Game Changing Strategy in Completions and Fracturing Technology Enhances Efficiency and Sustained Production

Abstract Drilling of long horizontal wells in high temperature, high pressure, and high in-situ stress environment, although challenging, has become almost a norm in the development of moderate to tight conventional as well as nano Darcy unconventional reservoirs. The increase and expansion of multistage completions and fracturing and current advancement has empowered the oil and gas industry by providing the ability to effectively place a logn wellbore and fracture specific reservoir intervals as per design strategy. In developing moderate to tight formations, strategic choice in type and placement of completion assembly along with design and implementation of optimal hydraulic fracturing in the most cost-effective manner is required. To attain high productivity, sustained production rate, and improved ultimate recovery, each reservoir and well must be studied individually and custom select completion assemblies combined with fracturing equipment and materials such as acid or proppants, fluids, chemical diverters, and pumping schedule.1 The directional drilling azimuth and lateral length will dictate the total number of independent hydraulic fractures that can be generated. The azimuth of the lateral dictates the direction hydraulic fracture will propagate. Usually, wells in relatively tighter reservoir are drilled in the direction of minimum horizontal stress, so that fractures are created perpendicular to the wellbore.2 For drilling purposes, choice of this azimuth poses difficulty as the stresses acting on the wellbore becomes high, and precautions are taken to maintain wellbore diameter, shape, and integrity. Moderate to tight reservoirs are drilled in the direction of minimal in-situ stress to enable development of oblique or transverse fractures. The total number of transverse fractures to induce and placement of fracturing ports and isolation packers in an open hole completions system are critical parameters to achieve long-term, optimal production. This paper addresses some essential elements of an openhole configuration and presents field results leading to sustained long-term production, excellent hydrocarbon recovery, and economic gain. The other common completion category, plug & perf (P&P), also can be a good strategy but has some shortcomings that are overcome with openhole completions.