SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS OF AIME PAPER

6200 North Central Expressway NUMBER SPE 3908

Dallas, Texas

THIS ISA PREPRINT – SUBJECT TO CORRECTION

DEEP GAS WELL COMPLETION PRACTICES

.

H. E. Lindsey, Jr., Member AIME, MWL Tool and Supply Co.

@ Copyright 1972
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for the International Deep Drilling Symposium of the Society of Petroleum Engineers
of AIME, to be held in Amarillo, Tex., Sept. 11-12, 1972. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more
than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where
and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM
TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the
Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made.

Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum
Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, maybe considered for
publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION

The data used for this discussion on deep gas well The major considerations in gas well completion
completions has been taken from experience in design are: (1) large enough tubulars to perform
equipping over 112 wells in fields in the Delaware stimulation work, underbalanced perforating and
Basin, Anadarko Basin and a few in the Jurassic to nsrqit .rI-rruatr=
P-~” AL----1 --- rnrcw+l]ctinn
---------- c~pacit~, {2) sub-

trend area of Northwestern Florida and Southern
Alabama. Depths of these wells are in the 16,000-
30,000 ft. range.
While “’much has been written about deep weii
completions, this paper will discuss and review the
early designs and show an evolution of completion
practice to the present time. Typical casing, liner
and tubing programs will be illustrated and ex-
plained. Some ways will be shown to simplify
completion design and to make a better selection
of tubulars.
T-, . . .
I umng and bottom-hole eq’uiprnerit in’ust be
designed so that there will be no seal movement
during the flowing life of the well and yet have
safe upward travel during well stimulation. To
accomplish this purpose, simplified equations and
illustrative solutions will be given in the paper for
the engineer himself to design tubing slack-off and
spacing for stimulation and future production.
Some of this work, particularly the section and
graphs on flowing temperature and its effect, we
believe appears here for the first time.
surface production equipment to hold high pres-
sures and prohibit leakage, (3) protection from the
effects of hostile environment, (4) means of per-
forming safe workover operations on the well
without damaging the reservoir and (5) resistance
to or relief from stresses during treating and flow-
ing such as piston effect, helical buckling, balloon-
ing and temperature.
GAS WELL COMPLETION DESIGN –
TUBING SELECTION
The first ~fep in the selection of bottom-hole
equipment and tubulars is to determine the effects
of pressure and temperature and the resultant
stresses. The movement of the tubing should be
calculated accurately, (preferably by the design
engineer and not by computer); so he will know
exactly what factors cause movement, buckling,
etc. The best criteria to use is the condition during
stimulation exactly at the moment of “balling-
Out” – after the tubing has been cooled down by
the treatment fluid. No friction drag is helping at
2 H. E. LINDSEY, JR. SPE 3908

this time to keep the tubing from shortening. For AL = 84.1 + 35.6+ 31.9+48= 199.6 in. or 16.6 ft.

example: assume t~at 3-i/2 in. iO.30 ib. tubing is

landed at 10,000 feet inside 7-5/8 in. 39 lb. casing For conversion of tubing length change to compressive force:

in a 4.25 in. packer bore and free to move upward. ~2 F2

The treatment fluid is 9.2 ppg acid-brine at surface
temperature of 74°F and the well is loaded with
9.2 ppg brine in the casing-tubing annulus. Now
imagine a 10,000 psi surface tubing pressure with
3,000 psi being held on the annulus as back-up
protection. The well is 20,000 ft, deep and the
static BHT is 3 12“F. Calculate the total movement:
Piston Effect
.ALJ = LIIZAs(Ap – &j ~Fj
120,000
. ~oXlo ~ z 91 (14.2
AL1 = 84.1 in. to shorten due to piston effect
Helical Buckling
AL’ = LFJEAS +
&’(6)
8 EI (Ws + Wi – Wo)
e
The answer ~ L = 16.6 ft. would be given by the
computer, if low injection rates at “ball-out” were
used; but would the tubing yield or permanently
“corkscrew”? Most computer programs don’t give
this answer. Lubinski, Althouse and Logan have
shown that tubing is subjected not only to bending
stress but to additional stresses due to longitudinal
force and tangential and radial stresses caused by
g{~)
– (.AP – Ao) ~Fo
intemai pressure (i). The sii~l Of these st~e~~e~
must not exceed the yield strength S of the mate-
– 6.7) 10,000- (14.2 – 9.6) 3,000
rial. We must solve for So the stress at the outer
wall and for Si the stress at the inner wall (it has
been shown yielding may not start between the
two walls) (1):

AL2 =
12AP2(APi–~l’o)z
~
so=J[&12+P-R2’0
+‘a ‘ J LR~-l
J
J
E(7)
8 EI (WS + WI – Wo) m
where Ua = Ap (PI – Po) = 14.2 (14780-7780) &8)
2.44 X 201.64 X 49 X 106
As 2.91
8 X 30 X 106 X 3.8 (.858 + .267 – .382)
= 48800 lbs.

~r (AP – Ajj ~, – (Ap - AJ ?0

AL2 = 35.6 in. to shorten due to helical buckling
(Jb . &9)
41

Ballooning
. 3.5 X 1.563X (110850 – 35788)
4 X 3.8

= + 27015 Ibs. The sign of Ub is the one which

J---- l..
~V=3
— “4-+ ~0.”.,.
L,,= SI%CS.
.1 ..-. fnr Q- m, %
..,. -0 -. _,

(density effect) (effect due to surface pressure)

7cwc!1Z fi47fJ0 - 1.43X 7780+ 48800+ 2701512
the density effect is o because fluid densi;ies are equaf on tubing
and casing
‘0+[=1 ‘1 43 J

.6 10,000 – 1.43 x 3,000 x 120000

=o+—
30X 106 1.43 – 1
So= 89000 Ibs. stress at the outer wall

AL3 = 31.9 in. to shorten due to a ballooning effect

AL4 = LPAT, assume AT to equal maximum change from rwer-

age tubing temperature of 132-F to the 74*F treating fluid
‘+F~’_p012+F~2
+“a’a2(1
1
27015 2

.
or 58-F

12x 104X 6.9x 1o–6x S8

6(4) . 3 [542 XJ06]+

[
8500 + 48800+ —
1.2

‘T 996 x 106 = 89,400 Ibs. Which means % > .SO

AL4 = 48 in. to shorten due to cooling effect Therefore, if in the above example, the operator
desires to use 3-1/2 in. 10.30 lb. tubing, he must
AL =~L1 +~L2 +~L3 +AL4 Total tubing movement, /$(5) use P-105 grade or lower the pressure differential
SPE 3908 H. E. LINDSEY, JR. 3

during treatment. He may elect to hold maximum C4ad.md Wdlb.n. Tmnper.tur.f.,. Del.war. B.M. GasWell
Aftel ● on9v.- flaw Wrmd

tubing pressure to 9,000 psi and increase the casing

pressure to 4000 psi, then he could accept the
stresses applied to C-75 or N-80 3-1/2 in. 10.30 lb.
tubing. An alternative and acceptable design would
be to run approximately 1000 ft. of 3-1/2 in.
12.95 lb. C-75 tubing on bottom, where the buck-
ling is greatest. This string would have a 1.28
tension safety factor in air; SO and Si stresses on
both the 10.30 lb. and the 12.95 lb. would be well
below the acceptable yield for C-75 tubing. Where
higher pressure differentials are necessary, the latter
design would be his best choice.

In the above examples, solving for tubing move-

ment alone would not have revealed the danger of
permanent “corkscrewing”. We believe it is im- Tmmmrature-‘F

portant KMC-. &h,.

LIIG
.-l “;*- ~~i~.nww.
L.6qy
“ mar ~Q 1~~~ ~!! fhe
answers in Eqs. 1-10 to design his tubing string. illustrates graphically how wellbore temperatures
u,”
nr~ ...-+.- by gas ~a~es of 5-40 MlvfCF/DaY. This
.affw-ted
Tubing large enough to handle maximum ex- graph was plotted from equations derived by Dr.
pected rates of production and stimulation should H. J. Ramey, Jr., (5). Information plotted from
be used. In most deep wells in lime and dolomitic actual flowing temperature surveys in a Gomez
reservoirs, stimulation with acid is necessary to producing gas well making large amounts of water
produce satisfactory results from the well. This is shown in Figure 2. The compressive loading stress
stimulation may vary from just a small 10 or 15 caused by tubing elongation due to heat trans-
thousand gallon treatment to a 400 or 500 thou- mission can now be calculated on this particular
.. . i c . . ..---- :_k ulha-a L;”h ;n;sp+inn
sand gallon acla rracm.mmgJUU. w IIGIG 1U511 I1lJWW.AV.. weii.
rates are considered to be more effective, tubular
size is very important. The depth of the tubing GcmntFn.ld,PecQs
bun
Comwt$on of Temwrat.$
Lhplh
setting may require heavy-wall material, particu- 9MO) I 1 I I 1 I I II I I I I I I r

larly if th> well is corrosive. Quenched and tem-

pered tubulars with controlled harnesses are
desirable. The importance of selecting a tubular ‘+ttldtt
size can not be over-emphasized. As will be shown
later, this size may be important for yet another
reason – the full-opening top-to-bottom type of
completion which permits the operator to run
tools through the tubing that will set or work 17000

inside the production liner. lsom I I I I *r,, r, IWI.

Wellshutm 6S hrs.
SITP6600 m,
lSOLIJ I I I { I I I I I I I

In the foregoing example we have shown the ZwOO

stress effects in pumping treating fluids during 21OW

\ 1

stimulation. We saw in Eq. 4 that temperature 220w

t) I I I

cooling shortens the string substantially if unheated Zwm .

m 150 m w
liquids are pumped at high rates. Tubing may also TemPu.t. r., ‘F

lengthen due to temperature effect and be sub-

jected to high compressive force.
The effects of wellbore heat transmission of hot
gas flowing at high rates is well known (5). Figure 1
For example: if 4-1/2 in. 15.5 lb. C-75 tubing is
landed at 15,000 ft. in a packer or PBR inside
7-5/8 in. 39 lb. casing with 25,000 Ibs. compression
in this 21,800 ft. well, the heat from the tlow rute
e
4 H. E. LINDSEY,
of 10.6 MMCF/Day as shown in Figure 2 causes a
75°F increase in the average string temperature
from static to flowing. This would be an elongation
of 7.8 ft. (Eq. 4). This increase in average string
temperature converts to additional compressive
loading of 65,000 lbs. (Eq. 6) or a total compres-
sive load of 90,000 lbs. In this example, further
investigation using Eqs. 7, 10 shows stresses on the
outer and inner walls of the tubing to be sub-
stantially less than the permissible minimum yield
stress of C-75 tubing. Tubing joints under heavy
compressive loading must have equal or greater
~ie!d ~trerlgth,~ t~.ai the pipe body, -A. shm!dered
joint is considered desirable. The above example
taken from a Gomez field well in Pecos County,
Texas is moderate; at higher rates of flow, tempera-
ture increases of 100”F in the average string tem-
perature are not unusual.
As has been stated, movement of the seals during
‘the flowing life of the well must be avoided. The
amount of slack-off weight in order to maintain a
stationary seal during the flowing life of the well
should be calculated based on maximum expected
surface shut-in pressure. This is best done in the
following steps where the surface shut-in pressure
at the well head is known or estimated,
gl/53.3 TZ
P~=Pwe
where P~ = Pressure at the seal level, psia
Pw = Maximum pressure at well head, psia
g = Gas specific gravity
1 = Depth to seals, ft.
T = Absolute temperature of gas ~F + 460)
Z = Compressibility factor for average
temperature of gas column.
Ps is then substituted into Eqs. 1, 2, and 3 for
calculation of ~ L, Eq. 5 where in this case, the
change in surface tubing pressure ~ pi is Pw and
the change in tubing pressure at the seal level ~Pi
is Ps; when this answer, a L is known it is sub-
stituted into Eqs. 6 for converting ~ L to com-
pressive force, ~L’, the proper slack-off weight
to compensate for maximum shut-in pressure.
TYPICAL CASING – LINER PROGRAMS
Typical casing programs in the ultra-deep wells of
the Delaware and Anadarko Basins call for 20 in.
conductor, 13-3/8 in. surface, 10-3/4 in. or 9-5/8
JR. SPE 3908
in. intermediate, 7-5/8 in. or 7-3/4 in. Iiner, usually
referred to as the drilling liner, hung from the
bottom of the intermediate casing into the Mis-
sissippian (Delaware Basin) or Mississippi Chester
(Anadarko) at 17,000-18,000 ft., covering abnor-
mally pressured sections of the Pennsylvanian
Wolfcamp or Morrow-Springer; and fmaIly a 4-1/2
in. or 5 in. production liner is run from the bottom
of the drilling liner to T.D. in a 6-1/2 in. hole. The
intermediate string of 10-3/4 in. or 9-5/8 in. is
set into the Wolfcamp zone at approximately
10,500-11,500 ft. in the Delaware Basin and into
the Atoka zone at about 13,000 ft. in the Anadarko
Basin. Normally, 10-3/4 in. casing is used in wild-
cat areas for intermediate casing and 9-5/8 in.
casing in field areas of known conditions.
Plenty of room should be allowed for over-
lapping liners, especially when hanging” the pre
duction liner. There is some evidence of poor
bonding in the overlap areas, so liners and liner
hangers should be adequate for expected pressure
work without depending on external cement for
added hoop strength. In ultra-deep wells, such as
the Lone Star Baden #1 in Oklahoma at 30,500 ft.
and the Ralph Lowe Estate University 17 No. 1 in
West Texas at 28,550 ft., production liners were
overlapped 2,391 ft. in the former and 751 ft. in
($’(1 ) the latter. Most wells usually have 250-400 ft. of
overlap on liner jobs.
It has been the author’s opinion for some time
that production liner cementing should be per-
formed under a vigorous control of pumping rates.
The liner-to-open-hole clearance is generally small,
usually 5 in. inside of 6-1/2 in., and the hole is in
a stabilized condition based on annular linear
velocities established while drilling. It is probably
much better to cement at approximately those
same annular linear velocities. There is a general
practice not to run centralizers on close tolerance
iiner jobs; so it is probakdy i.irireasonable to ex-
pect perfect cement displacement around the entire
circumference of the pipe. It is more important,
perhaps, to gave enough good cement bonding at
the critical spots.
REVIEW Ol? COMPLETION DESIGNS
In the earlier days of completing deep gas wells,
the design engineer’s problems were complicated
SPE 3908 H. E. LINDSEY, JR. 5

by the extreme pressures and temperatures en-
countered and a rather limited experience in
handling them. In general, rather conventional
methods were used at first. For instance, Figure 3
shows an early completion hook-up using a packer
set in the production liner. Note the radical re-
duction in diameter from the large-bore production
tubing to the smaller tubing and packer seals in-
side the production liner.
Problems with this early design became evident
immediately to the operator when pressure was
experienced in the tubing-casing annulus. There
was little or no understanding of the drawbacks to
a free-end tubing completion. Two main problems
FIGURE 3
EARLY TYPICAL COMPLETION INSTALLATION WITH PACKER IN LINER
testing or flowing the well. These movements are
substantial (2, 3); but, with the free-end com-
pletion, seais are going to move inafiy tiines in
smaller increments during the flowing life of the
well as the well is shut-in from time to time or
when flow rates are changed. Moving seals must
fail – sooner or later. Secondly, the “Coriolis”
effect of the tubing trying to unscrew when high
gas rates are produced through the string was not
considered. This effect has been documented in
work performed by Gulf and discussed in a paper
by R. J. Goeken (4). These two reasons have been
enough to limit use. of the free-end completion.
The best approach for landing tiibing is to !and
enough weight to permit large upward movement
during treatment and to prevent all movement
during its flowing !if’e, Weight could be set-down

MI= 4,’ Tubm~ to Surface

7.5j3° Casing

— Landing NipDle
on the upper half “overshot” seal assembly (Fig-
ure 3), if set-down weight is compatible with the
mechanical operation of the tool, i.e. it will not
cause the tool to relatch or re-engage in any way.
Such a change in design permits upward movement,
but limits down ward. travel and leaves the seals
stationary during the flowing life of the well. A
—~ Expanuo” i3eceprac!e
wllh La”dongNipple
major disadvantage of this type of completion
(Figure 3) is that debr% siich as iron su!fide or
3.2Y x 5-1/2’ BlasI Joints solids from produced fluids may be deposited
Flow Caupli.o
above the “overshot” seals on the expansion recep
f!” Ltner ~8e.Back Recepmcie at
Landing Nipple
tac!e, preventing further contraction of the tubing
Liner Hanser
Seal N!ppie with Latch as needed. This could cause excessive stress in the
Drillabk Packer at 15.525’

2.7/S” x 10 Blast Joints

tubing joints and yielding.
Landing Nipple
Another completion design in use eliminates the
expansion joint receptacle. In Figure 4, a permanent
Landing N,pple
type packer is set above the production liner which
10’ perforated Joim

LandmQ N,pfde
permits somewhat larger bores through the tubing
seal assembly but does not eliminate the possibility
5 Liner
of liner leakage being produced from behind the
production liner. In addition to the leakage pos-
2.7/8 Muleshoe Jnim - sibilities, the intermediate casing between the

m
packer and the top of the liner and immediately
behind the liner are subjected to high treating
pressures. The packer has a seal bore extension for
,—, 21.S00’ TO
increased sea! and tubing movement; and a landing
nipple assembly is shown on the bottom of the
existed. First, (Figure 3), the tubing “overshot”
packer for plugging the zone on removal of the
seals were spaced approximately midway on the tubing and for landing pressure bombs. The packer
long slick joint receptacle. This was thought to be
must be drilled out to permit re-entty of the liner.
necessary to allow for upward length changes
while stimulating or otherwise pumping fluids into Figure 5 illustrates the use of a polished-bore
the well and for downward ~~V~Im~fi:~ when receptacle {PB.R) installed in the top of the liner.
—
~ H. E. LINDSEY, JR. SPE 3908

F,.q 4
INSTALLATION WITH PRODUCTION PACKER SET ABOVE LINER TOP in. tubing string permits the passage of bridge
plugs, packers, larger non-expandable type per-
forating guns, logging tools and even workover

I
4.112%0.0. Production Tubing

drill strings. If the 4-1/2 in. tubing is ever removed,

311~ 0.0. Production Tubing
a packer with a plug can be lubricated into the
Locator sub
well and set in the liner.
7.5/8” 0.0. Wweline Production Packer

7-5/S” 0.0.39 lb. @sing FIGURE 5

)!lli(g Packer Extension 10’ Long

INSTALLATION WITH PACKER.BORE RECEPTACLE IN TOP OF LINER

L Producston seal Uniu 12’ Lana

II- 95iE” 0.0.

7.51E” 0.0. Casing

2.31”’1.0. Landing Nipple

!
1 JT. 2.7/S” 0.0. Tubing

2.31 ‘“ 1.0. Landing Nipple

IIIIIE 10’PuF.JT.
of 2.7/6” 0.0. Tubi~
..
Production Slrin$

H nI
*
‘“ z25I.D.Ported La”ding Nip@e 11111
Liner Hanger with Tie-Back Sleeve

Locator Sub
Tie-Back RecePtado

.D.:.
.:,
Packw-SOre Receptacle
S“ 0.0.23 lb. Production Liner

ID~
.%11Nipple

Hydro.Hanger
.’,.,.,.,, ,.

“This is the type of seal arrangement most suitable

V 0.0. Casing
to permit a free-upward movement and stop any
seal movement for the months and years of a
well’s life. The PBR is long enough to permit large
tubular movements while treating the well and its
I.D. offers full access to the liner for tools, bits, etc. I
I
]:

Produced fluids are not ... in cnntact

4- with the inter-
mediate casing and the liner top is not exposed to
pressure. The larger production tubing is required for
highly productive wells; however, other benefits
THE FULL OR MAXIMUM BORE justify its use in less productive wells. One com-
COMPLETION DESIGN pany completed a deep Lockndge field well using
4-1 /2 in. tubulars and showed a 27% increase in
The maximum bore completion concept has proved productivity over an offset well which was com-
very popular in several deep fields and has been pleted with ~ tapered string of 2-7/8 in. and 3-1/2
--..---
used in completion of scvmii] of the ‘very I@! in. tubing, The productive zone in the new well
potential wells. In Figure 6, a Gomez field instal- consisted of 32 md-ft. of 470 porosity pay com-
]a~on is ~h~wn using ?his concept. The well has pared to 110 md-ft. of 3.5% porosity in the offset
been completed with a PBR tool installed in the well (6). High volume, high rate acid stimulation
combination 7-5/8 in. by 5 in. tie-back string. The is made possible with the use of larger I.D. tubulars.
full opening production seal assembly on the 4-1/2 Rates approaching 50-55 B/M are possible through
 7
SPE 3908 H. E. LINDSEY, JR.

Fig. 6 ;torrn choke or to plug-off the well for removal of

GOMEZ GAS WELL COMPLETION WITH MAXIMUM BORE FROM SURFACE TO T.D. wrface wellhead equipment. The 4-1/2 in. liner
Casing
is 18.8 lb. S00-95 with a 3.515 in. drift I.D.; the

1“
liner hanger and the production tubing string are
o.)
15.5 lb. with drift I.D.’s of 3.701 in. The PBR
has a 5 in. I.D. and the tubing seal nipple is full
opening for 15.5 lb. tubing. This installation allows
the operator to move the drilling rig off the well
and complete through the Christmas tree if he
e

.,
wishes.
Teflon Coated. Hotid md

,.
[]11
!lll~
Polislwd. S81 10,000 fi.

I
Fig. 7

MAXIMUM BORE Completion IN ALABAMA –.WRASSIC TRENO, JAY FIELO

10,650 ft. —..

IPF
,

F
~]111 ‘
ti.bla.ccme mechanical-set
unw Hanger -10,200 ft.

7.31w 0.0.45.30 lb.

~sinq, S.625” I.D.
y’ 0.0.23.06 lb. Casing

5“ 0.0. Casing,23.08 lb., C-75

I!!J!F
Hvdril *PW ELI, 4.w I.D.

22 ,6s0 ft. T.O.— ‘ ‘. .

20,000 fpot strings of 4-1/2 in. tubing and casing.

One such well was stimulated with 500,000 gallons
of super-heated acid and brine injected down 4-1/2
in. tubing at pressures from 8,500-10,000 psi at
injection rates of 25-S2 B/M. III 1~4.1/z O.D.Liner,
18.8lb. S0095 HSFJ-P
– 3.515“ 1.0. drift

Figure 7 illustrates a maximum bore installa

tion completed in a prolific Smackover zone ir lll!ll _ SnmckonerPerfs. 15,100’

Escambia Co., Ala. The production contains :

15,6so—
significant amount of H2S and some. extra pre M

cautions were taken to provide safer means o:

re-entry in case of a work-over or equipmen
failure. Three selective landing nipples of 3.688 in
I.D. were installed at critical points in the flov
string. The lowest one is between the liner hange
and the liner at 14,141 ft. and is used to pluj
the well if removal of the tubing is necessary. Th{
middle landing nipple is a profile cut in the PBI
Locator Sub at 14,112 ft. and is used to plug am
test the tubing string. The top landing nipple i
set at
0 nnn
O,uuu
c+
11.
~r,~ *. fi,, iAec
plu?
In Figure 8, the 5 in. production liner has been
set and cemented in the bottom of the 7-5/8 in.
drilling liner with a tie-back receptacle on top. The
tie-back liner is the same size and weight as the
production liner and is hung in the intermediate
9-5/8 in. casing just a few hundred feet above
the drilling liner. The 4-1 /2 in. tubing is landed in
the PBR at the top of the tie-back liner. This
Iuv.1 a
nla(v
y..--” to set offers the full or maximum bore concept without
 SPE 3908
Q
H. E. LINDSEY, JR.
“

the 7-5/8 in. tie-back casing section as in Figure 6. ~as wells. Most of these have been made with the
This results in savings of at least $60,000.00 Fig- conventional use of retrievable and/or permanent
packers. However, about seven wells have been
ure 8 is probably the most popular form of com-
,-. .—.- completed using PBR tools and production seal
pleuon.
assemblies instead of conventional packers. Figure
Fig. 8
------ ------ .-. -.,
9 shows the latest use of two PBR assemblies.
TYPICAL ULTRA.DEEP MAXIMUM Bunk GUMI’LE I !UN

FIG, 9
9.51s” O.D. CM1s3/4” 0.0. casing DUAL COMPLETION USING PER TOOLS FOR ZONE ISOLATION

I
(
31/2” 12,95* Hvdril PH.6
f i c.75 TutinQ -7.466.47’

10,2W ft. - — LOVI String

4.1 /2 0.0, 15.5 lb. TubinLI
~ 2.71w, 6.5# C-75 Tubing -10.772’

L short String

Packer.Bore Receptacle Tool I I 2.71W’ 6.5* C.75 Tubing -3,315.20

6“ 1,0, x 22” Long
7,540 —
Teflon. COated Bore

seal Nipple with VltOn-AsbestOs

High.Temp. Packing 95& 43.5-47 *P.110 &sin4
7,?2W — ~. . .
4

7.5/6- 33.7* P.11O Casing

Oouble.corw mtchaniwl.set 10,78Y —
1.1/2” Cs Hvd. ~ 23.2T 10n9

lo,795— :
DUal Flow Assemblv
7.5/8 O.D. Casing
4,750’. I.D. x 12’ Long
Packer-Bore Receptacle
x 13.97’ long

e Back Receptacle 2.7w) 11 # Hydril PH-&CB

15.300 ft. — N.SO Tubing -3.416.24’
ydro+ian.aer 11,903’ — :-
5.1/2” 20# & 23# PI 10 LiIMY

m
%— Montoya Perforations 13,662.13.85S’

“ O.D. Casing
ChemKal titter SfetV JQmt
w/1.875° 1.0. BFC TYFM“F”
Profde x 2.49 long
Loutor Sub
4.250” I.O. X 12’ low
Packer-sore Re~macle 14.63’
f=
I&l
, _ Elienberger Perforations
g 15,916’-16.656’
20,71Y3ii. T.D.—
5“ 23* Liner. HSFJ-p, C.75

PB TO 16,980’ — k

The use of large production tubing strings such

as 5-1/2 in. permits small “kill strings” to be run
~n~~~e~}l~~,. The single polished bore receptacle is installed in
the transition point in a tapered production iiner,
These “kill strings” may be used to spot acid,
usually 5 in. by 5-1/2 in. or 4-1/2 in. by 5 in. The
~irm 1Ia t~ ~QnOSiCUI
“-” ----- inhibitors! spot nitrogen fol —-- –---I*.. Aac :-
single bore I?BK size is usuauy +. a III. Gi Q.Q m.
bringing the well in and offer means for circulation
I.D. The top dual flow assembly is usually installed
to kill the well if necessary. These “kill strings”
in a 4-3/4 in. or 5-1/4 in. I.D. receptacle. The main
are usually swung free from the Chxistmas tree anc
advantages of PBR’s over conventional packer
gas production is not flowed through them; how
equipment in a dual completion are simplicity of
ever, they may be used for production if the wel ●

installation and retrieval. In Figure 10 a conven-

starts producing more liquids and will not flov tional dual completion assembly is shown using a
through the larger tubing.
retrievable top packer and a drillable lower or
single packer. The liner top is exposed to treating
DUAL COMPLETIONS pressure and to all production from the upper
zone. The upper packer must be retrieved and the
Several dual completions have been made in dee~
SPE 3908 H. E. LINDSEY, JR. 9

lower packer must be drilled for removal before goods with inhibitors. There are both organic mid
the well can be recentered. inorganic inhibitors available. Usually, chemically
treated brines are effective as annular fluids behind
FIG. 10 production tubing strings. Inverted oil emulsion
OUAL COMPLETION USING CONVENTIONAL PACKERS WI H PROVISION
FOR PLUGGING LOWER ZONE WI-II LE COMPLETING U $ PER ZONE
muds are excellent for protection against chemical
corrosion.
1
11131= 951%” O.D. 47# (Xing

31/7 0.0. 103IM Hydrif

CS 3!4 4?s !!0.06S.0S’)
2.71’W 0.0. 6.40#t 378 JTS
(12.0s4’)
After the well has cleaned up by flowing and
testing operations, it has been the practice of
10,212’ several companies to batch chemically treated
-i K 1
fluids to bottom and flow them back, internally
) Illk!+ — Dual Sip Liner Hanger
WILG3 Receptacle treating all the production tubing and casing. Some
unusual producing situations in a few wells iiave
1
caused serious workover problems, Produced de-
!=
2.7/S” O.D. 6.50# 64 JTS
10.550’ U023.27’)
1 7-5~ O.D, 39# Hydril SF4P posits of barium sulfate or iron sulfide in varying
amounts causing plugging of packers, landing nipple
12,095’—
assemblies and tubing. Where these plugging con-
1 —Tvpa HSOL Dual String Packer
ditions are known to exist, systems with maximum
I.D. equipment are considered desirable. All down-
Ill
.-- .,.-
.%ling NOppie1.815 U.U. hole equipment should be designed to minimize
2.7/S” 0.0. ?.SO* t+fdtil
12.15W—
PH.670 JTS (2,243.34’) corrosion due to erosion. Discontinuities in the
flow may set up eddy currents resulting in washing
TWX JH Liner Hanger PXke, or erosion of the equipment.
W/LG3 Receptacle

12.550’— H2S Stress Corrosion Cracking

2.7/S” 0.0. Blast hints
3.2Z’ 0.0.13 JTS (249.7S’)
The presence of hydrogen sulfide (Hz S) in even
small traces is a source of much concern in deep
14.600’—
Type SS Wreflirw Drillable Packer
WIUPPM Barrel Extension
well equipment design. Failures in steel tubulars
Y 0.0. lLl# Hvdril SFJP caused by the presence of H2S have been the cause
1~.370’ To— of some of the most costly incidents in the history
L-M— of the industry. This failure phenomenon has been
referred to as stress corrosion cracking (SCC),
There are some disadvantages, though, to the hydrogen embrittlement or hydrogen-stress crack-
PBR type dual in Figure 9 in that little provision ing. It described by Dr. R. R. Fessler (7) as “the
is made for testing each zone separately. Co- cracking of a metal due to the combined action of
mminglingproblems exist if the zones must be tested a tensile stress and a specific environment”. The
individually before running the production equip at~~li~ ILYAI”dl--~=m
v6~,, e~ter~ t~.e steel rather than
ment. The PBR type dual completion hook-up bubbling off the surface as molecular hydrogen (8).
lends itself especially to the type completion where One characteristic of an SCC failure is the presence
the equipment is run first, and the zones stimulated of many secondary cracks in the vicinity of the
and brought-in later. As in singIe completions, care fracture origin. No other known failure mechanism
must be taken not to damage polished receptacles produces cracks with a branched, lacy appearance.
in cleaning out the liners. Thus it is possible to identify SCC even if the
environment has not been identified (7). There has
CORROSION CONTROL been ample evidence that the hardness level of the
tubuiar steei is a factor in COfihi of SK As a
Chemical and Erosion Corrosion general rule, such failures can be prevented by
restricting the steel minimum yield strength to
A very important part of deep well completion 90,000 psi maximum (about Rockwell C-22 hard-
practice is the corrosion protection of the tubular ness) (9). The API has standardized the C-75 grade
10 H. E. LINDSEY,
as specifically suited to sulfide service. The need
for higher strength materials for deeper wells re-
quires that limiting conditions for applying high
strength tubular goods be further defined. While
authorities are not in agreement as to the condition
under which the higher strength tubular materials
may be applied, the preference is for quenched
and tempered high strength materials (10). For
down hole tools, AISI 4130-4140 steel is com-
monly used with much care given to its heat
treatment and hardness. Evidence shows a uni-
formly tempered martensite with well-distributed
carbides to be desirable (11).
In 1966, Shell .Oil Company discovered that gas
drilling could be accomplished by the use of hot
sour gas as the drilling fluid (12, 13). The term
“hot” is meant that the sour gas, as used in their
drilling operations, is maintained at a temperature
of at least 150°F and preferably above 200°F (12,
13). The basic benefit gained from Shell’s ex-
perimentation was that hot sour gas at above 150”F
~m=c
UUw”nnt ----- . or_ ernbrittle or cause sulfide SCC
..w. c.ns-rrs~e
of metal parts with which it comes in contact,
unlike HzS-containing fluids and liquids at
atmospheric temperatures and lower.
Apparently the hot environment caused by
depth, in which temperatures are constantly above
150°F and preferably over 200”F, is an effective
inhibitor against corrosion in such corrosive en-
vironments as are normally encountered in re-
covering H2S-containing fluids or liquids. Metals
effectively protected against corrosion and hydro-
gen embrittlement by this means include con-
ventional API grade N-80 and P-1 10 casings and
P-105 tubing as well as grade E and stronger drill
pipe and tool joints (12, 13). Several operators
are now using P-11 O material in their casing and
liner designs at levels where the temperature will
remain high. Care should be taken to prevent
exposure of such casing to HzS at lower temper-
atures if it is removed from the well.
SEAL ELASTOMERS
Hot sour gas effects on elastomeric seals on tools
have also been a source of great concern. In pro-
ducing high concentrations of HZS at elevated
temperatures such as the Smackover zones of
Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, packers and other
JR. SPE 3908
seals have failed in several wells. This problem has
required a different special seal composition for
use in these high H2S areas. Seals have not been
a major problem in the Delaware and Anadarko
Basin deep holes. Usually Viton*-Asbestos with
Molybdenum-filled or glass-filled Teflon* back-up
rings are very satisfactory in West Texas and Okla-
_____
homa. N-itrile or Hycar* seais are riot rcuw]lullended
for use as static or dynamic seals where the oper-
ating temperature is in excess of 250”F. Fluor-
oelastomer seals such as Viton* can handle hot
fluids up to 400”F.
Seals perform better where they are well con-
tained in the pack-off area by back-up rings which
prevent cold-flow. Hot gas has shown to be
damaging to some exposed seals and causes
hardening of the element – it is much ~tter if
they are housed from this problem and do not
stick out of the bottom of packers directly into
the production stream. Packer extensions and
packer-bore or polished bore receptacles (PBR’s)
--- .--n
dl= -.n~ ueurl ~.
l=UUmlllu.. Z-4C
mfwn~
...... .. nf protection against
_- r_-.
seal exposure to hostile environment.
LQCI,ING AND PERFORATING
Most operators run a gamma ray log in combination
with one or more of the porosity logs, either sonic,
neutron or density. Some companies run lateral or
induction logs. In cased hole a gamma ray neutron
or compensating neutron log is run for depth
control as a tie-back correlation log.
Special techniques have become popular for
perforating deep wells but most companies use a
select-fire hollow carrier gun with a limited-entry
pattern. Perforating in formic or acetic acid is
common and marker joints placed at the top or the
middle of the pay zones are desirable; these marker
joints are usually some joint much shorter than
other joints in the liner string. On one super deep
well below 28,000 ft., the perforating was per-
formed while the guns were moving upward at a
nominal sped without stopping. This kept the line
4:-L+
~lwl ~ ..-
~=~,~~t~r,g CIOW tie-in to the logs. In some
cases, radioactive pills have been placed in some
of the down-hole equipment for more accurate
~ ‘“Viton”’ and “’Teflon” are registered trademarks of Dwont Co.
* ‘“Hycar”’ is a registered trademark of B. F. Goodrich Chem. Co.
SPE 3908 H. E. LINDSEY, JR. 11

depth correlation with other retrievable or tie-back w. = Weight of fluid outside tubing per unit
equipment to be run later. Caliper surveys are run length, lb./in.
in conjunction with open-hole logging equipment P= coefficient of thermal expansion of steel
for better cement fall-up calculations. tubing:
.
P = 6.9X 10-’/1~
CONCLUSIONS
AL= total seal movement, in.
Every part of a completion program should be AL’= slack-off at the surface, in.
carefully pre-planned before drilling is commenced. AL, = seal movement due to piston effect, in.
This program should consider all problems which AI+ = seal movement due to helical buckling,
nlay~., ha
““ amonllnt~rcvl
W,. W” MX. .”. ”Q
cl:ch
“----
as
. .
~igh
-=.
treating
—-—.
pressures in.
high velocity stimulation rates, high flowing tem- AI+ = seal movement due to ballooning and re-
peratures, safety and ease of workovers, logging, verse ballooning, in.
perforating and hostile environments such as H2S ~LQ = seal movement due to temperature
and C02. change, in.
APi = change in tubing pressure at seal level
The more one can learn about proper selection aPo = change in annulus pressure at packer or
of downhole equipment, the more he realizes no seal level
one part of a successful completion program may Api = change in surface tubing pressure
be isolated from the other. Deep well drilling will
APO = change in surface annufus pressure
continue and much can be learned from the ex-
perience of others. Completion practice is a con- Api = change in density of fluid in tubing,
psi/in.
stantly improving technology; simplicity and safety
are its goals. Apo = change in density of fluid in annulus,
psi/ir!.
T= change in average tubing temperature
P = Poisson’s ratio 0.3 for steel)
Pi = pressure inside the tubing at the packer
seal level, psi
P. = pressure outside the tubing at the packer
NOMENCLATURE seal level, psi
s = yield strength, psi
Ai area corresponding to tubing I.D., sq, in.
!$ = combined stress at inner wall of tubing,
L area corresponding to tubing O.D., sq. in. defined by Eq. 9, psi
AP area corresponding to packer bore I.D., so = combined stress at outer wall of tubing,
sq. in. defined by Eq. 6, psi
& cross-sectional area of tubing wall, sq. in. defined by Eq. 7, lbs.
Ua =

E Young’s modulus (steel =30 x 106) defined by Eq. 8, Ibs.

F set-down weight on the packer, lb.
I moment of inertia of tubing c~oss-section
with respect to its diameter:
I=: (D4– d4 ), where D = OD, d = ID
L length of the tubing string, in.
R ratio OD:ID of the tubing
r tubing-to-casing radial clearance
w, average weight of tubing per unit length,
lb./in.
Wi weight of fluid inside tubing per unit
length, lb./in.
Ub =
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to express his appreciation for
the help of the following: James A. Blodgett,
Humble Oil and Refining Company, Walter D.
Powers, Perry R. Bass, Inc., Bernard Mahoney,
Inexco Oil Company and to the managements of
H.N.G. Oil Company, Ralph Lowe Estate, Lone
Star Producing Company and Texas Iron Works,
Inc. for information and data used in this work.
12 H. E. LINDSEY,
REFERENCES
1. Lubinski, A., Althouse, W.S. and Logan, J. L.:
“Helical Buckling of Tubing Sealed in Pack-
ers”, Journal of Petroleum Technology, June,
1962, PPS. 655-670.
2. Lindsey, H.E., Jr.: “The Use of Polished-bore
Receptacles in Deep Gas Wells”, paper no.
906-1 5-I, Drilling and Production Practice,
API ( 1970), PPS. 82-88.
3. West, E.R. and Lindsey, H.E., Jr.: “Comple-
tion Practices and Techniques in Deep Gas
Producers “of the Delaware Basin”, The
Journal of Petroleum Technology, Septem-
ber, 1968, pps. 921-927.
4, Goeken, R. J.: “A Design for High Capacity
Gas Production West Block 27 Field”, paper
no. 926- 11-B, API Spring Meeting of the
Southern District Division of Production,
Houston, Texas, March, 2-4, 1966.
5. Ramey, H.J., Jr.: “Wellbore Heat Transmis-
sion”, The Journal of Petroleum Technology,
April, 1962, PPS. 427-435.
6. Kimmel, J.W.: “A New Gas Well Design Which
Permits Use of the Most Advanced Comple
tion Techniques”, 1971 Southwestern Petro-
leum Short Course, Texas Tech University,
Lubbock, Texas; also versions in World Oil
(August 1, 1971) and Petroleum Engineer
(July, 1971, PPS. 44-5 1).
,-
1. 0’Donneil, .lohri P.: “WLress=comosionCrac!c-
ing is Major Research Target”, Oil and Gas
Journal, January 5, 1970, pps. 77-84.
JR. SPE 3908
8. Hudgins, Charles, Jr.: “Hydrogen Sulfide Cor-
rosion Can be Controlled”, Petroleum Engi-
neer, December, 1970.
9. Carlson, R.C. and Mile, V.P.: “Recommenda-
tions on Materials for Sour Service”, NACE
Technical Unit Committee T-1B (March,
1963).
10. EnDean, Howard: “Factors Influencing Sul-
fide Stress Corrosion Cracking of Oil Field
Tubular Goods”, Gulf Technical Services,
Southern District Meeting API, Houston,
Texas (1970).
11. Baehr, Frank: “Is Corrosion Eating up your
Profits”, Gmadian Petroieum, May, 1971,
PPS. 36-40.
12. U.S. Patent 3,462,239, T.M. Swanson et al,
August 19, 1969.
130 U.S. Patent 3,463,250, G.H. Calhoun et al,
August 26, 1969.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
H.E. (Ed) Lindsey, Jr. was graduated with a B.S.
in I.E. from Georgia Institute of Technology in
1948. He has been President of MWL Tool and
Supply Company, Midland, Texas, since its estab-
lishment in 1952. He is also president of Helco
Fi&~ng TOC@ Inc. and Bond-Coat, Inc. of Midland,
Texas. Mr. Lindsey has authored several papers for
API, SPE and other publications. He is a member
of API, SPE, PESA and other industry associations.
 11 3/4” 11 3/4”
11 3/4”

10 J/:)” 10 5/8” I
I
hole -- - - 5/8”
( I
I
. 1
9 5/8 “ I

I
8 1/2” ~ I
hole —----+1 I
I I 5/8”
I I
I 7 5/( I
I I
I I *
! A
“-, 7 /2tl
-
I 7tt hole ----4
;
I
I
IM
1
6 1/2” I I
a
hole ~ I i
[ I I
I I I

I 511
I
I
I
I 1

u J

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3