Application of Horizontal Well
Technology in Colombia
N.F. SAAVEDRA
Ecopetrol
S.D. JOSHI
Joshi Technologies International
Abstract
To date, 20 horizontal wells have been drilled in Colombia:
16 in sandstone, and four in carbonate reservoirs. In carbonate,
the economical success rate is 50%, but in sandstone it is 88%.
In general, wells in Colombia are expensive. The vertical well
cost varies from $2 million to $11 million, depending upon the
reservoir depth. Horizontal well costs vary from 1.5 to 2.5 times
the vertical well costs. Initially, most of the wells were complet-
ed with slotted liners. Now, new wells are completed with
cemented and perforated liners to control water and gas produc-
tion. The range of True Vertical Depth (TVD) is between 914 m
(3,000 ft.) and 4,880 m (16,000 ft.).
This paper presents three brief field histories, and the lessons
learned to date. In cases where production is less than expected,
the principal causes are:
(i) A horizontal well has commingled production from zones
of high contrast in permeability, reducing considerably the
producing length of a horizontal well.
(ii) Production of unwanted fluid such as water and gas. With
slotted liner completion, it is not only difficult to identify
gas and water producing zones, but it is also difficult to
isolate them effectively.
(iii) Geological uncertainty, which results in drilling a well
through a zone which is geologically different than
expected.
New horizontal wells are planned as short length wells in
high permeability zones, and long ones in low permeability
zones. Also, re-entry wells are now used in mature reservoirs to
reduce drilling costs.
The method used to analyse the well performance is dis-
cussed in the paper. To determine the producing length, gamma
ray analysis, log information, production tests and/or production
logs were used. A productivity analysis using analytical equa-
tions was also conducted to define if the well was damaged or
had a small producing length. Then, decline curve analysis was
used to forecast rate and reserves, and well production histories
were matched for rates and cumulative production over time.
Depending upon the problem, and considering feasibility and
cost effectiveness, a corrective action was designed to improve
well productivity.
In summary, horizontal wells in Colombia have been success-
ful and a large potential exists to drill many more wells.
Introduction
The history of horizontal wells in Colombia began in 1991,
with the attempt to drill the well Orito 1H (it did not reach the
PEER REVIEWED PAPER (“REVIEW AND PUBLICATION PROCESS” CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEB SITE)
March 2002, Volume 41, No. 3
objective because of operational problems). In January of 1993,
the well Chuchupa 14 was successfully completed in a gas reser-
voir with higher than expected production(1). Then, in 1997 the
well Guatiquía 3H was drilled in the Apiay Reservoir(1). It had
some operational problems, but had excellent productivity results.
Since then, another 18 wells have been drilled in different
Colombian reservoirs.
Out of 20 horizontal wells, four wells have been drilled in car-
bonate reservoirs, and 16 have been drilled in sandstone reser-
voirs. From the four wells drilled in carbonate reservoirs, one has
been economically successful, one is non-economical, and two
have too short a history to determine the economics conclusively.
These oil wells are open hole completed in naturally fractured
reservoirs. This provides an easy path for water production
through natural fractures. In many Austin Chalk wells, high water
production is also observed, along with high oil rates. To produce
high oil rates requires large pumps, preferably located close to the
horizontal producing section, and with a large surface water han-
dling capacity. In some Colombian wells the size and shape of the
build curve restricts the use of a pump in the vertical section only,
resulting in a reduced drawdown in the horizontal well.
In sandstone reservoirs, 16 horizontal wells have been drilled,
of which 14 have been economically successful. Nevertheless,
some of the economic wells show oil production as less than
expected. In these wells, the main problem has been commingling
production from zones of high contrast in permeability, which
reduces the effective producing length of the wells.
One of the factors that affects the number of horizontals drilled
in Colombia is the drilling cost. The well cost for a vertical well
varies from $2 to $11 million, depending on the depth. The cost
for a horizontal well is 1.5 to 2.5 times the cost of a vertical well.
With this well cost, the completion costs are small. Thus, cement-
ing and perforating the liner of a horizontal well provides effec-
tive control on producing zones without increasing the well cost
significantly.
Following is a description of the methodology used to evaluate
and forecast production for horizontal wells.
Methodology
Geological Model
The most important aspect in horizontal well performance is
geology. It is important to have a good understanding of the local
geology. If the producing zone is subdivided into several subzones
of different petrophysical properties (Figure 1), an estimate for
vertical permeability would be required. Normally, vertical per-
33
 FIGURE 1: Reservoir with two different flow units.

meability is lower than the horizontal permeability, due to shale

laminations or other low permeability layers that act as barriers to
vertical flow. If these layers appear in all the wells showing conti-
nuity, the actual value for vertical permeability would be very
low. If barriers appear in some wells but not in others, there is no
continuity in the barriers, and therefore, the effect on vertical per-
meability would not be severe.
If the reservoir is naturally fractured, the vertical communica-
tion is enhanced, and the actual value for vertical permeability FIGURE 2: Production of Well 36 shows anomalous behaviour
would be close to the value of the horizontal permeability. In most caused by lateral anisotropy.
of the horizontal wells, the vertical permeability was estimated
from the available core data. Integration of Productivity Tests and the
It is also important to have an estimate of the extent of the Geological Model
reservoir, and of the possible lateral restrictions or anomalies that
Information from the production tests is integrated with the
could restrict fluid flow from the reservoir to the wellbore. Also,
geological model. Initial tests of each interval in each well provid-
the shape of the drainage area influences production from a hori-
ed information about oil content, layer permeability, possibility of
zontal well. In reservoirs with faults, we used dipmeter logs to
formation damage, and variation in fluid properties between lay-
estimate bed inclinations. These logs were also used to calculate
ers. The production tests were useful in estimating the drainage
reservoir volumes. Where available, imaging logs (FMS Logs)
area, and vertical and lateral anomalies in the reservoir. When
were used to infer the direction of the stresses and anisotropy in
integrating the model with the production history, the maps
the reservoir. Normally, the permeability perpendicular to the
showed information about the increase of water or gas production
principal stress direction is lower than the permeability parallel to
over time, and the effect of natural barriers and subdivisions of the
the principal stress direction.
reservoir. Comparisons between production of fluids, from neigh-
The reservoir heterogeneity determines what portion of the boring wells gave information about the paths followed by the
drilled length is a producing length. Moreover, the depositional fluids, and confirmation of natural barriers (Figure 2).
environment determines the length of shale barriers. This in turn
would determine the effective vertical permeability. Bubble Maps
Drawing production from the existing wells by using bubble
maps provided insights about undrained areas and the shape of
those areas. Most of the time, the shape of the undrained area was
irregular and long. In those cases, horizontal wells present an
advantage over new vertical wells, since the longitudinal form of
the drainage area of horizontal wells allow for efficient production
from the reservoir with little interference from the existing wells(1)
(Figure 3).

Production Evaluation of Vertical Wells in the

Area
In the area where the horizontal well will be drilled, we
reviewed several vertical wells which had been producing for sev-
eral years. The analysis of the production history of the surround-
ing vertical wells was used to estimate reservoir properties, fluid
saturation, and fluid properties. The main objective in this analy-
sis was to calculate the production decline of the reservoir, along
with an estimate of the reservoir and fluid properties.
The rate evaluation technique was based on the complete ana-
lytical solution for horizontal, vertical, and vertical fractured wells
in a closed reservoir, covering the entire production history from
transient through depletion regimes(3-7). By using specialized soft-
ware, “JTI Horizontal,” it was possible to match the production
history of the well, and to forecast future production, including
backpressure changes. It was possible to evaluate variation in well
rates over time for a constant bottom hole pressure, or a variation
in pressure for a constant rate production. Because the program
utilizes an analytical technique, it was very fast, and it was possi-
FIGURE 3: Bubble map of Cycle 5, Unit 3, Reservoir 1, showing
ble to evaluate multiple sensitivities in a very short period of time
undrained areas.
(Figure 4).

34 Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology

 FIGURE 4: Match of the production history of a vertical well. FIGURE 5: Horizontal well forecast with sensitivity to well length.

Forecasting Horizontal Wells Also, water or gas production from high permeability zones con-
tacting the aquifer or the gas cap with the wellbore could be iden-
First, the vertical well production was used to define the pro- tified from logs for a zone isolation strategy. The new value of
duction decline exponent of the reservoir, and the best estimates producing length was used to evaluate its effect on oil production.
for the reservoir properties. Then, this information was used for
forecasting horizontal well production. As was mentioned above, After identifying a production length for the horizontal well,
since the method allows for a fast analysis, it was possible to eval- the measured productivity was compared to the theoretical pro-
uate the effect of several variables, such as producing length, dif- ductivity using the following equations:
ferent damage skin factors, possible changes in lateral permeabili-
ty, changes in fluid saturation, and back pressure changes (Figure
5). q
J=
∆p ...................................................................................................(1)
Performance Evaluation of Existing
Horizontal Wells 0.007078k h h / (µ o Bo )
For performance evaluation of the horizontal well, we analysed J=
 
 a + a − ( L / 2)
the available production logging tools logs (PLT), gamma ray logs 2 2

and production tests. PLTs and electrical logs were used to calcu-
late an approximate value for the producing length of the well.
ln 
 L/2 
[
 + (βh / L ) ln βh / (2rw ) + s m ]
The producing length was normally lower that the drilled length.   .................(2)

FIGURE 6: Matching the vertical well production, Well 1, Reservoir 1.

March 2002, Volume 41, No. 3 35

 FIGURE 7: Horizontal well production forecast for Reservoir 1.
  0.5
2reh 4  
( ) 
a= L . +  . +  
2 0 5 0 25  L   
  ............................................(3)
kh
β=
k v ................................................................................................(4)
Table 1 shows an example calculation for the productivity
index (PI). At the left of the table is shown the measured PI, and
at the right side is the calculated PI. Both should be in agreement
before continuing with the analysis of the horizontal well perfor-
mance. In the theoretical equations, the producing length, reser-
voir and fluid properties are reasonably adjusted to match the
measured PI.
When a match in the measured and calculated PI was achieved,
the producing history was further analysed by the “JTI
Horizontal” software, which employs analytical methods using an
exact solution in the transient period, and a modification of the
Arps and Fetkovich decline correlations when pseudo-steady state
is reached(8) (Figure 6).
Case Histories
Forecast for a New Horizontal Well
Reservoir 1 was discovered in February 1968, and produces
from Caballos Sandstone, a Cretaceous formation. The deposi-
tional environment is sandy estuarine bay, bay mouth, central bay
basin/bay fill, and distributary chanels deposition. Of the 11 wells
that have been drilled, four of them are active. The OOIP was esti-
mated at 12 million cubic metres (75 million barrels), and two
million cubic metres (13 million barrels) have been produced to
date, with a recovery factor of 17%.
The production mechanism is a strong water drive from an
active aquifer that has kept the reservoir pressure near to the ini-
tial pressure, 32,750 kPa (4,750 psi) and above the bubble point of
36
11,128 kPa (1,614 psi). There is a variation of the API gravity
along the depth of the reservoir. At the Gas-Oil-Contact, oil gravi-
ty is 40˚ API and at the Water-Oil-Contact, oil gravity is 29˚ API.
The geological model shows an asymmetric anticline, with a
lower deepening angle at the western side than at the eastern side
near the principal fault. The axis of the anticline is North-South.
In the vertical plane, the reservoir has been divided into three flow
units, with independent production between them. From bottom to
top, Unit 1 has been subdivided into three cycles: Cycles 1, 2, and
3A, each with different petrophysical properties. Unit 1 is the
layer that produces more water and has been isolated in almost all
the wells. Unit 2 has been subdivided into two cycles: Cycles 3B
and 4, and finally, Unit 3 has one cycle, Cycle 5.
Production was prorated for each cycle, and a bubble map was
drawn per cycle to identify the undrained areas (Figure 3). The
area was measured, and then the production from the surrounding
vertical wells was evaluated using the “JTI Horizontal” software
(Figure 6). To estimate reservoir properties for a new horizontal
well in an undrained area, data from the surrounding wells were
plotted on a probability paper. Then, 50% probability values were
used as expected values for the porosity, permeability, and pay
zone thickness.
Finally, an estimate of the performance of a new horizontal
well was estimated, as shown in Figure 7. Several sensitivity cases
were run to define different scenarios. The middle value in each
graph is the expected value for a new horizontal well in the area.
Performance Evaluation of Existing
Horizontal Wells
Reservoir 2 was discovered in 1988. It is subdivided into three
different geological units: Unit I, Unit II and Unit III. Here, also,
fluid properties show variations with depth, and the API gravity
varies from 27˚ API to 45˚ API. Reservoir pressure is close to the
bubble point pressure, and the produced gas is re-injected to main-
tain the reservoir pressure. The reservoir is an asymmetric anti-
cline. Horizontal wells were drilled in Unit II and Unit III.
Unit II is a Paleocene formation composed of sandstones, lime-
stones, and mudstones deposited in an estuarine environment.
Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology
TABLE 1: Productivity Calculations, Well 16-H.

Unit II was subdivided into four cycles. Cycle I is a lithic sand- ductivity analysis showed a producing length of 137 m (450 ft.)
stone having poor pretrophysical properties, of an average porosi- corresponding to the intervals drilled in Cycle II, the cycle with
ty of 7.7% and an average permeability of 6 mD. Cycle II is a better petrophysical properties than the other cycles (Table 2).
clean sandstone of excellent petrophysical rock properties, with an A reasonable explanation for the small producing length com-
average porosity of 10.5% and an average permeability of 230 pared with the drilled length in the last two horizontal wells is
mD. It produces about 70% of the total Unit II production. Cycle found in the analysis of the following two equations:
III is a massive sandstone with an average porosity of 8% and
average permeability of 53 mD. Cycle IV shows an average
k1h1∆p k2 h2∆p
porosity of 7.5% and average permeability of 30 mD. Unit II has a qT = +
weak aquifer. r  r 
µ 1β1 ln e  µ 2β2 ln e 
Unit III is a Cretaceous formation, composed of sandstones and  rw   rw  .......................................................(5)
mudstones deposited in a estuarine-marine system in the border of
the Cretaceous sea. Unit III was subdivided into four cycles. From
top to bottom, cycle V is a mudstone that provides a seal between ∆pk1h1  k2 h2 
qT = 1 + 
Unit III and Unit II. Cycle VI is formed by phosphatic sandstone,  r   k1h1 
with an average porosity of 15% and an average permeability of µβln e 
303 mD. The sandstone shows some intercalation of mudstones,  rw  ..................................................................(6)
but it has poor lateral continuity. Cycle VII is a quartz sandstone
with an average porosity of 7.5% and an average permeability of
145 mD. Cycle VIII is a phosphatic sandstone with an average where qT is the total commingled production from the two zones.
porosity of 13.5% and average permeability of 390 mD. Unit III is For similar thickness reservoirs, if permeability k1 (in Reservoir I)
smaller than Unit II, and it is under water injection. is 10 times the permeability k2 (in Reservoir II), we see that the
zone with the higher permeability dominates the total production.
Well 16-H is a horizontal well that produces from Unit III with
a horizontal drilled length of 457 m (1,500 ft.). It began produc-
tion with 2,162 m3/d (13,600 BOPD), and the production dropped
to 500 m3/d (3,173 BOPD) in seven months. A productivity analy-
sis showed that to match measured data, the length of the horizon-
tal well should be lower than the drilled length (Table 1). A possi-
ble producing length of 122 m (400 ft.) was derived from a poros-
ity log and a Gamma Ray Log that showed the change in rock
properties after 122 m (400 ft.) of horizontal drilling. With this
value of horizontal length, agreement between the calculated and
the measured data was observed.
Matching production history showed that this well requires a
change in the production facilities to increase drawdown, other-
wise the economic limit of 8 m3/d (50 BOPD) would be reached
in three years. Changing the bottom hole pressure (BHP) would
increase the life of the well and increase reserves (Figure 8).
Well 20-H was drilled in the Unit II Formation, and traversed
initially through Cycle II, Cycle III, then through Cycle II again,
and then through Cycle I. Production from this well has been
FIGURE 8: Production history match-Well 16-H, Reservoir 2.
1,270 m3/d (8,000 BOPD), which is less than predicted. The pro-

March 2002, Volume 41, No. 3 37

 FIGURE 9: Forecast for Well 20-H, Reservoir 2.
The k1 permeability layer supplies 91% of the total production.
The analysis of the production history showed a good match
with the estimated values from the productivity analysis. The
expected reserves from this well are 1.1 million cubic metres
(seven million barrels). With pressure support from water injec-
tion the reserves can be increased to 1.4 million cubic metres
(nine million barrels).
Well 19-H was drilled in quartz arenite in the Unit III
Formation with a horizontal section of 437 m (1,435 ft.). The well
began production in 1999 with a rate of 3,656 m 3/d (23,000
BOPD), and has maintained production around 3,500 m 3 /D
(22,000 BOPD). Productivity analysis showed that the producing
length is 427 m (1,400 ft.), which is practically the same as the
drilled length. Porosity and gamma ray logs showed that the pay
zone encountered in this well is rather uniform, indicating that the
well has been drilled in a single cycle.
Due to the high cost of drilling horizontal wells, it was recom-
mended to drill short laterals in the good porosity upper phosphat-
ic sand, and long laterals in the low porosity quartz-arenite.
Production from these zones should be independent, avoiding a
reduction of producing length because of the permeability
contrasts.
TABLE 2: Productivity Calculations, Well 20-H.
38
FIGURE 10: Forecast for horizontal well in carbonate reservoir.
Carbonate Reservoir
Reservoir 3 is a naturally fractured carbonate reservoir. It is a
Lower Cretaceous Formation. The horizontal section of 0.22 m
(8.5 in.) diameter was drilled to 2,290 m (7,515 ft.) MD, 1,800 m
(5,911 ft.) TVD. The horizontal section was 550 m (1,800 ft.).
The well was completed with a packer and tubing of 0.11 m (4.5
in.). Then, two short and two long production tests were run. The
cumulative production as of February 10, 1999 was 49,512 m3
(311,467 Bbls) with a water cut of 50%.
A productivity analysis showed a producing length of 366 m
(1,200 ft.). Other reservoir parameters used in the calculation were
a reservoir permeability of 15 mD, a porosity of 0.03, a thickness
of 30.5 m (100 ft.) and oil viscosity of 0.001 Pa-s (0.6 cp). The
reservoir pressure is 17,237 kPa (2,500 psi) and well flowing pres-
sure of 12,411 kPa (1800 psi), giving a drawdown of 4,830 kPa
(700 psi).
A decline curve analysis was performed using the reservoir
parameters derived from the productivity analysis. A decline
exponent of 0.3 was used to get a good match with the production
data.
The analyisis showed that, with the current pump location in
the vertical section, the expected recovery of oil is of the order of
Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology
144,000 m3 (900,000 Bbls). Decreasing the flowing bottom hole
pressure to 4,826 kPa (700 psi) when the production declines to
32 m3/d (200 BOPD), it is possible to increase the recoverable oil
up to 476,910 m3 (3,000,000 Bbls) (Figure 10). This will require a
change in the pump location to near the horizontal producing sec-
tion, or using other improved lifting method. The main problem in
this well is the production of water from fractures that comunicate
with the aquifer. Increasing oil production requires zone isolation,
using either chemical(9) or mechanical systems.
Provenance—Original Petroleum Society manuscript,
Application of Horizontal Well Technology in Columbia
(2000-125) first presented at the Canadian International Petroleum
Conference June 4 – 8, 2000, in Calgary, Alberta. Abstract sub-
mitted for review November 8, 1999; editorial comments sent to
the author(s) September 5, 2001; revised manuscript received
October 10, 2001; paper approved for pre-press January 21, 2002,
final approval March 5, 2002.

Authors’ Biographies
Conclusions
1. A systematic methodology to forecast and evaluate horizon- Néstor Saavedra is currently a research
tal well production was proposed. specialist in the formation damage section
2. Principal causes of wells producing lower than expected are: at the Instituto Colombiano del Petróleo-
(i) commingled production from zones of high contrast in Ecopetrol, Colombia. He has been involved
permeability. This reduces considerably the producing in horizontal well technology evaluation
length of the horizontal well; (ii) production of unwanted projects developed in Colombian reser-
fluid such as water and gas. With slotted liner completion, it voirs. He has a bachelor’s degree in
is not only difficult to identify gas and water producing Petroleum Engineering from Universidad
zones, but it is also difficult to isolate them effectively; (iii) Industrial de Santander, Colombia and a
geological uncertainty, which results in drilling a well Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering
through a different zone than expected. from Texas A&M University. Mr. Saavdra is a member of the
3. To reduce costs, it is recomended to drill short laterals in SPE and the Colombian Petroleum Association, ACIPET.
zones of high permeability, and long horizontal wells in
zones of low permeability. Sada Joshi is president of Joshi
Technologies International, Inc. (JTI) of
NOMENCLATURE Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Joshi has over 20
years of experience in the application of
a =
Half the major axis of drainage ellipse, m horizontal well technology. Along with the
h =
Formation thickness, m JTI Staff, he has been a consultant to over
k =
Permeability, mD 150 field projects around the world. Dr.
kh =
Horizontal permeability, mD Joshi conducts horizontal well technology
kv =
Vertical permeability, mD courses in the United States and interna-
L =
Producing length, m tionally. He has delivered over 100 lectures
q =
Oil rate, STm3/day and short courses in 20 countries. His major achievements include
re =
Drainage radius, m numerous technical papers published in several industry journals.
reh =
Drainage radius of a horizontal well, m He has authored a best-selling book, Horizontal Well Technology,
r’w =
Effective wellbore radius, m which was published in 1991. For the 1995 – 1996 season, Dr.
∆p =
Differential pressure, kPa Joshi served as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Society of
sm =
Mechanical skin damage (based upon payzone thickness), Petroleum Engineers. At the beginning of 2000, Oil & Gas
dimensionless Investor, through Hart Publications Supplement, honoured the
β = Anisotropy index “100 Most Influential People of the Petroleum Century.” Dr. Joshi
Βo = Formation volume factor, rm3/STm3 was included on that distinguished list. Dr. Joshi received his
µo = Viscosity, Pa-s Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University. He
obtained a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from W.C.E.
REFERENCES College in Sangli, India and an M.S. degree from Indian Institute
of Technology in Bombay. He is a member of the Society of
1. Ecopetrol-ICP, Memories from the Second Horizontal Well
Technical Week; Bucaramanga, Colombia, April 2000.
Petroleum Engineers, Petroleum Society of CIM, the American
2. MUTALIK, P.N., GODBOLE, S.P., and JOSHI, S.D., Effect of Association of Petroleum Geologists, the American Society of
Drainage Area Shapes on Productivity of Horizontal Wells; paper Mechanical Engineers, and the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce.
SPE 18031, presented at the 63rd Annual Technical Conference,
Houston, TX, October 2 – 5, 1988.
3. ARPS, J.J., Analysis of Decline Curves; Transactions, AIME, Vol.
160, pp. 228-247, 1945.
4. FETKOVICH, M.J., Decline Curve Analysis Using Type Curves;
Journal of Petroleum Technology, pp. 1065-1077, June 1980.
5. JOSHI, S.D., A Review of Horizontal Well and Drainhole
Technology; paper SPE 16868, presented at the 1987 Annual
Technical Conference, Dallas, TX. A revised version was presented
at the SPE Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, Casper, WY, May
1988.
6. JOSHI, S.D., Production Forecasting Methods for Horizontal Wells;
paper SPE 17580, presented at the SPE International Meeting,
Tianjin, China. November 1 – 4, 1988.
7. JOSHI, S.D., Horizontal Well Technology; PennWell Publishing
Co., Tulsa, OK, 1991.
8. JTI HORIZONTAL, Users Guide; Joshi Technologies International
Inc., Tulsa, OK, January 7, 1999.
9. SAAVEDRA, N.F., MAMORA, D., BURNETT, D., and PLATT F.,
Chemical Wellbore Plug for Zone Isolation in Horizontal Wells;
paper SPE 39646, presented at the 1998 SPE/DOE Improved Oil
Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, OK, April 19 – 22, 1998.

March 2002, Volume 41, No. 3 39