10 INTRODUCTION TO DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETIONS
Many reservoirs contain sediments that are so poorly
Tubing
Production Casing
Perforations
Figure 1-7 Cased completion with tubing
the tubing string. These devices were intended to shut in
wellflow during storms or a major platform catastrophe.
At today’s offshore locations, these direct-control devices
have been supplanted by surface-controlled subsurface
safety valves (SCSSVs).
Equipment such as packers, sleeves, landing nipples,
and safety valves provide various functions for well con-
trol. These devices are only a few examples of an exten-
sive range of equipment that enables engineers to control
fluid flow selectively and to stimulate producing reser-
voirs.
consolidated that sand will be produced along with the
reservoir fluids unless the production rate is severely
restricted. Sand production may erode the tubing or sur-
face valves and flowlines. In addition, sand could accu-
mulate in downhole equipment and create problems in
wireline servicing. Gravel-packing was devised as a means
of eliminating sand production without greatly restrict-
ing production rates. In a gravel-pack completion
(Figure 1-9), sand with a grain size larger than the aver-
age formation sand grain is placed between the forma-
tion and a screen or slotted liner (Economides et al.,
1994). More recently, high-permeability fracturing (frac-
packing) has been proven as a technique for sand con-
trol.
Engineers designing well completions must consider
that the wells will eventually be unable to flow naturally
to the surface. The loss of natural flow occurs because
the reservoir pressure declines with production and reser-
voirs produce increasing amounts of water with time,
which increases the density of the flowing fluid.
Various techniques of artificially lifting fluids from the
wellbore have been developed. Artificial lift techniques
include sucker rod pumping, electrical submersible
pumps, gas lift, and other types of hydraulic lift. Each
method of artificial lift requires unique downhole and
surface equipment that must be considered during the
design of the well completion.
Well stimulation techniques introduced in the early
part of the twentieth century have been improved
through a more complete understanding of the processes
involved. Acidizing models have been developed to
describe the use of various types of acids in a range of
lithologies. Hydraulic fracturing has experienced even
more dramatic improvements since the introduction of
crosslinked polymer fluids, high-strength proppants, and
analytical techniques, such as the net pressure plot. Such
techniques have enabled engineers to substantially
improve the flow from both low-permeability and high-
permeability reservoirs.
Another notable advance in well completion design is
the evolution of coiled tubing for servicing and complet-
ing wells. Coiled tubing servicing involves the deploy-
ment of a continuous string of small-diameter tubing
into the wellbore. This coiled tubing is run concentric
to existing tubulars, used for the required service, and
then removed without damaging the existing completion.
Coiled tubing servicing is of increasing importance in
highly deviated and horizontal wells, since wireline servi-
cing poses problems at angles greater than 508.