OTC 24427

World’s First TAML Level-5 Multi-lateral Well with Individual Remote

Inflow Control of Three Branches on Troll Oil Field
L. Prebeau-Menezes, S. Mjølhus, Statoil; G. Liland, Halliburton

Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference Brasil held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 29–31 October 2013.

This paper was selected for presentation by an OTC program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not
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Abstract
The Troll oil field has been drilled and completed with more than 100 geo-steered extended-reach multi-lateral (MLT)
subsea wells having two, three or four branches each to maximize reservoir contact. The Troll team has drilled multi-
lateral wells from semi-submersibles for more than 10 years. The wells are equipped with complex intelligent top
completion (ITC) systems to optimize production.
The oil column of the Troll oil field was initially between 11 and 26m thick, with an overlaying gas cap. The wells
are 2–5,000-m-long horizontal multi-lateral branches; many completed with stand-alone sand screens and autonomous
inflow control valves (AICD) for the lower completions, with up to 80–90% screen coverage per branch lateral.
Production life of MLT wells on Troll is limited by gas break-through and/or high water cut. To increase production
life and reservoir meters per well there is a need for flexibility through flow control from the surface.
Until recently, the ITC system only allowed for individual control of two-branches by two dedicated inflow control
valves (ICVs). For three or more branched wells, the upper-most branch would be individually controlled while flow for
the other branches controlled together. If break-through occurs in one of the lower laterals, they would have to be
choked/or shut-in together, resulting in lost production and reduced recovery from the other laterals. As a result, there
was a need for greater flexibility and inflow control for wells with more than two branches.
The operator requested contributions from a supplier for a system based on the existing multi-lateral system, the
FlexRite® intelligent completion interface (ICI), which would allow for flow control of all branches. A development
project began in 2010, and a new multi-lateral system, multibranch inflow control (MIC), was created in 2011. This
system has an increased internal diameter (ID) for installation of the completion string with ICVs and swellable packers
through the junction for enhanced well control.
In October 2012, the Troll team installed the first multibranch MIC system on the Troll well N-24. This system is
believed to be the first TAML Level-5, three-branched well with individual branch control worldwide. With this new and
innovative junction and completion system, the operator now has the ability to optimize the oil production from new
extended-reach multi-lateral wells.
In the future, this innovative multi-lateral solution will enable the operator to increase oil recovery from Troll and
other fields, which will help the operator to continue to push the functionality and economic viability of multi-lateral
technology worldwide, especially in thin reservoirs.

Introduction
The Troll field is a large oil- and gas field located 80 km northwest of Bergen in the North Sea. It was discovered in 1979
and consists of three provinces Troll East, Troll West Oil Province (TWOP) and Troll West Gas Province (TWGP). The
Troll field contains approximately 40% of the total gas reserves on the Norwegian Continental shelf.
Originally, the Troll field was considered strictly a gas field with no commercial oil value. This was due to the thin
oil-bearing layers overlaid by a thick gas cap. However, this changed with the advent and evolution of horizontal drilling
and later multi-lateral well technology.
Three production platforms, Troll A, B, and C, are installed at Troll. Oil is produced and processed on Troll B, a
floating platform with concrete hull and Troll C, a floating platform with steel hull. Oil was first produced in the fall of
1995 from Troll B followed by production from Troll C in 1999. Troll A began producing gas in 1996.
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The Troll oil field is a sizable subsea development, with water depths reaching from 315–340m and with approximately
120 production well slots. These slots contain 167 horizontal producers, with around 276 branches stretching over a
combined distance of nearly 759 km. The field currently has four semi-submersibles drilling rigs operating constantly,
and produced 400,000 bbl/day of oil at its peak.
The late Jurassic Sognefjord formation is the primary producing oil reservoir. This formation is a shallow marine
setting containing a stacked sequence of sandstone and siltstone units with a thickness of around 160m. In this formation
the initial oil layers were typically between 22 and 26m in the TWOP, and 11 and 13m in the TWGP. The oil is mainly
contained within medium to coarse-grained clean and highly-permeable sandstone (c-sand) with porosities in the range
from 30 to 35%, and permeabilities from 1 to 20D. Oil is also found in very fine low-permeable sandstone (m-sand), with
porosities from 20 to 28%, and permeabilities from 0.1 to around 1D.
Gas expansion is the main driving mechanism in the oil field, and extended reach MLT wells are used to maximize
reservoir contact for increased production. Complex intelligent completion systems (TAML Level 5) are installed to
reduce the potential of water and gas break-through and coning through inflow control of each MLT lateral.
Troll’s typical MLT wells contain two or three branches, where each branch is geo-steered and normally placed 0.5m
above the oil water contact. For Troll, especially drilling and completing MLT wells are more cost effective and
environmentally friendly (reduced use of drilling and well resources and smaller environmental footprint) compared to
drilling multiple individual wells used for the same purpose.

Fig. 1-Troll A Platform (Hagen et al. 2013). Fig. 2-Troll Field Infrastructure (Halvorsen et al. 2013).

Troll Challenges
Troll has thin oil layers, with gas above and water below, where MLT wells are the best solution to increase the drainage
area and subsequently oil production. However, during production, even with the geo-steered optimized placement, gas
break-through eventually occurs, and reduces the oil production. This poses a problem especially to Troll B and C owing
to their limited capacities for gas processing. In addition, the Sognefjord formation has the potential for high sand
production, and the field has a limited number of well slots available.
Therefore, to maximize oil production and to reduce gas break-through for as long as possible there is a need for
flexibility and control for flows in Troll’s MLT wells.

Background: The Troll Way

To combat the challenges addressed above, the Troll team has implemented the following completion strategies:
1. Use of advanced ICDs: Autonomous Inflow Control Devices (AICDs) installed on sand screens, separated by
swellable packers in each branch for the lower completions.
2. Use of ICV’s installed above the 9-5/8-in. FlexRite® ICI (Intelligent Completion Interface) junction.

The use of AICDs has been extensively documented in published literature (Halvorsen et al. 2013 and Mathiesen et al.
2011) and is briefly described here.
The lateral branches of Troll MLT wells can extend from 2000 to 5000+ m MD. Stand-alone screens are used to limit
sand production. These screens contain AICDs, which are fitted as shown in Fig. 3. AICDs are valves that choke based
on fluid viscosities. Different fluids tend to have different viscosities, and the valve restricts low viscosity fluids such as
gas. These valves, combined with swellable packers, provide zonal isolation and delay gas break-through within the oil-
producing branches (Fig. 4).
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Fig. 3-Troll Lower Completion AICD on Screens and AICD (Mathiesen et al. 2011, Nævdal 2013, Henriksen et al. 2006).

               
Fig. 4-Troll Lower Completion Solution Screens with Swellable Packers (Mathiesen et al. 2011 and Nævdal 2013).

The use of flow control in MLT branches is achieved through remotely controlled ICVs. The ICVs are placed in the
mainbore and are part of the top completion. This design is further described below.

Multi-lateral well design

The Troll multi-lateral well design has been highly successful with short installation times, robust installation processes,
acceptable flow areas and sealed multi-lateral junctions. The multi-lateral system in use has evolved through several
modifications to fulfill the needs of the Troll field from its introduction in 2000. The largest design change affecting
inflow control was the introduction of the ICI, in 2005. The ICI enabled flow through two ICVs in a dual MLT well.
Since then, it has been the standard for all MLT wells drilled and completed on Troll.
With the ICI, flow control is achieved through ICVs with control lines to surface. Owing to an inner diameter design
restriction, the ICVs have been installed above the upper junction, which worked well with dual branched MLTs, but
becomes a limiting factor with reference to the control capability of the lowermost branches for MLT wells with three or
more branches.
Therefore, for Troll oil wells with three or more branches, the lowermost legs have been controlled and produced
through the same ICV, limiting control to only two areas of the reservoir (Fig. 5). If gas break-through or drowning
occurred in one of the two lower branches (Y1H and Y2H, in Fig. 7), both branches were choked at the same rate or shut
in, thereby reducing or shutting in oil production from the good branch as well. Figs 5 and 6 illustrate the flow paths
through the two ICVs installed in a three-branched well.
As the Troll oil field is maturing, gas break-through becomes more unpredictable. This introduces a need for further
flexibility to control and optimize production for wells with three or more branches, something the ICI system could not
provide for. The challenge is the inability of installing ICV’s further into the mainbore.
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Fig.5-Flow control for Troll Three Branched Well with FlexRite® ICI Junctions.

Fig. 6-Completion detail of Three Branched well with FlexRite® ICI Junctions.
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Fig. 7-Trilateral Oil Producer on the Troll Field completed with the FlexRite® ICI System.

Innovation
In early 2010, a team was set up to create solutions to control more than two branches and encouraged vendors to address
downhole equipment challenges. The team approached a supplier to work together to contribute to a system that builds
on the existing Troll system.
In 2011, a new multi-lateral system, the MIC, configuration was created. This system is a 10-3/4”-in. multi-lateral
junction where the lateral leg is slimmed down to make room for a larger mainbore stinger which can facilitate a
completion string internally (Fig. 8). This opens the option of running ICVs and swellable packers through the junction
and deflector to provide isolation and enable production control of each lateral independently.
After the lateral reservoir section is drilled and the screen section installed in both laterals a completion deflector with
a tailpipe is tied back to the mainbore screen hanger. The junction is then run and sealed within the lateral screen section,
oriented and packed off inside the deflector by a slick seal stinger (Ruyter et al. 2006). The junction has a large enough
ID to accommodate the tail end of the completion string which includes ICVs and packers.
Then a newly re-configured Troll single trip completion system can be run through and set inside the junction. This
string includes ICVs placed between swellable packers with feed-through control line technology, multiple pressure and
temperature gauges, a gas-lift valve (GLV) with side-mounted guns placed below, a production packer and a down-hole
safety valve (DHSV) and a tubing hanger (Prebeau-Menezes et al. 2013 and Dahl 2012). The GLV and the side-mounted
guns are used to provide gas cap lift during start up (Berge 2011).
The MLT wells on Troll are TAML (Technology Advancement Multi-Lateral) Level-5 wells, which means that the
seal between the formation and the production is provided by the completion components. In addition the FlexRite® ICI
and Multibranch MIC systems offer pressure integrity between the laterals, inside the junctions. Fig. 9 illustrates an
installed Multi-branch MIC system.
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Fig. 8-Multibranch MIC Junction with Lateral leg and Mainbore Stinger.

Fig. 9-Installed Multibranch MIC Junction.

Multibranch Stack-up Test

To complete the development of the Multibranch MIC junction system a comprehensive stack-up test was needed. The
test was set up at the International Research Institute of Stavanger (IRIS) test facility; which has extensive experience
with testing of multi-lateral systems.
Prior to the full test all Multibranch MIC components were individually function tested as required. The full test of
the Multibranch MIC prototype was conducted in March 2012. The test was successful and passed with only minor
modifications required prior to its first offshore installation. The test program included the following operations:
7 Installation of the completion deflector in a window assembly
7 Running of open-hole stinger on 4-1/2”-in. tubing over the completion deflector
7 Landing the open-hole sting on top of the screen section
7 Landing and testing the Multibranch Junction in the pre-milled window
7 Junction compression test when landed in the deflector
7 Junction sting in capabilities at various orientations
7 DIACS (intelligent well system) drifting through junction
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Fig. 10-Deflector Installed in Window. Fig. 11-Drifting with DIACS Fig.12-Landing Multibranch MIC
Completion. Junction.

Well Design
Upon successful testing of the Multibranch MIC system, the Troll well 31/2 -N-24 AY1H/AY2H/AY3, or N-24 was
designed. This design with the installation of the Multibranch MIC system and the newly re-configured single trip
completion string allowed for greater individual control from several laterals (Figs. 13 and 14).

Fig.13- Multibranch MIC Flowpaths Overview.

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Fig.14-Multibranch MIC Flowpaths – Detail.

Implementation
In October 2012, the Troll team successfully completed N-24 from the semi-submersible rig Stena Don. The well was
previously drilled by Transocean Leader. The operation occurred without downtime and with no HSE incidents.
A typical well on Troll takes about three months to drill and about two weeks to complete. N-24 was drilled and
completed ahead of schedule.
After the installation and start-up of the well, N-24’s three ICVs were tested and full individual lateral control was
achieved. N-24 is a good producer with a high liquid rate and is currently being produced with all ICVs fully open.
N-24 is believed to be the first TAML Level-5 three-branched well with individual inflow control of each branch in
the world. Fig.15 is the well schematic for N-24.

Fig. 15-N-24: New Troll Field Three Branch MLT MIC Oil Producer.
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Conclusion and Future

With the new and innovative Multibranch MIC junction configuration, Troll has an optimized multi-lateral solution. This
solution:
7 Offers improved production control for wells with three or more laterals
7 Offers flow control in the mainbore below the lower junction in both duals, trilateral and quads
7 Enhances/increases oil recovery, reservoir per meter, and well life on Troll
7 Following the success of N-24, all new three or more branched well will be MIC wells
7 Will be applicable for other areas in the world with MLT wells

Following this achievement, the Troll team is committed to pushing the evolution of MLTs and will continue to push
energy frontiers. Currently the team is working on making use of intelligent completion solutions in order to have multi-
zonal individual remote ICVs within each MLT branch.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Statoil, Halliburton and the Troll license partners Petoro, Shell, Total, and
ConocoPhillips for their support and permission to publish this work. In addition we would like to also show our deepest
gratitude to the Troll Mobile Drilling Unit team, Troll Petroleum technology team (PETEC), Halliburton and OTC Brazil
for the opportunity to present.

Nomenclature

AICD Autonomous Inflow Control Device

DHSV Down-hole Safety Valve
DIACS Downhole Instrumentation And Control System
FCV Flow Control Valve
GLV Gas Lift Valve
HSE Health Safety Environment
ICD Inflow Control Device
ICI Intelligent Completion Interface
ICV Inflow Control valve
ID Inner Diameter
IRIS International Research Institute of Stavanger
ITC Intelligent Top Completion
MIC Multibranch Inflow Control
MLT Multi-lateral
TAML Technology Advancement Multi-Lateral (joint industry project)

References

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applied to challenging reservoirs, Doha, Qatar, 6–8 December.
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Zonal Isolation: A Case History. Paper SPE 160060 presented at ATCE 2012, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 8–10 October.
Hagen, Øyvind. 2013. Photo: Troll A Platform. Statoil Communications.
Halvorsen, M., Elseth, G., and Nævdal, O.M. 2012. Increased oil production at Troll by autonomous inflow control with RCP valves.
Paper SPE 159634 presented at ATCE 2012, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 8–10 October.
Henriksen, K.H., Gule, E.I., and Augustine, J. 2006. Case Study: The Application of Inflow Control Devices in the Troll Field. Paper
SPE 100308 presented at SPE Europe/EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria, 12–15 June.
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