In any field development, it is important to identify reservoir
structure, heterogeneity, rock properties, and fluid charac- teristics to lay down an optimal development strategy to enhance production and increase recovery in the most cost- effective way. As such, detailed reservoir description and characterization using geophysical, geological and engineering data are required. This article discusses how a condensate rich, high flow capacity, and high sanding deep gas reservoir was gradually developed and optimized to select the most appropriate drilling and completion technique using available geological, geomechanical and reservoir data. Saudi Arabias SA-1 field produces from the Unayzah formation, which is Permian in age, and is subdivided into three stratigraphic units. The lower Unayzah-B and -C units present in the SA-1 area are dominated by generally tight, quartzose sandstones with rare siltstone intervals that are ascribed to deposition in lake fluvial dominated environments. The Unayzah-A is composed of sandstones and variable amounts of siltstones that were deposited in an arid, eolian dominated environment. Unayzah-A is prolific, offers high reservoir quality, and is prone to sand production due to its highly unconsolidated nature. The first well penetrating the Unayzah-A in 1997 showed excellent reservoir development. Cores were collected from this well and subsequently from other wells, which confirmed the unconsolidation of reservoir rock with low Youngs modulus and compressive strength values. To avoid sanding during production, the wells were initially completed as vertical wells with frac pac stimulation using premium screens. Even though some difficulties were encountered during frac pac installation, the strategy was used in the first few wells. With the advancement of technology in both drilling and completion, the development method gradually shifted to drilling horizontal and/or highly slanted holes. This method eliminated the need for deploying the frac pac system, substantially increased reservoir contact and proved higher well performance. To protect well integrity and eliminate sand production, premium expandable sand screens (ESSs) were selected for completing the wells. The overall strategy significantly improved the SA-1 field development program. Higher sustained gas rates were achieved due to the reduction of non-Darcy skin, sanding was eliminated, and risk related to the deployment of completion equipment (i.e., the ESS) was reduced. ESS completions are attractive in open hole wells for their easy-to-use applications, and since they have no proppant or sand pack filter system, ESS completions result in low or zero skin factor. Currently, the SA-1 field is producing with wells that have high rates, on the order of 20 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) - 50 MMscfd. With a high condensate level in this field (more than 400 bbl/MMscfd), the wells have experienced a low to moderate decline; the reduction in reservoir pressure has been steady and within expected limits. Improved reservoir contact from horizontals has decreased pressure drop near the well, has decreased the rate of condensate dropout, and has improved overall well potential and reservoir performance. Initially, the drilled vertical wells that were facing some production decline due to the deterioration of the frac pac screen and proppant conductivity are now being sidetracked and completed with an ESS system. INTRODUCTION Completing wells in high sanding environments raises several major risks that are not faced in more competent formations. In most cases, the risks and costs associated with remedial actions are significant in deep and high temperature regions 1 . The risks can be summarized as: Loss of integrity or productivity due to selection of a non-optimal completion technique. Loss of integrity downhole or at the surface due to continuous sand production. Production or reserve losses due to the inability to recover damaged wells. Building up of scales and screen plugging materials, reducing productivity. Deterioration of screens due to corrosion/erosion. Frac pac installations have been widely used by the industry to prevent sand production. Such installations are suited for laminated sands or stacked pay sections where the combination of stimulation and sand control is needed. For improved productivity and much larger reservoir contact, SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2010 47 Selection of Completion Strategy for Sand Control and Optimal Production Rate Field Examples from Saudi Arabias Unayzah Sandstone Reservoir Authors: Dr. Zillur Rahim, Bandar H. Al-Malki and Adnan A. Al-Kanaan 48 FALL 2010 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY consolidation (resins and epoxies), oriented perforations (toward maximum stress direction), and the implementation of frac pac or gravel pack stimulation 3, 4 . EXPANDABLE SAND SCREEN DEPLOYMENT The ESS is specially designed to be expanded in the wellbore to fit the wellbore diameter. It has a relatively modest strength due to its slotted construction. The ESS consists of three simple elements: expandable base pipe, filtration media and expandable protective shroud. The ESS base pipe is a robust expandable slotted tube (EST), which is capable of expanding up to 60% in diameter. The base EST provides a large inflow area for the produced fluids. Typically, inflow areas for an expandable EST are 30% - 60%, depending on the ex - pandable diameter of the ESS (sand control for unconsoli dated reservoirs). The protective shroud ensures that the filter medium is not damaged while running the completion. The increase of the systems internal diameter (ID) after the expansion, Fig. 1, results in improved productivity 5, 6 , Fig. 2. Figure 3 shows an example of an unconsolidated Unayzah- A sand core. This type of formation has a very high flow drilling horizontal or slanted wells and completing them with sand screens is a popular and effective option for the industry. The expandable sand screen (ESS) application provides the operator the ability to selectively complete and produce from multiple intervals and considerably reduces the inefficiency and risks associated with frac pac completions, which require careful consideration of pumping and proppant handling issues. The inflow performance of high rate gas wells is often controlled by turbulent flow effects in the near wellbore region. These effects result in large non-Darcy skin factors, especially in frac pac or gravel pack wells, which can sub - stantially reduce well productivity. Use of the ESS eliminates the gravel pack region around the screen in the annulus, resulting in a larger wellbore diameter and improved production rate. The drivers for the ESSs are as follows: Reduced logistics and risks during the installation phase no need for a mud system change. Operational flexibility and reduced cost. Elimination of the need for a multistage cased hole proppant completion. Improved sand control as the ESS maintains well integrity, and stabilizes and supports the borehole. Maximum reservoir contact (MRC) by drilling slanted wells therefore improved flow rate. Isolation of intervals as needed, and the setting of the completion for above the gas-water contact (GWC), delaying the water coning effect. Considerable reduction of turbulent flow, therefore much reduced non-Darcy flow effects. Increased hole size, with no annulus space, therefore a large open area allowing a higher production rate. In Saudi Aramcos SA-1 field, the completion strategy was changed from frac pac to ESS for many of the reasons previously mentioned. The improved well recovery has shown the benefit of the ESS completion strategy. Wells that were initially completed with frac pac are now being sidetracked and converted to the ESS completion system. ROCK STRENGTH AND SAND CONTROL Rock strength is influenced by the physical and elastic prop - erties of the rocks. Well logs, such as sonic and density, as well as core tests, are used to assess rock strength 2 . Rock strength along with a dynamic modeling of geomechanical properties dictate if sanding will occur during the life of a well. Sanding must be identified, quantified, and reduced or eliminated to achieve optimal gas production. Several major sand control mechanisms used in the petroleum industry include mechanical retention systems (sand screens), plastic Fig. 1. Sand screen in expansion mode. Fig. 2. Increased gas rate with bigger wellbore radius. 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 P r e s s u r e ,
p s i Gas Rate, MMscfd 0.2' radius 0.3' radius 0.4' radius capacity as well as sanding tendency and requires sand control devices for production. Figure 4 shows the improved production achieved from a horizontal well over vertical frac pac wells, which offers an incentive to drill horizontal wells and complete them with sand screens. STRATEGIES FOR SAND CONTROL Based on testing cores in the laboratory and the calibration of their geomechanical properties with field data, Saudi Aramco has developed a comprehensive sand prediction model to predict reservoir mechanical properties and safe drawdown pressure for any given formation and field. Due to the nonlinear nature of sanding, field measurements to quantify the amount of sand produced as a function of gas rate and pressures provided important calibration coefficients that were integrated in the model. Depending on the sanding tendency and intensity, different techniques are adopted for the development and production of deep unconsolidated gas reservoirs to obtain a high sand free rate. The method adopted to develop the SA-1 field is to drill horizontal or highly slanted wells to achieve MRC, maintain at least a 50 ft true vertical depth (TVD) standoff from the regional GWC level, and complete the well with an ESS. The screen size, mesh, and quality are preselected based on complete sieve and geomechanical analysis of formation sand to ensure sand prevention, high gas flow, and screen integrity during the production life of the field. The prevailing industry view is that sand control com - pletions, such as frac pac and ESS completions, improve reliability compared to open hole or cased hole and perforated completions. The risk is not only that sand production, may not be handled by the surface chokes and facilities, but also that it may lead to completion failure and overall impact on the production system. The main options for managing sand and mitigating risks can be summarized as: Produce Well at Current Conditions: Adapt to the sanding situation by replacing equipment that is damaged as frequently as needed. This choice is usually impractical and results in a high maintenance cost. Bean Back: Reduce production on individual wells and establish the sand free rate or the acceptable sand rate. Surface Solution: Install a de-sander and remove sand as it is produced before it impacts the facilities. This choice is time consuming and also entails a high maintenance cost. Downhole Solution: o Shut-off of sand producing intervals. This should only be implemented if other measures fail. o Installation of downhole sand control devices method implemented in SA-1 field by Saudi Aramco. o Recompletion/sidetracking of well toward no sanding areas. This may not be easy, and bears much uncertainty. FORMATION CHARACTERIZATION AND DEVELOPING GEOMECHANICAL CORRELATIONS Rock strength is the most critical factor in determining the sanding tendency of a formation. Rock strength properties depend largely on the bounding type and quality of solid particles (solid bonds in the case of igneous rocks, cemen - tation for consolidated sediments, cohesion for clay, and friction for cohesionless unconsolidated sediments like sand and gravel) and the internal structure of the skeleton rock. In addition, strength depends on porosity and fluid content. To design an effective completion for sand control, rigorous characterization and modeling of the Unayzah-A reservoir has been performed. Rock mechanical properties, such as Youngs modulus, Poissons ratio and unconfined compressive strength (UCS), have been correlated with the reservoir porosity and open hole log data. The sand consolidation can be seen from the sonic shear and compressional travel velocity plot, Fig. 5. This plot is further related to the UCS values and is calibrated with the measured data, Fig. 6. Reservoir porosity is also related to UCS values 7, 8 , Fig. 7. The final objective of geomechanical modeling is to provide a dependable in-situ stress profile and predict sanding SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2010 49 Fig. 3. Unayzah-A core exhibiting loose sand. Fig. 4. Impact of horizontal well on production. 0 20 40 60 80 0 40 80 120 160 200 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 C u m
P r o d u c t i o n ,
B s c f G a s
R a t e ,
M M s c f d Production Time, Days Horizontal Well Frac Pac Well Cum Production Gas Rate and Table 1 present the pressure buildup (PBU) test analysis and results showing high potential (flow capacity, kh = 10,800 md-ft) and negligible skin factor. As a comparison, a PBU test analysis from a vertical frac pac well, Fig. 12 and Table 2, shows how it is affected by the high skin factor (S = 20). This well has a higher flow capacity (kh = 20,000 md-ft), and therefore is capable of flowing at a very high rate if the skin factor is reduced. On rare occasions, a frac pac well, such as Well-1B, shows a negative skin factor, Fig. 13 and Table 3. Consequently, the frac pac can only be implemented in vertical wells; the gain due to drilling horizontals for increased reservoir contact is therefore lost. Another example of a slanted wellbore with a sand screen completion is Well-2. This well was drilled as a pilot hole first and then as a lateral sidetrack with a 55 inclination contacting 450 ft of net pay section in the Unayzah-A reservoir. Modular dynamic testing (MDT) was conducted throughout the entire drilled section and fluid samples were collected. The gas measurements showed an increased fluid gradient, indicating gas saturated with condensate. The entire reservoir section was completed with an ESS. Subsequently, the well was cleaned up and tested at a sand free rate of 16 MMscfd at 4,350 psi of flowing wellhead pressure (FWHP), indicating a very high potential for the reservoir. Figures 14 and 15 illustrate the MDT points, open hole logs and production data. Inflow performance curves for a few horizontal wells completed with an ESS are presented in Fig. 16. The high, sand free production rates achieved from all of these wells SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2010 51 Fig. 11. PBU analysis for Well-1 (horizontal, with screen completion). 1 10 100 1000 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 P r e s s u r e
a n d
D e r i v a t i v e
F u n c t i o n s Time Function Pressure Derivative Model Model Fig. 12. PBU analysis for Well-1A (vertical, with frac pac completion). 1 10 100 1000 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 P r e s s u r e
a n d
D e r i v a t i v e
F u n c t i o n s Time Function Pressure Derivative Model Model Fig. 13. PBU analysis for Well-1B (vertical, with frac pac completion). 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 P r e s s u r e
a n d
D e r i v a t i v e
F u n c t i o n s Time Function Pressure Derivative Model Model Table 1. PBU analysis results for Well-1 Reservoir Contact = 1,556 ft Test Rate = 32 MMscfd at 7,085 psi kh = 10,800 md-ft Skin = 1.5 dS/dQ = 0.05 MMscf/d -1 Test Rate = 24 MMscfd at 7,000 Skin = 3 Table 2. PBU analysis results for Well-1A Reservoir Contact = 140 ft (vertical well) Test Rate = 12 MMscfd at 4,100 psi kh = 20,000 md-ft Skin = 20.0 dS/dQ = 0.1 MMscf/d -1 Table 3. PBU analysis results for Well-1B Reservoir Contact = 80 ft (vertical well) Test Rate = 10 MMscfd at 5,450 psi kh = 1,570 md-ft Skin = 1.5 dS/dQ = 0.1 MMscf/d -1 Fig. 14. MDT pressure points and reservoir development of Well-2 in the Unayzah reservoir.
D e p t h ,
T V D S S
( f t ) Pressure, psi Gradient 0.13 psi/ft Gradient 0.167 psi/ft Gradient 0.245 psi/ft Gradient 0.268 psi/ft 52 FALL 2010 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY 4. Drilling horizontal or slanted wells and using an ESS in the Unayzah-A reservoir has been proven as an excellent technology for sand control, production optimization, and achieving long-term sustained rates. 5. An ESS offers well integrity, negligible skin damage, and reduced non-Darcy flow effects. 6. Slanted and horizontal MRC wells can only be completed with sand screens. Therefore, use of an ESS in such wells is the only viable option. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to thank Saudi Aramco management for their support and permission to present the information contained in this article. Thanks are also due to the engineers who struggled hard to implement this procedure in the field to ensure high rates and optimal reservoir depletion. REFERENCES 1. Addis, M.A., Gunningham, M.C., Brassart, P., Webers, J., Subhi, H. and Hother, J.A.: Sand Quantification: The Impact on Sandface Completion Selection and Design, Facilities Design, and Risk Evaluation, SPE paper 116713, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, Colorado, September 21-24, 2008. 2. Khaksar, A., Taylor, P.G., Fang, Z., Kayes, T., Salazar, A. and Rahman, K.: Rock Strength from Core and Logs: Where We Stand and Ways to Go, SPE paper 121972, presented at the SPE EUROPEC/EAGE Annual Conference, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 8-11, 2009. 3. Kuncoro, B., Ulumuddin, B. and Palar, S.: Sand Control for Unconsolidated Reservoirs, paper presented at the National Symposium, Jakarta, Indonesia, October 3-5, 2001. 4. Vo, L. and Styler, J.W.: An Assessment of Emerging Technologies for Production Optimization in Saudi Aramco Southern Area Production Engineering, SPE paper 93369, presented at the 14 th Middle East Oil & Gas Show, Manama, Bahrain, March 12-15, 2005. 5. Saudi Aramco internal documentation, 2009: ESS Completion for Unconsolidated Sand Formation. 6. Weatherford Completion Systems publication, 2001: Geomechanics and Expandable Sand Screens. 7. Al-Qahtani, M.Y. and Rahim, Z.: A Mathematical Algorithm for Modeling Geomechanical Rock Properties of the Khuff and Pre-Khuff Reservoirs in Ghawar Field, SPE paper 68194, presented at the SPE Middle East Oil Show, Manama, Bahrain, March 17-21, 2001. confirm the effectiveness of the completion technology adopted to develop the Unayzah-A reservoir. CONCLUSIONS Several methodologies have been tested to optimize gas pro - duction in a sand prone, deep gas environment. Frac pac technology that was implemented initially worked reasonably well, but to mitigate risks in a frac pac system installation and also to adapt to the variation of reservoir parameters over time (decline of reservoir pressure and increase in condensate dropout), drilling horizontal wells and completing them with an ESS has become the preferred choice of application. Several wells have now been completed using an ESS, and production data analyses indicate well stability, enhanced rate and sus - tained performance. The following comments and conclusions are derived from the experiences learned from laboratory analyses, building the geomechanical model, selecting the ESS type, and finally implementing the tech nology in the field. 1. A comprehensive assessment of formation properties using geological, reservoir, and geomechanical data is required for optimized field development. 2. The sanding problem can be best handled with a downhole completion system. 3. Frac pac is a viable sand control mechanism if zonal isolation, avoiding the GWC, and non-Darcy skin are not of concern, although the non-Darcy flow skin factor can reduce the well rate significantly. Fig. 15. Production test showing sustained rate from an ESS completed well. 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 15.5 16.0 16.5 F W H P ,
p s i G a s
R a t e ,
M M s c f d Production Time, Days 1 2 3 4 Fig. 16. Inflow performance curves showing rates from the ESS completed wells in the Unayzah-A reservoir. 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 F W H P ,
p s i Gas Rate, MMscfd WELL- A WELL- B WELL- C WELL- D SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2010 53 8. Rahim, Z., Al-Qahtani, M.Y., Bartko, K.M., Goodman, H., Hilarides, W.K. and Norman, W.D.: The Role of Geomechanical Earth Modeling in the Unconsolidate Pre- Khuff Field Completion Design for Saudi Arabian Gas Wells, SPE paper 84258, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, Colorado, October 5-8, 2003. 9. Saudi Aramco internal documentation, 2003: Computing Safe Drawdown Pressure for Unconsolidated Sand Formation. BIOGRAPHIES Dr. Zillur Rahim is a Petroleum Engineering Consultant with Saudi Aramcos Gas Reservoir Management Division. His expertise includes well stimulation design, analysis and optimization, pressure transient test analysis, gas field development, planning, and reservoir management. Prior to joining Saudi Aramco, Rahim worked as a Senior Reservoir Engineer with Holditch & Associates, Inc., and later with Schlumberger Reservoir Technologies in College Station, TX, where he used to consult on reservoir engineering, well stimulation, reservoir simulation, and tight gas qualification for national and international companies. He has taught petroleum engineering industry courses and has developed analytical and numerical models to history match and forecast production and well testing data, and to simulate 3D hydraulic fracture propagation, proppant transport, and acid reaction and penetration. Rahim has authored 50 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) papers and numerous in-house technical documents. He is a member and a technical editor of SPE and the Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering (JPSE). Rahim is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, and a mentor for Saudi Aramcos Technologist Development Program (TDP). He is also a technical advisor for the Production Technology team and an instructor for the Reservoir Stimulation and Hydraulic Fracturing course for the Upstream Professional Development Center (UPDC) of Saudi Aramco. Rahim received his B.S. degree from the Institut Algerien du Petrole, Boumerdes, Algeria, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, all in Petroleum Engineering. Bandar H. Al-Malki joined Saudi Aramco in 1998 as a Production Engineer, working in the gas fields. He is currently the Supervisor of the HRDH Unit in the Gas Reservoir Management Division. This role requires him to monitor the production capacity of the plants, while optimizing the productivity of the wells and preventing wasted time and resources. Bandar received his B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In 2004, he earned his M.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Imperial College, London, U.K., focusing on gas condensate reservoirs. 54 FALL 2010 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY Adnan A. Al-Kanaan is the General Supervisor for the Gas Reservoir Management Division where he heads a team of more than 30 petroleum engineering professionals to meet the Kingdoms increasing gas demand for its internal consumption. He started his career at the Saudi Shell Petrochemical Company as a Senior Process Engineer. Adnan then joined Saudi Aramco in 1997 and was an integral part of the technical team responsible for the on-time initiation of the two major Hawiyah and Haradh Gas plants that currently process 4 BCF of gas per day. He also manages Karan and Wasit, the two giant offshore gas increment projects, with expected total production capacity of 4.3 BCF of gas per day. Adnan has 13 years of diversified experience in reservoir management, field development, reserves assessment, gas production engineering, and mentoring young professionals. His areas of interest include reservoir engineering, well test analysis, simulation modeling, reservoir characterization, fracturing analysis, and reservoir development planning. Adnan received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).