viable. This technology has resulted in operational time savings of at least 27% compared to typical conventional two-trip completions in Malaysia offshore environments. Minimizing operational risk is also foreseen by reducing installation to a single integrated upper and lower completion trip. Selecting this RFID-enabled completion facilitated full deployment in one trip in the high-angle well, which eliminated the deployment of a tractor service for a 67% cost savings in this aspect alone. This method represented a paradigm shift in operational efficiency and will now be the operator’s strategic completion methodology when developing marginal fields. The deployment represents the first application of a single-trip completion in an economically challenging brownfield in the Malaysian offshore environment. The reduction in operational time and resultant savings in CAPEX proves that a single-trip completion offers an exceptional alternative to conventional methods in the shallow-water offshore environment.
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