Completion and Well-Performance Results, Genesis Field, Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Summary The Genesis project was ChevronTexaco's first Gulf of Mexico deepwater development project and the first industry project to use spar technology for drilling, completion, and production operations.1,2This paper discusses the unique results and lessons learned through the first 4 years of the Genesis project in the areas of integrated teams, organizational learning, spar operations, completion practices, well performance, and reservoir management. Introduction The Genesis field is located in Green Canyon Blocks 160, 161, and 205 in the Gulf of Mexico. The spar is located in Green Canyon Block 205 in 2,590 ft of water. The Genesis project is a joint venture among three partners:56.67% ChevronTexaco (operator), 38.38% ExxonMobil, and 4.95% BHP Billiton. The discovery well was drilled in 1988, and several delineation wells followed in the early 1990s; development funding was approved in 1996.Asemisubmersible rig was used to batch set 36-, 26-, and 20-in. casing strings on 19 wells. The seafloor well pattern includes locations for 20 wells and two export riser bases. Spacing between locations is 20 ft in a140-ft-diameter circle. The semisubmersible rig also drilled and cased the first two development wells. The spar was installed in mid-1998, followed by topside and rig installation. Hookup work began, and the first rig operations—running the export risers—began in November 1998; first production occurred in late January1999. Through the first 4 years of the project, 14 producing wells have been drilled in the Genesis field. These 14 wells include 10 wells with single completions and four wells with stacked wireline-selective completions. Major rig workovers to change producing zones have also been performed on two of the initial 14 wells. Maximum daily production from the Genesis field was 61,130 BOPD and 98,670Mcf/D of gas, achieved on 4 July 2001.Future plans for the field include numerous sidetracks and major rig workovers. Ref. 1 discussed the development plan for the Genesis field as it related to drilling and completion design and execution. This paper presents a unique comparison between the planned and actual development program and describes results and lessons learned through the first 4 years of the Genesis project.

Real-Time Completion Monitoring Estimates Production Impairment With Acoustics Waves

“…Reduction in permeability is another alternative explanation offered by Pourciau [2] although the amount of this reduction (85-90%) is not consistent with laboratory measurements. Reduction in permeability is another alternative explanation offered by Pourciau [2] although the amount of this reduction (85-90%) is not consistent with laboratory measurements.…”

“…Incomplete gravel packing, development of "hot spots" in screens, destabilization of the annular pack, fines migration, sand screen plugging, near-wellbore damage, crossflow, differential depletion, compartmentalization, compaction represent a typical list of challenges that are extremely difficult to decipher based on just several permanent pressure and temperature gauges [1,2]. Success is critically dependent on our ability to understand and manage these wells particularly at the sandface.…”

Frac Packing: Best Practices and Lessons Learned From More Than 600 Operations

“…However, individually, some wells with underbalanced perforating are still estimated to have skin factors that are higher than those in wells with overbalanced perforating. More data are required to show that underbalanced perforating is better than overbalanced perforating in frac-pack operations for well productivity (Neumann et al 2002;Pourciau et al 2005). The average skin factor for OHHGP is 6.4; for HRWP and frac packing, it is 2.8 and 0.74, respectively.…”

“…14-Skin factor with various perforation conditions. (Data were compiled from Hannah et al 1994;Petit et al 1995;Stewart et al 1995;Neumann et al 2002;Ott and Woods 2003;and Pourciau et al 2005.) trips.…”

“…There is not enough evidence to indicate that there are different effects on the performance of frac-packed completions between underbalanced and overbalanced conditions in both the GOM and Campos basin (Neumann et al 2002;Pourciau et al 2005). However, in the GOM, the top 10 cased-hole producing wells were perforated in an underbalanced condition with TCP guns (Ott and Woods 2003).…”