THE SEARCH FOR PERFECT PERFORATIONS

Perforating creates a direct link between the wellbore and the producing formation by making
holes in the casing and the cement sheath that surrounds it. The quality and quantity of the
perforation holes (tunnels) in a given oil- or gas-bearing formation have a direct influence on
well productivity. Completion engineers need to ensure that the perforations they produce are
deep, clean, located in the right place, and correctly oriented.

In this article, Larry Behrmann and Chee Kin Khong review recent advances in key perforation
technologies and examine how dynamic underbalanced perforating is helping to deliver new
levels of performance for wells in the Middle East and Asia.

The economic value of an oil or gas well depends on the
connection between the wellbore and the formation. The
completion and production engineers, who define the form and
the function of this connection, have three key objectives: allow
fig01_perforating_m7
the oil into the well, where
fig01_perforating_m7
it can flow naturally or be pumped
to the surface; exclude water from the overlying or underlying
units; and keep any formation rock particles out of the well.
Perforation, creating holes in the casing or the liner and the
surrounding cement sheath to allow fluid communication
between the formation and the wellbore, is a crucial part of
the completion process (Fig. 1). Perforations are the key
interfaces for fluid movement, and completion and
production engineers have realized the importance of an
effective design and execution process to ensure that each
well has the appropriate number, size, and orientation of
perforations. The characteristics of perforations and their
placement have a direct influence on well productivity.
The development of perforation
technology
Advances in perforation technology have reflected the
changing needs of the oil and gas industries (Fig. 2). Early oil
wells were shallow, simple boreholes that did not require
metal casings. These wells typically had an openhole or shot-
hole (barefoot) completion and were sometimes treated with
explosive charges to stimulate the flow of hydrocarbons into
the borehole. As average well depths increased and the
reservoir conditions encountered became more complex, the Over the decades, various perforation systems have been
perforated-casing completion method became an essential developed for a wide range of applications, and research has
and familiar part of oilfield development. Then, as now, continued into the fundamentals of perforation physics.
engineers had to decide how best to make holes in the metal Today, sophisticated perforating gun assemblies with an
casing that would allow hydrocarbons to flow into the well. appropriate configuration of specially shaped explosive
In the early 1900s, mechanical puncturing methods were charges and the means to verify or correlate the correct
introduced. These included the single-knife casing ripper, perforating depth can be deployed on wireline, tubing, or
which relied on a rotating mechanical blade to make a hole in coiled tubing. Whatever their size or method of deployment,
the casing. perforating guns are designed to create a predefined pattern
Projectile perforation technology was pioneered during the of perforations over the correct wellbore interval.
mid-1920s. The first perforating mechanism to be used on a
large scale was the bullet gun, which was introduced in 1932.
In bullet perforating, a hardened-steel bullet was fired from a
very short barreled gun. The resulting perforations caused
little damage to the cement sheath or the casing, but the
penetration depths achieved were usually short. These
primitive devices were replaced in the late 1940s by the lined,
shaped-charge perforator, known to the oil industry as the jet
perforator or jet charge.

The Development of Perforation Technology

1865 1910 1948 1975 1980 1993

High High High-pressureHigh-pressure

jet jet
Phasing Phasing penetrates
and casing and
penetration penetration penetrates casing
reservoir formation
reservoir formation

Low clearance
Low clearance Cement sheath
Cement sheath

At time of firing
At time of firing

Casing Casing Crushed zoneCrushed zone

High clearance
High clearance

Low Low
Perforating gun
Perforating gun Perforating debris
Perforating debris
penetration penetration

Figure 2: The development of perforation technology as applied in the oil field.

Immediately
Immediately after after perforating
perforating
(A) (A)
Damaged formation
Damaged formation
Clean
Clean perforation perforation with
with
stable
stable arch that arch that penetrates
penetrates
Figure 1: Key perforation terms (A) and a simplified view the cement sheath and the
the cement sheath and the
of the perforation process from detonation to cleanup (B). damaged zonedamaged zone

Following backflow
Following backflow
(B) (B)

52 Number 7, 2006 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Number 7, 2006 53
 Shaped charges

Shaped charges have four basic form a high-velocity jet of fluidized zone in the formation around the concrete, and other solids. They sever the Conical-shaped charges (CSC) create system to provide an effective solution
elements: primer, main explosive, metal particles. Perforating shock waves perforation tunnels. Perforating targets by jet cutting. Shaped charges conical cavities for round holes and for perforating and increasing the
conical liner, and case. The conical and high-impact pressure shatter the damages the in situ permeability by have special housings that are designed deep penetration into the target. productivity in long horizontal intervals.
cavity with its metal liner helps to rock to break down the intergranular crushing the formation material and to create a cavity or a void between the Industrys primary use of CSCs is in In other engineering applications,
maximize the penetration through steel cements and sever the bonds that hold reducing the pore throats dimensions. explosive material and the target wall. perforating guns; multiple CSC shaped charges are valued for their
casing, cement, and rock (Fig. 3). As a the clay particles together. This process Shaped charges are used in the oil, By employing a phenomenon known as assemblies placed down boreholes and versatility and speed. For example, small
charge detonates, the liner collapses to creates a low-permeability crushed gas, and other industries to pierce metal, the Monroe effect, the shock wave detonated to penetrate through casing shaped charges are often used in steel
produced at detonation accelerates and and into the surrounding geological manufacturing to pierce taps that have
deforms the shaped housing into a high- strata for the extraction of become plugged with slag, and a few
Shaped Charge Charge Detonation Charge Detonation
velocity (7,3008,200-m/s) jet within the hydrocarbons. The use of steel for hundred kilograms of well-placed
Detonating cord Distance, cm void space. charge cases instead of zinc eliminates shaped charges can demolish a building
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 These jets can cut Time,
through steel the decrease in formation productivity in seconds (Fig. 4).
Case us
targets of varying thicknesses, and the damage to completion A linear-shaped charge (LSC) has a
Gun body depending on the void shape5 and the components associated with the chevron- or inverted-V-shaped void
Conical liner
6
Detonating standoff distance to the target wall. detonation by-products from zinc along its length. It is designed to cut
Primer cord
Because the cutting efficiency of charges and reduces the cost of the linearly through the target and can
Main explosive shaped charges is much greater than completion fluids required. Shaped be used for decommissioning operations
charge that of bulk charges, they can often charges are designed and arranged to in many different configurations,
24 reduce the net weight of explosive optimize orientation and are deployed depending on the cutting requirements.
25
Casing needed to sever similarly sized targets. on a tubing-conveyed perforating
Explosive Cavity Effects

Explosive Steel target

Metallic liner 40
Time, us

Lined cavity 40
effect

50

Unlined
cavity effect
50
70

Flat-end Figure 3: Shaped charges

are specially designed for
100
directional-cutting and
70
penetration applications.

Figure 4: Demolition engineers use shaped charges for a range of tasks.

54 Number 7, 2006 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Number 7, 2006 55
 Finding the right balance
fig03_perforating_m7
After completion and before perforation, the pressure in the
wellbore is usually different from the pressure in the formation
in a cased hole well. A well is underbalanced when the
downhole wellbore hydrostatic pressure is lower than the
formations internal fluid pressure, or overbalanced when the
pressure in the wellbore exceeds the formation pressure (Fig. 5).
In underbalanced conditions, formation fluids will flow into
the wellbore if the rock is sufficiently permeable.
By the 1970s, completion and production engineers had
realized the potential of creating underbalanced pressure
conditions as a method for enhancing the quality of
perforated completions. Studies during the 1980s confirmed
that the most effective perforations were usually produced
when there was a high static pressure differential between
the wellbore and the formation. These studies concluded that
the rapid fluid influx from the reservoir helped to clean the
perforation tunnels (Fig. 6). This research was based on the
assumption that the wellbore pressure remained constant
during perforating and perforation cleanup.
During the mid 1980s, Amoco conducted a study of
acidizing in 90 new wells after perforation with tubing-
Overbalance
Wellbore Formation
pressure pressure
Underbalance
Figure 5: The pressure difference between the borehole
and the formation to be perforated plays a key role in
cleanup and the effectiveness of perforation tunnels.
56 Number 7, 2006 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review
conveyed guns under a range of underbalanced pressures. The
results indicated that acid stimulation was unnecessary when
sufficient underbalanced pressure had been achieved.
Research at the end of the 1980s drew on the Amoco study
and defined the minimum level of underbalance that was
required to eliminate the need for acid stimulation. Another
studyfig04_perforating_m7
indicated that flow and surging after perforation were
less critical in damage removal but might sweep perforation
debris and rock particles into the wellbore and so help to
clean the perforated zone.
Extensive laboratory tests at the Schlumberger Productivity
Enhancement Research Facility (PERF) in Rosharon, Texas,
USA, in the 1990s showed that turbulent flow was not
required to remove perforating damage. Most of the data
indicated that higher underbalanced pressures than those
previously used were required to minimize or eliminate
perforation damage (Fig. 7). Having established the basic
conditions for effective perforation, the challenge facing
completion engineers was to find ways in which the
underbalanced conditions could be optimized and controlled
to enhance the perforation process.
Formation damage (a) Undamaged formation
Perforation debris
Casing
Crushed and compacted
Optimum underbalance, psi
Cement low-permeability zone
Formation damage (b) Undamaged formation
Low-permeability zone and
Casing perforation debris expelled
Cement by the surge of formation fluid
Figure 6: Comparison of perforation quality in overbalanced (a) and
underbalanced (b) conditions.
Modern perforating techniques The PURE perforating system
Perforating using static underbalance has become the most
widely accepted technique for optimizing perforated
creates and optimizes a
completions. However, this method still delivers many dynamic underbalance during
underperforming wells. The explosive charges used for
perforating pulverize the reservoir formation to create low-
the perforation job. This
permeability crushed zones around the perforations and leave underbalance delivers cleaner
loose crushed rock debris inside the perforation tunnels, perforations and so increases
which can hinder fluid movement.
Static underbalanced perforating establishes a static the ultimate productivity or
wellbore pressure before perforating that is lower than the injectivity of the well.
pressure in the adjacent formation, but this static
underbalance is not enough to ensure clean perforations.
However, careful completion design and a more
appropriate perforating technology can minimize or eliminate
the damage caused by the explosive charges. The PURE*
perforating system can create an optimized dynamic
underbalance (the transient underbalance established just
after the creation of the perforation tunnel) during the
perforation job. This underbalance delivers cleaner
perforations and thus increases the ultimate productivity or
injectivity of the well.
In addition to cleaner perforations, jobs designed using the
PURE method can also improve wellsite efficiency and
may remove the need for costly postperforation cleanup
operations such as acid washes or near-wellbore skin
fracture treatments.
10,000
1,000
Behrmann (1995)
King (1985)
100
1 100 1,000 10,000
Permeability, mD
Figure 7: Research conducted by Schlumberger showed that higher
underbalanced pressures were important when engineers wanted to
minimize or eliminate perforation damage.
Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Number 7, 2006 57
 5 In each test, the wellbore pressure initially increased as a
Reservoir pressure
0 result of extremely rapid pressure transients associated with

Pressure difference, MPa

5 shock-wave propagation. The pressure then fluctuated over a
10
period of several tenths of seconds because of the
Wellbore pressure interaction between the wellbore and reservoir pressures.
15
Tests that had been designed using PURE principles showed
20
large and rapid drops in wellbore pressure that were
25
associated with highly productive perforations.
30 A large and rapid underbalance could be achieved whether
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time, s the initial pressure state was under- or overbalanced. The
tests confirmed that the initial state was not the controlling
Tubing Workstring Figure 9: The PURE perforation system combines customized factor for future productivity. For example, initial
Packer perforating designs, specially shaped charges, and fit-for- underbalance could result in poorly producing perforations
Flow entry ports purpose gun configurations to generate a large dynamic
Casing Firing head and initial overbalance could result in highly productive
Safety spacer underbalance. This can be achieved in conditions that have a
Casing gun perforations, depending on the job design.
Through-tubing gun
modest static underbalance, are balanced or are even
Guns overbalanced. The amount of debris left behind in the perforations was
found to be related to the variation in surge flow immediately
following perforation. The effectiveness of the cleanup of
14 perforation damage appeared to be directly related to the
maximum dynamic underbalance that was achieved and the
Through-casing perforation Through-tubing perforation Tubing-conveyed perforation

Differential pressure, MPa

rate of instantaneous surge flow. This model explained why
some underbalanced perforating jobs gave poor results and
Figure 8: Conveyance methods for perforating guns. Test 4
the unexpectedly good results sometimes achieved from
0
balanced and overbalanced perforating operations.
Test 3
Dynamic improvements The PURE technique has been shown to minimize or
eliminate perforation damage and maximize productivity or Test 1
Until recently, models of the perforation process focused on
injectivity when applied to wells in many areas around the
the initial pressure differential between the well and the Test 2
world, including the North Sea, Ecuador, Algeria, Canada, the 14
reservoir as the key to effective perforating. However, the
USA, the Middle East, and Asia. It has been applied in hard 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
research at PERF showed that the fluctuations in wellbore Time, s
and soft rock formations, high- and low-permeability
pressure that occurred immediately after the detonation of
reservoirs, sandstones, carbonates, oil and gas reservoirs, and
shaped charges played a crucial role in perforation cleanup.
producing and injection wells.
Figure 10: The results from four tests on Berea sandstone. The
pressure differential between the simulated wellbore pressure
The PURE process uses
These fluctuations, which had been ignored by previous
studies, were found to be vital for the removal of debris from
and the pore pressure shows that the maximum dynamic customized perforating designs,
perforation tunnels.
Testing transient pressures underbalance varied from 2.8 to 9.0 MPa.
specially shaped charges and fit-
The PERF research project helped to focus completion During studies into postperforation, transient pressure
engineers interest on perforation cleanup. Today, perforating variations, Schlumberger researchers collected data under for-purpose gun configurations
jobs that apply the PURE process take into account simulated downhole conditions. In one set of tests, the to generate a large dynamic
research team perforated four standard Berea sandstone 18
parameters such as reservoir characteristics, completion type,
gun string, and conveyance method (Fig. 8). The process uses cores using identically shaped charges and an initial underbalance in a modest static
customized perforating designs, specially shaped charges, and underbalance of 6.9 MPa (Fig. 10). A second set used similar underbalanced, balanced, or

Differential pressure, MPa

Berea cores but perforated them with a 3.4-MPa
fit-for-purpose gun configurations to generate a large
dynamic underbalance in a modest static underbalanced, overbalanced static pressure (Fig. 11). The results confirmed Test 7
even overbalanced environment.
significant wellbore pressure variations immediately after 0
balanced, or even overbalanced environment (Fig. 9). Test 6
charge detonation and that the quality of perforation
cleanup is directly related to these variations.
Test 5
Initial overbalance = 3.4 MPa
18
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Time, s

Figure 11: This set of tests used Berea cores similar to those in
the previous figure, but in this case they were perforated under
a 3.4-MPa overbalanced static pressure.

58 Number 7, 2006 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Number 7, 2006 59
 The benefits of dynamic underbalance
A dynamic underbalance eliminates the need for large static
underbalance pressure differentials and makes the preparation
work before perforation more straightforward. In addition,
controlling the surge flow helps to limit the produced fluid
volumes during perforation cleanup. This, in turn, reduces the
risk of sand influx and the possibility of gun sticking. The
method also saves the time and the costs associated with
postperforation acid washes to remediate perforation damage.
Dynamic underbalanced perforating increases the effective
shot density or the number of open perforations, thus
improving the productivity and the effectiveness of any
associated acid and fracturing treatments. Additionally, a
reduction in perforation shock, a by-product of the PURE
method, may minimize the damage to the cement-sandface
fig11_perforating_m7
hydraulic bond close to the perforation interval and so help
to ensure zonal isolation after perforating (Fig. 12).
Cement
Cement Oil
Water
Figure 12: The PURE method reduces perforation shock. This may help to
minimize damage to the cement-sandface hydraulic bond close to the
perforation interval and ensure zonal isolation after perforating.
Dynamic underbalanced perforating increases the effective shot
density or the number of open perforations, thus improving
productivity and the effectiveness of any associated acid and
fracturing treatments.
60 Number 7, 2006 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review
Design is the key
In the past, the design of a perforation job was largely
determined by the engineers personal experience and was
based on very limited information about downhole conditions.
Successful perforation requires careful preplanning and
integration of all available reservoir and formation data.
Perforation design and modeling software helps engineers
by integrating all the available data (reservoir properties,
completion parameters, and gun configurations) in a single
design for achieving productive perforations.
The PURE perforation technique creates the optimum
dynamic underbalance for the particular downhole
environment. This approach greatly reduces errors and
eliminates many of the operational issues that can arise when
engineers rely on estimates of downhole pressures when
creating a large static underbalance in the wellbore.
Water
Oil
Water
Potential applications
Many producing wells and injectors are potential candidates
for the PURE perforation method. Completion and production
engineers select candidates by examining rock types, fluid
types, and formation porosities and permeabilities in
conjunction with performing simulations using the PURE job
design software. Other factors, including pore pressure and
permeability, are also considered.
Successful PURE perforations have been achieved in
reservoirs with pressures as low as 6.9 MPa and permeabilities
as low as 0.1 mD. The lower permeability wells were usually
characterized by higher pressures, and the lower pressure
candidates tended to have higher permeabilities.
The PURE perforating method is very suitable for injection
wells because clean perforations are a prerequisite for
injectivity. The method can ensure sufficient surge flow to
remove loose materials from the perforation tunnels before
injection and prevent debris and fine particles from being
injected into and sealing off the pore throats. The method
has also proved particularly effective in low-permeability
formations that may require extremely high static
underbalanced pressures for perforation cleanup.
Perforation quality, offshore China
The CACT operators group (Chevron Overseas Petroleum, Agip
China, China National Offshore Oil Group, and Texaco China)
has evaluated the PURE perforation method in one of its new
offshore fields where it was used to perforate four layers
with permeabilities from 9.4 to 1,605 mD.
Multiple PURE wireline runs at an overbalance of about
1.3 MPa resulted in skin factors from 0 to 0.97 over the
650 650
Pressure, MPa
0 0
0 0
40,000 40,000
80,000 80,000
1.2E+5 1.2E+5
1.6E+5
Time, s Time, s
Figure 13: Multirate, multilayer PLT reservoir testing of flow rates and pressure matches.
range of permeabilities. An analysis of the pressure transient
data showed stimulated completion skin factor values for
each of the perforated layers.
The CACT group used the PURE system to maximize the
productivity of cased perforated wells in their new offshore
development. The productivities of the PURE perforated wells
were above average and above expectations. However, the
group wanted to evaluate the completion efficiency to
quantify the benefits of the PURE perforation method.
Multilayer reservoir testing
In one CACT well, four zones had been perforated using the
PURE method at overbalance and then produced commingled.
A PLT* Production Logging Tool was run in this well to
determine the flow rates of all the layers when water cut was
close to zero (Fig. 13).
When engineers want to use pressure-transient data to
evaluate the individual layers within a commingled system,
they require a selective testing method. A test that measures
the composite behavior of all of the layers can give misleading
information about the overall system properties, and typically
produces underestimates for skin factor and permeability.
The traditional approach isolated and tested each zone
individually using techniques such as straddle testing.
However, a multilayer test (MLT) enables engineers to
measure the flow rate of each layer using a spinner
flowmeter during a pressure transient test. Variable rate
superposition analysis can then be applied in turn to the data
from each layer to identify the appropriate reservoir model
and obtain an estimate of permeability, skin factor, and other
model parameters.
25 25
Pressure, MPa
23 23
400 400
0 0
1.6E+5 0 0
40,000 40,000
80,000 80,000 1.6E+5
1.2E+5 1.2E+5 1.6E+5
Time, s Time, s
Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Number 7, 2006 61
 The MLT method derived from PLT testing involves
sequential measurement of flow rates and pressure transients
from an individual layer or group of layers after a rate
change, preferably starting with the bottom layer and
working up. This process is referred to as a transient
multilayer test or simply an MLT.
Such MLTs can be performed on a producing well without
pulling the completion and are therefore more cost effective
than straddle tests. In addition, the total production from all the
layers is measured, whereas a series of straddle tests may be
testing the same zone if the layers are not hydraulically isolated.
MLT data are crucial for reservoir management in
commingled systems where more than one layer is producing
and crossflow may be occurring between them. A good
understanding of the reservoir is crucial, particularly for
reservoir simulation, voidage control, pressure maintenance,
and workover decisions.
The MLTs confirmed CACTs observations of the
productivities of PURE perforated wells and that PURE-
perforated zones were likely to have undamaged completion
skin factor values (Fig. 14). CACT has since extended the use
of the PURE system to selectively reperforate zones during
well workovers to increase productivity. The PURE method
reduces drawdown pressure, which lowers the risk of sanding
and water coning, reduces water cut, and increases recovery
from worked over wells.
A dynamic combination
Having established the value of dynamic underbalance during
perforating, many engineers are applying the PURE method
with the use of the PowerJet Omega* deep-penetrating
shaped charge. This combination cleans the perforations and
improves the well performance.
Combining the PURE process with PowerJet Omega charges
provides clean perforations, increases the depth of
penetration, and facilitates optimal production. In one job, the
PowerJet Omega charge shot at 6 shots per foot provided the
same productivity in less rig time as another deep-penetrating
charge shot at 12 shots per foot. There was less casing
damage, less debris, and, ultimately, a lower risk of problems.
The PowerJet Omega charge can also be used alone to
improve productivity in wells where the PURE technique is not
an option, such as very low pressure reservoirs or where gas
must be in the wellbore at the time of perforating.
Field results show that using a combination design, tight
gas wells can be brought on-stream without near-wellbore
acid washes. In addition to wells with significant potential for
productivity improvement, candidates include those requiring
expensive operations to establish underbalance, those
requiring near-wellbore acid washes after perforating, and
those requiring high underbalanced pressures for cleanup.
Deeper penetration provides increased well production and
injectivity coupled with improved well efficiency, which
directly help to reduce recovery costs. The PowerJet Omega
charge is available for 2-in to 7-in high-shot-density (HSD)
gun systems, which can be conveyed by wireline, slickline,
tubing, coiled tubing, tractors, and permanent completions.
Improved operational safety
Safe and effective detonation at the appropriate time and
place define good perforating practice. The eFire* electronic
firing head system developed by Schlumberger provides safer
and more efficient and economical methods for a range of
downhole explosive operations.
These systems can be used for tubing-conveyed
perforating, coiled tubing, slickline, and wireline operations.
Designed for flexibility, they give engineers total control of
the perforating operation. eFire technology creates pressure
pulses that are converted into a special signature to
communicate with the firing head (Fig. 15). Controlled from
the surface, the system head does not require prerecorded
downhole parameters. Engineers can arm, fire, or abort the
operation at any time and thus conduct perforation tasks
under less rigidly defined conditions.
Flexible solutions
Engineers want to penetrate past formation damage to
increase well productivity or injectivity. Another challenge is
to maintain penetration depths at high shot densities. A
greater depth of penetration means that more natural
fractures are intersected, which boosts hydrocarbon flow
toward the wellbore.
Deeper penetrating charges are particularly important
when dealing with damaged formations or tight and hard
rocks. The PowerJet Omega charge can be applied in all types
of reservoir and all fluids and is particularly useful for
reperforating older wells.

70
A (Layer 1): k=1,322 mD
skin factor=0.97 Pore pressure
eFire command
eFire pressure

Open tester valve

Pressure, MPa
Pressure buildup
B (Layer 3): k=9.4mD
skin factor=0.22

Trap pressure below tester valve

C (Layer 5): k=1,605mD

skin factor=0.48 28
-1 -0.75 -0.5 -0.25 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1
Time, s

D (Layer 7): k=38.9mD Figure 15: The sequence of events in initiating the eFire firing head system: trap
skin factor=0.04 pressure below the tester valve, wait for the guns to fire, and open the tester. There
are two pressure buildups: one following the dynamic underbalance and a second
Figure 14: MLT results indicated stimulated completion skin values for each of the layers when the tester valve is opened.
perforated using PURE system.

62 Number 7, 2006 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Number 7, 2006 63
 fig10_perforating_m7

Oriented perforatingfinding the right direction

Reservoir rocks are usually
heterogeneoustheir properties vary
with direction. In reservoir units that
display large stress contrasts, properly
aligned perforations help to maximize
the stability of the perforation tunnels.
In weakly consolidated reservoirs,
selecting the best orientation helps to
minimize the risk of sand production.
Effective techniques for orienting
perforations also help to reduce flow
restrictions and friction pressures during
Wireline swivel
Wireline perforating
inclinometer tool and
casing-collar locator
Upper weighted
spring-positioning device
fracturing. The resulting wider fractures
permit the use of larger sizes and higher
concentrations of proppant along with
lower-viscosity, less-damaging fluids to
improve fracture conductivity.
The Schlumberger Wireline Oriented
Perforating Tool (WOPT) system can be
used to orient wireline guns in vertical or
deviated wells (Fig. 16). Initially
developed for use in oriented fracturing,
the WOPT system can also be used to
perforate for sand prevention. The WOPT
(a)
Gyroscope carrier
system orients standard high shot
density guns with 0, 180, or other
optimal phasing in a predetermined
direction. Engineers can select the charge
type and the shot density to suit
completion requirements such as sand
control or sand prevention, and on
fracture-design criteria such as proppant
size, pump rate, treating pressure, and
required production flow.
Experience has shown that wireline
tools will assume a preferred
orientation in the wellbore at a given
depth when the string parameters direction provides accurate orientation
length, weight, mass distribution, cable
speed, and directionare constant and
a swivel is used to minimize the
detrimental steering effects of torque.
The swivel decouples torsion between
the wireline cable and the gun string,
which enables the tool to assume its
natural position. The repeated adoption
of this natural position was crucial to
the development of the WOPT system.
For vertical wells with inclinations of
less than 8, the tool requires two trips.
The first trip, or mapping run, is made
with unarmed perforating guns and a
true-north seeking gyroscope to
determine the natural orientation
(toolface azimuth or direction) of the
toolstring. Upper and lower weighted
spring-positioning devices help to
rotate the toolstring toward the relative
low side of the wellbore.
Making several passes in each One good turn
Once the toolface azimuth has been
data that engineers can use to
determined, the guns are rotated
determine the required gun rotation.
manually at the surface in 5
The system can map single or multiple
increments using indexing adapters
zones during this initial trip.
above and below the guns to orient the
The wireline perforating inclinometer
charges. Engineers then remove the
tool, an integral WOPT component,
gyroscope before perforating to
provides independent, continuous, and
prevent shock damage. The carrier,
real-time measurements of tool
including a dummy gyroscope and the
deviation and toolface orientation
wireline perforating inclinometer tool,
(relative bearing) with respect to the
remains in the WOPT system to
high side of a wellbore. If reliable
maintain toolstring length and mass.
directional survey data are available
The wellsite team then run the WOPT
and the target zones are in well
gun string back into the well and use
sections with inclinations greater than
the relative-bearing data from the
8, oriented perforating can be
wireline perforating inclinometer tool
completed without a gyroscopic run. In
to confirm that the previously
this case, inclination measurements are
established tool orientation repeats.
extremely accurate and correlate to
Then, once the gun orientation and
wellbore azimuth.
depth are verified by the repeat
analysis log, the well is perforated. The
WOPT system can align perforations to
within 5 of the required azimuth.

Upper indexing adapter

(b) Initial gyroscope run HSD gun,

180 phasing
Relative bearing, 0

Casing Lower indexing adapter In weakly consolidated reservoirs, selecting the best orientation
Charges
HSD gun
helps to minimize the risk of sand production. Effective techniques
Lower weighted
spring-positioning device for orienting perforations also help to reduce flow restrictions and
(c) Perforating run
friction pressures during fracturing.
Relative bearing, 0 Figure 16: A typical WOPT system has a weighted spring-positioning device and indexing
adapter above and below standard guns (a). The toolstring includes a gyroscope and its
carrier, an integral wireline perforating inclinometer tool with casing-collar locator, and a
wireline swivel to decouple cable torque from the tool. The gyroscope measures well
inclination, wellbore azimuth, and toolface relative bearingthe orientation of the
toolstringwith respect to true north during an initial run with unarmed guns (b).
Perforating is performed on subsequent trips without the gyroscope and after rotating the
Charges
guns at surface (c).

64 Number 7, 2006 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Number 7, 2006 65
 Every millisecond counts
The PURE system optimizes the well
dynamic underbalance, the transient
underbalance just after creation of the
perforation cavity. The software it uses
specifies a unique perforating system
and an optimum completion process.
This controls the optimum dynamic
underbalance rather than relying on
fig19_perforating_m7
estimated reservoir pressure. This
technique has been successfully
applied in hard- and soft-rock
formations, oil and gas reservoirs,
sandstones, and carbonates.
Figure 17: The perforation process, from initiation of the jet from the shaped charge to
damage removal and initial reservoir response, is completed in a fraction of a second.
66 Number 7, 2006 Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review
The perforation process, from initial
detonation to damage removal from the
perforation tunnels, is completed in
around 100 to 500 ms (Fig. 17).
The PURE system creates pressure
transients in the wellbore immediately
after perforating. The underbalance
effect starts within a few milliseconds
of the guns firing and lasts for 100 to
500 ms.
The future
The challenge facing completion engineers is to find ways
to control the power of their perforating techniques so
that they combine maximum reservoir penetration with
the creation of clean and effective perforations.
Perforation technology and methods have changed
dramatically over the past 20 years. In comparison with
the 1980s, there are now many more perforating systems
and methods for conveyance. Over the same period, there
has been a large increase in shots per 30 cm that can
be achieved.
Having established reliable and effective tools and
techniques for making holes in casing, cement sheath,
and formation, completion engineers turned their
attention to reducing the damage associated with
perforation jobs and to the detailed planning of jobs so
that each perforation task is optimized for the specific
needs of the completion design and to the condition of
the reservoir. It seems likely that this high degree of
customization will continue in future efforts to optimize
perforation operations in increasingly demanding
reservoir conditions.
Reference
Roscoe, B and Lenn, C.: Oil and Water Flow Rate
Logging in Horizontal Wells Using Chemical Markers
and a Pulsed-Neutron Tool, paper SPE 36230
presented at the 7th Abu Dhabi International
Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi,
UAE (October 1316, 1996).
Middle East & Asia Reservoir Review Number 7, 2006 67