COMPLETION TYPES

There is a significant diversity in the type of completions being used around the world.
However, in general they are variations on a few basic designs. The most common criteria
for classifying completions include:

- the interface between the wellbore and the reservoir (open hole, slotted liner,
perforated liner, sand control)

- the number of tubing strings (single, multiple)

- the production method (artificial lift, natural flow, injection)

- the wellhead location (onshore, platform, subsea)

1. Interface between wellbore and reservoir

1.1 Open hole completion

In an openhole or barefoot completion, the production casing is set above or just into the
top of the pay zone, while the bottom of the hole is left uncased.

Openhole
completion
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Advantages:

- cost reduction (no perforating charges, no liner)

- exposure of entire pay zone to the wellbore

- no formation damage during cement job (Itau example)

- ease of well deepening

Disadvantages:

- inability to control gas-oil ratio and/or water-oil ratio

- not suitable for separate reservoirs having incompatible properties

- inability for selective stimulation

1.2 Slotted liner completion

To overcome the problems of sand collapsing during production, a slotted liner is placed
across the open hole section.

The slots are cut small enough that the produced sand bridges off outside of the liner.

Slotted liner
completion

Advantages:

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- cost reduction (no perforating charges, no liner)

- exposure of entire pay zone to the wellbore

- no formation damage during cement job

Disadvantages:

- sand movement causes permeability reduction intermixing sand sizes or sand and
shale particles

- fines of formation tend to plug the slots

- risks of liner erosion at high rates

The wire-wrapped screens are used in place of slotted liner for very fine sands. This
technique, called SAS for Stand Alone Screens, is a reasonably effective sand control
method and is used on Girassol.

The open hole gravel pack is another sand control technique where calibrated sand is
circulated in the annular between the formation and the screens.

1.3 Perforated liner completion

By far the most common type of completion today involves cementing the liner (or the
production casing) through the pay zone and perforating holes through the casing and
cement to provide communication with the formation.

Ideally, perforations should penetrate any damaged zone around the original wellbore and
create a clean conduit within the undamaged formation.

Advantages:

- Safer operations since the well can be perforated after the completion.

Single tubing -
Single zone
completion

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- Drilling damage can be by-passed

- Possibility of selective stimulation

- Possibility of multizone completions

- Possibility of stacked frac packs

Disadvantages:

- cost increase

- damage to the reservoir during the cement job

2. Number of tubing strings

2.1 Single string

The well produces through a single string of tubing and a packer.

This type of completion can be single zone or multiple zones with one or multiple packers.

Single tubing -
selective zone
completion

Single tubing -
Single zone
completion

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The tubingless completion is a single tubing completion having the tubing cemented, the
selectivity is not possible but multiple zones can be produced. The main advantage being
the ability to run plugs or straddle equipment to isolate zones individually with full bore
equipment. Hundreds of tubingless completions are used in the Company mainly in
Thailand (Bongkot field), Indonesia (Tunu field) and onshore USA.

The monobore completion is a single tubing completion having the tubing internal diameter
equal or bigger than the liner. The tubing can be tie backed to the top liner (South Pars,
Qatargas, Yadana) or connected to a completion packer (C137B Libya). This completion
has the same advantages than the tubingless completion.

Tubingless Monobore
completion completion

2.2 Multiple string

The multiple tubing string completions are generally more expensive than single string
completion. They are also more complicated to install and to perform well servicing
operations.

They offer, however, the ability to simultaneous produce from or inject into different zones,
and to allocate production or injection for each zone.

Where artificial lift is required, parallel strings are used.

This type of completion is widely used in the Company:

- Abu Dhabi (Abu Al Bukhoosh, Zakum)

- Angola (Buffalo, Cobo, Pambi, Pacassa)

- Argentina (Hidra)

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- Cameroun (Dikame)

- Indonesia (Handil, Bekapai)

- Nigeria (Aghigo, Obagui, Upomami, Okpoko)

Multiple string
completion

3. Production method

3.1 Natural flow

Most of the wells produce naturally, at least at the beginning of their life. Sometimes the
wells continue to produce naturally if the reservoir pressure is maintained with water or gas
injection.

There is no typical design for a well producing naturally since all the completion
configurations, as shown in the previous chapters, can be encountered.

As a minimum the completion includes a tubing, a packer and a down hole safety valve.
Additional equipment can be installed, mainly:

- seating nipples for flow control tools installation

- sliding side doors (SSD) for zone isolation

- expansion joints for tubing movement compensation (not recommended)

- injection subs for down hole chemical injection

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3.2 Artificial lift

3.2.1 Rod pumping

This type of artificial lift is very common and used on low to moderate rate wells. These are
three main elements: the bottomhole pump, the rod string and the pumping unit.

From a completion viewpoint the key considerations are:

- An open annulus

- Anchoring of the tubing

- Adequate pump diameter

- A pump seating nipple

- Easy installation and pulling of tubing

- Properly sized rods

The sucker rod transmits the tensional loads from the plunger to the pumping unit. Their
main design criteria are dynamic effects including fatigue and stretch.

Rod pumping
completion

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3.2.2 Progressive cavity pump (PCP)

This type of pump is used for viscous oils.

The main components of the pump are:

- the stator, made with elastomer, connected to the bottom of the tubing string

- the rotor, made with steel, connected to the bottom of the rods

The liquid is trapped in the pump cavities by the rotation of the rods and carried to surface.

All the wells of the Sincor project in Venezuela are equipped with this type of pump.

3.2.3 Hydraulic pumping

There are three types of hydraulic pumping systems: the positive displacement pump, the
jet pump and the hydraulic turbine.

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The power fluid (oil or water) activates the downhole pump. The power fluid and the
produced fluid mixture is then recovered at surface and separated.

a) The positive displacement pump

The downhole pump includes a piston motor and a piston pump. The power fluid activates
alternatively each face of the motor piston through a distributor. This vertical alternative
movement is transmitted to the piston of the pump.

b) The jet pump

The power fluid, pumped in the tubing (or in the annulus) through the pump nozzle, create
a depression outside of the nozzle carrying the produced fluid.

c) The hydraulic turbine

The power fluid, pumped in the tubing, activates a turbine that drives a centrifugal pump.

Powerfluid

Pump
tubing
Casing

Throat Nozzle

Diffuser Production
inlet chamber

Combined
fluid return

Well
production

Jet pump

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3.2.4 Electric submersible pump (ESP)

The main application of the ESP is to produce large volumes of liquid. They are particularly
attractive for water supply, high water cut or high oil producers.

The ESP completions should have:

- Special wellheads for sealing around the cable

- Enough clearance for the pump and cable

- Adequate cable protection

- Adequate cooling of the motor

The main components of an ESP are the motor, the protector and the pump.

Few fields are developed with this technique in the Company:

- Qatar (Al Khalij)

- Indonesia (Handil for water injection supply)

- Abu Dhabi (Abu Al Bukhoosh)

- UK (Otter)

- Libya (Mabruk)

- France (Vic Bilh)

- Yemen (Shabwa)

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Transformer
(1 per phase)

Control box
Wellhead

Junction box
Bleeder valve

Surface cable Check valve

Main cable Tubing

Splice Pump
Flat cable extension

Cable guard Intake

Protector

Casing
Motor

Centraliser

3.2.5 Gas lift

The gas specific gravity, even under pressure, is reduced compared to the well effluent.
The purpose of the gas lift is to inject gas in the tubing to reduce the hydrostatic pressure
of the fluid column and consequently decrease the bottom hole flowing pressure.

The gas lift is used:

- occasionally to restart a well after a shut down or an intervention

- continuously to increase the production or to obtain a stabilised flow regime

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Specific equipment is required:

- surface installation including gas compressor, piping and piloted valves

- side pocket mandrels equipped with discharge valves (optional) and orifice valve

- annulus safety valve if required

This type of artificial lift is widely used in the industry.

In the Company, this technique is used in the majority of the oil fields.

Production
Injected gas

G as In jection

W ell effluent w / SPM for

injected gas discharge valve

G as injected in the
SPM for continuous
tubing
injection

SPM not in use

Dead fluid

R eservoir fluid

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3.3 Injector wells

There is no difference on the completion design for the water injector wells compared to
the natural flow oil producers except on the downhole safety system.

The injection safety valve can be used to replace the surface controlled sub-surface safety
valve (SCSSV) and is considered as a safety barrier (refer to CR FPP 135).

For gas injection wells a SCSSV is compulsory.

4. Wellhead location
There are no specific requirements on the completion design for wells located onshore or
offshore on wellhead platforms. All types of completion can be used.

For subsea wells there is today no “cheap” well intervention system, a rig is required even
for a slick line operation. For that reason the completion must be designed for long well life
without interventions.

The contractors launched studies to develop intervention systems using a dynamic

positioning support vessel. Two projects are on going:

- Schlumberger with a subsea wireline intervention system

- Halliburton with the SWIFT: coil tubing intervention trough a flexible riser

To eliminate the wireline or coil tubing operations during the well life and even during the
completion, specific equipment must be used:

- Permanent pressure and temperature monitoring system

- Packer setting valves

- Intelligent valves (for selective completions)

Some equipment is specifically designed for the subsea applications:

- Reservoir isolation valves

- Deep set SCSSV (spring type or nitrogen chamber type)

Various deep water projects are on going in the Company, in the Gulf of Mexico, the block
17 and in Nigeria.

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TUBING HANGER PENETRATIONS

1 x 1/4" hydraulic line for Safety Valve
1 x 1/4" electrical line for P/T measurement
3 x 1/4" hydraulic line for intelligent completion
1 x 1/2" chemical injection

18mm Detail of Encapsulated flatpack

11mm combining 3 x 1/4" Hydraulic
lines
32mm
26mm

Detail of Encapsulated 11mm Detail of encapsulated 1/4"

flatpack combining a Hydraulic line for TRSCSSV
1/2" Hydraulic line for
Chemical Injection and 11mm
1/4" TEC line

1: TR SCSSV
AKPO development
Size 5 1/2" x 4.56" Selective completion
10 3/4" casing
2: Tubing , 5 1/2" - 20 lb/ft - 13CrL80

3: Chemical Injection Nipple for 1/2" line Well type: Oil producer
Size 5 1/2" Reservoir name: A, B, D, EF

4: Splice sub 5 1/2"

5: Permanent/Retrievable Packer
Size 5 1/2" x 10"3/4

6: Fill up and test valve

Size 5 1/2"

7: Hydraulic sliding sleeve

Size 5 1/2"

9: Hydraulic sliding sleeve with

shroud. Size 4 1/2"
8: Gauge Carrier with 6 Quartz Gauges
monitoring lower zone, upper zone, 10: Tubing 4 1/2"
commingle zones Size 5 1/2"
11: Retrievable Packer for 10"3/4 casing
15: Inner string.Size 4 1/2"
12: Annulus Isolation Valve 16: 6"5/8 screens

13: Seal bore 40 ft w/ seal assy 17: Seal assy

14: Isolation valve. Size 4 1/2"

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