It is common practice in the industry to complete multiple reservoirs in a single wellbore in order to establish commercial production rates from tight gas completions. In some cases these zones are separated vertically by several hundred to over a thousand feet. The deliquification of these completions is one of the most challenging problems facing our industry. Many of the deliquification methods currently being utilized are effective over only a portion of the wellbore. In many cases these methods do not allow for removal of liquid across the entire completed interval. If the liquid is not effectively removed from the well, the near wellbore region will become saturated with fluid and reduce the well's productivity. This paper will propose a new completion strategy which has been incorporated into the completion of tight gas wells to address the problems associated with deliquification of long completion intervals. Laboratory experiments and field data will be presented to quantify the effects of inadequate liquid removal. A case study will also be presented to demonstrate the successful application of this alternate completion strategy. This completion strategy applies to unconventional gas wells, vertical and horizontal gas wells.
SPE 35243 Continuous Improvement in Well Profiles and Bits Enables Permian Operator to Optimize Slim Hole Program W. Tank, SPE, and S. Pohler, SPE, Marathon Oil Co.; and F. Felderhoff, SPE, Hughes Christensen Co. Copyright 1996, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc. Introduction As of January 1996, Marathon Oil Company has drilled 112 horizontal/directional wells in the Permian Basin. Of these, 105 wells were short radius horizontal in the Yates Field Unit of Pecos County, Texas and seven in the area designated as Midland Operations Unit, encompassing northwest Texas and southeast New Mexico. Since 1991, 99% of these wells have been drilled with a 4 3/4" hole size or less. Most recently, some of these wells have been drilled with 3 7/8-in. IADC Class 537 roller cone bits, which were developed to coincide with the introduction of a 3 1/8-in. positive displacement motor (PDM). Over the years, the Yates Field Unit has become the testing ground for much of the short radius horizontal technology introduced to the Permian Basin. In recent years, efforts in this mature field has taken slim hole horizontal reentry technology to a new dimension, which has since spread throughout the Permian Basin. With a primary objective of lowering drilling costs and days, the operator experimented with various well profiles, bit/motor configurations and fluid systems. The trials have resulted in an optimum drilling program that has reduced in half the costs of drilling these wells. New technology and operating practices have seen slim hole horizontal wells in the Yates Field Unit account for 10% of the producing wells in the field. The significantly lower well costs in this theater can be attributed to the near-doubling of penetration rates, which heretofore had been one of the primary drawbacks to drilling slim hole wells. Previously, the lower penetration rates of slim hole bits had frequently offset the intrinsic cost advantages of a small diameter wellbore A combination of operational/economic factors led to the Yates Field Unit being selected as the testing base for emerging slim hole technology. The large number of wells in the field (over 1,600) made it economically feasible to reenter old wells with small diameter bits. An estimated 90% of the slim hole wells drilled in the Permian Basin are reentries. P. 773
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