Application of Multizone Water Injection
Downhole Flow Control Completions
With Fiber-Optic Surveillance
Jonathon Joubran, Halliburton
T his article focuses on the comple-
tion design of a multiple-zone water-
injection project (MZWIP) that was
initiated in 2016 in the Azeri-Chirag-
Gunashli (ACG) fields in the Azerbaijan
sector of the Caspian Sea. The MZWIP
has ultimately proved a unique method
of using intelligent completion interval-
control valves (ICVs) in place of tradition-
al sand-control completions.
Four years after MZWIP implementa-
tion, nine wells with a total of 25 zones
are injecting at required rates with
zonal-rate live reporting across all five
ACG platforms. To achieve the multi-
zone injection facility, the requirement
for a standard ACG sand-control injec-
tor design was discounted and a non-
standard sand-management control
technique developed using a cased and
perforated (C&P) and downhole flow-
control system (DHFC). During this pro-
gram, BP ACG has successfully installed
the world’s first 10,000-psi four-zone
inline variable-choke DHFC wells with
full surveillance across each zone includ-
ing pressure, temperature gauges, and
fiber-optic distributed temperature sen-
sors (DTS).
The development of this MZWI solu-
tion has significantly changed the ACG
development plan and has been quickly
expanded across all five ACG platforms.
Accessing up to four zones in the same
wellbore, this C&P DHFC well design is
accelerating major oil volumes and will
Jonathon Joubran is
the global product
manager of intelli-
gent completions for
Halliburton. He holds
a BS in mechanical
engineering from
Kettering University.
48
significantly reduce future development
costs, maximizing wellbore utility in a
slot-constrained platform. This could not
be achieved by drilling more single-zone
C&P injectors as it would erode business
value through platform slot use, addi-
tional well costs, and slowing down field
development. Multizone injection, there-
fore, became a necessity.
ACG Injector Design Evolution
ACG has evolved over several water-
injection design iterations: commingled
C&P, commingled openhole gravel pack,
commingled expandable screen (ESS),
ESS with DHFC, and single-zone ESS
(Powers et al. 2006). Over the years of
operations and surveillance, these com-
pletion designs have experienced two
main issues:
◗ Poor conformance: Water exits at
casing shoes or high-perm layers
only.
◗ Well sanding is due to crossflow in
commingled completions.
The DHFC C&P completions with
automated shut-in control algorithms
designed into the surface control panel
solved both of the two major issues. Scal-
ing up for two-, three-, or four-zone
designs without traditional sand control,
the challenge of mitigating crossflow and
sand management required an integrated
approach across subsurface, wells, top-
sides, and operations.
◗ Subsurface: The fracture
propagation concept is applied
individually to each zone, with
stable injection conformance
regulated via DHFC. With DTS
across each zone, surveillance and
control of fracture propagation,
conformance, and zonal integrity
is achieved.
◗ Well Design: Tubing-convey
perforation techniques have been
switched to overbalanced (dynamic
underbalanced) perforating with
managed well losses. The ACG
DHFC design has been upgraded
for 10,000 psi and can be expanded
to four independently controlled
zones. Each zone annulus volume
offers nominal sand sump for
potential sand ingress and
determines zonal “life” based on
empirical sanding data from ACG
single-zone logs.
◗ Topside: A dedicated platform-
surface hydraulic system (SHS)
is responsible for providing the
hydraulic power and all logic
controls needed to drive the ICVs
downhole. The SHS automatically
instigates timely closure of all
but one ICV when a planned or
unplanned shutdown occurs—the
first line of defense to isolate
zones from crossflow, minimizing
sand ingress and improving well
reliability. The automated logic
controls and smart interlocks
minimize human error, reduce
workload, and improve operation
reliability and safety.
◗ Operation: Training sessions were
conducted to implement this new
operational capability. Simplified
illustrated procedures along
with a web-based module have
helped Operations to quickly and
easily become familiar with the
system. Procedures are tailored
to a specific task to ensure they
can be easily followed, enabling
offshore operators to utilize the
system successfully and effectively.
With subsequent platforms being
introduced to this MZWI design, a
continuous-improvement process
has naturally developed across the
offshore and onshore teams.
JPT • AUGUST 2020

(a)
Fig. 1—(a) HS ICV and (b) HF1 packer.
MZWI Well-Completion Design
The DHFC equipment for the MZWIP
wells was selected and customized, con-
sidering the long-term goals of the proj-
ect: life-of-well reliability, multisensor
monitoring, scalability (>two zones),
and rate conformance (choke design).
Additionally, the design of the DHFC sys-
tem must be well understood for its limi-
tations, operating principles, and func-
tionality in order for the operator to
realize the full potential and maximize
the asset value. This works most effec-
tively when both service company (Halli-
burton) and operator (BP) work as a team
and can trust each other, share lessons
learned, and be open to new applications.
To meet the requirements of the proj-
ect, several DHFC technologies were
selected, including variable-choke
HS-ICVs for high-differential pressures,
HF1 multiline feedthrough packers, mul-
tiple ROC downhole sensors packages
(tubing/annulus pressure and tempera-
ture and choke positioning), and a turn-
around sub for pumpdown fiber cable.
Each technology was also required
to be “plug and play” for two to four
zone completions.
Special focus was given to the follow-
ing design aspects for the ACG DHFC
system:
◗ 10,000-psi all-around pressure
rating
◗ 40–275°F qualified
◗ Custom discrete choke with the
AccuPulse control module
◗ HS ICV radial metal-to-metal (MTM)
seal capable of up to 5,000-psi
differential opening (Fig. 1a)
◗ HS ICV choke-position sensor
communicating in real time to
deliver zonal flow allocation
◗ HF1 V3 rated 10,000-psi production
packer with seven-line feeds (Fig. 1b)
◗ Control-line vibration—plumbed
lines reconfigured away from ICV
flow paths, packed, and no MTM
contact allowed to maximize line
integrity for life of well
JPT • AUGUST 2020
Packing Element
(b)
Interlock and
Slips
Setting Chamber
◗ Erosion-resistant alloys and a
proprietary erosion-simulation
study to ACG requirements
◗ ROC hybrid pressure and temperature
gauges with multiline bypass slots
◗ HS ICV capability to quickly move
to a closed position in a single-
pressure pulse
If not protected, high-rate water injec-
tion will induce significant mechanical
and flow-induced vibration on control
lines and connections. The placement
of fittings, bare control lines, and flat-
pack across the completion is critical to
the success or failure of the downhole
equipment. For example, ICV deflectors,
installed to protect for casing blast ero-
sion, point the flow downward at a 90°
change in direction toward the perfora-
tions. Placing bare control lines, or fit-
tings, near this high-energy area is a
recipe for failure. Thus, the MZWI DHFC
completion design was reconfigured in
such a way that only intact flatpack is now
exposed to flow, and bare control lines
close to the ICV exit are removed from
the flow path and packed with Teflon.
Survivability of the completion string
was determined, analyzing each com-
ponent at the weakest wall section and
performing proprietary erosional limits
method calculations. This modeling, that
considers both sand concentration and
complex geometries, confirmed all com-
ponents capable of handling produced
water reinjection with a sand content
of 3.5 lb/1,000 bbl for a minimum of
15 years injection at 35,000 BWPD.
Thereafter, a well-performance study
was undertaken to identify the required
controlled-rate range of the ICV choke
trim that would effectively balance injec-
tion between several reservoir layers.
Multiple P10-P50-P90 injectivity scenar-
ios were used to test the ability of various
discrete choke trims to manage injection
uncertainties and offered good choke
resolution across the entire ACG field.
Once the ICV choke design was select-
ed, an additional study was conducted
Control Line
Feed-Through Channels
Release Mechanism
to determine overall ICV system perfor-
mance adjustment due to choke and flow-
deflector frictions, enhancing zonal flow-
allocation calculations with a less than
15% error vs. surface flow metering.
DHFC installation started in 2016,
planned as a four-well trial targeting
only two zones. On the first two wells, a
lower packer and intermediate comple-
tion was installed to mitigate anticipated
brine losses, and the stacked DHFC
upper completion was installed with-
out DTS facility. With post-perforation
brine losses deemed manageable, and
large-bore drilling de-risked, a third well
was drilled with 9⅝-in. casing installed
across the reservoir. This enabled the
inline-type DHFC completion with DTS to
be installed without lower/intermediate
completion runs. Successfully installed
with precise fluid-loss monitoring, all
subsequent completion installations are
run as inline and increased in functional-
ity to four-zone access in 2019; as of June
2020, two 4-zone DHFC completions
have been installed successfully in ACG.
The next phase of the MZWI proj-
ect will be tailored for slot recovery
and sidetrack workovers. To meet the
needs of slot-constrained platforms, a
slimhole inline 10,000-psi DHFC design
is required in a 7⅝-in. liner size and
will require a new, qualified multi-
feedthrough packer and a slimhole ICV
design for up to four zones with DTS. JPT
References
SPE 196231. Application of Multizone
Water Injection Downhole Flow
Control Completions with Fibre-Optic
Surveillance in Soft Sand Reservoirs by D.
Nguyen, I. Macleod, and D. Taylor, et al.,
BP; and D. Booth, Fircroft Consultant, et
al. https://doi.org/10.2118/196231-MS.
SPE 98146. A Critical Review of Chirag
Field Completions Performance–
Offshore Azerbaijan by B.S. Powers,
BP plc, B.M. Edment, Schlumberger,
and F.J. Elliott, BP plc, et al. https://
doi.org/10.2118/98146-MS.
49