To increase net present value (NPV) of assets, extended reach horizontal reservoir sections are becoming critical to operators looking to increase well productivity and maximize their ROI.
Extended reach lower completion design creates significant concerns over the ability to execute a conventional cement or perforated liner well design due to the high inclination nature of the reservoir section.
This is due to the required ability, across these heterogeneous formations, to isolate unwanted water or gas inflow by isolating and compartmentalizing the reservoir. To achieve this, it is critical to design the well with reliable isolation between lower completion and open hole without the need for cement.
Our ISO 14310 rated, metal expandable WAB® (Welltec® Annular Barrier) for open hole zonal isolation, facilitates the ability to deploy ‘cementless’ extended reach, multi zone, horizontal, lower completions. The WAB provides the on-demand, high pressure zonal isolation across varying borehole geometries unaffected by thermal changes in the wellbore, so often a problem in conventional open hole isolation.
The WAB, when coupled with WFVTM with multi position provides the operator with the option of varying the differential pressure across the rock interface of each zone to balance out the difference in reservoir permeability. The Flex-Well will not only balance out heel toe effects but also control expected (or unexpected) permeability variance, along with water or gas breakthrough.
Furthermore, through its versatility in application, and robustness in design, the WAB for Well Completion can be utilized to provide solution's, to many requirements throughout the completion phase of a well.
The WAB's IS014310 V0 leak rate capability, when set in cased hole, enables the incorporation of the WAB as a high-pressure production packer for both HP gas, and oil well applications.
Furthermore, the ability to rotate and reciprocate during installation and cementing operations, and then expand and seal, on demand, via a onetime application of surface, in horizontal applications, allows the WAB to be incorporated as a liner hanger, significantly reducing risk and complexity, in these often challenging applications. Couple this with the V0 leak rate capability, the WAB liner hanger offers significant benefits over conventional, dual stage set, liner hangers.
