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8739021 
Meetings & Symposia 
A case study of the application of slimhole passive inflow-control devices to revive wells with tubular limitations in a mature field 
Lyngra, S; Hembling, D; Al-Zahrani, TM; Al-Otaibi, UF; Al-Marhoun, HS; Anderson, AB 
2007 
3 
1351-1356 
English 
The production of the oil rim below a gas cap requires enough horizontal wellbore length to minimize the drawdown, which mitigates gas cusping while achieving the desired rate. This is only applicable in a homogeneous reservoir. In the case that the reservoir has heterogeneous matrix properties combined with the presence of vertical fractures, there is a need to isolate or equalize the reservoir contribution by controlling the inflow through the fractures and high permeability sections. A passive inflow control device (ICD) has proven to be effective for this purpose. In mature fields, the application of passive ICD's in existing wells is typically limited by the size of the tubulars installed in the wellbore when the well was first drilled. For this case, a new slim hole ICD system has been designed. If the installation and subsequent operations are successful, intermittent wells or dead wells can be revived prolonging the producing life of the well. The utilization of this new technology has a substantial potential for reduction of well construction and infrastructure investments.This paper presents a case study using two horizontal under gas cap producers with passive ICD completions as field examples. The first well case demonstrates the well performance effects resulting from utility of this technology. In this case, a standard size passive ICD system was installed in an open hole horizontal oil producer dominated by free gas production due to gas cusping. The end product was a substantial reduction of producing gas-oil ratio. The second case deals with the completion design of a new passive ICD completion installed in a re-entry sidetrack horizontal well. This installation was the first deployment in the world to utilize a new slim hole passive ICD system deployed through a 5-1/2" expandable liner. The slim ICD design was developed upon request from Saudi Aramco due to its wide application for re-entry sidetracks out of 7" liners in existing wells in the Saudi Arabian oil fields. This paper also presents the future field development benefits resulting from the application of the new slim passive inflow control device technology in the case study field. Copyright 2007, Society of Petroleum Engineers.