The introduction of Western horizontal drilling techniques into Siberia has achieved outstanding results for Sibneft, a Russian independent operator. Before 2000, vertical or directional S-shape wells were being drilled to develop the Sibneft-NoyabrskNeftegaz oil fields using local techniques provided by Siberian drilling contractors. An alliance with a major Western service provider made possible a Western-Russian design group familiar with all available options. The group created an ideal marriage of Western and Russian fit-for-purpose equipment, procedures, and techniques for a cost-efficient horizontal well design. The methodology applied in this project is a fusion of classic Russian drilling techniques, i.e., compact rigs skidding on a rail system with aluminum drillpipe with Russian turbines to drill tophole sections, coupled with modern horizontal technology such as steerable motors and mud pulse telemetry measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and logging-while-drilling (LWD) systems. To date, 90 wells have been drilled with a progressive learning curve enabling wells to be drilled to around 4000 m (with more than 1000 m of horizontal section) in less than 48 days that at the start of the campaign were taking more than 100 days. The successful integration of these cost-effective solutions has been pivotal in helping Sibneft approach its production targets. Today the 90 wells drilled in the last 3 years (out of 4,500 total wells) account for approximately 175,000 BOPD, or one quarter of total Sibneft production. The cooperation of reservoir and drilling engineering teams from the service provider and the operator was critical to project accomplishments. Introduction Sibneft Oil, an independent operator in Russia with crude reserves of 8 billion bbl, holds major interests in Western Siberia. The oil fields found in this region account for almost 90% of total company crude reserves. Horizontal well technology was introduced in 1999 as a means of improving recovery rates, which had seen significant decline by as much as 50% in the early 1990s. Based on initial studies, a pilot project was initiated in January 2000 with four horizontal wells being drilled in that year. The wells averaged 3500 m in measured depth (MD) with 500- to 600-m horizontal drain lengths. Production results in three wells exceeded expectations on average by 45% to 60 % (Table 1). Time and cost to complete the wells were much higher than planned, mainly because the local crews had very little experience in drilling horizontal wells. Nonproductive time (NPT) averaged around 48% with well costs in the region of U.S. $1.6 million to U.S. $1.8 million. While the results in the pilot phase were encouraging, it was quickly realized that a strategy to capitalize on existing resources and develop new cost-effective technologies was required to make the project economically viable.
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.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
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.