Advanced Wells

D. R. Davies

Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K.

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Learning Objectives

• Describe the technology required for drilling,

steering and completing horizontal wells.

• Describe the application of horizontal wells.

• Understand the basics of Multi-Lateral technology

and list their applications

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Advanced Wells
Advanced Wells

• These are called

“unconventional” wells
or, for cases with
complex trajectories,
“designer” wells

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Advanced Wells

This technology used to:

1. Access otherwise inaccessible reserves

2. Improve recovery factor/sweep efficiency

3. Increase flow rates

4. Enhance profitability invested through reduced

CAPEX, reduced OPEX & accelerated recovery

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Advanced Wells
• Advanced wells place require more extensive study
("front end loading"):
1. Well configuration is more complex, requiring
accurate reservoir description with adequate data.
2. Resulting risks with consequent contingency
planning is essential.
3. Costs have to be well understood and the economic
benefits and accompanying risks defined.
4. Full life cycle costs with possible recompletions,
workovers and stimulation must be included in this
economic analysis.

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Advanced Wells

• Advanced completions bring commercial benefit

through:

1. Reduced "Unit Technical Cost" or capital

expenditure per barrel of oil produced.
2. Reduced operating expenditure per barrel of oil
produced.
3. Accelerated initial field production build-up and
reserve recovery.
4. "Logging while drilling" techniques evaluate the
reservoir properties at the field's lateral limits.
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Advanced Wells

• Extra difficulties and challenges that arise when using

advanced completions including:

1. Increased complexity requires a more rigorous

validation of the chosen well design since the
potential risks are greater.
2. New constraints are introduced when operating these
wells.
3. Fewer, high rate wells results in an increased
commercial impact if one well has to be taken off
production
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Horizontal Wells have become a popular option

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Pilot holes minimise
Horizontal Well
geological risk
Drilling & Completion
• Production casing is set
just above the reservoir
• A pilot hole may be drilled
straight out of the casing
through the reservoir.
• After evaluation the pilot
hole is abandoned
• The well is turned
horizontal & drilled through
the reservoir for the planned
length.

Horizontal Well
Nomenclature
• Directional control is <±1.0 m
in the vertical direction.
• Horizontal length up to > 6 km
• The well reach can be >13 km
if horizontal drilling + "Extended
Reach” technology are combined

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 Extended Reach Wells

• Horizontal displacement may be more than 10 km

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Extended reach Wells

• The maximum value of the ratio of horizontal
displacement to (True) Vertical depth depends on:
• Vertical Depth. The highest ratios are achieved in
shallow reservoirs.
• Drilling conditions. Deep reservoirs with difficult
drilling conditions, high torque or low rate of
penetration restrict this ratio.
• Equipment. The rig must have an adequate top
drive and draw-works to handle the increased string
weight and torque drag.
• Technology capabilities. The trajectory of the well
must be carefully controlled.
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Extended Reach & Ultra Deep Drilling

• The Brent Oil Field could have been developed with one rather
than four platforms if ERD had been available in Courtesy
the 1970’s
World Oil

Geosteering during Horizontal well construction

• Geosteering involves actively adjusting the well
trajectory using real-time information
• Sources of real-time information include:
1. Cuttings: Microfossils identify stratigraphic horizon
2. Cuttings: Differentiate reservoir from non-reservoir
3. Gas and oil shows: Identify fluid contacts
4. LWD tools; Identify facies & lithology changes

• Geosteering
on a shale

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 Geosteering examples:

1. Horizontal steering on a fluid contact (avoid gas

cresting by steering with resistivity tools when the
water and oil zones have a large resistivity contrast)
2. Steer close to a shale layer using resistivity, gamma ray
or porosity tools
3. High permeability sands have low water saturation &
high porosity
• Use saturation or porosity tool

Well Production Capacity

The well production capacity depends on the inflow performance, the

completion design & the well’s outflow performance.

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 Horizontal Completion
choice controlled by:

1. Cost

2. Sand control requirements

3. Zonal isolation and selectivity required for water or

gas shut-off, stimulation, etc.

4. Operational constraints affecting access

Horizontal Completion

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 Horizontal Completions

Smart Wells have:

• Instrumentation to measure downhole parameters
(flow rate, fluid composition & pressure)
• Downhole flow control to manage inflow from
multiple compartments &
minimise water unwanted fluids

An “Intelligent” or
“Smart” Well

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Smart Wells
an expensive completion technology

• More efficient reservoir management is possible if the

well is divided into a number of segments which are
monitored & controlled separately.
• Reduced OPEX, risks & costs of a conventional
workover are avoided; such as:
• Timing: Waiting for equipment, crews, etc. availabilty
• Cost: Completion zone change takes ~10 days rig time
plus deferred oil. Subsea ten times cost of platform job.
• Risk: Of problems developing during the workover.
• Constraints: Deepening the well completion requires
drilling out plugs etc.

Reservoir Inflow

• Vertical wells show a radial inflow regime with no

vertical flow within the reservoir
• Horizontal wells show vertical fluid flow to the level of
the horizontal well
•Reduced well productivity results for reservoirs with
low vertical permeability (i.e. kv= 0).
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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Horizontal Well have greater Reservoir
Drainage Areas
5 Vertical well field 2 Horizontal well
development field development

Horizontal Well –
Application Areas

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 Benefits of Horizontal Wells

1. Increased exposure to the reservoir

2. Connection of laterally discontinuous features

3. Changes the drainage geometry

4. Extends field appraisal laterally

5. Reduces total drilling costs as well count decreased

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Horizontal Well - Productivity Improvement Factor

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 Horizontal Well - Productivity Improvement Factor

• Importance of kv/kh

Performance of North Sea Field

Horizontal Wells
5000
• Actual results:
Forecast 14% higher than
4000 Actual
initial forecasts
Oil Production b/d

3000
• Only 8 out of 13
2000
producers have
1000
actual results
0 within ±50% of
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
Well Nam e forecast
•Random nature of the errors - see well F & well I
Ref: SPE 30745, D. Beliveau, Heterogeneity, Geostatistics, Horizontal
Wells, and Blackjack Poker,
1995 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Dallas. Oct 22-25

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Horizontal Well Performance Reviewed

• Comparison of 1,300 horizontal wells to nearby

vertical wells found a log normal distribution:
• Nearly 20% of the horizontal wells population
showed no increase in production.
• The mode ( most likely PIF) was 4 while the mean
(average) PIF was 8.
• Highest PIF's were observed for wells producing:
– Viscous (heavy) oil from relatively high
permeability sands &
– Low permeability fields with natural fractures.
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Horizontal Well Performance Reviewed

Increased Production
Rate not always
translated into an
Increase in Reserves

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Increased connectivity to natural fractures with
horizontal wells drilled normal to fracture orientation

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Adapt Well Design to Geology

• Layered Reservoir

• Connects discontinuous
reservoir features

• Faulted Reservoir

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Coning & Cusping

• Completion stand-
off from fluid
contacts determine
the maximum
production rate before
Gas cusping or Water
Coning is a problem

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Change well drainage geometry

▪ Horizontal well’s higher critical production rate for production
induced water coning for same stand-off as vertical well

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Disadvantages of Horizontal Wells
• Higher specification drilling rig required.
• Need to employ more highly trained (especially
directional drilling) personnel.
• But the horizontal well’s cost/ft drilled reduces as
experience is built-up in a particular field.
• Completion clean up is more difficult since
horizontal wells have a lower drawdown
• "drill-in" fluids requiring a low draw down for
mudcake removal developed.
• Well monitoring, control and intervention are more
expensive in a horizontal well.
• All the above can be mitigated by good planning.
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Profitability Indicators

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Profitability Indicators

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Profitability Indicators

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Well Productivity Index & Production Rate
increases with extended reservoir contact

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Decreased unit development cost vs. reservoir

contact in a Middle East oil field

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Definition of a Multilateral Well
• Multilateral - single trunk connecting two or more
horizontal or high angle (> 80o) wells.
• Multibranch - single trunk connects two or
more laterals of any trajectory
– Horizontal, high angle, deviated or vertical

A multilateral well is a multibranch well but NOT vice versa

• Service companies have developed new ways of drilling
& completing multilateral wells
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Multi-laterals: Mutual Interference

• Multi lateral accelerates production compared to horizontal

• Interference in the reservoir leads to overlap of the drainage
areas and earlier decline compared to single lateral
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Multi-lateral - mutual interference

Water Breakthrough
affects the performance
of both zones in a
multilateral well via the
well’s “outflow”
performance
• Multi lateral accelerates production compared to single bore
• Interference in the tubing unless separate completion used
• Similar considerations (pressures, GOR’s etc.) as for
conventional commingled completion
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Impact on recovery
and Rate

Will multilateral lead to

accelerated or
increased recovery?

The preferred Outcome!

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Initiation Methods for Multilateral Wells
1. Open & cased hole sidetracks with/without whipstock.
2. Milling sidetracks through the tubing with a small
diameter whipstock
3. Coiled tubing drilling unit can be used for low cost
through tubing, side track to a zone of higher oil
saturation

Multilaterals single & multiple reservoirs

Single reservoir
– Laterals drain the same reservoir
interval (same hydraulic unit)
- most common type (90 +%)

Multiple reservoirs
– Laterals drain different reservoirs
– Number of production strings,
pressure isolation & fluid
compatibility becomes important
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Benefits of Multilateral wells
• Reduced number of wellheads
– Particularly important offshore where well slots
are limited & platform costs are high
• Capture advantages of horizontal wells at lower cost
– Increased exposure to the reservoir
– Connect laterally discontinuous features
– Change reservoir drainage geometry
– Extend field appraisal laterally
– Reduced total field development drilling costs
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

An Example Case History:

The Galahad Multilateral Well

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 Example Case History
The Galahad Multilateral Well

• 1975 – Vertical Discovery well 15 MM scfd – uneconomic

• 1996
Revised 2010– Multilateral well 64 MM scfd – economic
HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Galahad Field - a multi-lateral well example

• The mother, horizontal, wellbore was placed in the
higher permeability C sand just above the GOC.
• GOC does not move during reservoir depletion due to
the small size of the aquifer.
• The Lateral cut the low permeability, D, E and F
sands twice via its U shaped configuration due to low
reservoir vertical permeability
• Zonal isolation not required at lateral junction as it
was placed within the reservoir.
• The PIF of the Multi-Lateral was > 4 compared to the
vertical discovery well.
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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 A 2nd Example
Large scale application of Multilateral
wells in Saudi Arabia
Viscous oil, high permeability reservoirs
• Well productivity is constrained by poor fluid
mobility i.e. Permeability/Viscosity (k/µ) is low
• High drawdown & maximum formation exposure
required for economic flow rates.
• Borehole area (i.e. length) more important than
borehole diameter when frictional pressure losses low
• Similar considerations apply to Low Permeability
reservoirs
Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

Learning Objectives

• Describe the technology required for drilling,

steering and completing horizontal wells.

• Describe the application of horizontal wells.

• Understand the basics of Multi-Lateral technology

and list their applications

Revised 2010 HWU MSc. PT - David Davies

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