WELL COMPLETIONS

1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The purpose of drilling oil and gas wells is to produce hydrocarbons from, or to inject fluids
into, hydrocarbon-bearing formations beneath the earth's surface. The borehole, described
previously, provides a conduit for the flow of fluids either to or from the surface. Certain
equipment must be placed in the wellbore, and various other items and procedures must
also be used to sustain or control the fluid flow. The assembly of downhole tubulars and
equipment required to enable safe and efficient production from an oil or gas well and any
procedures or items necessary to install it are collectively referred to as a well completion.
The point at which the completion process begins may depend on the type and design of
well. However, there are many options applied or actions performed during the
construction phase of a well that have significant impact on the productivity of the well.

The purposes of a well completion are to:

Connect the reservoir to the surface so that fluids can be produced from or injected
into the reservoir
Provide a conduit for well stimulation treatments
Isolate the producing reservoir from other zones
Protect the integrity of the reservoir, especially in unconsolidated formations
Provide a conduit to measure the changes in flow rate and pressure needed to run a
well test

The wellbore provides the only path from the surface to the reservoir. To a large extent, the
successful production and depletion of a reservoir depends upon the successful completion
and workover operations applied to a well. In most companies, the production engineer
designs and supervises all completion and workover operations.

2. METHOD OF WELL COMPLETIONS

Cementing a well is an essenstial step in almost all well completions, irrespective of

whether a perfect bond is achieved between the reservoir and the casing. Currently, most
wells are cemented at least some distance above the target area. In early completions,
casing was either set at the top of the producing zone as an openhole completion or set
through the producing reservoir. Here, we will consider two majors categories for well
completion, that are open hole and cased hole.

2.1. Open Hole Completions

This category refer to cases in which the oil string is set on top of the pay zone, as
shown as the figure below. The pay zone is drilled after a casing has been uncased
height of the borehole. This simple solution can not solve any problems of borehole
stability or selectivity of fluid or level to be produced.

Such a method is only applicable to highly competent formations which will not slough
or cave. Completion of this type are common in low pressure limestone areas (such as
Kansas) where cable tools are used for the drilling-in operation. Rotary tools are used
until the oil string is set, at which time the cable tool rig moves in, bails the mud from
the hole, and drills the desired pay interval. This method permits testing of the zone as
it is drilled, elimination of formation damage by drilling mud and cement and
incremental deeping as necessary to avoid drillling into water. This latter factor is quite
important in thin, water-drive pay sections where no more than a few feet of oil zone
penetration is desired.

Open hole completions are used where there is only one zone which is either very well
consolidated or provided with open-hole gravel packing for sand control. This is valid
as long as there are no interface problem. Because of this, open hole completion are
seldom chosen for oil wells ( a water-oil or oil-gas interface is frequently present from
the beginning or later on; the oil-gas interface is even more serious due to the high
mobility of gas as compared to oil). On the other hand, this type of completion maybe
suited to a gas well. In this cas, the substantial mobility contrast between the gas and
the liquids is favorable and provides natural selectivity to produce mainly the gas.
However, that the accumulation of liquids in the well has a
vert adverse effect on the well,s flow capability.

Phillips and Whitt (1986) describe that open hole completions

minimize expenses and allow for flexible treatment options if
the well is deepened later, but such completions limit the
control of well fluids. Openhole completions can also reduce
sand and water production. Intuitively, one would suspect that
the productivity of an open hole completion should exceed
that of a conventional perforates completion in which the
fluids must enter the borehole through a few, small diameter
holes in the casing. This advantage should be magnified in
thin, laminated strata or other formation where vertical
permeability is either low or discontinous. Whether or not the
advantage is appreciable is subject to some doubt at the
present time. Although many wells completed in this manner
are still operating today, this method of completion has been
superseded by cased completions.

2.2 Cased Hole Completions

This category of completions is restricted to wells in which the oil string is set through
the pay section, cemented and subsequently perforated at the desires interval.

After the pay zone has been drilled, a casing (or liner in some instances) is run in and
cemented opposite the layer. Then it is perforated opposite the zone that is to be
produced in order to restore a connection and the sheath of cement before they
penetrate the formation. The preceding drilling phase was stopped just above the
reservoir or at some distance above it and an intermediate casing was then run in and
cemented.

Such completions are extremely common and feasible in all formations except those in
which sand exclusion is a problem. The vital factor involved is, of course the perforating
process to which we shall give special attention. Fluid flow is estabilished by the
creation of holes or perforations that extend beyond the casing and cement sheath,
thereby connecting and opening the reservoir to the wellbore. Since perforation can be
placed very accurately in relation to the different levels and interfaces between fluids,
this method gives better selectivity for levels and produced fluids. The only condition,
however is a good cement and bond between the formation and the casing string. Well
that are cased through the producing reservoir provide greater control of reservoir
fluids because some or all of the perforations can be cemented off or downhole devices
can be used to shut off bottom perforations. However, open hole wireline logs must be
run before the casing is set so that the exact perforation interval is known.

Cased hole completions are more susceptible to formation damage than open hole
completions. Formation damage refers to a loss in reservoir productivity, normally
associated with fluid invasion, fines migration, precipitates, or the formation of
emulsions in the reservoir. Loss of productivity is expressed as a skin factor. A positive
value indicates that a well is damaged.

Cased hole completions are mainly used when there are interface problems and/or
when there are several levels. As a result, they are not only much more common, they
are not only much more common, they are the most widespread type of completion.
3. PERFORATION

After an oil or gas well is completed, the wellbore is isolated from the surrounding
formation by casing and cement. But there is no connection between the wellbore and the
reservoir. To connect the wellbore and the reservoir of oil or gas, we need to do a process
called the completion process. Completion is really vital for production and injection wells
because the connection that we make in completion process has a big impact on wells
future performance. Activity that is in completion process is well perforating.

Well perforating connects the wellbore and the reservoir by making holes that are going
through the wells cement and production liner (or production casing). A successful
connection by well perforating means that the well can start to flow the reservoir fluid so
production can begin or for injection wells, the injection can go into the formation.

There are several methods to create perforations in wellbores. The oldest method is bullet-
perforating. Propellant-driven bullets are shot through casing and cement into the
formation. A gun is used to convey the bullet penetrators downhole. To fire the gun, an
electrical signal is sent down to ignite the propellant. One of disadvantage of using this
method is the performance decreases substantially in high-strength formations and when
very high-strength casing is used.

Another perforating method is using high-pressure water jets or sand-laden slurries to

make a hole into the casing, cement, and formation. The slurry is pumped down to the
bottom by a deflector and nozzle arrangement that allows the slurry to impinge directly on
the casing. A major advantage of this method is that very clean tunnels can be created with
little or no formation damage. The major drawback, however, is that the process is slow and
expensive, and the holes must be created one at a time.

The last method is jet perforating that uses high explosives and metal-lined shaped charges.
This method is the most widely used to create perforations in wellbores. Jet perforators can
be conveyed downhole by a variety of means: slickline, electric line, coiled tubing, and
production tubing.

Effective shot density is a crucial perforating parameter to increase the number of flow
paths to the wellbore and also to contact thinly laminated hydrocarbon layers. Some say
that four SPF can always provide comparable inflow performance to an open hole
completion, but this knowledge can be quite misleading. Higher shot densities become
more beneficial in natural completions with high formation permeabilities and high shot
densities are critical in cased-hole, gravel packed wells.

A perforating program (perforating) need to be specified before the tubing size is

determined, since the perforation density and length of interval must be known before the
wells inflow capacity can be calculated. The perforating program includes the type of gun,
the charge type and size, the shot density, and phasing.

The productivity of a perforated wellbore depends on the length and diameter of the
perforations, degree of damage araound the perforation, perforation density (per foot), and
phase angle. Tariq, 1987, summarize the effect of phase angle, number of perforations, and
perforation length on well productivity. The figures shows that for 90 phasing and
perforations longer than 10 inches, even 4 shots/ft will be superior to open hole. It also
indicates that the effect of the perforation diameter is fairly small. Simple way to describe
the relation between shot density and productivity is higher shot-density leads to higher
productivity of a well.

There are several types of conveyamce systems. Two of them are tubing conveyed
perforation and wireline conveyed perforation. Tubing-conveyed perforating uses tubing,
drillpipe, or coiled tubing to convey perforating guns to the required depth. This is the
developed technique for conveying the gun string on the production tubing, with the guns
remaining in the well until they are removed during the first workover. This technique is
popular for highly deviated and horizontal wells. But the major drawback to TCP is that
there is no way of knowing, except by pulling the guns. Wireline conveyed perforation is
perforation using a wireline unit. Wireline conveyed perforation incorporates a positioning
log and an electrically activated firing head with gun assembly.
4. MULTIPLE ZONE

COMPLETION
A multiple zone completion is one
in which two or more separate pay
zones are produced simultaneously
from the same well bore without
commingling of the fluid. This
segregation is commonly required
for purposes of reservoir control,
and is generally made compulsory
by state regulatory bodies. Two
zone or dual completions are the
common, although triple and
quadruple zone completion have
been performed. As might be
expected, the principal factor
opposing this practice is the complexity of downhole equipment necessary to maintain
zonal segregation. These complications become more serious when one or both zone
require artificial lifting (pumping, gas lift, etc). In the past, the technique of producing
several levels together through the same tubing was used. It required minimum number
of equipments. However, the subsequent reservoir & production problems that were
experienced have caused this practice to become much less common.

-Parallel tubing string completion and tubing-annulus completion-

As observed above, several levels are produced in the same well at the same time but
separately, i.e. through different strings of pipe.

Double-zone completions are most common, but there can be three, four, and even more
levels produced separately. However, this significantly complicates the equipment that
 needs to be run into the well and especially makes any workover operations much more
complex. There are large number of systems, but let us simply consider;
1. Parallel dual string completion with two tubings, one for each of the two levels and
two packers to isolate the levels from one another and protect the annulus.
2. Tubing-annulus completion with one single tubing and one packer, which is located
between the two levels that are to be produced, with one level produced through the
tubing and the other through the tubing-casing annulus.

Basically this type of completion allows the development of several levels with fewer
wells, and is therefore faster. In contrast, maintenance and workover costs are higher. As
such it is particularly advantageous offshore (where drilling itself and the space
required for a well site are very costly). By taking advantage of a principal level that is
being produced, it is also used to develop one or more marginal levels that would
otherwise not warrant drilling a well.
Tubing-annulus completions are very few and far between. Though they have good flow
capability (large cross sections are available for fluid flow), this system does not protect
the casing, among other drawbacks.

5. SAND PROBLEM

In highly unconsolidated formations, the production of formation fluids will probably be

associated with the production of formation sand. In some situation, small quantities of
formation sand can be produced with no significant adverse effect; however, in most cases,
sand production leads to reduced productivity and/or excessive maintenance to both
downhole and surface equipment. Sufficient sand production may also cause premature
failure of the wellbore and well equipment. Completion method that allow sandprone
reservoirs to be exploited often severely reduce production efficiency. The challenge is to
complete wells to keep formation sand in place without unduly restricting productivity.
 Once it has been established that at planned production rates
sand is likely to be produced, the next step is to choose a
completion strategy to limit sanding. A first option is to treat the
well with minimizing shocks to the reservoir by changing
drawdown and production rate slowly and in small increments.
Production rate may be reduced to ensure that drawdown is
below the point at which the formation grains become detached.
More subtly, selective perforation may avoid zone where sanding
is most likely. However, both options reduce production, which
may adversely affect field economics.

The most popular options for completing sand-prone reservoir

physically restrain sand movement. The four main classes of
completion are:

1. Resin Injection
To cement the sand grains in situ, a resin is injected into
formation, generally through perforation, and then flushed
with catalyst. Most commercially available systems employ
phenolic, furan or epoxy resins. They bind rock particles
together creating a stable matrix of permeable, consolidated
grains around the casing.

2. Slotted liners and Prepacked Screens

Slotted pipes, screen and prepacked screens offer the lowest-
cost downhole filtering.Slotted liners have the largest holes,
wirewrapped screens have have smaller openings,while
screen prepacked with resin-coated sand offer the finest
filtering.Each type can be run as a part of the completion
string and particularly suited for high-angle wells,which
cannot be-easily completed otherwise. Slot are typically
sized to caused bridging of the largest 10% of the formation
particles, filling the annulus between the screen and casing.,
or open hole, with formation sand creating a filter for
remaining particles. However , production can be restricted
by this relatively permeability, sandpacked annulus. Also,
production of even a small amount of fines can plug many
screen, particularly prepacked screens, within a few hours of
installation.Slotted liners and screen are best suited to
formation that are fiable rather than completely
unconsolidated.

3. Resin-Coated Gravel Without Screen

Resin-Coated gravel may be used as a downhole filter without installing a screen.
The gravel is circulated into position as a slurry, either inside casing or open hole
 and then squeeze to form a plug across the production zone. Adjacent particles are
bonded by resin, strengthening the pack.
Resin- Coated gravel has the advatages of needing no special hardware. But the pack
creates significant addition drawdown that may affect productivity.

4. Gravel Packing
Gravel packing has been used by oil industry since 1930s. Today, it is most widely
employed sand control measure,accounting for about three-quarter of treatment. A
slurry of accurately sized gravel in a carrier fluid is pumped into the annular space
between a centralize screen and either perforated casing or open hole. The gravel
also enters perforation if a cased-hole gravel pack is being performed. As pumping
continuous, carrier fulid leaks off into the formation or through the screen and back
to the surface. The gravel pack creates a granular filter with very high permeability-
about 120 darcies-but prevents formation sand entering the well.
Gravel pack not without their drawbacks. During installation, carrier fluid is
injection into the foration which may damage the reservoir permeability and restrict
production. The pack then tends to trsp the damage perforation, preventing clean
up. Once in plasce, the pack in perforation tunnels increase drawdown which may
seriously affect productivity. Gravel packs reduce the operating wellbore diameter,
usually necessitating artificial lift equipment to be st above the zone. Completing
multiple zones with gravel pack is difficult, and almost all well repairs involve the
removal of the screen and pack.

6. COMPLETION FOR
HORIZONTAL WELL

There are several types of

horizontal well completions
that some of them are open hole,
open hole with cemented off-
bottom, slotted liner in open
hole, prepacked liner in
open hole, gravel packing,
slotted liner with external casing,
and cemented-
perforated liner.

Open hole completion is used only in the

homogeneous reservoir with enough geomechanical
strength to support itself. It is possible to do this
completion without zonal isolation.
Open hole, cemented off-bottom is almost the same as
open hole completion except that the top zone is filled
with cement to create zonal isolation from gas cap and
then drilled out. The technique requires the isolation
of the lower horizontal portion of the wellbore from
the section being cemented using a highly viscous
crosslinked polymer plug up to 200 feet long.

Slotted liner in open hole completion is the easiest

completion after open hole. This type of completion
can support weaker formations but can not be used
where sand production occurs because the sand will
plug the slots or be produced through them. This
completion doesnt need zonal isolation.

Prepacked liner in open hole completion is the right

type of completion for sand control. A
resinimpregnated sand is trapped between two
concentric screens. Prepacked liners prevent collaped
sand from entering the well but do not prevent the
sand from collapsing. The sand may form a zone of
reduced permeability around the outer screen and
impede production.

Gravel packing completion is the ideal completion for

weal formations. But the problem is this completion
is hard to achieve in horizontal well. The solution for
it might be leaving the well open hole and pack
gravel around a slotted liner or, for insurance, around
a prepacked liner.
 Slotted liner with external casing packers is basically inflatable rubber
diaphragms fixed to the outside of slotted or normal liner, allow
isolation of given section of the well. Isolation depends on the integrity
of the packer seal, more assured in a perfectly circular hole than in an
oval hole.

Cemented and perforated liner

completion is the most assured way to achieve zonal
isolation and mandatory if hydraulic
fracturing is anticipated.

SOURCES :

1. Oil & Gas Fields Development Techniques, well completion and services, translated
from French by Barbara Brown Balvet and reviewed by Phillippe Beun
2. Gatlin, Carl. 1960. Drilling Well Completion. Texas : Precentice Hall Inc.
3. Petroleum Well Construction, Halliburton.
4. http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Terms/t/tubing-conveyed_perforating.aspx
5. http://petrowiki.org/Perforating_equipment
6. http://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors90/jul90/6_chal
lenge.pdf