OTC-26671-MS

The Design and Deployment of Open Hole Standalone Screens and Two
Cased Hole Gravel Pack in Highly Deviated Well—A Case History with A
Field in Malaysia
Mohd Fakhrin Ab Rasid, Siti Nur Mahirah Mohd Zain, Godwin Akujobi Osuji-Bells, Orient Balbir Samuel,
and Jose Zabala, PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd; Mohd Reduan Zainal Abidin, Airin Basha Noorizan,
and Joel Gil, Schlumberger

Copyright 2016, Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference Asia held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 22–25 March 2016.

This paper was selected for presentation by an OTC program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
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Abstract
This paper summarizes the challenges faced during the well completion design, planning and execution
stages in the ⬙Well-B⬙ located on the ⬙Field-A⬙ offshore Malaysia. In addition, it highlights the modifi-
cations and techniques incorporated in the completion design to ensure that the well was delivered
flawlessly in terms of HSE and quality.
At the initial planning stage, the proposal on this well was to complete two oil producer sands with
active sand control methods, the upper zone with Cased Hole Gravel Pack (CHGP) and the lower zone
with Open Hole Standalone Screens (OHSAS), this concept changed after the analysis of the logging
while drilling (LWD) output, when the subsurface team decided to complete an additional zone (midzone)
with a stacked Cased Hole Gravel Pack.
The well completion operation effectiveness on this well could have been affected by the following
challenges:
● High deviation
● Multiple sand control techniques in one well
● Operation and logistic challenges
● Additional zone expected to be completed with the available inventory
● Limited resources and time
The team incorporated several techniques into the original completion design to enable the effective
execution of these three zones and achieving the overall well objective.
After the well was successfully completed, it became the first highly deviated well in the field with an
open hole standalone screens in the lower zone and two cased hole gravel pack in the upper zones with
a dual upper completion string.
This well completion will become the benchmark for planning, designing and deploying future wells
with similar characteristics and reservoir conditions.
2 OTC-26671-MS

Background
The Field-A is located 165 km off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia; it is structurally defined as an
elongated anticline while geologically the reservoirs are classified as a fluvio-deltaic system. Based on
historical sand production in offset wells producing from X, Y, and Z reservoirs, all wells in Field-A
require downhole sand control; this requirement was further supported by a sand production prediction
analysis conducted during Field-A geomechanics study in 2011. The Well-B is one of five infill wells
scheduled for this campaign.
The geomechanics study was conducted using cores from the major oil reservoirs at Field-A, including
X, Y and Z reservoirs, after parameters such as reservoir rock strength, sand production prediction and
particle size distribution were analyzed. The study concluded that those reservoirs are located in the
transition zone of consolidated and unconsolidated sand (Vernik et al. 1993).
Furthermore, the study indicated that (depending on localized rock strength) sand production could
potentially happen at any drawdown, hence requiring drawdown control to avoid rock failure from the first
day of production. These results are applicable to all Field A reservoirs. The sand control requirement for
these 3 reservoirs is strongly supported by offset producing wells currently choked down due to sand
production.
The type of downhole sand control applicable to each reservoir was determined based on the respective
reservoir’s particle size distribution (PSD) analysis and applying Tiffin criteria (Tiffin, 1998), based on
this sand control selection method, standalone premium screens (SAS) was the preferred technique for all
three reservoirs except in cased hole (X and Z reservoirs) where CHGP was selected as the sand control
method since SAS in perforated casing brings an additional screen erosion risk.
The Well-B was completed with open hole standalone screens and two stacked gravel packs in the
upper zones at a highly deviated trajectory (82°) with dual completion string, some of the completion
techniques applied during the execution were:
● Use of shunt tube screens in gravel pack to avoid premature screen out (Bryant 1994).
● Use of VES carrier fluid to improve packing efficiency, carrying capacity and friction pressures
(Saebi 2010).
● Extensive torque and drag simulation.
● Use of high rating disappearing plug to set the sump and gravel pack packers, providing secondary
isolation during gravel pack operation and eliminating dropping a setting ball.
● Additional mill-out extension and seal assembly to provide flexibility for space out.
● Onshore real-time monitoring on offshore gravel pack operation.
The Well-B was successfully completed with an outstanding performance in both HSE and quality; the
optimization plans applied during well completion operations allowed the team to achieve the well
objectives ahead of allocated time and budget.

Well Design
The well was intended to be completed as oil producer with a dual string completion to produce X and
Y reservoirs respectively. As stated previously, the sand control method for the deeper reservoir (long
string) was Open Hole Standalone Screens (OHSAS) and Cased Hole Gravel Pack (CHGP) for the
shallower interval (short string).
The well proposed to be completed with dual string 31/2 in. upper completion with 51/2 in. standalone
screens 175 micron inside 81/2 in. open hole. While the gravel pack zone will be completed with 51/2 in.
shunt tube screen 12 gauge with proppant size 20/40. The preliminary gravel pack design is to obtain 50%
blank coverage, 100% screen coverage with 0.5 ft3/ft perforation packing factor.
OTC-26671-MS 3

However, during the drilling operation, a potential opportunity to produce from Z reservoir was
identified. It was proposed to selectively produce Z and Y reservoirs through the long string and when the
pressure of Y reservoir is depleted, both Y and Z reservoirs could be produced commingled. The value
added by completing the additional Z reservoir is the reactivation of this zone’s production, as the offset
well previously producing from this reservoir was in shut-in condition due to sand production.

Figure 1—Initial vs. final completion design

Challenges and Concerns

The Well-B is a sidetrack, with a build and hold trajectory with a long tangent 82° section (1800 m MDDF)
and both X and Y reservoirs are located along this tangent section. The deployment of OHSAS and CHGP
are particularly challenging due to this issue. These conditions could have a negative effect on the SAS
deployment in the open hole and gravel packing efficiency on the upper CHGP. The completion of the
extra reservoir (Z) was decided 4 weeks prior the operation stage and it required additional CHGP
equipment, proppant and chemicals. This short notice was an additional logistics challenge to meet the
CHGP objective in Z reservoir.
Due to the aforementioned changes of design, the completion program needed to be amended and
discussed among all service providers to ensure that all related parties were fully aware of the design
changes and achieve the requirements as needed in short time given to plan for this additional CHGP zone.
On the operational point of view, the isolation for each zone is required as a measure to prevent losses
on the lower OHSAS zone and similarly at the lower CHGP zone prior to the upper CHGP operation, thus
making it essential to install plugs for each zone during each execution.
Prior to the CHGP on X reservoir, drilling logs identified the proximity of a water bearing zone and
cement evaluation log indicated unclear results to confirm an effective isolation behind the casing between
X reservoir and the water zone. It was assumed if the acidizing prior CHGP accidently creates a path to
the water layer, it will cause the proppant to pack at that layer, hence creating a bridge and compromising
the gravel pack efficiency. As a result, high injection pressure after the acidizing would be observed,
which brings additional challenges to the CHGP pumping operation.
4 OTC-26671-MS

Solutions and Mitigation Plans

The proposed solutions can be divided in three categories:
● Use of simulation data to validate design feasibility
● Use of fit for purpose equipment and technology
● Real-time execution monitoring
Simulation Data: The total length of the lower completions BHA for the X, Z and Y zones are 96.66-,
49.769-, and 221.06-m, respectively. The strings for OHSAS and CHGP should be able to get sufficient
string weight to reach the target depth in the long 82° tangent section. In addition, it was needed to confirm
that all stresses acting on the completion string and accessories were within the operating envelope during
the simulated load cases. This evaluation was done for both scenarios installation and production phases
(McCormick et al. 2012). To achieve this, 16 joints of 57/8 in. 57 lb/ft HWDP was included into the string
while entering high deviation section when running whole BHA to the pay zone.

Figure 2—Torque and drag effective tension chart

Fit for purpose equipment and technology: The team decided to apply shunt tube technology in
conjunction with Viscoelastic Surfactant (VES) as carrier fluid in order to guarantee an efficient gravel
pack operation in highly deviated well. The use of shunt tubes will prevent premature bridging due to
different permeabilities along the sand layer and providing alternative path for proppant to pack the entire
reservoir (Hurst et al. 2004). Furthermore, the VES carrier fluid provides high suspension capability to
avoid gravel settling along high angle tangent, ensuring good packing factor and low friction pressures if
packing through the shunt tubes is required (Saebi et al. 2010).
The Viscoelastic surfactant fluid used on Well-B exhibit excellent rheological properties and low
formation damage characteristics even in high permeability formation. The fluid is polymer free and do
not rely on internal chemical breakers to degrade the fluid viscosity. The VES is broken when oil is
introduced, allowing an easy removal during initial production (Hareezi et al. 2015).
The rheology test was performed to ensure the fluid has the adequate concentration of VES chemical
to make it economical but still retain its characteristic and capability to perform the job through the shunt
tubes as proposed in the well schematic. The lab test validates that the viscosity was within the shunt tube
reference curve confirming that the sand suspension was adequate (Figure 3).
OTC-26671-MS 5

Figure 3—Fluid rheology test results

During the preparation period for the CHGP for the additional zone, the team sought out surplus
equipment such as shunt tube screens and blank pipes, accessories such as mill-out extension and seal
assemblies (required to provide flexibility for the string space out) from other projects (Vickery et al.
2000). The equipment were inspected upon arrival and delivered by way of airfreight to avoid unpro-
ductive rig time. The team also acquired additional proppant and chemicals for the pumping operation
from other country in the same region.
As the additional CHGP will be done in stages in highly deviated well, it requires multiple tractor
assisted E-line runs to set plugs for tubing integrity on each stage and provide isolation to OHSAS on the
lower zone. To optimize the rig time, team decided to use high rating disappearing plug, which enable to
perform several integrity tests on the tail pipe and the ability to set CHGP packer and sump packers against
it without breaking the disappearing plug. It eliminates the need to drop setting ball in a highly deviated
tangent section.

Figure 4 —Disappearing plug location

6 OTC-26671-MS

After the performance on the first GP job in Z reservoir was evaluated, the team anticipated several
opportunities for improvement to be applied in the 2nd GP job in X reservoir. Pre-GP acid treatment for
X reservoir was eliminated due to the poor injectivity response after acidizing on 1st GP on Z reservoir as
both reservoirs have similar geological characteristics. Furthermore, the best practices from the first
CHGP job has been followed, such as the stick-up length of the tool need to be at most 1.5 m from drill
floor to eliminate the man-riding activity. Procedure to make up the GP assembly and the space-out
method was also improved to optimize the operation. The team used high viscous fluid to chase the ball
during setting up OHSAS at Y zone. It was proven benefit to eliminate the risk of ball settling in highly
deviated well especially at the crossover above the running tool. It is not recommended to have a brass
ball gravitate down on high deviation well as the ball could settle down before reaching the ball seat.
Real-time execution monitoring: The communication between the execution and planning teams was
essential during the GP job. The onshore team was able to monitor the offshore execution in real-time,
allowing the team to take decisions and evaluate troubleshooting options for each GP step on the spot and
ensure the execution was conducted as per procedure.

Figure 5—Onshore gravel pack real-time monitoring

Results and Conclusion

The Well-B was successfully completed safely and below allocated well cost and time with OHSAS on
Y reservoir and stacked gravel packs on X and Z reservoirs. The application of shunt tube and VES
technology increased the success rate of the gravel pack factor by preventing premature bridging and
avoiding early gravel settling. As a result, the actual perforation packing factor obtained is 0.5 ft3/ft for
Z reservoir and 0.6 ft3/ft for X reservoir with 100% screen packing coverage. On the other hand, the use
of a high rating disappearing plug, evaluation from previous GP job on acidizing necessity and real-time
onshore monitoring assisted in reducing rig time and the overall cost of the completion installation.
The success of this operation was possible due to a significant team effort, including the support and
synergy from offshore execution team and onshore support such as supply base, logistics, service
providers, airport, and IT personnel.
OTC-26671-MS 7

Figure 6 —GP operation modus operandi

Figure 7—GP packer and shunt tube configuration

8 OTC-26671-MS

Figure 8 —Shunt tube configuration

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their gratitude to the management of PETRONAS Carigali Sdn. Bhd. and
Schlumberger for granting the permission to present this work.

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