Three - Zone Commingled and Controlled Production Using Intelligent Well Completion

Abstract

Intelligent completion technology is designed to optimize well production and reservoir management processes by enabling operators to remotely monitor and control well inflow or injection downhole, at the reservoir, without physical intervention. Intelligent completions consist of some combination of flow control and zonal isolation devices (typically interval control valves and packers), permanent downhole gauges, downhole control systems and digital infrastructure. The production and reservoir data acquired with downhole sensors can improve the understanding of reservoir behavior and assist in the appropriate selection of infill drilling locations and well designs. Intelligent-well technology can enable a single well to do the job of several wells, whether through controlled commingling of zones or monitoring and control of multiple laterals. This paper presents the first intelligent well installation in UAE offshore field. The well was equipped with three Interval Control Valves (ICVs) and four permanent downhole gauges (PDHG) with remote control ability to control the flow from each zone monitoring the real time gauge data. This completion enabled commingled production from three reservoirs while balancing flow contribution from each reservoir and avoiding cross-flows from one reservoir into another. Commingled production from stacked reservoirs in the same field, or a single reservoir with multiple pay intervals, has many benefits during the development of a field – higher production rates per well, cost savings from reduction in the total number of development wells, flexibility in locating surface facilities as a result of minimal footprint, etc. Wide variation in reservoir properties, coupled with the existence of natural fractures within an active water flood environment in this case, prompted the adoption of intelligent well technology to control fluid withdrawal and enhance water flood front conformance. The new completion uses a highly debris tolerant interval control valve (ICV), dual real time gauge system (PDG) and feed-through packers. This paper describes the well selection process, equipment selection, planning, and deployment procedures of the intelligent well completion. Economic drivers for this robust completion as well as the reservoir management implications of successful deployment in this pilot case well and future expansion across the entire field are also discussed.