Well Completion

Dr.Eng. Ibrahim Ali Farea

November 13 , 2016
 There are several ways of classifying or categorizing completion types.
The most common criteria for the classification of completions include the
following:
 Wellbore/reservoir interface, i.e., open-hole or cased hole, horizontal
completion.

 Producing zones, i.e., single zone or multiple zone production

 Production method, i.e. natural flowing or artificially induced production

(artificial Lift).
 The borehole-formation interface differs according to whether the wells are
vertical, deviated (up to an angle of 60°-70°), sub-horizontal or horizontal (angle
greater than 70°). Traditionally wells have a telescopic casing profile and involve
the use of a greater number of casing sizes the deeper the well while maintaining
a fixed production casing size. Horizontal wells generally have a borehole that
navigates inside the reservoir itself.
 Completion layout

Borehole-formation Production zone Tubing-casing interface

interface
Single Multilevel

Horizontal wells Vertical/ packerless Packer Polished bore receptacle

deviated wells

anchored Shallow set Liner hangers

Open hole Open hole with Cased hole
Non-cemented liner Free moving Deep set casing

Slotted liner conventional

tubingless

Open hole Formation

screens fracturing

Open hole Cased hole

gravel pack gravel pack
 The interface options for vertical wells can be divided into three main categories:
open hole, open hole with non-cemented liners, and cased hole.

In the case of an open hole, the production casing

shoe is set to the top of the production reservoir which is
later drilled and left as an open hole. Generally, this option
is chosen in the presence of a single hydrocarbon
bearing reservoir when it is constituted by secondary
porosity rock. Such method is only applicable to highly
competent formations which will not slough or cave-
which will remain in place during production.
The principal limitation of this type of completion is
that it is impossible to selectively produce more than one
level or to exclude the presence of undesired fluids (water
or gas).
  Advantages of Open Hole Completions:
- The entire payzone is open to the wellbore.
- Perforation expense is eliminated.
- Reduce casing cost.
- Expensive log analysis not required.
- Maximum wellbore diameter is opposite the payzone(s)– reduced
drawdown.
- The well can easily be deepened.
- Easy conversion to liner or perforated casing recompletion.
Open-hole completion
- No formation damage caused by cement.

 Disadvantages of Open Hole Completions:

- Excessive gas or water production difficult to control because the entire interval is open to flow.
- The casing may need to be set before the pay zone(s) are drilled and logged.
- Separate zones within the completion cannot be selectively fractured or acidized.
- Requires frequent cleanout if producing formations are not completely firm.

 Limitation of Open Hole Completions:

- Unsuitable to produce payzones with incompatible fluid properties and pressures.
 In the case of an open hole with non-cemented liner, there are three possibilities:
a) Non-cemented slotted liner: this choice is implemented in consolidated formations
(carbonate, sandstone) that produce through a network of fractures or formations
characterized by thin layers which are difficult to identify by means
of the logs. Productive intervals are drilled after having set and
cemented the production casing/liner to the reservoir top.
Completion can include a slotted liner (tubing with longitudinal
slots) when there is a risk of borehole collapse due to
mechanical instability of the rock as a consequence of the
reduction of the pore pressure.

Slot widths depend on the size of the sand grains in the

formation and are typically 0.01 -0.04 inches (0.254 -1.016 mm) a. Slotted Liner

wide.
b) Wire Wrapped Screen
Sand control with screens in open holes (open hole screens): this option is used in the
presence of a non-consolidated formation to mitigate the transport of sand and any
interstitial clays by the fluids produced. If such material were to accumulate in the
wellbore, they would reduce production until ultimately stopping
it completely.

Sand control can be managed by reducing the flow rates (thus

tolerating the production of minimal amounts of sand), or by filtering
it with mechanical tools (dual screens) around which the
sand sets during production.

Liner is drilled with 3/8 - 1/2 inch (9.53 - 12.7 mm) holes
along its length and then lightly wrapped with a special V-shaped
wire.

b) Wire Wrapped Screen

C) Sand control with open hole gravel pack: This system is used when sand movement
inside the formation must be avoided. Sand control takes place by pumping sand with a
controlled grain size into the well, which acts as a natural filter for the formation sand. This
action is coupled to that of simple mechanical filters (gravel pack).

In order to ensure an adequate volume of sand between formation

and screens, the borehole is generally underreamed below the end of
the last casing.

Open hole is enlarged about twice its diameter and a liner run.
Properly sized gravel is placed outside the screen by reverse
circulation techniques.

C) External Gravel Pack

Advantages of Non-cemented Liner Completions:
1. Formation damage can be minimized.
2. Well control simplified.
3. Can be designed to control sand.
4. Potential candidate for deepening.

Disadvantages:
1. Reduced wellbore ID.
2. Limited profile control capacity.
3. screen erosion can occur at high production rates.
 In perforated cemented liner completions the casing is set above the producing
zone(s), and the pay section(s) drilled. Liner casing is then cemented in place which is
subsequently perforated for production.

These perforations are designed to penetrate any

damaged regions around the original wellbore to provide
an unobstructed channel to the undamaged formation.
By using various depth measuring devices.

The various methods of finishing off a well using

perforated cemented liner operations are:
- single or multiple pay zones.

Perforated cemented Liner Schematic

 In a perforated cemented casing completion the hole is drilled through the
formation(s) of interest and production casing is run through and cemented. Again, this
requires that perforations be made through the casing and cement to reach the zone(s) of
interest and allow well fluids to flow into the wellbore. This completion is by far the most
common type of completion. because they allow better well management. In this case,
for the purposes of level selection and ease of control and safety it is necessary to:

a) determine the number of intervals to open to production, using guns and explosive
charges to perforate the production casing/cement by following the relevant underbalance
or overbalance procedures;

b) choose completion fluids suitable for minimizing formation damage and therefore to
evaluate the need for stimulation.
c) define the cementing quality through interpretation of the logs of specific wells
(cementation log);
d) ensure true isolation of the levels.
 Methods of finishing off a well in perforated cemented casing completions are:

I. Conventional Or standard: This completion scheme

is used when the formations are stable. The casing
perforation is carried out using suitable explosive
charges, which are high-penetration in the event of
heavy formation damage induced by drilling fluids, and
possibly, with the use of underbalance techniques to
remove the effects of damage.
Standard schematic

II. Sand control by means of cased hole gravel pack:

This scheme is used for sand production control in cased
holes. Explosive charges are used that can perforate holes of
a certain size (ID, Internal Diameter 0.7'') in the casing in
order to facilitate the passage of controlled grain size sand
pumped into the formation. The technique of sand pumping is
very effective in the presence of fractures (frac-pack).

Internal gavel pack Schematic

III. With formation fracturing: In this case, given the very low permeability of the
formation, productivity is improved by creation of induced fractures. To do so a high
pressure acid solution is injected into the formation and a small part of the level is
perforated in order to concentrate the effect of the pressure. High penetration explosive
charges are necessary and excellent cementing is required so as to limit the fracture.
 Advantages of Perforated Casing or Liner Completions:
- Excessive water or gas production may be controlled or eliminated.
- Formation can be selectively stimulated.
- Liner impedes sand influx.
- Full diameter.
- Well can be easily deepened.
- Safer operations.
- Easier planning of completions.
- Continuous ID from surface.

 Disadvantages of Perforated Casing or Liner Completions:

- Wellbore diameter through the payzone(s) is restricted.
- Log interpretation critical.
- Higher Casing cost.
- Liner cementation more difficult to obtain than casing cementation.
- Perforating, cementing and rig time involves additional costs.
 Completion schemes in horizontal wells are similar to those of vertical wells but, in
this case, there are factors that complicate their management. Horizontal wells have very
long sections inside the production level:

1. Difficult to manage during the injection and production phases in terms of pressure
losses.

2. Extremely difficult to carry out good cement bonding even in consolidated formations

3. The borehole’s mechanical stability is therefore more sensitive to geostatic loads in the
case of an important drop in the static pressure of the reservoir during the production life.

4. The length of the horizontal segment and the effect of gravity complicate installation
procedures of the equipment.

The most common completion schemes are therefore comparable to those used in
open hole vertical wells.
 A classification of completions for horizontal wells as following:
a) Open Hole:
This is the most economical completion where removal of mud and debris from the horizontal section
is the primary stimulation performed. If additional stimulation is required, tubing is run to TD and
stimulation fluid spotted into the horizontal section and then pumped into the formation. Horizontal open
hole completions are usually used with carbonate and sandstone formations or fractured basement.
b) Slotted Liner:
This type of completion is used in the possible event of hole collapse. It is used in
reservoirs that will flow naturally where no stimulation treatments are required.
c) External Casing Packers:
Used for control of a single interval in the whole horizontal
section of a reservoir that has different zones that produce
hydrocarbons; sometimes these sections produce water. External
casing packers and closeable ported subs are useful in controlling
production from unwanted pay zones along the horizontal section.
d) Fracture Stimulation:
In this type of completion production casing or liner is
cemented into the horizontal section. After perforating,
controlled stimulation treatments (matrix and fracture)
Some methods of completing Horizontal wells
can be performed efficiently.
 In single zone completions, it is relatively straight forward to produce and control the
interval of interest with a single tubing string a packer, the safety, installation and
production requirements can be easily satisfied.
In most single zone completions, a packer (or isolation device) and tubing string is
used. This provides protection for the casing or liner strings and allows the use of flow
control devices to control production.
1. Standard: (a)
2. Interval Co-mingling:
In this case, a number of productive levels are put into
production at the same time, thus mixing the output. The
completions are very simple and used when all of the levels
have the same pressure regime, similar production indexes
and contain similar hydrocarbons. Single Zone Completion Schematics
b).

a b

Single Zone Completion Schematics

 With vertical wells that cross reservoirs consisting of more than one production
level with different petrophysical characteristics or containing different types of fluids, the
number of levels to be completed must be decided.
When a well encounters multiple payzones a decision must be made either to:
- produce the zones individually, one after the other, through a single Tubing string and the
annulus.
- complete the well with multiple tubing strings and produce several Zones simultaneously.
- co-mingle several zones in a single completion.
- produce only one zone from that well and drill additional wells to produce from the other
pay zones.
Single String Dual Completion:
This is the most basic dual completion where production
of the lower zone is up the tubing and production of the upper
zone is up the casing/tubing annulus.

Single String Dual completion

Multiple String Completions:
Separate flow from each zone can be maintained by the use of
three tubing strings and three packers.
Twin String Dual Completion:
Separate flow from each zone is maintained by the use of two
tubing strings and two packers.

Such completions yield high total production per well

and generally improves costs.
However, such completions are difficult to install and they
are usually two restrictive of well capacity (small tubing
size) to be economically attractive. Further, the difficulty of
future remedial workover of such wells prevents their
widespread use.
 Concentric String Completions:
Concentric strings require less clearance and can often
achieve a higher overall flow capability.

(i) Advantage of Multiple Zone Completions:

- Reduced Cost.

(ii) Disadvantages of Multiple Zone Completions:

- Production casing is exposed to well pressure and corrosive fluids.
- Tubing can be "cemented" in place due to solids settling from the
upper zone.
- The lower zone must be killed or plugged off before work over is
done on the upper zone.
- The lower zone must be plugged off to measure any flowing bottom
Hole temperature associated with the upper zone.