2/16/2015

Well Completion Types

By
Prof.  Dr. Abdel‐Alim Hashem El‐Sayed

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO,s)
• Know Types of Completions
• Know Factors Affecting  Selection
• Identify Surface and Subsurface Tools
• Select Completion Type
• Solve the Tubing Stress Problems
• Prepare himself for Intergity malfunction 
Detection

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Agenda
• What is Well Completion?
• Types of Wells
• Degree of Intelligence
• Classifications of Well Completions
• Conceptual Design

What Is Well Completion?
• Completing a well means installing equipment in the 
well to allow a safe and controlled flow of petroleum 
from the well. 
• A series of activities to prepare an oil well or a gas well, 
so that the well can be flowed in a controlled manner. 
All wells have to be completed. 
• In addition to the casing that lines the wellbore, tubing 
and a system of flow valves must be installed. 
• Cannot operate alone ‐ must joint effort with other 
sub‐disciplines such as production engineering and 
reservoir engineering. 

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Well Completion Design Process
Ground surface
20” (550 mm) Conductor Pipe, 100 m

17.5” (440 mm) Hole

Surface Casing, 750 m
13-3/8” (340 mm) Casing

12.1/4” (311 mm) Hole Intermediate Casing, 2500 m

9-5/8” (244 mm) Casing

8.5” (216 mm) Hole Production Casing, 3400 m

7” (178 mm) Casing
Liner Hanger, 3300 m

5-3/4” (146 mm) Hole Liner, 3600 m

5” (127 mm) Liner
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Types of Wells
• Wells can be:
– Producers ,
– Injectors.
• Producers can produce:
– Oil,
– Gas,
– Water.
• Injectors  can be:
– Hydrocarbon gas,
– Water,
– Steam 
– Waste products such as carbon dioxide, sulphur, hydrogen sulphide, 
etc. 
• Multi purposes can be combined :
– Simultaneously (e.g. produce the tubing and inject down the annulus) 
– Sequentially (produce hydrocarbons and then convert to water 
injection duty).
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Degree of Completion Intelligence
• Conventional Wells
– Conventional tools and manual Interaction

• Semi Intelligent  (Smart) Wells
– Manual Surface Interaction/Limited
– Downhole communication

• Intelligent (Smart) Wells
– Automatic Surface Interaction/Continuous
– Monitoring/Automatic Flow control/Extensive
– Downhole communication
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CLASSIFICATION OF WELL COMPLETION 
TYPES

CLASSIFICATIONS

INTERFACE BETWEEN  NUMBER OF ZONES  MODE OF 

RESERVOIR/WELLBORE AND UPPER   PRODUCTION
COMPLETION

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Interface Between Reservoir and Well 
Bore

Open hole Cased hole
Pre‐drilled  Cemented and
Barefoot sand control gravel pack 
or slotted  perforated 
screens/gravel or frac‐pack
liner liner or casing
pack 9

Conceptual Design
• Principal decision areas are:
– Bottom hole completion technique
– Selection of Production Conduit
– Completion String Facilities
– Completion String Components
– Uncertainty and alternative design

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Open Hole Completion
Advantages Disadvantages
• No perforation;  • No selectivity 
production  for production 
casing;  stimulation and 
cementing;  workover (new 
logging & log  alternatives)
interpretation
• Liable to “sand 
• Less rig time out”
• Full diameter  • Ability to isolate 
hole is limited to the 
lower part of 
the hole
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Screened or pre‐slotted liner 
completion
Advantages Disadvantages
• No perforation  • No selectivity for 
or cementing  production 
for the  stimulation and 
production  workover
casing; logging  • Difficult to isolate 
& log  zones for 
interpretation production control 
• Less rig time purposes
• Assists in  • Slightly longer 
preventing  completion time 
sand  compared to open 
production hole completions

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Types of Screens

SLOTTED  WIRE PREMIUM  PREPACKED 

LINER WRAPPED SCREEN SCREEN 13

Cemented and perforated casing/liner

Advantages Disadvantages
• Introduces  • Requires logging 
flexibility  & log 
allowing  interpretation to 
isolation of  specify the actual 
zones and  perforation zones
selection of 
• Cost of casing, 
zones for 
cementing, 
production 
logging and 
and/or 
perforating
injection
• Rig time
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Upper Completion and Number 
of Zones Methods

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Number of Zones and Upper 
Completion Methods.

Tubingless Tubing Tubing Dual tubing

completion completion completion with completion
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without packer annulus packer with packers

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Tubingless casing flow
Advantages Disadvantages
• Larger flow area • Flow segregation
• Cost of tubing and  • Difficulty in killing 
rig time the well 
• High flowrates (squeezing or 
• Simplicity volumetric)
• Ease of logging and  • Casing exposure 
workover to high pressure
• Corrosion and 
erosion

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Casing and tubing flow
Advantages Disadvantages
• Larger flow area • Casing 
• No cost of packer  exposure 
and rig time to high 
• High flow rates pressure
• Simplicity • Corrosion 
• Ease of  and 
– Circulation erosion 
– Kick‐off of casing
– Gas lift

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Tubing flow with annular isolation
Description Advantages Disadvantages

• Packer close  • Simplicity • Cost of packer 

to the top of  • Ease of  and rig time
the reservoir – Circulation • Corrosion
• Sliding Side  – Kick‐off • Annulus 
Door or  – Gas lift heading
perforation 
for circulation
• Widely used

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Annulus flow without annular isolation

Advantages Disadvantages
• No cost of packer  • Casing 
and rig time exposure to 
• Simplicity high 
• Ease of  pressure
– circulation • Corrosion of 
– Kick‐off casing
– Gas lift

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Multiple Zone Completions

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Multiple Zone Completions
• Production from multiple zone 
reservoirs can be accomplished by 
one of the following methods:
–Co‐mingled Flow
–Segregated Flow
–Alternate Flow

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Co‐mingled Flow
• Flow from two 
or more zones 
are mixed

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Co‐mingled Flow
Advantages Disadvantages
• Fluid mixture (H2S, 
• Low total 
CO2, sand, HC 
number of 
composition, WOR and 
wells and 
GOR)
capital 
investment • Various P & K in zones
• Production  • Production monitoring 
plateau and control
• Fluid injection / 
stimulation
• Change in production 
characteristics (WOR)
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Segregated Flow
Advantages Disadvantages
• Control on  • Cost
production rate 
• Mechanical 
and duration
complexity
• Remedial work
• Reduction in total 
• Stimulation flow capacity
• Monitoring • Statistical 
possibility of 
equipment failure

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Alternate Flow
Advantages Disadvantages
• Effective control of  • Cost and 
all aspects changes  number of 
are easily  wells
introduced • Lower total 
• Wells are  production 
independent rate
• Relative simplicity

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CLASSIFICATION O F COMPLETIONS

MODE OF PRODUCTION

FLOWING WELL ARTIFICIAL LIFT

All previous types are for 
flowing wells ESP
Plunger Lift
Gas Lift
Hydraulic Pump
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Rod Pump

Pumping Unit

Production Casing

ROD PUMP Tubing

Sucker Rod String

Gas

Operating Fluid Level

Oil

Tubing Anchor

Plunger
Pump Barrel

Travelling Valve
Stationary Valve

Gas Anchor

Perforations 28
Sump

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Jet Pump

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HYDRAULIC PUMP

Turbine Unit

Pump

Packer

Turbine Pump 30

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Compression

GAS LIFT Manifold Gas

Surge
Tank
Water Oil

Motorised
Flowline Valve
Continuous Intermittent
Gas Lift Gas Lift

Gas Supply
Unloading Unloading
Control And
Valves Valves
Metering System

Operating
Gas Lift
Valve (OGLV)

Standing Valve 31

PLUNGER LIFT
P lu g
Valve Lu b rica to r

Tim e C ycle Interm itter

O r Hi - Low
P re ssure C o ntro ller
S e co n d
F lo w
Valve O u tle t
S ale s O r
L ow P re ssu re Fu ll Bo re
S ystem M a ster
M o tor Va lve Valve

G as E n erg y S to re d
In Th e C asin g

Liquid Lo ad

S ub - S u rfa ce
P lu nge r

B um p er S prin g

R e trie va ble
Tub ing S top

R e trie va ble
S ta nd in g Valve

R e trie va ble
Tub ing S top

O il A n d G as

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ESP Pump

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Primary Advantages and Shortcomings 
of Each Artificial Lift technology

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Intelligent/Advanced/Smart Wells

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Conventional and Smart

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Zonal Flow Regulation Smart 
Completions

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Advanced/Intelligent/Smart
completion
• Provide the operator with a completion method 
that will allow reconfiguring of well architecture 
as well as acquisition of real‐time data whenever 
needed — without rig intervention!
• Interval Control Valve (ICV)
– Sliding Sleeve
– Binary (open or close) or variable (some degree of 
choking)
• Optimization of oil production
• Zonal water management
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Intelligent Wells
• Unwanted products
• Water and gas coning
• Cross flow
• Effective depletion
• Multi‐lateral and multi‐layers reservoirs
• Flow control
• Real time monitoring

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Controlled Commingling

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Components

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Interval Control Valve

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Data Management: System
Architecture

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Surface Components
Well Head Christmas Tree

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General Well Completion String

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The Christmas Tree

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Conclusions
• There are different types of completion
• Each types has pros and cons
• Selection depend on different criteria
• Each type has advantages and disadvantages
• Selection need optimization

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References
• NORSOK Standard D010, 2004. Well
integrity in drilling and well operations.
• George King “An Introduction to the Basic of Well 
Completion, Stimulation and Workovers”, Second 
Edition, Tulsa Oklahoma, 1998
• Bnathan Bellarby “Well Completion Design” First
edition 2009 Copyright r 2009 Elsevier B.V.,
Elsevier Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Thank you

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