CSUG 3rd Annual Advanced Technology

Workshop
April 14, 2010

Horizontal Well Completion

Designs for Unconventional
Gas Reservoirs

Murray Reynolds, P.Eng.

RPS Energy Canada Ltd.
 Outline
Types of HZ well completions
Open hole
Uncemented liners
Cemented liners
Hydraulically fractured HZ wells
Important issues with fractured HZ wells
Orientation with respect the the in-situ stresses
Stimulating HZ wells
Coiled tubing techniques with acid
Fracturing with coiled tubing or jointed pipe
Open hole packer systems for fracturing
Cased and cemented systems for fracturing
Other innovative tools / techniques for completions
Smart well HZ completions and instrumentation options
Present and future innovations
List of References
2
 Types of HZ Well Completions
Open hole horizontal completion.
Cheapest, simplest, very good in tight
carbonate formations, especially if
intersecting natural fractures.
Easily stimulated with acid, coiled tubing,
may be fracture stimulated, but control of
where the frac goes is an issue.

Perforated, drilled or slotted liner, tied

back to the production casing
(uncemented).
Useful in coals (mainly) and poorly
consolidated sandstone formations;
limited ability to stimulate, cant
hydraulically fracture.

3
 Types of HZ Well Completions (cont.)

Blank liner with limited, clustered

perforations (uncemented). May be
fracture stimulated using conventional
cemented liner techniques. Loss of
control of where the frac goes may be an
issue.
Preferred in US Bakken (SPE 90697).

Blank liner with hydraulic / mechanical /

inflatable / swellable set external casing
packers (ECP) uncemented. May be
perforated or use shifting sleeves and
be frac stimulated using conventional
cemented liner techniques.
Preferred in Cdn Bakken.

4
 Types of HZ Well Completions (cont.)

Fully cemented liner tied back to

production casing (may also be run
back to surface). Most expensive.
Optimum for multi-stage fracture
stimulation jobs, maximum control of
fracture placement (with a good
cement job).
Preferred in Horn River.

5
 Non-Stimulated HZ Well Completions

Open hole and slotted liner applications

Main use in UCG is for Coal Bed Methane
Usually multi-laterals are used with slotted liners, and
TAML Type 1 junctions
Maximum Reservoir Contact (MRC) wells are multi-
lateral HZ wells with more than 5,000 m of total contact
with the reservoir rock
Also refer to CDX pinnate well designs (CSUG 2006
Conf.)

6
 TAML Junction Classifications

Level 6:
Pressure Integrity at the Junction -
Level 5:
Achieved with the Casing
Pressure Integrity at the
Junction - Achieved with
the Completion
Note: cement is not a pressure
seal
SOURCE:
TAML Level 4:
Trunk & Lateral Cemented
at the Junction
Level 3:
Trunk Cased & Cemented, Lateral Cased
but not Cemented

Level 2: Cased
Trunk,
Lateral Open

Level 1: Open/
Unsupported
Junction

7
 Single Lateral vs. Multi-Lateral Well Production

SOURCE: Trident Expl. Corp. CSUG 2009

8
 Stimulating Open Hole HZ Wells
Acidizing with Coiled Tubing
Commonly used to acid wash / squeeze long HZ wells in
carbonate formations effectively remove drilling mud filter
cake and stimulate the near wellbore area
Reverse swirl-jetting tool used on the end of the CT to cause
agitation and better acid contact / penetration
Often use nitrified acid to increase jetting action, assist with
diversion, helps to lift spent acid and solids to surface (may be
done under-balanced)
CT is moved up-hole during the job to ensure all of the open
hole / perforations are contacted
After the job, gas lift the spent acid to get the well flowing
Typical acid quantities 0.25 to 0.5 m3/m of open hole

9
 HZ Well Fracturing Important Issues

Can a horizontal well replace several vertical wells?

Longitudinal vs. Multiple Transverse fractures?
If a HZ well is not placed ideally with respect to the stress
regime, can it still be fractured?
What reservoir parameters might favour fractured HZ
wells over fractured vertical wells?
Can the overall costs of drilling and completion of the HZ
well compete with fractured vertical wells?

10
 HZ Well Orientation

A thorough understanding of the in-situ stress regime is

required for a successful fractured HZ completion
There are 2 possible extremes to the orientation of the
HZ wellbore:
Locate the wellbore parallel to the preferred fracture
azimuth
Locate the wellbore perpendicular to the preferred
fracture azimuth

11
SOURCE: Halliburton
Longitudinal vs. Transverse Fractures

H,min

H,min
Lf
H,max

12
 Conditions Favoring
Multiple Transverse Fractures

Favoured by High Fcds which tend to occur in lower

permeability formations
Multiple transverse fractures will drain a larger area
Very favourable if intersecting natural fractures

13
 Hydraulic Fracturing of HZ Wells
Open Hole Packer / Liner Systems
Use Hydraulic / Swellable / Inflatable set packers run into
open hole with 88.9 or 114.3 mm solid liner
Packers provide frac isolation between stages
Sleeves are shifted by dropping balls or darts, so limited
to approx. 24 stages in 114.3 mm casing; 9 stages in
88.9 mm casing
ADVANTAGES:
Continuous fraccing process, slow down to drop
balls
High pump rates, no proppant limit
Preferred technique in Cdn Bakken

14
 Packers Plus HZ StackFrac System
This is an open hole system which may be installed with
the drilling or service rig
Designed for deployment out of 177.8 mm prod casing
into a 159 mm open hole
88.9 or 114.3 mm base pipe systems, depending on frac
rate and the desired number of fracs
Thermal-plastic balls (Ex. Phenolic or Teflon) are used to
shift a sleeve, isolating the previous frac, and opening
the next frac port uphole
Hydraulically set packers (sealing on the OH) provide
isolation between frac intervals
Highly successful applications in many tight oil and gas
areas

15
 Packers Plus HZ StackFrac System

SOURCE: Packers Plus

16
Open Hole Packer Types

Hydraulically set, element is

extruded
Used in greater than 90% of
OH applications
Set using internal pressure
Packer element seals to the
Open Hole
Typically rated for 10k psi
differential pressure
15k psi are becoming
available

17
Open Hole Packer Types

Swellable or Reactive
Element (RE) set
Elastomer reacts with wb
fluid to expand and creates
seal with open hole; time
depends on temp and
conditions
Rated for 10k psi differential
pressure
Much longer sealing
element

18
Sleeve for Open Hole System

Sleeve shifted open by ball

or dart
Ball sizes 1.25 to 3.5 inch
One time opening
Open flow area larger than
liner ID
If balls dont come to
surface, usually need to mill
out balls and seats; extra
cost
Lose ID if not milled out

19
 Similar Open Hole Systems

Weatherford ZoneSelect
Baker Frac-Point
Source Energy MultiStim
Many others

20
 Issues With Open Hole Systems

Limited number of frac intervals, large frac spacing

Loss of control where the frac initiates
Do we have a single planar frac or many small fracs?
Do we really have isolation between fracs?
Are we stimulating all along the well? difficult to run
prod logs without drilling seats and gaining full ID
Are we creating a frac initiation point while setting the
hydraulic packers (SPE 123598) so the frac initiates at
the packer?
If balls not recovered, may need to mill out balls and
seats (especially if full ID is desired in the HZ section)

21
 Hydraulic Fracturing of HZ Wells Cased and
Cemented
May include frac ports cemented in casing
May be solid casing requiring perforating or abrasive jet
cutting of the casing / cement
ADVANTAGES:
Initiate fracs where you want to
Unlimited number of frac stages
No balls to launch
Not a continuous process, but can be fast
Frac ports are opened / closed with coiled tubing
Frac ports may be opened / closed down the road

22
Example Cemented Frac Ports

23
 Fracturing with Coiled Tubing

Two common types: Halliburton trade names:

SurgiFrac Process (proppant down tubing)
Open hole
CobraMax H Process (proppant down annulus)
Cased hole

24
 SurgiFrac Process
Invented by Halliburton in 1998 combines hydrajetting with hydraulic
fracturing used for open hole stimulation
Comes from the word surgical meaning the exact placement of
hydraulic fractures along a horizontal open hole well
Uses a hydrajet with water and abrasives to create a weak point or
notch in the formation, at which point the hydraulic fracture is initiated
The high velocity abrasive fluid is delivered thru tubing or coiled tubing,
with the sand laden frac fluids delivered down tubing
There are no packers or mechanical isolation devices used
May be used with acid or sand laden fluids
The major advantage is it is quick and less expensive
The major limitation in tight reservoirs is the inability to place large
proppant volumes, the nozzle is subject to proppant abrasion, and would
not last long

25
 SurgiFrac Process

SOURCE:
Halliburton

26
 CobraMax H Process
Differs from SurgiFrac in that the proppant is pumped down the annulus
with the CT acting as a dead leg (MUST be cased)
A hydrajet notch is cut in the cased hole (pumped down the tubing)
Ideal for tight gas HZ wells, where large volumes of proppant are
required to create half length
A high concentration sand plug is tailed in to create a NWB screenout
prior to moving up to the next interval
The advantage is this is a fast process, no packers or plugs are
required, sand plugs provide diversion for uphole fracs
Unlimited number of frac stages
Unlimited amount of proppant
Has been successfully used in Canada in a number of tight gas areas

27
 CobraMax Process

SOURCE:
Halliburton

28
 Fracture Isolation /
Perforation Options in Cased Hole
Pump down perforating guns and frac isolation plugs (with e-
line)
First gun run must be on coiled tubing
Guns and frac plugs may be run and set in one run
Saves time and cost of other delivery systems (ie) Coiled
tubing or TCP
Rigless operations

Other Options:
High concentration sand plugs
Jet or Abrazijet perforations on CT
Bridge plugs, steel or composite
Perforate or set plugs on CT or jointed pipe
Perforate or set plugs with well tractors
Future: Self-removing bridge plugs (SPE 102994)
29
Composite Bridge Plug for
Cased Hole Frac Isolation

Composite material easier

to mill on coil or jointed pipe
Available in 6k, 8k, 10k and
12k pressure differentials
May be solid bridge plug or
Flow-Thru configurations

30
Horn River MFHW Design (SPE 130103)

Extreme reservoir conditions will

have an affect on the MFHW
design, and the Engineering
effort required !!

31
 Smart Well Completions
The goal of smart well completion technology is to:
Increase cash flow and NPV thru accelerated production by maximizing
productivity
Increasing the ultimate gas reserves, which may include development of
marginal or non-commercial reservoirs with well completion technology
Reduce capital expenditures by reducing surface facilities and / or
reducing the number of wells to develop a reservoir
Reduce operating cost thru less well interventions / workovers and
reduced well downtime.
Reduce operational risk of the reservoir, by gathering downhole pressure
and temperature information, the depletion of the reservoir may be
monitored more closely, and operating changes may be made if the
reservoir performance is different than expected

32
 Smart Well Completions
The above may be accomplished by equipping the well with one or
more of the following type of sensors or control modules:
Pressure and temperature sensors
Geophones
Control valves
Shut-off valves
Flow measurement devices
Inflow control devices (ICD)

These devices communicate to surface thru hard-wired electrical or

fiber optic cables usually cemented to the outside of the production
casing

33
 Excape Control Module

Installed on the outside of the casing and cemented in place

Hydraulically controlled from surface (control lines cemented to
exterior of casing)
For multiple zone completions and stimulations
No external services required to isolate a zone and perforate the next
zone uphole
Totally rigless operations
Saves significant service time and cost
Consists of a perforating gun and a flapper check isolation tool

34
 Excape Control Module

Run Excape Movie

35
 Shells Smart HZ
Well in the Barnett Shale (SPE 118831)
Objectives:
Test mechanical placement control (Excape system) for improved
stimulation distribution along the HZ well
Offset well and permanent microseismic monitoring in the
treatment well
Radioactive tracer survey, for NWB proppant volume distribution
Pressure sensors inside and outside casing
Optic fiber Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS)
For qualitative cement evaluation
NWB liquid volume distribution (via warm-back profile)
Inflow distribution profile (via gas entry profile)
Water entry distribution profile

36
 Shells Smart HZ
Well in the Barnett Shale

Instrument
Bundle

37
 Shells Smart
Well in the Barnett Shale

1,087 m of 177.8 mm (3,565 ft. 7 inch) cased and fully cemented HZ well
Equipped with:
13 Excape modules (frac stages)
20 external geophones
17 external pressure sensors
3 internal pressure sensors
Continuous DTS along the HZ section
Estimated additional cost related to the instrumentation +/- $3MM

38
DTS Profile (Frac St #1 During Pumping
Operations)

Geothermal Temp Profile

Stage 1 perfs: 9,432 to 42 ft.

39
DTS Profile (Frac St #2 During Pumping
Operations)

Stage 2 perfs: 9,129 to 39 ft.

40
DTS Warmup Profile (St #1 to 4)

41
R/A Tracer Diagnostics

42
Microseismic Data

43
 Shells HZ Smart Well Conclusions

Excape system highly effective at initiating and isolating frac

stages without intervention
Cement quality / major frac areas identified with R/A tracer and
DTS
Good understanding of far-field stimulation distribution from
the MS data
Lost DTS / pressure after stage #7 lines probably cut by frac
sand
Continued benefits expected during frac cleanup / production
phases

44
 More HZ Shale Well Innovations

Longer HZ laterals and more frac stages (ie) tighter frac

spacing along the HZ wellbore
Increasing slick water and proppant volumes, all stages
Hybrid slick and gelled water sweeps
Ultra Light Weight proppants, 100% 100 mesh proppant
HZ well refracturing
Simulfracs pumped into 2 or more parallel HZ wells
Tighter parallel HZ lateral well spacing: 1,000 ft, 500 ft, 250
ft??
More diagnostics to understand where the fracs go; what is the
Stimulated Reservoir Volume?
On-the-fly changes to frac program based on MS data
Ball sealers and bio-balls for frac diversion
45
 Choice of Cased or OH HZ Well?

Should be based on combination of cost vs. well

performance differences vs. risk of problems / losing the
well
May require experimentation
Sometimes based on Operator preferences
Reservoir conditions may require cased and cemented;
larger Engineering effort (ie) HP/HT, high frac gradients

46
 References
Completion Types (SPE 75688; 77825; 96732; 125903)
Max Res Contact Wells (CSUG 2006, 2009)
Perf and Plug (SPE 100139)
Swellable Packers (SPE 115775; 116105)
Smart Wells (SPE 118831; 90541; 103097, 124154)
Stress Around OH Packers (SPE 123589)
Bakken (SPE 90697; 110679; 114171; 124686)
Montney (SPE 119620)
Horn River (SPE 130103)

47
Questions?