1. Recent Advances in Oil and Gas Production Engineering
The first semester of
Professor Xianlin Ma
School of Petroleum Engineering
Xi’an Shiyou University

2. Course Contents: Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Gas Well Unloading Technologies
Chapter 3 Advanced Hydraulic Fracturing Technologies
Chapter 4 Horizontal Well Fracturing
Chapter 5 Coiled Tubing Operations and Intelligent Well
Chapter 6 Unconventional Oil and Gas Production
Chapter 7 Shale Gas Development

3. Outline Coiled Tubing Operations and Intelligent Well
5.1 Coiled tubing system
5.2 Applications of coiled tubing
5.3 Concept of Intelligent well
5.4 Intelligent well completions
5.5 Intelligent production System

4. What is coiled tubing?
Coiled Tubing (CT) coiled tubing refers to a very long metal pipe which is supplied and spooled on a large reel.
Tubing diameter normally ranges from 0.75 inch to 4 inches.
Single reel tubing lengths in excess of 30,000 ft. have been commercially manufactured.
Common CT steels have yield strengths ranging from 55,000 PSI to 120,000 PSI.

5. Key components of a coiled tubing unit

6. Key components of a coiled tubing unit
Injector Head
Reel I
Control Cabin
Power pack

7. Key components of a coiled tubing unit
Reel - for storage and transport of the CT
Injector Head - to provide the surface drive force to run and retrieve the CT
Control Cabin - from which the equipment operator monitors and controls the CT
Power Pack - to generate hydraulic and pneumatic power required to operate the CT unit

8. Why use coiled tubing?
Can push and pull (high angle wells)
Can operate without a workover rig
Pump fluids and gases
Pumping is fairly self-contained
Live well
Mechanical manipulations
Can not easily rotate

9. Well Cleaning - vertical

10. Well Cleaning – high angle
Run in hole to top of fill
Pump fluid at high rates
Wash into fill
Displace fill out of well
Pump rate is critical

11. Pumping/displacing
Create under-balance
Create over-balance (kill)
Circulate
Flush

12. Acid stimulation Wellbore flush Perforation flush Perforation squeeze
Accurate fluid placement
Avoid bullheading well fluid
Minimize completion corrosion
Minimize iron contamination

13. Cementing Balanced plug Abandonment Zonal isolation
Perforation squeeze
Cement whipstock

14. Fracturing Selective & accurate treatment No frac string required
No tree saver required
Multiple fracs in one run
Reservoir characterization
Low rate possible

15. Fishing Push Pull Hammer up or down Mill Circulate fluids
Video, photograph

16. Perforation Underbalance Deployment system Firing system
Extreme lengths and weight

17. Gas lift Create under-balance Initiate natural flow
Differential stuck pipe
Evacuate fluid

18. Intelligent (Smart) Well

19. Intelligent well An intelligent (smart) well enables an operator to
Remotely monitor and control flow downhole at reservoir without physical intervention
Optimize well production and reservoir management processes

20. Data flow

21. Elements of an intelligent well completion
Interval control valves (ICV)
Feed-through production & isolation packers
Digital infrastructure
Permanent downhole gauges & sensors

22. Elements of an intelligent well completion

23. Interval Control Valve (ICV)

24. Interval Control Valve (ICV)

25. Downhole flow control device
Down-hole flow control device (Interval Control valves)

26. Down-hole sensors Down-hole sensors Electronic Fiber optic Function
Binary (on/off)
Discrete multi-position
High resolution/infinitely variable
Actuation
Hydraulic balanced
Electro-hydraulic
Down-hole sensors
Electronic
Fiber optic

27. Intelligent completions
Optimize well, production and reservoir management processed by enabling the operato to remotely monitor and control well inflow or injection downhole at the reservoir without physical intervention

28. Elements of an intelligent well completion

29. Why intelligent well completion
Increased Hydrocarbon volume
Accelerated volume
Reduce cost
Capex
Opex

30. Capital Expenditure to develop a field using vertical wells
3 platforms: US$300 millions each
US$900 millions
21 wells: US$12 millions each
US$252 millions
Total = US$1.152 billion!

31. Capital Expenditure to develop a field using vertical wells
1 platform: US$100 millions each
US$100 millions
6 snake wells: US$30 millions each
US$180 millions
Total = US$480 millions!
Save 672 millions

32. Intelligent well completion: business value

33. Uncontrolled Commingling

34. Drill a well for each zone

35. Controlled Commingling

36. Commingled intelligent well vs. sequential development

37. Dumpflooding

38. Intelligent well application
Complex reservoirs
Compartmentalized, layers, heterogeneous, multiple pay zones
Complex well architecture
Horizontals, multilaterals, extended reach, “snake” wells
Complex recovery mechanisms
Secondary, tertiary, EOR
Challenging environments
Offshore, Deep water, remote

39. Full field subsea WAG development
Increase production and stable produced water cut rate (14%)
Significant improvement in reservoir sweep efficiency

40. Snorre B WAG Project

41. Full field subsea WAG development
Increase production and stable produced water cut rate (14%)
Significant improvement in reservoir sweep efficiency

42. Compartmentalized reservoir
Additional 1.57 million bbls of oil over yeas

43. Compartmentalized reservoir

44. Compartmentalized reservoir
Additional 1.57 million bbls of oil over yeas

45. Intelligent well in subsea applications

46. Auto gas lift – reduce CAPEX

47. Auto gas lift system controls reservoir inflow

48. Smart Fields Challenge Complex reservoir Solution
Reservoir heterogeneities
Fault/fracture systems
Water breakthough
Solution
Synergy of technology
Multilaterals, MRC wells
Smart completions
Geo-steering
Permanent monitoring
Result
Cost savings –threefold
Reduced CapEx
Reduced OpEx
Increased ultimate recovery

49. Real-time reservoir management

50. Future Intelligent well completions: a solution

51. Where do people see the application?
Geoscientist – manage subsurface uncertainties (reservoir connectivity, and early water breakthrough)
Production engineer – reduced well count
Reservoir engineer – life cycle production
Optimization, commingling production and draining marginal reserves
Completion and well services – ease of well intervention and improving operational safety
Asset manager – increase ultimate recovery, reduced Capex

52. Good practices in progressing a smart well portfolio

53. Intelligent completions: why doesn’t every well have one?
Not every well justifies being intelligent however every well and field deserves to be evaluated for smartness with input from all stakeholders
That evaluation needs to include participation and integration of relevant disciplines in a timely fashion