Reservoir Management Employing Smart Wells: A Review

Abstract

Summary A well equipped with intelligent components is considered "smart" only when it maximizes its value over the life of the project. The definition of the adequate level of intelligence is the outcome of a multidisciplinary discussion that focuses on the well and reservoir management. To effectively realize the value associated with these technologies, Shell set up a Global Implementation Smart Wells Team at its E&P Technical Center. Jointly with asset teams from around the world, it has reviewed more than 80 projects over the last 3 years. The main result of this work is a faster and more-meaningful implementation effectively realizing the value associated with these technologies. An important byproduct of this work is a list of identified well and reservoir opportunities in which smart completions can add significant value. This paper reviews these opportunities and provides selected examples. Introduction Smart wells include a battery of completion equipment designed to do the following:• Monitor well operating conditions downhole (e.g., flow, pressure, temperature, phase composition, and water pH).• Image the distribution of reservoir attributes away from the well (e.g., resistivity and acoustic impedance).• Control the inflow and outflow rates of segregated segments of the well. Combined with quality readings at surface of total rates and other nonwell mapping technologies, such as time-lapse seismic, smart wells also provide the tools to manage wells, identify undrained oil, and make informed decisions that optimize hydrocarbon recovery.1 The perceived added value associated with these technologies, their complexity, and the need to satisfy reliability demands have driven service companies and field operators to devote staff and resources to develop new and improved products and to explore opportunities to deploy these well-completion components worldwide. Numerous papers and technical literature dealing with field applications and completion specifications can be found elsewhere.2–10 This paper focuses instead on the reservoir opportunities in which the added value can be readily identified. As our industry struggles to improve ultimate recovery and to make marginal projects feasible, wells must provide cost-effective means to gather reservoir information and produce them efficiently. Intelligent completions will become a standard practice in years to come. Currently, that vision is slowly being realized, one well at a time.

Reservoir monitoring using borehole radars to improve oil recovery: Suggestions from 3D electromagnetic and fluid modeling

“…The metal back cavity of the groove can act as a curved reflector behind the antenna, allowing for directional energy transmitting as well as directional signal collecting, as discussed by van Dongen et al (2002). Some other technical issues, such as downhole power supply and data transmission, are not discussed here because permanent downhole gauges and optical fiber monitoring systems have been successfully applied in smart wells (Glandt, 2005). Radar transceiver modules are also possible to be installed in the limited downhole space with the development of microelectromechanical systems (Ren et al, 2014).…”

“…The smart well (or intelligent well) is an advanced well equipped with downhole sensors and inflow control valves (ICVs) to monitor and control hydrocarbon production (Glandt, 2005). The well is separated into several relatively independent segments or completions by packers between the casing and tubing.…”

A stochastic approach for evaluating where On/Off zonal production control is efficient

“…Examples of the IW successful application include increased oil production due to optimal downhole control (Akram et al, 2001;Glandt, 2005), commingled production from several layers (Jackson-Nielsen et al, 2001;Glandt, 2005), successful oil rim developments (Sinha et al, 2001;Jansen et al, 2002;Skilbrei et al, 2003) and sweep efficiency improvement (Sigurd, 2000;Arenas andDolle, 2003, Abduldayem et al, 2007).…”

Statistical Analysis of the Added Value by Intelligent Well Application under Reservoir Uncertainty

“…According to the previous studies, the combination of monitoring and control technology has the potential to significantly improve oil recovery (Glandt, 2005). However, considerable challenges remain in designing control strategies to operate the valves during production, particularly when there is uncertainty associated with the reservoir description.…”