SPE Members
Abstract
For the last decades, slimhole rigs were scarcely available, because drilling contractors Wouldn't invest in new equipment without signed contracts in their hands, and operators were reluctant to enter in long-term slimhole exploration contracts. Maraven, S.A., and Corpoven, S.A., both operating affiliates of Venezuela's oil and gas holding PdVSA, have entered into multi-year contracts for two purpose-built slimhole drilling rigs, allowing the development of state-of-the-art drilling equipment and for the first time showing the technical and economic benefits attainable by fully applying slimhole technology over two e~tire exploration projects.
The paper presents the experience from more than two years drilling and completing slimhole wildcats in Venezuela. Based on 8 case studies from the wells completed so far, typical drilling problems and their solutions are discussed, new operational procedures developed during the project are listed, and the current state Of slimhole technology is defined. Challenges Originating from drilling in highly environmentally sensitive areas, such as full helicopter transportability and zero discharge drilling, as well as drilling slimholes to more than 13000 feet on the tectonically stressed southern flank of the Andes chain are presented. The Organizational structure of the operation and the benefits derived from close partnership between the operator and contractor are outlined.
To quantify the success of the program, the economics of drilling these first 8 wells to depths of more than 13000 feet are presented, and the savings inherent to slimhole drilling technology are clearly defined. Comparisons to an alternative, standard drilling program are given and the specific reasons for selecting slimhole technology for these projects are discussed.
P. 235
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.