Swelling Packer for Zonal Isolation in Open Hole Screen Completions

Abstract

Open hole screen completions are efficient in installation and reliable in use if designed properly. The major weakness of Open Hole screen completions have been lack of zonal isolation. An Open Hole Zonal Isolation packer has been developed and installed in 5 wells with up to 14 packers per well. No downtime, operational time or installation failures were experienced. The packer construction is based on the swelling properties of rubbers with crude oil. Introduction The lack of reliable open hole annular sealing has limited the application of open hole screen completion solutions. No zonal isolation means that zones can not be independently inflow controlled. This limits the use of screen completions where there are potential of water or gas inflow problems. Smart well systems, inflow control devises, multilaterals or inflow controlling interventions may be used when effective annular isolation exist. Previous technology has been inflatable elements, (External Casing Packers (ECP)) or gravel pack (GP). The ECPs are activated by pumping from surface through a tool on the end of the service string and into the inflatable element. A project was initiated between Easy Well Solutions and Norsk Hydro to develop a packer that did not have the same inherent risk. An oil swelling packer was successfully developed and used in the field. The Grane field The Swell packer was developed for the Grane field. The reservoir pressure and temperature is low and consists of unconsolidated sandstone. There are no pressure barriers within the reservoir, but some internal shale has been seen. The fluid is relatively heavy and viscous oil which forms stable emulsions with the formation water. A long term well test in 1996 revealed that an open hole completion with sand screens will give extensive annular flow and possible screen plugging. ECPs run in the well caused operational problems and did not give the desired effect as 2 of 5 failed to set. A quantitative risk assessment (QRA) was done for the pre-drill wells on Grane identifying ECPs as the single most critical element in the well completion design. The criticality was linked both to a high operational risk and the possibility of plugging the screens during production in case they fail. Hence developing a new packer with higher reliability and lower operational risk has had high focus in the Grane license.

A Review of Recent Developments in Nanomaterial Agents for Water Shutoff in Hydrocarbon Wells

“…Each method is effective in shutting off only specific water paths, and they could be classified into two types: Mechanical methods involve placing a tool of high mechanical strength or cement into the wellbore to shut off the unwanted water source. The mechanical tools involve retrievable and straddle packers, − plugs, tubing patches, and squeeze cementing. − They are preferred for treating near wellbore problems such as channels behind casing or casing and tubing leaks. The advantage of the mechanical methods is that the effect will appear in a short time and is relatively inexpensive compared to other solutions. , However, they are not feasible for treating reservoir-related sources such as fractures or high permeability zones .…”

Swellable Packer Fluids Designed for Zonal Isolation in Openhole Completions

“…Openhole packers are utilized to isolate sections of the reservoir (Freyer and Huse 2002). Isolation aids to block production of undesirable fluids, such as water in the production interval or shale sections where risk of formation collapse may result in plugged completion equipment.…”

Evaluation of Oil-Industry Stimulation Practices for Engineered Geothermal Systems

“…Wells [Freyer and Huse, 2002]. The packers are configured with one large element that can be deformed easily to contact the uneven surface of the drilled hole, yet retain strength and sufficient integrity to withstand the anticipated differential pressures and temperatures.…”