The Well Completion and Production Lesson consists of the following

topics

Learning Objectives
Well Completion
Production Tubing
The Wellhead
Well Completions
Offshore Completions
Stimulation and Types
Artificial Lift
Various Pumping Methods
Hydrocarbon Separation
Servicing and Workovers
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Technology
Technology to Extend Production Life
Plug and Abandonment (P&A) Onshore
Plug and Abandonment (P&A) Offshore

Well Completion

In short, well completion simply means deeming the well a

commercially viable operation, then preparing the well for production.
The most widely held view is that completion begins when a drill bit

first makes contact with a productive reservoir.

Economic success of a well depends in large part on how the well is

completed.

A successful completion must first make the optimum mechanical

connection between the wellbore and the reservoir. That optimum
connection must perform three functions. It must:

let oil or gas into the well, where it can then flow or be pumped to
the surface
keep water out of the well
keep the formation from collapsing into the well bore or reservoir.

Production Tubing

After the final string of casing is run and cemented into place,
production tubing is run into the hole. It is generally much smaller in
diameter than the production casing.

Unlike casing, production tubing hangs from the wellhead and is not
cemented into place. This tubing is then easy to remove should any
well problems develop in the future.

Today, many production wells have incorporated the use of coiled

tubing as shown in the picture. Unlike classic production tubing
(manufactured in single joints of pipe), coiled tubing is a continuous
reel of flexible tubing.

Tubing Packers

A tubing packer is a circular combination metal and rubber that fits

around the production tubing and inside the production casing. As
shown in the picture, it provides a tight seal between everything
above and below its position.

Packers are used to prohibit well fluids and pressures from entering
the production casing. It forces the well fluids to take the path of
least resistance to the surface, the production tubing.

Packers also preserve the life of the casing by not allowing well
sediment to act as an abrasive against the walls of the casing.

The Wellhead

Reservoirs are typically found at elevated pressures. To equalize the

pressure and avoid the excitement of the gushers of the early
1900s, a series of valves and equipment is installed on top of the
well. This assembly, or Christmas tree, as it is often called because
it crudely represents a decorated tree, regulates the flow of
hydrocarbons out of the well.

The wellhead, pictured on the chart, is located at the base of the tree
and the center of the wellbore to:

help support the weight of the production tubing

control the flow rate and pressure of the well fluids

seal the well
Well Completions

The various types of well completions in the wellbore are shown in

the chart.

Open-Hole completions require no production casing or liners. Instead

the well fluid enters the wellbore and flows freely to the surface via
the intermediate casing.

Slotted liners can be used if cement and casing is not technically

needed, and if no wellbore stability problems are likely.

To combat the problems of sand or other fines in the production,

screens can be placed between the well and the formation. Gravel
packing can be used as an additional safeguard and as a means to
keep permeability-reducing fines away from the well.

Perforated completion is by far the most common completion method

in use today. Perforating is the process of piercing the production
casing at specific locations to allow the formation fluids to enter the
wellbore and flow to the surface.

Offshore Completions

Offshore completion techniques and equipment are much like those

based on land, in that both require some type of multi-valve system

to regulate flow rates and pressures and minimize the risk of blowouts.

On most fixed platforms the wellhead is located on the deck of the

platform (called a surface completion). On floating platforms, or in
deep water, the wellhead is located on the sea-floor (called a
subsurface or subsea completion).

Stimulation and Types

Regardless of the quantity of hydrocarbons present, oil and gas wells

do not always behave as designed. Some require extensive, and
expensive, treatments before they can produce economically.

In tight formations with low permeability, fracturing is used to

physically crack the rock and create a greater area of flow between
the wellbore and the formation. These techniques are called well
stimulation and the most common methods are:

Acidizing relies on chemical reactions with the surrounding

formations. This method is most effective on carbonate (limestone and
dolomite) reservoirs. A scientific cocktail of various chemicals is
injected into the well to dissolve the formation. Acidizing can be used
on new wells and is much cheaper to perform than frac-ing.
Explosives Some formations need explosives to create the fractures.
Using explosives is a costly process and as a result, are most often
used on larger wells that have the capability of justifying the expense.
Hydraulic fracturing is the application of high pressure forcing
massive amounts of either oil or water into the formations that
surround a reservoir. Commonly referred to as a frac job this

pressure causes the formations to break apart causing additional well

fluid channels to open up which releases more fluid. Hydraulic
fracturing is used in mature fields and in a great deal of horizontal
wells today (especially shales).
Hydraulic Fracturing

In a typical hydraulic fracturing job, over 350,000 pounds of fluid

will be pumped at extraordinarily high pressures down a well, to a
pinpoint location, often thousands of feet below the earths surface.

In practice, hydraulic fracturing is a highly complex operation

performed with the exquisite orchestration of dozens of large trucks,
roughly the same number of highly skilled engineers and technicians,
a mobile laboratory for real-time quality assurance, and powerful
integrated computers.

During the fracturing process, constant measurements of fluid level,

pumping rates, and pumping times are performed to maximize the
fracture zone, while minimizing any damage to the formation.

LACT Units Measuring and Testing

Once a well is completed, several rounds of testing and measuring are

conducted to ensure the economic viability and the production
volumes of the well.

LACT (Lease Automated Custody Transfer) Units have drastically

changed how oil is tested and measured and are by far the most
widely used measurement technique today.

LACT units are self-contained, automated, skid-mounted units found at

the well site, along the pipeline or prior to entering a storage facility.
Hydrocarbon ownership changes hands many times before it reaches
the consumer and is measured and tested at each point with a LACT
unit.

Artificial Lift

Originally, it was thought that well completion meant nothing more

than drilling into the pay-zone and letting the oil flow.

However, it quickly became apparent that oil does not have any
inherent ability to expel itself from a reservoir, but rather must be
displaced from the porous formation in the reservoir. Thus began the
concept of creating and stimulating paths of least resistance to the
wellbore.

To maximize the potential of a single well, additional methods of

fluid extraction must be utilized. The most common artificial lift
methods are gas (CO2) lifting and pumping.

Pumping Methods

Pumping methods are very common with producers. The three types
are:

Beam Pump

On land wells, beam pumping is the most common equipment. They

go by many names: Walking Beams, Rocking Horse, Pump Jack, etc.
Whatever they are called, their operation is very basic. The pump is
connected to some type of prime mover, either a diesel engine or
electrical motor. The rotation of the prime mover causes a
reciprocating motion of the walking beam. The walking beam is
connected to a sucker rod (steel or fiberglass) centered over the
wellbore that plunges into the well and literally sucks the oil to the
surface.

Hydraulic Pump

This pump is very similar to a beam pump because it also uses an

engine or motor at the surface and pump at the wellbore. Unlike the
beam pump, the hydraulic variety does not use a sucker rod. Instead,
hydraulic fluid is pumped downhole to force the reservoir fluids to
the surface. Hydraulic pumps are more common on deeper wells and
are far less expensive to service and maintain than beam pumps.

Electric Submersible Pump (ESP)

This type of pump is located downhole in the reservoir. Over the

years, ESPs have become popular because of the extra amount of oil
that can be recovered from a mature well. ESPs can be also stacked
on top of each other to reach multiple pay zones in a reservoir.

Hydrocarbon Separation

Oil and gas hydrocarbons are not immediately salable when they are
pumped from the reservoir. Most well streams are a combination of
gas, oil, water, solid sediment and toxic gases that must first pass
through a separation process in order to be marketable.

The simplest one separates liquids from gases and heavier liquids from
lighter liquids. In this process, the well stream passes through a series
of separation tanks where the heavier substance drops to the bottom
of the tank. The well stream then must pass through multiple
separation units to further purify the hydrocarbons.

Even after multi-stage separation has occurred, the oil is still not at
its purest form. Hydrocarbons must have a series of specialized
treatments to purify the oil or gas for sale.

Hydrocarbon Treatment

There are two general types of treatments for well fluids described
below:

Chemical Treatment Chemical demulsifiers are added to the

reservoir mixture to combine smaller water molecules. As water
droplets combine they get big and heavy enough to be separated from
the oil.
Heat Treatment When heat is applied to a reservoir mixture, the
process also can remove water. Heating must be combined with other

types of treatment to supplement the overall effectiveness of the

process.

Servicing and Workovers

At some point in their life, wells will undergo some type of servicing
and repairs, called a workover.

Since a drilling rig is used to drill wells that can exceed 20,000 feet,
it needs a powerful rotary head to turn the drill pipe to make hole.

A workover rig doesnt have a top or power head. It is just a big

winch used to run casing tools or clean out equipment in and out of a
hole that is already drilled. These rigs are also used to set well
casing and rework an older borehole.

Most of them are very mobile as shown in the picture.

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

In development of an oil field, the ultimate ability to recover the

hydrocarbons in a reservoir can range between 10% and 80%, and
depends on:

Reservoir quality and consistency

Well and reservoir fluid properties
Field production strategies
Other geological factors
Once a well has used up all of its natural energy (drives) and pumps
have recovered all they can, there could still be as much as 25%
95% of the oil remaining in the reservoir. In the early days of
production, once a well reached this point, it was often plugged and
abandoned.

Today, many new techniques are used to increase the amount of oil
recovered from a well; thus extending the life of the well. As a
group they are called Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques.

As the chart shows, in EOR a fluid is injected into the reservoir

through an injection well; and the formation fluids are taken out to
be treated via a production well.

Extending Production Life

As shown in the chart, economics drives the decision to keep

producing from a particular field.

Primary recovery is defined as the ability to drive oil or gas to the

surface with normal well operations and existing reservoir pressures.
The average global primary recovery factor is 32%. This means that at

abandonment two-thirds of the reserves are still in place in mature

basins such as the North Sea or North America.

Secondary recovery techniques like water flooding may bring the

recovery factor up to 40%. Here, huge quantities of water are
injected into the edges of a producing field to drive the oil (lighter
than water) to a collection point.

Tertiary recovery uses heat and steam, complex polymers, surfactants

and microbes to increase the recovery even further.

Ultimate recovery is one of the greatest underlying themes for the

future of the oil and gas industry. The goal is to leave behind as little
valuable hydrocarbon resource as possible.

EOR Injection Types

Four basic EOR injection technologies are used today:

Water Injection Several injection wells are drilled in the same

reservoir and flooded with water to force the oil up the production
string. Technology exists today that allows oil and water to be
separated downhole and the water is re-injected into a nearby
nonproductive formation and never reaches the surface.
Gas injection There are two types and both methods require use of
compressors located at the surface
Miscible Gas Injection Carbon dioxide is injected into the well.
Here it mixes with and vaporizes the hydrocarbons enabling the oil to
freely flow to the surface. This injection method is sometimes

followed by water injection to increase reservoir output.

Immiscible Gas Injection Gas is injected into the well to supplement
the existing natural pressure of the formation, thereby forcing the
oil to the surface.
Chemical Injection requires specially formulated solutions which
dissolve and break down barriers or blockages in the formations to
increase the flow of oil.
Hot pressurized steam is injected into the well and allowed to soak
for some period of time. As the oil heats and reduces viscosity, it
begins to flow to the surface