Optimization of Horizontal
Well-Completion Design With
Cased/Perforated or Slotted
Liner Completions
K. Furui,* D. Zhu,** and A.D. Hill,** U. of Texas at Austin; and E.R. Davis and B.R. Buck, ConocoPhillips
Summary
A well completion is a critical interface between the productive
formation and the wellbore. An effective completion must main-
tain the mechanical integrity of the borehole without creating any
significant restrictions on the flow capacity of the well. In this
paper, a process is outlined to design optimal completions for
horizontal wells by applying comprehensive skin-factor models
that include damage and turbulence effects for all common types
of completions.
Slotted or perforated liner, cased, perforated, or gravel-pack
completions have been used in horizontal wells for borehole sta-
bility and sand-control purposes. However, these completions may
have lower productivity (as characterized by a positive skin) rela-
tive to an equivalent openhole completion, because the convergent
flow to perforations or slots increases fluid velocity in the near-
well vicinity. In addition, any reduced permeability zones (forma-
tion damage caused by drilling, completion, or other processes)
magnify the convergent flow effects and therefore may result in
substantially increased skin factors. Compound effects of forma-
tion damage around the well completion, a crushed zone because
of perforating, plugging of slots, and turbulent flow, as well as
interactions among these effects, are included in the model.
This paper illustrates how to use skin factor models to screen
the available completion types for cased/perforated and slotted
liner completions. This screening approach considers reservoir
permeability, permeability anisotropy, fluid properties, formation
damage effects, and rock mechanical characteristics as the key
parameters. The types of completion that yield the most productive
well performance for this matrix of properties are presented.
A more detailed completion design is then illustrated by show-
ing how the skin-factor models were used to redesign the slot
configuration of liner completions for viscous oil reservoirs on the
North Slope of Alaska. Application of the slotted or perforated
liner models to the readily available liners showed that the comple-
tion skin factor can vary by as much as 40%, depending on the
detailed characteristics of the slots or perforations in the liner (slot
or perforation size, density, and distribution). The example showed
that optimizing the performance of the completion can increase
well productivity at little or no cost and with no loss in liner
mechanical strength.
Introduction
The optimization of well completions to improve the inflow per-
formance of horizontal wells is a complex but very practical and
challenging problem. What is needed is a means for engineers to
predict the skin values in wells under various conditions and to
suggest techniques to minimize skins and, therefore, maximize
* Now with ConocoPhillips
** Now with Texas A&M U.
Copyright © 2007 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper (SPE 90579) was first presented at the 2004 SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, Houston, 26–29 September, and revised for publication. Original manuscript
received for review 15 June 2004. Revised manuscript received 3 October 2006. Paper
peer approved 6 October 2006.
248
values of wells. In particular, the interactions among formation and
perforation damage effects and convergent flow to perforations
and slots are critical issues in the design of optimal completions for
horizontal wells.
Numerous papers have reported on completion performance
models of vertical and horizontal wells, which can be used to
predict the productivity of the wells. These models can be catego-
rized into two groups; numerical models (Dogulu 1998; Ansah
et al. 2002; Tang 2001) and semi-analytical models (McLeod
1983; Karakas and Tariq 1991; Golan and Whitson 1991). The
numerical models require advanced computer programs to solve
the complex flow problem by applying finite-difference methods,
finite element methods, or the Green’s function (source function)
method. All the methods require the solution of a large matrix
system and greater computational time compared with analytical
models, although they provide accurate solutions under a variety
of conditions.
Analytical and semi-analytical models are widely accepted in
field practice because they are normally easy to use and provide a
good understanding of the relative role of various parameters in
affecting well productivity. These models are obtained by solving
the complex flow problem with simplified assumptions and are
sometimes calibrated using numerical simulation results. Furui
et al. (2005) presented a mathematically rigorous general form of
a skin equation, involving the rate-independent skin factor, s0, the
turbulence scale factor, ft, and the Forchheimer number, Fo (note
that the product, ft·Fo, is equivalent to the rate-dependent skin
factor). According to their model, the skin factor for any type of
well completion can be expressed in the form:
si = si0 + ft,iFo,w . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
where the subscript i denotes the type of well completion.
The Forchheimer number, which is similar to the Reynolds
number, is defined by
冉 冊
␤␳k q
Fo,w = , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
␮ 2␲rwL
or, in oilfield units,
冉 冊
␤␳k q
Fo,w = 1.64 × 10−16 , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)
␮ rwL
in which the geometrical factor 2␲ has been absorbed into
the constant.
The rate-independent skin and turbulence scale factors are ob-
tained by integrating the Forchheimer equation along a flow path
for the particular flow field. Based on extensive 3D finite-element
simulation studies, the flow field is approximated by a series of
linear, radial, and hemispherical flow geometries, and analytical
skin expressions are then obtained. Furui (2004) has presented
details of this derivation for various types of well completions.
Perforation Performance in Horizontal Wells
The major difference between horizontal and vertical perforated
wells is the influence of permeability anisotropy and perforation
orientation on perforated well performance in the case of the hori-
zontal completion. The perforation skin model developed in the
authors’ previous work (Furui et al. 2002) shows that perforations
should be oriented parallel to the direction of minimum perme-
May 2007 SPE Production & Operations
 Fig. 1—Guidelines for perforating horizontal wells.
ability to give the minimum perforation skin factor (the maximum
perforation productivity). For most horizontal wells, this means
that perforations should be vertical, extending from the upper and/
or lower sides of the wellbore. 180° perforation phasing will be the
best completion technique for horizontal perforated wells, because
all the perforations can be orientated in the direction of minimum
permeability. As a result, multidirectional perforation techniques
(e.g., 60, 90, or 120° perforation phasings) applied to anisotropic
formations may not be efficient, unlike the situation for isotropic
formations. However, with sufficient perforation shot densities, a
multidirectional perforation technique can provide skin factors al-
most as small as a 180° perforation phasing. Multidirectional per-
foration phasings may be preferable to 180° phasing because in the
former case the skin factor is independent of perforation orienta-
tion, resulting in less risk because the perforating guns do not need
to be oriented exactly.
Fig. 1 illustrates a guideline for perforating horizontal wells. It
shows that the selection of perforation phasing depends greatly on
the degree of formation anisotropy. For highly anisotropic forma-
tions, all the perforations need to be oriented in the direction of
minimum permeability to give the maximum perforation produc-
tivity, and hence 180° phasing will be the best completion tech-
nique. On the other hand, for slightly anisotropic formations, mul-
tidirectional phasings will provide higher perforation productivity
than 0° and 180° phasings, a result similar to that for perforated
vertical wells.
Fig. 2—Guidelines for minimizing formation damage effects.
May 2007 SPE Production & Operations
Minimizing Formation Damage Effects for Perforated Wells.
Fig. 2 shows guidelines for minimizing the effect of formation
damage for cased and perforated wells. The most important thing
is to perforate in the direction of minimum damage radius, rs(␣).
Formation damage caused by drilling-mud filtration may be dis-
tributed elliptically in anisotropic formations. In previous studies
(Furui et al. 2002, Furui et al. 2003; Frick and Economides 1993),
the minimum-damage penetration is assumed to be parallel to the
direction of minimum permeability (i.e., in a vertical direction).
Perforating the upper or lower sides of the well can provide
chances to bypass the damage zone, which minimizes the effect
of formation damage. This is a significant advantage of cased
and perforated well completions compared to openhole and
liner completions.
Even if all the perforations are terminated inside the damage
zone, the effects of formation damage can be less than those in
openhole completions. The skin factor for perforations terminated
inside the damage zone is (neglecting the crushed zone effect)
(Furui et al. 2002):
k 0 ␤s
sP = sfo + s + f F , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4)
ks P ␤ t,P o,w
where s0P is the perforation geometry skin factor and ft,P is the
turbulence scale factor caused by the convergent flow to perfora-
tions. Effectively perforated wells (i.e., s0p<0) provide a larger
249
effective wellbore radius, which slightly lowers skin factors. On
the other hand, inefficient perforations (i.e., s0p >0) result in severe
formation damage effects because the convergent flow to perfora-
tions is magnified by the permeability reduction in the near-
perforation vicinity.
Minimizing Crushed-Zone Effects for Perforated Wells. A
impair perforation productivity. However, if the perforated forma-
tion is highly anisotropic, the crushed-zone effect can be mini-
mized by applying 0° or 180° perforation phasings with proper
perforation orientation. For example, suppose that k/kcz⳱10, rcz/
rp⳱3, kx⳱ky⳱10 md, kz⳱1 md, h⳱1 ft, lp⳱0.5 ft, and no for-
mation damage is present. For multidirectional perforation phas-
ings, the crushed-zone skin factor can be calculated using

冉 冊 冉 冊
crushed zone around a perforation is a region of reduced perme-
ability around the perforation tunnel created by the perforating h 公kykz 0.5
1 公10 0.5

process itself. Fig. 3 shows guidelines for minimizing crushed- hDe = = = 1.12 . . . . . . . . . . . . (9)
lp kx 0.5 10
zone effects for cased and perforated wells. As shown by Furui
et al. (2002), the crushed-zone effect can be expressed as, for and

冉 冊
perforations extending beyond the damage zone,

冉 冊
k rcz
k rcz scz = hDe − 1 ln = 1.12共10 − 1兲ln3 = 11.07. . . . . . . . (10)
sP = ŝ 0p + hDe − 1 ln , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5) kcz rp
kcz rp
For 0° and 180° perforation phasings with perforations oriented in
and for perforations terminated inside the damage zone, the vertical direction (␣⳱90°),

sP = sfo +
k 0
s + hDe
ks p 冉
k k
−
kcz ks
rcz
冊
ln , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6)
rp hDe =
h
lp公共kx Ⲑ kz兲sin2␣ + 共kx Ⲑ ky兲cos2␣ 0.5公10
=
1
= 0.63

where ŝ 0p is the perforation skin factor including the effect of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (11)

formation damage, which is calculated by using the effective per-
foration length and the effective wellbore radius (Karakas and and

Tariq 1991; Furui et al. 2002). The dimensionless perforation spac-
ing hDe is defined by, for 0° and 180° perforation phasings,
h
hDe =
lp公共kx Ⲑ kz兲sin2␣ + 共kx Ⲑ ky兲cos2␣
and for multidirectional perforation phasings,
冉 冊
k rcz
scz = hDe − 1 ln = 0.63共10 − 1兲ln3 = 6.23. . . . . . . . . (12)
kcz rp
, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (7)
Using the 0° and 180° perforation phasings and perforating in the
vertical direction, skin caused by a crushed zone is reduced by
about 40%. Orienting all the perforations parallel to the direction
of minimum permeability increases the effective perforation length

hDe =
h
lp
冉公 冊 kykz
kx
0.5

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8)
and lowers the skin factor.

Slotted (Perforated) Liner Performance

where the x-axis is assumed to be parallel to the horizontal well
and the y- and z-axes are perpendicular to the well. The crushed-
zone effects are proportional to the perforation spacing h (⳱1/np)
and inversely proportional to the perforation length lp. For longer
perforations and higher perforation shot densities, the radial flow
region around a perforation becomes negligible. The flow field
eventually reduces to a 2D plane flow similar to that in fractured
wells. Under these conditions, the damaged zone can be negligible.
An analogous observation for vertical wells was discussed by
Karakas and Tariq (1991).
When the perforation length and perforation shot density are
not sufficiently high, presence of a crushed zone will significantly
In most cases, the risks of wellbore collapse or partial collapse
preclude using an openhole completion for horizontal wells in
sandstone. In order to maintain contribution along the laterals in
these cases, preopened liner completions are widely applied. A
skin equation for slotted liners developed in previous work (Furui
et al. 2005) accounts for flow convergence to slots, slot plugging,
and the presence of formation damage and turbulence effects. It is
assumed here that the formation has collapsed and tightly contacts
the liner (Fig. 4a). If the formation is hard enough to preserve an
open space around the liner (Fig. 4b), then the flow convergence
effect is negligible and the convergence skin will be small. This is
even more true when formation damage exists. In this case, the

Fig. 3—Guidelines for minimizing crushed-zone effect.

250 May 2007 SPE Production & Operations


Fig. 4—Slotted liner completion.
skin factor becomes equivalent to an openhole completion skin,
and the effect of flow convergence to slots is negligible.
According to the authors’ previous work (Furui et al. 2005), the
skin equation for slotted liners consists of three components: skin
due to slot plugging (characterized by linear flow inside slots,
denoted by subscript ᐉ), skin due to convergent flow to slots (de-
noted by subscript r), and formation damage skin, sfo. The skin
equation can thus be written as:
sSL = sfo + s0SL,ᐉ +
k 0
冉 ␤s
冊
s + ft,SL,ᐉ + ft,SL,r Fo,w , . . . . . . . . (13)
ks SL,r ␤
where sfo is given by the usual Hawkins’ formula (Hawkins 1956)
in an isotropic medium or by the extended Hawkins’ formula
(Furui et al. 2005) in an anisotropic medium. The dimensionless
factors due to convergent flow to slots, s0SL,r and ft,SL,r , are mag-
nified by the severity of permeability reduction k/ks (␤ is a function
of permeability).
Fig. 5 provides a summary of skin factors for liner completions.
Liner performance can be characterized by the Forchheimer num-
ber, the severity of the reduced permeability zone, and the pres-
ence of slot plugging.
For low-rate production/injection wells (Fo,wK0.1) and forma-
tions where severe permeability reduction is not observed (ks/k≈1),
the total liner skin factor is given by:
sSL = s0SL,r for open slots and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (14)
sSL = s0SL,ᐉ + s0SL,r for plugged slots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (15)
Suppose that skin factor caused by convergent flow to slots, s0SL,r ,
is approximately 1 and the skin factor caused by slot plugging,
s0SL,ᐉ, is approximately 5. The total liner skin factors are relatively
small for open slots (sSL⳱1) and moderate for plugged slots
(sSL⳱6) under these conditions.
Fig. 5—Skin factor summary for liner completions.
May 2007 SPE Production & Operations
For severely damaged formations (ks/kK1), the skin fac-
tor becomes
k 0
sSL = sfo + s for open slots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (16)
ks SL,r
Assuming that ks/k⳱0.2 and rs/rw⳱2, the total liner skin factor
becomes 7.8, while the skin factor for this formation completed
with an openhole completion is 2.8. Reduction of the effects of
damage on liner completions requires either an excellent slot de-
sign given the allowable open liner area, which is determined by
liner mechanical properties, to achieve s0SL,r≈0, or appropriate
damage removal operations to recover the damaged permeability
(e.g., acidizing). For plugged slots, the total liner skin factor be-
comes 12.8 for these example conditions.
For high-rate wells (Fo,w>0.1), the additional skin factor caused
by turbulence effects needs to be considered. This element is usu-
ally important only in gas wells. Suppose that the turbulence scale
factor caused by flow convergence to slots, ft,SL,r⳱20, the turbu-
lence scale factor caused by slot plugging, ft,SL,ᐉ⳱200, and the
Forchheimer number, Fo,w is 0.1. For undamaged formations, the
total liner skin factor for open slots is
sSL = s0SL,r + ft,SL,rFo,w = 1 + 20 × 0.1 = 3, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (17)
and for plugged slots,
sSL = s0SL,ᐉ + s0SL,r + 共ft,SL,ᐉ + ft,SL,r兲Fo,w
= 5 + 1 + 共200 + 20兲 × 0.1 = 28. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (18)
Clearly, the turbulence effects on liner completions are signifi-
cant, especially for plugged slots. With the presence of formation
damage, skin factor becomes more substantial. The total liner
skin factor is 21.4 for open slots and 46.4 for plugged slots (as-
suming ␤s/␤≈6.8).
As discussed in the previous example, the effect of forma-
tion damage and turbulence on liner completions is substantial.
For formations where permeability is severely damaged, cased
and perforated well completions may be preferable, because per-
forations extending beyond the damage zone create a flowpath
through the damaged region, making the effect of formation dam-
age less important.
Field Example—Slotted Liner Design, North
Slope, Alaska
In a viscous oil reservoir development on the North Slope of
Alaska, the methodology presented here was employed to analyze
the effectiveness of the current completion design and hardware
configuration. The current completion design being deployed in
the field is horizontal, multilateral wells with non-sand-exclusion
slotted liners installed into each lateral. The reservoir is a relatively
251
unconsolidated (unconfined compressive strength of 50 to 2,000
psi) fine-grained sandstone, with reservoir fluids ranging from 16
to 20 API at a reservoir temperature of 75°F. Sand management
(limited exclusion of solids) is preferred as the sand-control strat-
egy (Burton et al. 1998). Similar fields and wells in the area have
achieved improved productivity and better overall development
economics by using sand management rather than traditional sand
exclusion techniques. Therefore, the expectation is that the slotted-
liner-to-openhole annulus will collapse on the slotted liner, and the
slots are assumed to clear as solids are produced with reservoir
fluid flow. The original design used a 4.5-in. liner with 0.25×2.5-
in. staggered slots. The slot density is 16 slots/foot with an open
flow area of 5.9%. Flow convergence to the slots was analyzed to
determine whether a slot pattern and slot density closer to optimum
could yield lower completion skin and higher well flow efficiency.
Using the skin model discussed in this paper to calculate con-
vergence skin while maintaining slot width large enough to avoid
plugging, the slotted liner design was optimized. By changing the
shape and density of slots, the convergence skin can be signifi-
cantly reduced. By reducing the slot width to 0.125 in. from 0.25
in. and increasing the density to 32 slots/foot instead of 16, the
convergence skin decreased from 1.3 to 0.6. The convergence skin
was subsequently used with an inflow performance program to
calculate well flow efficiency (WFE) improvement (defined as
Qnow/Qoriginal) for the new design. Simulations were performed to
determine the sensitivity of WFE to the permeability impairment
ratio in the collapsed-zone region, and the results are presented in
Fig. 6. These simulations helped to capture a wide range of pos-
sible downhole conditions, including stimulated flow (non-
collapsed wellbore) and restricted flow (with formation damage
and collapse) in the near-wellbore region. Assuming a collapsed-
zone permeability equal to the reservoir permeability, the new
design improved the convergence skin by 50%. In all cases stud-
ied, the non-Darcy skin effects were insignificant for the inflow
rates that occur in this heavy oil reservoir.
The calculations show that well flow efficiency in these
completions can be improved from 0 to 8% simply by changing the
slot configuration to contain more numerous, narrower slots. The
amount of improvement obtained depends on the permeability of
the collapsed zone around the slotted liner. The slotted-liner ven-
dor was approached concerning the feasibility and cost of manu-
facturing the new slot design with improved pattern and density.
The vendor determined that the new pattern was comparable from
a manufacturing standpoint and that they could manufacture the
optimum slot design for no additional cost. Because the open flow
area for the improved design is exactly the same as that of the
Fig. 6—Well flow efficiency results for the field case.
252
original design, mechanical integrity is maintained with the new
design. As a result, the team has decided to implement the opti-
mum slot spacing and density to capture the improved well flow
efficiency and achieve lower skins. Field application of the im-
proved slotted liner design has delivered as expected without me-
chanical problems.
Conclusions
A procedure has been presented here for designing optimal
completions for horizontal wells by applying rigorous and analyti-
cal skin factor models. The guidelines discussed in this study
illustrated several key parameters affecting completion perfor-
mance for horizontal wells, such as reservoir permeability, perme-
ability anisotropy, fluid properties, formation damage effects, and
rock mechanical characteristics. A field case illustrates how to use
the model to optimize slotted liner completions for a horizontal
well. The major conclusions from this work are summarized
as follows:
1. A cased and perforated well completion is preferable in forma-
tions where permeability is significantly damaged, even if all the
perforations are terminated inside the damage zone. The effect
of formation damage in cased and perforated wells can be lower
than in openhole and liner completions when the wells are ef-
fectively perforated (s0p<0).
2. The effect of a crushed zone around perforation tunnels is sub-
stantial, especially when the perforation length and perforation
shot density are insufficient. However, applying 0 or 180° per-
foration phasing with perforations oriented in the direction of
minimum permeability can reduce the crushed-zone skin in
anisotropic formations.
3. Slot plugging results in substantial skin for high-rate wells.
4. The presence of damaged permeability in the vicinity of slots
increases the flow convergence skin unless the formation is hard
enough to preserve an open space around the liner.
5. Using the skin factor model presented here, the slotted liner
design was optimized for completions in a viscous oil reservoir
on the North Slope of Alaska. The new slot design reduces the
convergence skin by 50%.
Nomenclature
ft ⳱ turbulence scale factor
Fo,w ⳱ Forchheimer number
h ⳱ perforation spacing
hDe ⳱ dimensionless perforation spacing
k ⳱ permeability
May 2007 SPE Production & Operations
 kcz ⳱ permeability in crushed zone Furui, K., Zhu, D., and Hill, A.D. 2005. A Comprehensive Skin-Factor
ks ⳱ permeability in damaged zone Model of Horizontal-Well Completion Performance. SPEPF 20 (3):
kx ⳱ x-permeability 207–220. SPE-84401-PA. DOI: 10.2118/84401-PA.
ky ⳱ y-permeability Golan, M. and Whitson, C.H. 1991. Well Performance. Second edition.
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.
kz ⳱ z-permeability
Hawkins, M.F. Jr. 1956. A Note on the Skin Effect. Trans., AIME, 207:
lp ⳱ perforation length 356–357.
L ⳱ well length Karakas, M. and Tariq, S.M. 1991. Semianalytical Productivity Models for
q ⳱ flow rate Perforated Completions. SPEPE 6 (1): 73–82. SPE-18247-PA. DOI:
rcz ⳱ crushed-zone radius 10.2118/18247-PA.
rp ⳱ perforation radius McLeod, H.O. Jr. 1983. The Effect of Perforating Conditions on Well
rs ⳱ radius of damaged zone Performance. JPT 35 (1): 31–39. SPE-10649-PA. DOI: 10.2118/
rw ⳱ wellbore radius 10649-PA.
s ⳱ skin factor Tang, Y. 2001. Optimization of Horizontal Well Completion. PhD disser-
s0 ⳱ rate-independent skin factor tation. Tulsa: U. of Tulsa.
ŝ 0p ⳱ perforation skin factor including the formation damage Kenji Furui is a completions engineer in the Wells Technology
effect Group with ConocoPhillips in Houston. His research interests
scs ⳱ crushed-zone skin factor include modeling of formation failure and sand production,
sfo ⳱ formation damage skin factor completion performance analysis, and intelligent well technol-
ogy. He holds a BS degree in mineral resources and environ-
␣ ⳱ perforation orientation mental engineering from Waseda U. in Japan and MS and PhD
␤ ⳱ turbulence factor degrees from the U. of Texas at Austin in petroleum engineer-
␤s ⳱ turbulence factor in damaged zone ing. Ding Zhu is Professor of petroleum engineering at Texas
␮ ⳱ viscosity A&M U. She worked at the U. of Texas as a research scientist for
11 years before joining Texas A&M U. She is an expert in the
␳ ⳱ density
areas of production engineering, well stimulation (acidizing
and fracturing), and complex well production (horizontal, mul-
Acknowledgements tilateral, and intelligent wells) and has authored more than 50
The authors are grateful to ConocoPhillips for permission to pub- technical papers. Zhu holds a BS degree in mechanical engi-
lish this work and thank the sponsors of the Improved Well Per- neering from Beijing U. of Science and Technology and MS
formance Research Program of the Center for Petroleum and Geo- and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from the U. of
Texas at Austin. She is a member of the SPE Production Moni-
systems Engineering at the U. of Texas at Austin for providing the toring and Control Committee for 2002–2004 and served as SPE
financial support for this study. Austin Section Program Chair, Chairperson, and Scholarship
Chair in 2002–2004. A.D. Hill is a professor at Texas A&M U. in
References petroleum engineering and holds the Robert L. Whiting En-
Ansah, J., Proett, M.A., and Soliman, M.Y. 2002. Advances in Well dowed Chair. Previously, he taught for 22 years at the U. of
Texas at Austin. He is an expert in the areas of production
Completion Design: A New 3D Finite-Element Wellbore Inflow Model
engineering, well completions, well stimulation, production
for Optimizing Performance of Perforated Completions. Paper SPE logging, and complex well performance (horizontal and mul-
73760 presented at the SPE International Symposium and Exhibition tilateral wells), and has presented lectures and courses and
on Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana, 20–21 February. consulted on these topics throughout the world. He is the au-
DOI: 10.2118/73760-MS. thor of the SPE monograph Production Logging: Theoretical
Burton, R.C., Davis, E.R., Morita, N., and McLeod, H.O. 1998. Applica- and Interpretive Elements, coauthor of Petroleum Production
tion of Reservoir Strength Characterization and Formation Failure Systems, author of more than 90 technical papers, and he
Modeling to Analyze Sand Production Potential and Formulate Sand holds five patents. Hill also holds a BS degree from Texas A&M
U. and MS and PhD degrees from the U. of Texas at Austin, all
Control Strategies for a Series of North Sea Gas Reservoirs. Paper SPE
in chemical engineering. He has been an SPE Distinguished
48979 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Expo- Lecturer, has served on numerous SPE committees, and was
sition, New Orleans, 27–30 September. DOI: 10.2118/48979-MS. founding chairperson of the SPE Austin Section. He was named
Dogulu, Y.S. 1998. Modeling of Well Productivity in Perforated Comple- a Distinguished Member of SPE in 1999. Eric R. Davis is Comple-
tions. Paper SPE 51048 presented at the SPE Eastern Regional Meet- tion Engineering Supervisor for ConocoPhillips China in Beijing.
ing, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 9–11 November. DOI: 10.2118/51048- He has worked for ConocoPhillips on projects in the North Sea,
MS. Onshore Lower 48, North Slope Alaska, Offshore Alaska, Ven-
Frick, T.P. and Economides, M.J. 1993. Horizontal Well Damage Charac- ezuela, Nigeria, Vietnam, and Indonesia. He has been an au-
thor of more than 20 technical publications dealing with frac-
terization and Removal. SPEPF 8 (1): 15–22; Trans., AIME, 295.
packing, fracturing, horizontal wells, sand control, formation
SPE-21795-PA. DOI: 10.2118/21795-PA. failure analysis, rig operations, drill-in-fluids, multilaterals, vis-
Furui, K. 2004. A Comprehensive Skin Factor Model for Well Comple- cous oil developments, inflow performance, and completion
tions Based on Finite Element Simulations. PhD dissertation. Austin, engineering. He holds BS and MEng degrees from the U. of
Texas: U. of Texas at Austin. Texas at Austin in petroleum and geosystems engineering. He
Furui, K., Zhu, D., and Hill, A.D. 2002. A New Skin Factor Model for serves on the SPE Well Stimulation Steering Committee. Brian
Perforated Horizontal Wells. Paper SPE 77363 presented at the SPE Buck started with ConocoPhillips in 2002 and has worked as a
completions engineer in Alaska since 2003. His completions
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 29
experience includes heavy oil, light oil, and gas. He has
September–2 October. DOI: 10.2118/77363-MS. worked with slotted liners, barefoot horizontals, sand exclusion
Furui, K., Zhu, D., and Hill, A.D. 2003. A Rigorous Formation Damage liners, multilaterals, and multizone gravel packs. Brian holds a
Skin Factor and Reservoir Inflow Model for a Horizontal Well. SPEPF BS degree in chemical engineering from the Colorado School
18 (3): 151–157. SPE-84964-PA. DOI: 10.2118/84964-PA. of Mines.

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