SPE-169190-MS

Improved Zonal Isolation in Open Hole Applications

Johnny Bårdsen, Paul Hazel, Ricardo R. Vasques, Øyvind Hjorteland, Welltec A/S; Øystein Eikeskog,
Statoil

Copyright 2014, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Bergen One Day Seminar held in Grieghallen, Bergen, Norway, 2 April 2014.

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Abstract
Achieving effective zonal isolation within long reach horizontal wells via conventional means, such as cement or swell
packers, is becoming increasingly challenging to the industry. The longer step outs limit the Equivalent Circulation Density
(ECD) due to frac/pore pressure limitations. Subsequent complex stimulation operations impose higher differential pressure
(dP) across the packers.

To address these challenges, a novel design was introduced, effectively creating an expandable metal, sleeve-type annular
barrier that allows cementless completions and effective zonal isolation. The design of the new annular barriers, assembled
on a full bore liner, minimizes the running outside diameter (OD) whilst delivering a high differential pressure seal even
within a washed out hole.

The qualification process was designed to meet the International Organization for Standardization ISO14310 V3 standard
and to simulate the lifecycle of the packer during acid stimulation and later-life water management.

The benefits to operators include increased reliability and certainty for success, both in the short-term and over the life of
the wells.

This paper reports recent implementation of the new annular barrier to meet the unique challenges of annular high pressure
containment. Findings are supported by specific case examples, and the paper includes a discussion on design, application
and performance.
Background
Zonal isolation (ZI) in producing wells is required for a number of well-known reasons. It prevents cross-flow from higher
to lower pressured zones within reservoirs or between separate reservoirs during shut-ins, minimizes unintended gas or
water intrusion with oil production and focuses stimulations for maximum efficacy. However, the methods by which ZI is
accomplished can leave something to be desired. Cementing pipe is the traditional means to achieve ZI; however, the skin
effect from cement can damage sensitive formations and the equivalent circulating density (ECD) required can restrict the
safe application of cement in depleted zones as well as in long reach horizontal wells. Open hole packers partially fill this
technology gap, but have significant short-comings in extended reach horizontal wells, such as susceptibility to damage.
Inflatable packers are phase-limited by the inflating fluid and typically unsuitable for high temperature/high pressure
applications. Swell packers are mechanically simple, but require several days, even several weeks, for wellbore fluids to
diffuse into the elastomer and swell it sufficiently to seal. Meanwhile the deferred production can be costly. And over the
life of the well, changing wellbore fluid composition or temperature can detrimentally affect swollen seal integrity; for
instance, natural gas and condensate can reduce the differential pressure capability of oil-swellable packers.

To address these technology gaps, several North Sea operators funded research and development of an expandable metal,
sleeve-type annular barrier. The new annular barrier tool was customized to meet each operator’s specific applications while
achieving ISO14310 V3 qualification testing as described by Drechsler, et al (2013) [1].

The present track record for the five wells, in which this new metal annular barrier has been run, includes both applications
as zonal isolation and contingency cement assurance (see Table 1 in the section on Updated Operational History). Since the
first field trial, described in [2] and [3], two operators have run the annular barriers in four additional wells to date (January
2014). The results of these additional applications are detailed in this paper.

 Well # 1: Cementless lower completion with five of eight pressure-isolated zones acidized [2] and [3]
 Well # 2: Cementless lower completion with two of seven pressure-isolated zones acidized
 Well # 3: Two expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers run as cement assurance contingency
 Well # 4: High pressure, cementless, zonal acid stimulation of five zones
 Well # 5: Sealing off three carbonate zones

Expandable Metal Sleeve Annular Barrier Design and Functionality

Because the new expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier is not yet well known, as a courtesy to the reader, the
following information is summarized from [2] to provide the basis for interpreting the new data presented here. The annular
barrier uses a metal outer sleeve mounted on the OD of the liner or casing (Figs. 1 and 2).

Figure 1: Expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier depicted in open hole before and after expansion. Optional
elastomer seals are shown on the left and expand with the metal sleeve. A metal-to-formation seal sans elastomer is
depicted on the right.

One end of the expansion sleeve is welded to the liner (or casing, hereafter termed liner for convenience) and the other end
of the sleeve is sealed against the outer prepared surface of the liner string using sliding seals (also known as piston seals).
On applications to date, the metal outer sleeve contained surface pressure-activated elastomer seal elements housed within
seal carriers (Figure 2). The elastomer was not required to change composition to seal and, therefore, was fundamentally
different than elastomers used in swell packers. The elastomers used in expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers were
selected to exceed swell packer reliability even if (when) wellbore fluid composition changes over the life of the well.
Figure 2: Expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier cross section pre-expansion

Using well fluids, the metal outer sleeve is hydraulically expanded radially to make contact with the formation. The well
fluid is communicated from the liner via ports within the liner wall (Figure 3). During the hydraulic expansion, the metal
outer sleeve yields (the yield pressure being a function of the material grade, wall thickness, and the diameter) and then
plastically deforms to conform to the open hole profile. The metal outer sleeve is manufactured with a high ductility alloy
that work hardens as it expands, increasing its resistance to collapse. The result is a uniform expansion of the material
which conforms to the open hole or another casing string, as the case may be.

Figure 3: Cross section illustrating how hydraulic pressure expands the metal sleeve to conform to open hole

The initial contact seal is designed to be sufficient at relatively low dP across the barrier within the annulus. As the annular
dP increases in a zone (due to stimulation or water injection), the high pressure across the annulus is used to enhance the
contact pressure between the seal and the formation. This design enables the expandable metal annular barrier to carry very
high dP (qualified for applications up to 10,000 psid). A recent design improvement, termed a valve block, limits further the
risk of collapse and is discussed in the Technology Enhancements section below.

Figure 4: Example of zonal isolation during acidizing where rock anchors between expanded metal sleeve annular barriers
prevent longitudinal translation, and ports in the work string located between temporary packers direct stimulation fluids to
each isolated zone.

In all five deployments to date, annular barriers were run in the hole with a diameter only nominally greater than that of the
liners on which they were mounted, thus minimizing risk of getting stuck. In four of the five deployments, the barrier was
hydraulically set once the completion string was landed at the desired depth. The expandable metal, sleeve-type annular
barrier is designed to be resilient under varying well conditions and is expected to be unaffected by fluctuating
environmental variables, for instance, salinity, viscosity, and temperature over the life of the well. Future SPE papers will
address these issues as more data becomes available. To summarize the background information:

• The expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier features a full bore production ID, requires no control lines
and may be rotated during installation
• The hydraulically expandable, metal sleeve conforms to irregular hole geometries
 • Various sizes of the tools are qualified to ISO14310 V3 and progressing toward V1
• The tool is customizable through material selection; typically used are 316 stainless steel, duplex alloys, and
NiCr alloys
• Sixteen (16) expandable, metal sleeve annular barriers successfully isolated annular pressure without cement
for an eight zone, carbonate reservoir. Two stages were water-swept and a five stage, open hole acid
stimulation job was performed in this technology's first field trial (well # 1)
• Expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers enable the well to come on-line faster than with traditional
swell packer methods

Updated Operational History

Table 1 describes the track record to-date (January 2014) of the expandable, metal sleeve annular barrier. Of primary
interest in this paper is the second deployment in which thirteen annular barriers were successfully installed by Operator 1
during the second field deployment of this innovative, completion solution. The result was a cementless lower completion
with seven, pressure isolated zones expected to last the full lifespan of the well.

Table 1: Expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier track record

Base pipe Nominal OH size, inch Expansion Application Quantity of Expansion status Comments
Size, inch OD, inch pressure, Kpsi Annular
Barriers
7.60 9.19 9.5 10 ZI/HP acid stim 16 All barriers expanded, Cementless completion
no failures (IWS*)
7.63 9.19 10.5 10 ZI/HP acid stim 13 All barriers expanded, Cementless completion
no failures (IWS)
7.00 8.25 8.5 8 (design) Cement Assurance 2 Not expanded Run as cement assurance
contingency
7.63 9.19 9.50 under reamed 10 ZI/HP acid stim 12 All barriers expanded, Cementless completion
to 10.00 (incomplete to date) no failures (IWS) awaiting stim boat
& fair weather
7.63 9.19 10.5 10 ZI/HP acid stim 7 All barriers expanded, Cementless completion
(incomplete to date) no failures (IWS) awaiting stim boat
& fair weather
* IWS: Intelligent Well Systems

Well # 1: Cementless lower completion with five of eight pressure-isolated zones acidized
The first field trial included sixteen metal annular barriers deployed to seal off eight carbonate zones, five of which were
successfully isolated and stimulated over a 1,250m (4101 ft) horizontal section while the new annular barriers withstood
2400 psi differential. This operation is described in details in [2] and [3].

Well # 2: Cementless lower completion with two of seven pressure-isolated zones acidized
A total of thirteen, 5m long expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers were mounted on the exterior of a 7-5/8 in. liner
in a 9-1/2 in. hole under-reamed to 10 in. with wash outs up to 10-1/2 in. This allowed a maximum diameter, full bore liner
with rotational capability to be deployed in the open hole. Once the liner hanger was set, the barriers were hydraulically
expanded with 10,000 psi injection pressure under surface control. While expanding, the barriers were simultaneously work
hardened along the 2,134 m (7,000 ft.) horizontal section of the 5,486 m MD (18,000 ft.) well. All barriers were
successfully expanded resulting in a cementless, lower completion with seven pressure-isolated zones. Stimulation
operations were postponed. Installation of the inner string and stimulation are scheduled mid-2014.

Figure 5: Cementless, lower completion with seven, pressure isolated zones 

Well # 3: Two expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers run as cement assurance contingency
About the same time, another operator deployed two annular barriers as a contingency against potential failure of a
complicated cementing job, across a troublesome formation. The barriers were run as a part of the lower completion liner
with these parameters:
• Rotated at 30+/- rpm
• Cement pumped at 1,200 lpm

The liner was successfully cemented and pressure tested so the expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier contingency
was not implemented. However, the pressure integrity of the completion indicates the unexpanded barriers remained sealed
after rotating.

Well # 4: High pressure, cementless, zonal acid stimulation of five zones

Twelve expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers were deployed to seal off five carbonate zones in a new well (Figure
6): one of the five zones was water-swept; two of the four production zones were stimulated; and the other two zones await
stimulation boat availability and favorable weather.

Figure 6: Expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier used to isolate five zones 

Figure 7 below illustrates the acid stimulation of Zone D, during which the expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers
successfully withstood 2,750 psid over an hour.

Figure 7: Expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers isolated 2,750 psid between Zones D & C
during acid treatment of Zone D 
Figure 8 indicates that the annular barriers were successful isolating treatment pressure in Zone C for almost an hour. This
compares favorably with [2] that reported the barriers successfully withstood 2,750 psid.

Figure 8: Expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers isolating Zone C hold 2,750 psid in the annulus during acid job  
Well # 5: Sealing off three carbonate zones
Seven expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barriers were deployed by Operator 1 in another well to seal off three
carbonate zones. All barriers were expanded with no failures but stimulations are pending and will become the subject of a
future paper. However, good pressure integrity after the cement job indicated that no elements were sheared off after
cementing in rotation and pumping-by. Note that ISO14310 qualification testing of the expandable metal, sleeve-type
annular barrier under rotation remains underway.

Near Term Forecast Operations and Technology Enhancements

One operator qualified the expandable metal, sleeve-type annular
barrier and selected it as the primary, zonal isolation technology for
their new North Sea field development. For this particular application,
the field being developed contains three independent reservoir
segments and zonal isolation between each reservoir is required for
effective field development. The expandable metal sleeve-type annular
barrier (Figure 9) was qualified for 10,000 psid at 160oC in a
challenging HP/HT gas condensate well. The annular barrier will
prevent annular flow between the three reservoirs during production
and provide effective water management later in field life, enhancing
recovery factor and reservoir management.

The same operator qualified and selected expandable metal, sleeve-

type annular barriers for extension of their existing well where
cementing was considered high risk and inflatable/swellable packer
technology was insufficient for the required dP. The design
specifications for this expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier
drove development of a valve block which enables higher dP. The
innovation should deliver a number of key benefits: Figure 9: Expandable metal screen-type
annular barrier on 5-1/2 in. liner in 8-1/2 in.
open hole for zonal isolation in combination
with sand screens.
 • Enables lower expansion pressure without compromise to a high dP
• Isolates the expansion port after reaching the final expansion pressure to mitigate any risk of casing burst or
collapse integrity
• Relieves collapse pressure on the expanded sleeve by allowing pressure within the expanded barrier to balance
either the pressure in the annulus above or below the barrier
• Retains liner integrity in the event of annular barrier compromise during deployment

The valve block (VB) replaced the standard fluid expansion port. During pressure cycling, the pressure within the
expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier was equal to the stimulation pressure within the adjacent zone. The barrier
expansion sleeve was subjected to the maximum pressure from within. The annular barrier was designed to meet the
greatest expected burst pressure requirements (Figure 10).

Figure 10: Benefits of a valve block

The VB is tested to 10,000 psi in both directions. Benefits of including the VB design is reduced expansion pressure whilst
maintaining higher collapse rating. The VB also supports verification of V1/V0 rating on the liner/CSG integrity by the use
of the VB and shear pin functionality. The VB will, post expansion, on an engineered design pressure, shear the shear pin
and enable a closed and qualified barrier against possible inflow through the VB.

The valve block has been through:

• Detailed failure mode analysis conducted on general design
• Extensive sub-assembly qualification tests
• Specially designed test fixtures to enable multiple tests/variables
• Shear pin valve test
 Valve functionality

Metal annular barrier expansion
Pc annulus connected to metal
annular barrier and barrier
expanded
Expansion port is isolated and
locked shut via the control valve
If metal annular barrier integrity is lost during deployment, the ΔP across the choke will activate the control
valve and isolate the port in the liner and lock closed
Pressure balance Pb to metal annular
barrier
Pb annulus is connected to metal
Annular barrier
The pressure across the metal
annular barrier expansion sleeve is
balanced
Pressure balance Pa to metal
annular barrier
Pa annulus is connected to metal
Annular barrier
The pressure across the metal
annular barrier expansion sleeve is
balanced

Figure 10: Valve block flow diagram

Valve block Shear pin test results

Shear pin valve – metal annular barrier isolated

Expansion pressure to the metal annular barrier

Figure 11: Valve block

The compensation valve is compensating the metal annular barrier in a continually passive mode. The benefits are that the
annular barrier will always read the highest pressure and therefore withstand a higher dP in burst/collapse mode.

The compensation valve has been through:

• Detailed failure mode analysis conducted on general design
• Extensive sub-assembly qualification tests
• Specially design test fixtures to enable multiple tests/variables
• Shuttle valve
 Pressure equalization
Compensation valve

High pressure annulus fed to metal annular barrier

Figure 12: Compensation valve

Conclusions
Expandable metal sleeve-type annular barriers have the potential to overcome a number of the drawbacks associated with
conventional zonal isolation techniques.

A number of operators have now provided demonstrable success of the expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier in the
field.

Subsequent to the initial field trial, further field deployment of these annular barriers indicates the new technology has
broader rather than narrower applicability. Two major North Sea operators selected the technology in their near term field
developments. They intend to leverage the annular barrier into cement assurance applications as well as for zonal isolation
during stimulations.

The original expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier is being improved by the addition of a valve block that
substantially increases its collapse resistance.

Future applications include zonal isolation in multi-lateral wells in which segmented wellbore compartments greatly
outnumber those currently limited by control lines associated with traditional packers in “smart” wells.

The selection of expandable metal, sleeve-type annular barrier technology can accelerate first production compared to oil-
swell packers that take up to 40 days to expand and seal.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Welltec® management for permission to publish this paper. We also thank Marie Ravnholt
Sannes, Brian Sidle, Anthony W Kent and James Greenlee for their assistance in preparing this paper.

References
[1] Jan Roar Drechsler, Øystein Eikeskog, Paul Hazel, Ricardo Vasques, Boris Filev, Johnny Bårdsen, and Øyvind
Hjorteland: "Qualification and Field Trial of a Metal Expandable Well Annular Barrier" SPE/IADC 163511, presented at
SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 5–7 March 2013.

[2] P. Hazel, H. Singh, J. Bårdsen, R. Vasques, R. Pearcy, N. Hannah: "Open Hole Packers Provide Zonal Isolation for High
Pressure Acid Stimulation within a Chalk Reservoir" SPE 166391, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, October 2013.

[3] A.W. Kent, D.W. Burkhead, R.C. Burton, K. Furui, S.C. Actis, K. Bjornen, J.J. Constantine, W.W. Gilbert, R.M.
Hodge, L.B. Ledlow, M. Nozaki, A. Vasshus, and T. Zhang: “Intelligent Completions And Un-Cemented Liners Combine To
Provide A Fully Completed Solution With Zonal Isolation In Norway”, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 30 September-2 October, 2013.

Nomenclature
dP = Differential pressures, force per unit area
ECD = Equivalent Circulation Density, mass per unit volume
ISO = International Organization for Standardization
IWS = Intelligent Well Systems
lpm = Liters per minute flow rate
OD/ID = Outside/Inside diameter
psi = Pounds per square inch pressure
psid = Differential pressure, pounds per square inch
rpm = Revolutions per minute rotation
VB = Valve block
ZI = Zonal isolation