As seen in

the August
Multilateral/Extended Reach
2007 issue of

Extend horizontal openhole gravel packing

New tools and ultralightweight prop-
pants enable routine horizontal gravel
packing of openhole wells in ultradeep
waters in very low-fracture-gradient
environments once considered impossible
to pack.
AUTHORS
Rodrigo Farias and Ricardo Aboud, BJ
Services Company; Adolfo Polillo, Carlos
Pedroso and Andrea Nicolino de Sá, Petrobras

D
epending on the location, frac-
packing and openhole horizontal
completions are the dominant
completion strategies in the development
of deepwater projects. Economics require
that a minimum number of wells be
drilled while maintaining effective reser-
voir drainage to maintain a high produc-
tivity index in the wells. Drilling long
horizontal sections is an option, and open-
hole gravel-packing is a very effective way
to achieve all these goals.
Offshore Brazil, more than 200 open-
hole horizontal gravel-packing opera-
tions have been completed since 1998.
Experience has been a good teacher. To
better assess the improvements over time
and look for additional efficiencies in
proppant placement, time and other
parameters, we recently studied data from
more than 72 openhole horizontal gravel
packing operations performed since 2001.
The data show clearly that gravel-pack-
ing rates have increased over time, also
increasing packing process efficiency.
Computer simulation and better under-
standing of downhole challenges have
greatly affected job time over the years,
but technology has also provided some
leaps in efficiency. In particular, engi-
neered single-trip completion systems
and ultralightweight proppants have
altered the status quo for gravel packs in
even the most challenging conditions.
Improving tool efficiency
The typical well bore for openhole hori-
Figure 1. A completion tool assembly with a differential valve enabled gravel packing
a long horizontal openhole section that would have been impossible to pack using con-
ventional means. The tool was then converted to a stimulation tool to save 18 hours of
rig time. (Images courtesy of BJ Services)
zontal gravel packing completions in
Campos Basin is 95⁄8 in. production cas-
ing set at approximately 90° inclination
with a horizontal openhole section of 81⁄2
in. These wells also typically have a 40-ft
(12-m) rat hole below the casing shoe,
which in some fields with fracture gradi-
ents approaching or below 0.56 psi/ft
must be eliminated or bypassed to pre-
vent the alpha wave from stalling at the
low pump rates required to successfully
pack the entire horizontal length.
Tools for gravel packing have tradition-
ally been simple devices, but recent tool
developments have greatly increased oper-
ational efficiencies and job effectiveness
for long horizontals. The ComPlete™
horizontal single-trip (HST) system, for
example, converts from a gravel-packing
service tool into a simulation tool in order
to save valuable rig time. The system pro-
vides effective mechanical diversion of the
stimulation fluid and isolates the horizon-
tal section after stimulation to avoid for-
mation damage due to fluid loss.
Furthermore, to ensure effective bottom-
hole pressure control and manage carry-
ing fluid leakoff in formations with low
fracture gradient, a differential pressure
valve tool can provide altered flow paths
in the annulus between the screen and
the washpipe.
For example, a well in the Campos
Basin has an 81⁄2 in. openhole section of
2,100 ft (640 m) at 88˚ inclination. The
formation fracture gradient is 0.58 psi/ft
and the reservoir pressure 2,140 psi.
Engineers used proprietary gravel-pack-
ing software to simulate an operation in
the well, including flow conditions, and
develop a comprehensive gravel pack
design.
After performing several circulation
tests with the HST tool and a differential
valve, the 1-ppa proppant slurry was
pumped downhole at 7 bpm (Figure 1).
The alpha wave lasted 136 minutes, pack-
ing the openhole section with 38,000 lb
of proppant (67% annulus packed). The
beta wave began at 153 minutes, deliver-
ing 19,095 lb of proppant (33% annulus
packed). The differential valve opened at

www.eandp.info August 2007 | E&P

Multilateral/Extended Reach

port — but at the cost of increasing

pump rates. A better solution is to
reduce proppant density.
With specific gravity of just 1.25, ultra-
lightweight proppant settles out of fluids
much more slowly than do heavier con-
ventional sands, drastically changing the
alpha-beta modeling for dune height
propagation. The slow settling effectively
minimizes Qmin, greatly extending the
length of the open hole that can be
packed at a given pump rate.
Mixed with fluids, the lightweight prop-
pant also produces lower hydrostatic
Figure 2. Ultralightweight proppants have enabled successful gravel packs under head than denser conventional sands,
extremely challenging conditions. and when mixed at 1 ppa, it produces an
8.8% solids volume. This results in more
161 minutes, when the surface treatment • Insufficient fluid returns to circulate solids entering the open hole in less
pressure suddenly increased and the conventional proppants into place. pump time (about half the time for the
return rate dropped off. Because of the The combination of unfavorable con- same volume of solids) compared with
valve’s successful operation, controlledditions suggested gravel packing the conventional and ceramic proppants.
screenout occurred at 223 minutes. wells with conventional sand would be
Without the valve, the screenout could extremely risky and difficult, at best. Packing for a long trip
not have been reached. First, washed out zones several hundred The initial application of the LitePack™
Furthermore, rather than having to feet long would affect the dune bed, sub- technology was in an injector well in the
pull the tool out of the hole to stimulate
stantially raising the chances of stalling Campos Basin field. The 2,655-ft (800
the well, the stimulation was carried out
and premature screenout. Furthermore, m) openhole section included a signifi-
with no need for an additional trip, sav-
reducing the pump rates to avoid cant challenge besides its length: a 500-ft,
ing a valuable 18 hours rig time. fracturing would very likely result in 12-in.-diameter (500 m, 30 cm diame-
increased dune height and premature ter), shale-sloughed washout zone just
Extreme conditions screenout. To avoid these problems, we past the last casing shoe.
Efficient gravel packing in a deepwater proposed using LiteProp™ 125 ultra- Achieving a gravel pack with conven-
well completion can be challenging. lightweight proppant and the LitePack tional sand would have required a pump-
These wells often have excessive fluid openhole gravel packing method. ing rate of more than 6.5 bbl/min to
loss, variations in hole stability and achieve a dune rate less than 85% of the
hole geometry, and an extremely nar- Ultralightweight proppant sloughed zone. Instead, we designed the
row pressure window between bottom- The pumping boundaries for openhole operation with ultralightweight prop-
hole pressure and fracture gradient. gravel packing are Qmin, the rate at pant at 1 ppa so we could pump at a
The narrow pressure window, in par- which 85% dune ratio occurs, and Qmax, lower 4 bbl/min (0.64 m3/min) pump
ticular, can be a significant concern the formation fracturing pressure. rate and achieve a 71% alpha dune
because high pump rates required for The highest bottomhole treating pres- height (Figure 2).
long-distance proppant transport may sure arises as the beta wave develops, rap- The alpha wave lasted 101 minutes,
fracture the formation, causing fluid idly increasing the back pressure from packing the openhole section from heel
loss and a sand bridge during the fluid filtration through the screen/wash- to toe with 15,200 lb (6,900 kg) of prop-
alpha stage or an early screenout in pipe. This pressure will drop as the pant (62% annulus filling). The beta
the beta stage. square of the pump rate, but reducing wave began at 144 min of pumping time,
For example, one customer wanted pump rates also increases the chance of delivering 9,400 lb (4,250 kg) of prop-
to complete several wells whose open- premature screenout as solids settle out of pant (38% annulus filling) before con-
hole horizontal sections included four the fluid. trolled screenout occurred at 220 min.
conditions: Therefore, reducing Qmin is a critical The packing time amounts to about half
• Extended-reach horizontals (more element in planning a long, extended- of the time required to pump an equiva-
than 2,300 ft/700 m); reach openhole gravel packing opera- lent volume of ordinary sand — if it
• Low formation fracture gradients; tion. Increasing the viscosity of the fluid could even be done under the difficult
• Washed-out zones; and medium would increase proppant trans- well conditions.

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