Autonomous Inflow Control Valve Applications Creating Better Wells: A Review of Design Optimization and Associated Benefits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Abd El-Fattah ◽  
Ahmed Moustafa Fahmy ◽  
Hamed Wahaibi ◽  
Abdullah Shibli ◽  
Khaled Zuhaimi
Keyword(s):  
Control Valve ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Gas Oil ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Control Devices ◽  
Water Gas

Abstract One of the largest oil fields in the GCC was developed in the 1960's. The field was initially produced under natural depletion supplemented by gas injection. The high offtake rates led to a rapid displacement of the gas/oil contact; thus, the field has now been suffering from early gas/water breakthrough and uneven fluid influx along with the horizontal wells. The reservoir has been on production for more than 50 years. Water/gas breakthrough from fractures being the major challenge which negatively affects wells oil production rates. Applying technology which can manage water/gas breakthrough in a cost-effective manner whilst allowing increased oil production was a key goal from operators in this field. Passive Inflow Control Devices (ICD) were introduced to the global oil and gas market in mid/late-1990's, and the first generation of Autonomous ICD (AICD) that can help reduce more unwanted gas or water was first installed in 2007. ICD's successfully demonstrated that they could delay the gas and/or water breakthrough within horizontal wells, but they could not choke gas when the coning/gas-breakthrough occurred and along with limited abilities to stop unwanted water production. To help solve this problem, the Autonomous Inflow Control Devices (AICD-RCP) with a movable disc was introduced to the market and demonstrated reduction of gas production by 20-30% with similar gains in oil production[1]. In this paper, the newest generation of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV) technology is presented. The AICV technology has a movable piston that can close and reduce the unwanted gas and water production by up to 95%[2]. The application of AICVs discussed herein were deployed within several wells which had extremely high Gas Oil Ratio (GOR) and low oil production. The novel AICV technology can differentiate between fluid types based on viscosity and density. When undesired fluid (gas and/or water) starts to be produced, the AICV chokes the valve flow area gradually until completely shutting off, all without well intervention[3]. Well production performances are documenting the benefits of installing AICV completions. The results demonstrate the AICVs closing the zones with high gas production and favoring oil-rich zones. Majority of evaluated wells demonstrated clearly that the extremely high GOR was reduced; some wells have returned to solution GOR for more than two years, and at the same time, the daily oil production is increased.

Fieldwide Application of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve in Increasing the Field Recovery in One of the Matured Fields in the Sultanate of Oman: Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim Buwauqi ◽  
Ali Al Jumah ◽  
Abdulhameed Shabini ◽  
Ameera Harrasi ◽  
Tejas Kalyani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control Valve ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
High Water ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Well Performance ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Water Cut

Abstract One of the largest operators in the Sultanate of Oman discovered a clastic reservoir field in 1980 and put it on production in 1985. The field produces viscous oil, ranging from 200 - 2000+ cP at reservoir conditions. Over 75% of the wells drilled are horizontal wells and the field is one of the largest producers in the Sultanate of Oman. The field challenges include strong aquifer, high permeability zones/faults and large fluid mobility contrast have resulted that most of the wells started with very high-water cuts. The current field water cut is over 94%. This paper details operator's meticulous journey in qualification, field trials followed by field-wide implementation and performance evaluation of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV) technology in reducing water production and increasing oil production significantly. AICV can precisely identify the fluid flowing through it and shutting-off the high water or gas saturated zones autonomously while stimulating oil production from healthy oil-saturated zones. Like other AICDs (Autonomous Inflow Control Device) AICV can differentiate the fluid flowing through it via fluid properties such as viscosity and density at reservoir conditions. However, AICVs performance is superior due to its advanced design based on Hagen-Poiseuille and Bernoulli's principles. This paper describes an AICV completion design workflow involving a multi-disciplinary team as well as some of the field evaluation criteria to evaluate AICV well performance in the existing and in the new wells. The operator has completed several dozens of production wells with AICV technology in the field since 2018-19. Based on the field performance review, it has shown the benefit of accelerating oil production as well as reduction of unwanted water which not only reduces the OPEX of these wells but at the same time enormous positive impact on the environment. Many AICV wells started with just 25-40 % water cut and are still producing with low water cut and higher oil production. Based on the initial field-wide assessment, it is also envisaged that AICV wells will assist in achieving higher field recovery. Also, AICV helped in mitigating the facility constraints of handling produced water which will allow the operator continued to drill in-fill horizontal wells. Finally, the paper also discusses in detail the long-term performance results of some of the wells and their impact on cumulative field recovery as well as lessons learned to further optimise the well performance. The technology has a profound impact on improved sweep efficiency and as well plays an instrumental role in reducing the carbon footprint by reducing the significant water production at the surface. It is concluded that AICV technology has extended the field and wells life and proved to be the most cost-effective field-proven technology for the water shut-off application.

Application of Horizontal Wells to Reduce Water Production during Gel Treatment

2013 ◽  
Vol 807-809 ◽  
pp. 2629-2633
Author(s):  
Guang Xi Shen ◽  
Ji Ho Lee ◽  
Kun Sang Lee
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Vertical Permeability ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Gel Treatment

It is well known that gel treatment has outstanding potential to delay water breakthrough and reduce water production. However, it causes the decrease of oil production by permeability reduction, even though it is not as much as reduction of water production. For this reason, to improve oil production with substantial reduction of water production, performances of gel treatments through the combination of horizontal and/or vertical wells were assessed and compared. An extensive numerical simulation was executed for four different well configurations under gel treatment associated with waterflood to accomplish the purpose of this study. Performances were compared according to cumulative oil recovery and water-oil ratio at the production well for different systems. Though all of well configurations considered in this study effectively decreased the water production compared with waterflood, applications of horizontal wells led to much higher oil recovery than vertical well because of improved sweep efficiency. Based on these results, the potential of horizontal wells was examined through different scenarios in combinations of injection and production wells. Furthermore, various well lengths of injectors or producers were assessed for horizontal wells. Because cross-flow between layers dominates performance of gel treatment, effects of vertical permeability were also investigated in application of gel treatment with horizontal well. Longer wells and higher cross-flow results in better performance. This study represents that effectiveness of horizontal wells for gel treatment even for reservoirs having dominant cross-flow.

Application of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve AICV in Increasing the Field Recovery in One of the Matured Fields in the Sultanate of Oman: Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim Buwauqi ◽  
Ali Al Jumah ◽  
Abdulhameed Shabibi ◽  
Ameera Harrasi ◽  
Tejas Kalyani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control Valve ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Viscous Oil ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Water Cut

Abstract One of the largest clastic reservoir fields in the Sultanate of Oman has been discovered in 1980 and put on production in 1985. The field produces viscous oil, ranging from 200 - 2000+ cP at reservoir conditions. Over 75% of the wells drilled are horizontal wells and the field is one of the largest producers in the Sultanate of Oman. The field challenges include strong aquifer, high permeability zones/faults. Due to large fluid mobility contrast, the fields have experienced in pre-mature water breakthrough that has resulted in very high-water cuts. The average field water cut for open hole horizontal well after 6-9 months of production is over 94%. This paper details a meticulous journey in qualification, field trials followed by field-wide implementation and performance evaluation of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV) technology in reducing water production and increasing oil production significantly. AICV can precisely identify the fluid flowing through it and shutting-off the high water or gas saturated zones while producing oil from healthy oil-saturated zones. Like other AICDs (Autonomous Inflow Control Device) AICV can differentiate the fluid flowing through it via fluid properties such as viscosity and density at reservoir conditions. However, AICV's performance is superior due to its advanced design based on both Hagen-Poiseuille and Bernoulli's principles. This paper describes a comprehensive AICV completion design workflow that was developed across a multi-disciplinary team. Some of the initial wells completed with AICV has shown the benefit of accelerating oil production of over 30,000 bbls within the first few months of installation. Many wells started with 5-10 % water cut and are still producing with low water cut and higher oil production. The operator has approved AICV technology based on techno-commercial analysis and its positive impact on the project such as accelerated oil production and lower cost of water handling at the surface. AICV also helped in mitigating the facility constraints of handling produced water which resulted in reduce OPEX as allow the operator continued to drill horizontal wells. At the time of writing this paper, the operator has completed several dozen wells in the field with AICV technology and has an aggressive long term plan to complete several new and old wells. Finally, this paper also discusses in detail the comparative analysis of AICV wells for different subsurface conditions and share some lessons learned to further optimise the well performance. The technology has a profound impact on improved sweep efficiency and as well plays an instrumental role in reducing the carbon footprint by reducing the significant water production at the surface. It is concluded that AICV is a cost-effective field-proven technology for the water shut-off application. Due to its ability to autonomously identify and shut off water and gas production, the AICV technology has been approved to use as full fields implementation and in other fields. Field Background and Reservoir/Production challenges The operator produces around nine barrels of water against each produced barrel of oil. In general, the water produces to the surface with hydrocarbons contains many chemicals, which are usually not environmentally friendly and required additional treatment which increases the disposal cost. The Operator was looking for a cost-effective and proven technology that can control/shut off water production and improve oil production. The fields have a strong bottom aquifer and heterogeneous reservoir properties, such as permeability and downhole water saturation profiles. The challenge with matured brownfields, typically newly drilled wells will have pre-mature water breakthrough within few months of production. The fields have a highly viscous oil, with viscosity ranges from 200 cP up to 2000 cp at downhole conditions, thus creating a high mobility contrast between the oil and water, causing water fingering and coning at an early stage of production. These production challenges cause a significant recoverable oil left in the reservoir i.e. bypassed oil. Furthermore, excessive surface water production affects the integrated production system back pressures and flow, as well as an individual well's dynamics and pump efficiencies. This also has a significant downstream impact, where substantial investment is needed to handle, treat, and dispose of the water. Reducing these water volumes at the surface adds up to a tangible reduction in OPEX for water processing as well as environmentally friendly and assist the reservoir to maintain the reservoir pressure and energy by keeping the water in the reservoir. (Hilal et al 1997, Hassasi et al 2020)

Unlocking By-Passed Oil with Autonomous Inflow Control Devices Through an Integrated Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawan Agrawal ◽  
Sharifa Yousif ◽  
Ahmed Shokry ◽  
Talha Saqib ◽  
Osama Keshtta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Production ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Fluid Distribution ◽  
Flow Profile ◽  
Horizontal Drain ◽  
Control Devices

Abstract In a giant offshore UAE carbonate oil field, challenges related to advanced maturity, presence of a huge gas-cap and reservoir heterogeneities have impacted production performance. More than 30% of oil producers are closed due to gas front advance and this percentage is increasing with time. The viability of future developments is highly impacted by lower completion design and ways to limit gas breakthrough. Autonomous inflow-control devices (AICD's) are seen as a viable lower completion method to mitigate gas production while allowing oil production, but their effect on pressure drawdown must be carefully accounted for, in a context of particularly high export pressure. A first AICD completion was tested in 2020, after a careful selection amongst high-GOR wells and a diagnosis of underlying gas production mechanisms. The selected pilot is an open-hole horizontal drain closed due to high GOR. Its production profile was investigated through a baseline production log. Several AICD designs were simulated using a nodal analysis model to account for the export pressure. Reservoir simulation was used to evaluate the long-term performance of short-listed scenarios. The integrated process involved all disciplines, from geology, reservoir engineering, petrophysics, to petroleum and completion engineering. In the finally selected design, only the high-permeability heel part of the horizontal drain was covered by AICDs, whereas the rest was completed with pre-perforated liner intervals, separated with swell packers. It was considered that a balance between gas isolation and pressure draw-down reduction had to be found to ensure production viability for such pilot evaluation. Subsequent to the re-completion, the well could be produced at low GOR, and a second production log confirmed the effectiveness of AICDs in isolating free gas production, while enhancing healthy oil production from the deeper part of the drain. Continuous production monitoring, and other flow profile surveys, will complete the evaluation of AICD effectiveness and its adaptability to evolving pressure and fluid distribution within the reservoir. Several lessons will be learnt from this first AICD pilot, particularly related to the criticality of fully integrated subsurface understanding, evaluation, and completion design studies. The use of AICD technology appears promising for retrofit solutions in high-GOR inactive strings, prolonging well life and increasing reserves. Regarding newly drilled wells, dedicated efforts are underway to associate this technology with enhanced reservoir evaluation methods, allowing to directly design the lower completion based on diagnosed reservoir heterogeneities. Reduced export pressure and artificial lift will feature in future field development phases, and offer the flexibility to extend the use of AICD's. The current technology evaluation phases are however crucial in the definition of such technology deployments and the confirmation of their long-term viability.

scholarly journals Comparison Between Homogenous and Heterogeneous Reservoirs: A Parametric Study of Water Coning Phenomena

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-131
Author(s):  
Frzan F. Ali ◽  
Maha R. Hamoudi ◽  
Akram H. Abdul Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Production Rate ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Effective Parameters ◽  
Radial Cross Section ◽  
Heterogeneous Reservoirs ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Water Coning ◽  
Water Cut ◽  
Reservoir Simulator

Water coning is the biggest production problem mechanism in Middle East oil fields, especially in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. When water production starts to increase, the costs of operations increase. Water production from the coning phenomena results in a reduction in recovery factor from the reservoir. Understanding the key factors impacting this problem can lead to the implementation of efficient methods to prevent and mitigate water coning. The rate of success of any method relies mainly on the ability to identify the mechanism causing the water coning. This is because several reservoir parameters can affect water coning in both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. The objective of this research is to identify the parameters contributing to water coning in both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. A simulation model was created to demonstrate water coning in a single- vertical well in a radial cross-section model in a commercial reservoir simulator. The sensitivity analysis was conducted on a variety of properties separately for both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. The results were categorized by time to water breakthrough, oil production rate and water oil ratio. The results of the simulation work led to a number of conclusions. Firstly, production rate, perforation interval thickness and perforation depth are the most effective parameters on water coning. Secondly, time of water breakthrough is not an adequate indicator on the economic performance of the well, as the water cut is also important. Thirdly, natural fractures have significant contribution on water coning, which leads to less oil production at the end of production time when compared to a conventional reservoir with similar properties.

Increased Recovery Using Autonomous Inflow Management

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernt S. Aadnøy ◽  
Beder Al Furati
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Active Devices ◽  
Considerable Portion ◽  
Master Thesis ◽  
Control Devices ◽  
Reservoir Simulator ◽  
The University ◽  
Viscosity Fluid

Abstract Inflow control devices (ICD) were first introduced 26 years ago on the Troll field. The main purpose was to reduce water coning to delay water production. This technology is commonly used in long horizontal wells. An ICD is a passive orifice. More recently several types of active devices have been developed. The choking effect here depends on viscosity, fluid density or pressure contrasts. They are called autonomous devices as they react on changes inside the reservoir, without signal from surface. The main objective is to maximize oil recovery, before water production is so large that the wells are abandoned. A master thesis study conducted at the University of Stavanger together with Neptune Energy has investigated the applications of passive and autonomous inflow devices, to see which tool actually provides the highest oil recovery. The analysis was based on existing products and tools under development. Areas where a specific tool works most optimally were identified. Wells from a producing field were used as candidates for the analysis. A considerable portion of the work was to build a realistic reservoir simulator from production data. This paper will present the work and discuss the results of the study.

scholarly journals Water-Gas Two-Phase Flow Behavior of Multi-Fractured Horizontal Wells in Shale Gas Reservoirs

Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Li ◽  
Guanglong Sheng ◽  
Yuliang Su
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Fractured Horizontal Wells ◽  
Water Gas

Hydraulic fracturing is a necessary method to develop shale gas reservoirs effectively and economically. However, the flow behavior in multi-porosity fractured reservoirs is difficult to characterize by conventional methods. In this paper, combined with apparent porosity/permeability model of organic matter, inorganic matter and induced fractures, considering the water film in unstimulated reservoir volume (USRV) region water and bulk water in effectively stimulated reservoir volume (ESRV) region, a multi-media water-gas two-phase flow model was established. The finite difference is used to solve the model and the water-gas two-phase flow behavior of multi-fractured horizontal wells is obtained. Mass transfer between different-scale media, the effects of pore pressure on reservoirs and fluid properties at different production stages were considered in this model. The influence of the dynamic reservoir physical parameters on flow behavior and gas production in multi-fractured horizontal wells is studied. The results show that the properties of the total organic content (TOC) and the inherent porosity of the organic matter affect gas production after 40 days. With the gradual increase of production time, the gas production rate decreases rapidly compared with the water production rate, and the gas saturation in the inorganic matter of the ESRV region gradually decreases. The ignorance of stress sensitivity would cause the gas production increase, and the ignorance of organic matter shrinkage decrease the gas production gradually. The water film mainly affects gas production after 100 days, while the bulk water has a greater impact on gas production throughout the whole period. The research provides a new method to accurately describe the two-phase fluid flow behavior in different scale media of fractured shale gas reservoirs.

Resolving Multiple Formation Damage Mechanism in Carbonate Reservoir Through Systematic Approach Using Combination of Aromatic Solvent and Less Aggressive Acid

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamzah Kamal ◽  
Prakoso Noke Fajar ◽  
Ghozali Farid ◽  
Aryanto Agus ◽  
Priyantoro Tri Atmojo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Damage Mechanism ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Formation Damage ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Aromatic Solvent ◽  
Well Productivity ◽  
Production Phase ◽  
Water Breakthrough

Abstract There is no well operation that is truly non-damaging. Any invasive operation, even production phase itself, may be damaging to well productivity. An interesting case was found in L-Field which is located in South Sumatra, Indonesia. All four wells are predicted to cease to flow after five-year production and artificial lift have to be installed to prevent steep decline in oil production. Unfortunately, all of wells’ productivity index (PI) decreased post well intervention and therefore, couldn’t achieve target. The PI was continuously decreasing during production phase and aggravated the decline in oil production. Remediation action by systematic approach was applied to solve the problem. Early diagnostic revealed some potential causes through evaluation of both production and well treatment data. Laboratory test such as mineralogy analysis, crude composition and water analysis, solubility and compatibility test have been conducted and clarified the root cause that formation damage occurred in multiple mechanism related to incompatibility of the workover fluid and organic deposition. Then, possible well treatments were listed with pros and cons by considering post water production related to the carbonate reservoir properties. Subsequently, chemical matrix injection was ranked based on less possibility of water breakthrough risk. Diesel fuel and de-emulsifier injection was decided as the first treatment in order to remove formation damage caused by organic deposition. The rate was increased temporary with Water Cut (WC) remained at the same level. The subseqeuent effort was to inject low reaction chelating acid and the result showed temporary improvement and the production did achieve significant gain. Finally, the third attempt indicated promising results with the injection of aromatic solvent followed by chelating acid. The well productivity was increased to more than 20 times of the pre treatment levels. The method can be replicated to other affected wells with similar damage mechanism. High vertical permeability over horizontal permeability becomes a real threat in carbonate strong water driver reservoir in L-field. Thus, matrix acidizing treatment has to be carefully applied to prevent unwanted water production. Non-aggressive and slow reaction acid were chosen to prevent face dissolution reaction that leads to water breakthrough.

Successful Water Shut Off Strategy for Multilayer Tubingless Wells at Mahakam Field: JM-X Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid Umar ◽  
Risal Rahman ◽  
Reyhan Hidayat ◽  
Pratika Siamsyah Kurniawati ◽  
Rantoe Marindha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Operation Time ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Regular Production ◽  
Monitoring Survey ◽  
Logging Tool

Abstract The objective of this paper is to present the Mechanical Water Shut-Off (MWSO) strategy for multilayer reservoirs on tubingless well. With 10 open perforated reservoirs and no selectivity option, isolation on water producing reservoir will be the main challenge since production is commingled throughout the lifetime of well. Regular production tests performed through a Multiphase Flowmeter equipment on each offshore platform is a first indicator to monitor the evolution of water production in a well. JM-X well has been experiencing water breakthrough since one week after initial perforation and WGR keep increasing following gas production decline. The strategy was initiated by conducting a bottom hole monitoring survey to identify water sources. Production Logging Tool (PLT) was used to precisely monitor pressure, temperature, water holdup, and fluid rate along the wellbore for further water source and production allocation analysis. Once the water source reservoirs have been identified, MWSO operation was requested. There are several types of MWSO equipment that are commonly used in Offshore Mahakam field each of which has selective economic consideration based on the expected well reserve. Considering operation difficulties and cost, MWSO program was made then will be monitored during the operation time to ensure the operation runs safely and smoothly. MWSO strategy on well JM-X was proven to be able to reduce water production from 900 bpd to only 20 bpd with a significant gain of gas production from 3 MMscfd to 9.2 MMscfd and oil production from 200 bpd to 750 bpd.

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