CHAPTER 8

MULTI ZONE PRODUCTION

Well Completion:
 The process of lowering equipments for connecting reservoir to surface

 The economic success of a well depends in large part on making the

optimum connection between the well bore and the reservoir system. That
optimum connection must perform three functions.

Let oil into the well, where it can then flow or be pumped to the surface.
Keep over- or underlying water / Gas out of the well.
Keep the formation out of the well.
Casing 30"
Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 13 3/8” Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 13 3/8” Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 9 5/8”
Casing 13 3/8” Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 9 5/8”
Casing 13 3/8” Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 9 5/8”
Casing 13 3/8” Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 9 5/8”
Casing 13 3/8” Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 9 5/8”
Casing 13 3/8” Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 9 5/8”
Casing 13 3/8” Casing 30"

Casing 20"
Casing 9 5/8”
Well completion methods:

 Open hole completion

 Cased hole completion or perforated completion
 Liner completion or other sand exclusion type
 Permanent completion
Open hole completion:
• Production casing is set
only to the top or slightly into
the completion interval and
cemented.
• The pay zone is left open
and uncemented.
• Applicable to highly
competent formations which
will not slough or cave.
• In practice, this procedure
is rare for oil wells, but is
sometimes applied on gas
wells.
• Simplest method and done
when wells are drilled to
known reservoirs and zones
of interest are already
defined and desired to
expose all zones
Advantages:

 Special drilling techniques can be used to minimize formation

damage since the casing is set at the top of the pay zone
 Higher production since the full wellbore diameter is available
for flow
 Saving in perforation costs since no perforation is required
 High productivity is maintained when gravel packed for sand
control
 Hole can be easily deepened and converted to a liner completion
subsequently
 Log interpretation is not critical.
Disadvantage:
 No way to regulate fluid flow from or into the wellbore
 Can not control gas or water production effectively since the entire
hole is open. No selective gas or water shut off is possible.
 Casing is set in the dark. Formation top is generally picked from drill
cuttings.
 Difficult to selectively stimulate producing intervals because if the
stimulating fluids penetrate all zones it will not be proper.
 Wellbore may require periodic clean out. Formation collapse is more
common.
 Frequent work over is necessary.

Application: Open hole completion relies on the strength of the rock itself
to support the wall of the hole, it has greater application in carbonate
or basement formations
 Cased hole completion or perforated completion:
• Conventional completion
• producing interval is covered
by the production casing,
cemented and then
perforated for taking
production.
• Perforations are made at the
level of the production zone
to establish connection
between the reservoir and
the well
• Casing is set into or through
the producing formation and
cemented.
• Perforations must pass
through casing and cement
sheathing before penetrating
the formation
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Advantages:

• The tubing controls the internal corrosion of the casing because produced
fluid flows through it and do not contact the casing
• Ease of selective completion and workover operation in the producing
intervals
• Can effectively control gas and water production by selectively perforating
and isolating
•Can effectively control and monitor zonal fluid produciton
•Permits multiple completions
•Can stimulate selecively
• Can deepen but with smaller hole
• can be adopted to sand control both as pre-pack gravel or conventional
gravel pack
Disadvantage:

• Tubing restricts the flow of produced fluid

• The completion is more expensive because of the cost of packer, tubing and
accessories
• Long interval perforation can be expensive
• Good cement job through production intervals required
• More expensive than open hole
Tubing less cased hole completion:

Advantages:
 Little flow restriction
 Ease to deepening
 Easy to well clean out
 Selective stimulation is
possible.
Disadvantages:
 Difficult to gravel pack
 Corrosion of casing
 Limited casing strength
 Liner Completion:

• The production casing is set on top of

the pay zone and is followed by a
liner/slotted liner/ screen.

• The slotted liners and screen are not

cemented.

• In case liner is lowered then the same

is cemented and perforated in the
producing layer.
Un-cemented Liner Completion Schematics:
Un-cemented liner completion:
Advantages of Un-cemented Liner Completions are:

• Entire pay zone open to the wellbore.

• No perforating cost.
• Log interpretation is not critical.
• Adaptable to special sand control methods.
• No clean out problems.
• Wire wrapped screens can be placed later.

Disadvantages of Un-cemented Liner Completions are:

• The formation may be damaged during the drilling process.

• Excessive water or gas is difficult to control.
• Selective stimulation is not possible.
Perforated cemented casing or liner completion:
Perforated Cemented Casing Completions:
Advantages of Perforated Casing or Liner Completions are:

• Is safer during well completion operations.

• Effect of formation damage is minimal.
• Excessive water or gas production may be controlled or eliminated.
• The zones can be selectively stimulated.
• The liner impedes sand influx.
• The well can be easily deepened.

Disadvantages of Perforated Casing or Liner Completions are:

• The wellbore diameter through the pay zone(s) is restricted.

• Log interpretation is critical.
• Liner cementation is more difficult to obtain than casing cementation.
• Perforating, cementing and rig time incurs additional costs.
No of zones completed:

Single zone completion:

Single zone completion:

• This is the simplest concept in which only a single layer is completed for production

Single completion:

• A single tubing string is lowered in to the well to take production from either a
single layer or many layers.

• In case production is taken from multiple layers through a single string then
the completion string makes use of packers and sliding sleeves to control flow
from individual layer. It is important that the reservoir pressures of all the
layers flowing into a single string be similar for this type of completion to be
successful.

Sliding sleeve: Sliding sleeves are the principle circulating devices that provide
the ability to circulate a well and also selectively produce multiple reservoirs.
A sliding sleeve is a cylindrical device with an inner sleeve and outer body bored
to provide matching openings. The inner sleeve is moved using a wire line
shifting tool. When the sleeve is moved and matched with openings in the outer
body, it creates a circulation path between tubing and annulus.
Dual completion:

• In dual completion, two layers

are completed and production
from each layer is taken
through different production
strings.
• Such type of completion does
not require the pressures of
individual layers to be similar
since the production from each
layer is independent from one
another.
• The layers are isolated
through use of packers.
Multiple zone completion:
Multiple zone completion:
Multiple zone completion:

Advantages

 Reducing development cost.

 selective zone well control is possible.
 Use of natural energy from one zone to artificially produce anther zone
is possible

Disadvantages:

 Large no of downhole equipment

 Expensive and complicated
 Possible loss of production in zone due to mechanical problems and
formation damage during workover.