SPE-WVS-216

Successful use of Multilateral Technology to Improve Oil Recovery in the

Brazilian Amazon
Sandro Mendes, Marcelo Albuquerque, Petrobras, Mario Vento, SPE, Nazildo Batista, Halliburton Energy Services

Section: #8 - Reservoir Characterization/Reservoir Description (Part 1)

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2013 SPE WVPS Second South American Oil and Gas Congress held in Porlamar, Edo. Nueva Esparta, Venezuela, 22–25
October 2013.

This paper was selected for presentation by the SPE Western Venezuelan Petroleum Section Program Committee, following review of information contained in an abstract
submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the SPE Western Venezuelan Petroleum Section Program Committee and are subject to
correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of SPE Western Venezuelan Petroleum Section, its officers, or members. Electronic
reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without written consent of the SPE Western Venezuelan Petroleum Section is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied.

Abstract
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) assessed many technologies to increase production, and reduce costs while protecting the
environment in the Brazilian Amazon. For this project, where access to likely well sites is restricted both by limited infrastructure and
Brazilian regulations, minimizing environmental impact was the primary factor in the operator’s decision process.
To address both environmental and production issues, the operator selected multilateral technology which minimizes the well site
footprint yet allows for drainage of a much larger volume of the reservoir from a single surface location. This is a significant
advantage when compared to the cost and environmental impact of drilling multiple wells or using large drilling pads.
Petrobras implemented this technology in the Urucu field, located 650 km southwest of Manaus, in the heart of the Brazilian
Amazon. The Urucu has three reservoirs and more than 95 wells. The target formation is Jurua in the Paleozoic Solimões basin–a
basin that includes an important petroliferous system (Jandiatuba-Jurua). The reservoir rock consists of eolian and marginal marine
carboniferous sandstones.
This paper presents the results of a successful multilateral technology project in the Urucu field in which three TAML Level 4
dual-lateral wells were installed by Petrobras. Those wells had an average production rate of 1.75 times more than a typical horizontal
well while spending only 1.42 times the average cost of the same.

Introduction
The Amazon rainforest shelters an extraordinary biodiversity. It also provides environmental, medical, and financial benefits such as
climate regulation, water and soil protection, pest and disease control, seed dispersal, pharmaceutical products, ecotourism, and more.
Thus, the production of oil and gas in the middle of the Amazon rainforest demands a great effort to develop and improve
environmentally friendly operational methods that increase production while keeping environmental impacts under control. The oil
and gas industry has taken actions to improve environmental impact for all activities in the Amazon. These include environmental
monitoring, accident prevention, appropriate use of natural resources, environmental education, partnership with research institutes,
and the search for improved technologies such as multilateral wells.

Urucu Field Background

The Urucu field is a remote location situated 650 km southwest of Manaus, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. The operator started
its production activities in Urucu after the discovery of a significant reserve of oil and natural gas in 1989.
 The field consists of three reservoirs called ‘River Urucu’ (RUC), ‘East of Urucu’ (LUC), and ‘Southeast of Urucu’ (SUC).
 The field has more than 95 oil producing wells and more than 20 gas injection wells. The crude produced in Urucu (see Fig.
1) has an average oil gravity of 45° API (Sthener et al. 2010).
 Current daily production is 51,000 barrels of oil, and 10 million m3 of natural gas. LPG plants produce 1,500 tons per day.
The products are transported via a 279 km pipeline to the city of Coari on the Amazon river bank (known in Brazil as the
Solimões River). From Coari there is a 383 km pipeline that transfers the natural gas to Manaus. The oil and LPG are sent to
Manaus by river in tankers (P.N.C., 2010).
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Fig. 1—Map of Urucu field (Image Credit: Google Maps).

System Design for this Project

Casing exit window geometry considerations. Window geometry, specifically the geometrical precision with which a window is
created, becomes increasingly important as production moves forward and is critical when deploying and recovering tools and systems
through the opening (Ponton et al. 2010). Thus, the selection of an improved casing-exit method is required as conventional casing
exits offer poor window geometry. Poorly-defined geometry (see Fig. 2) creates a greater risk of damaging seals and/or packer
elements when they are dragged through the window.

Fig. 2—Conventional milling window

Pre-milled and precision-milled window exit systems were evaluated, as they offer many advantages over conventional casing
exits. The selected system for this planned dual-lateral well project uses pre-milled window technology which does not generate steel
cuttings during junction construction as only aluminum is milled. Typically no cleanup operation is performed between window
milling and the junction completion phase. An oriented nipple profile, called a latch coupling, is installed in a pre-milled window joint
(see Fig. 3) and is used to anchor the whipstock (see Fig. 4) and completion deflector (Eck-Olsen et al. 2011). The latch coupling (see
Fig. 5) provides a permanent depth and orientation reference for casing exits in the well while maintaining the drift ID and casing
rating specifications. Another benefit of this pre-milled window technology is that it more readily results in perfect window geometry
and thus avoids obstructing the passage of tools to drill the new section or branch (Palermo et al. 2012).
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Fig. 3—Pre-milled window joint

Fig. 4—Whipstock assembly latched in pre-milled window joint

Fig. 5—Latch coupling and latch assembly

The Junction Support Tool (JST) provides additional support for cemented junctions set in unconsolidated formations and when
there are collapse concerns. It causes only a slight decrease in the mainbore casing drift diameter (see Fig. 6). The JST was designed
to avoid the displacement experienced by lateral liner transition joints (used to create TAML level 4 junctions) into the mainbore over
the life of a multilateral well (typical in junctions placed on unconsolidated formations). Lateral liner transition joints can create two
problems associated with this displacement: an increased flow of formation solids into the wellbore and obstructed passage through
the junction when attempting to re-enter the lateral wellbore or the lower mainbore lateral (Fipke et al. 2008).
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Fig. 6—Junction Support Tool

In summary, the pre-milled window technology in conjunction with the JST was selected by the operator as the casing departure
method for this multilateral application in the Brazilian Amazon to improve drilling efficiency while reducing environmental impact.

Multilateral Well Design. Due to the characteristics of the reservoir, drainage areas, environmental restrictions, and pressures
involved, the design selected for this application consisted of stacked TAML (Technology for Advancement of Multilaterals) level 4
dual-lateral wells with a JST installed on the junction, which has two parallel trajectories at different vertical depths. The lower
mainbore leg would drain Jurua formation member A, and the upper leg would drain Jurua formation member B. The well has a
cemented liner hanger and liner in the lower mainbore lateral and a cemented drop-off liner in the upper lateral. The wells will co-
mingle production of these legs (see Fig. 7).

Fig. 7—Multilateral well design

Well Information
 Target Reservoir: Jurua 70
 Reservoir pressure: 215 Kg/cm2 (3,058-psi) at 2,440 m (8,005 ft) TVD
 Reservoir temperature: 82.2º C (180º F)
 Oil API Gravity: 46º
 BS&W: 0-40%
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Job Description
The operator drilled and completed three dual-lateral wells in the Urucu field (see Fig. 8).
 Dual-lateral # 1: RUC 58/60 HP in 2008 (see Fig. 9).
 Dual-lateral # 2: RUC 89H/90HP in 2011-2012 (see Fig. 10).
 Dual-lateral # 3: RUC 75D/76HP/RUC 77HP in 2011-2012 (see Fig. 11).

The first two dual-lateral wells followed the original design of having horizontal legs (main and lateral bores), but the third dual-
lateral had one vertical leg (mainbore) and another horizontal (lateral bore).
There was a fourth dual-lateral well (LUC 55/75 HP) planned to be drilled and completed in the same field but a stuck pipe
incident while running 9 5/8-in. casing left the PMW joint 1,000 m (3,280 ft) higher than planned. The operator had to change the well
plan (see Fig. 12) and decided on an exit out the 7-in. casing instead. Then, another PMW joint was installed in the 7-in. casing string
and positioned at 2,170 m (7,120 ft) MD. However, after drilling and testing the mainbore section (before opening the lateral leg), the
operator decided to abandon the well due to poor results. Thus, this planned dual-lateral was changed to a single horizontal well after
drilling only the lateral section out of the PMW installed in the 7-in. casing.

Fig. 8—Urucu field map with dual-lateral wells locations.

Fig. 9—Dual-lateral well # 1.

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Fig. 10— Dual-lateral well # 2.

Fig. 11—Dual-lateral well # 3.

Fig. 12—Dual-lateral well # 4 (only planned).

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Personnel and tool logistics were also important factors in the development of these dual-lateral wells as the operator has its
operations base in Manaus, which is approximately 680 km away from the rig location (see Fig. 13).
Transporting tools from Manaus port to Urucu port by river typically takes 7 days, using a hotshot boat (at additional cost) takes
about 2 days, or there is very limited air transportation to the Urucu camp. The cost of normal fluvial transportation for a roundtrip
between Manaus-Urucu is about 56,000 Brazilian reals (28,000 USD) in a 10-ton boat.
Another critical factor for this project was the time needed to get environmental permits to drill wells in the Brazilian Amazon.
The operator spends an average of six months to get permits from the regulatory agencies. The operator has additional environmental
concerns because when very large areas are cleared for drilling and completing wells in the Amazon, the operator has to reforest them
as soon as these activities end.
All three dual-lateral wells were executed without incidents.

Fig. 13.—Drilling rig location – Urucu field.

Technical Procedures
The following lists summarize the sequence of procedures used for operational drilling and completion activities. The procedures were
reviewed by engineering personnel from the operator and the multilateral technology service company.

Drilling activities:
 Drill a 12 ¼-in. mainbore section to TD.
 Install one PMW joint as part of a combined string of 9 5/8-in., 43.5-lb/ft N-80 and 9 5/8-in., 47-lb/ft P-110 mainbore casings
with BTC connections to 2,230 m (7,316 ft) MD, positioning the casing window at 2,140 m (7,021 ft) MD.
 Once the mainbore casing is set on depth, the PMW joint has to be oriented by reciprocating the casing string. A wireline
orienting tool is run with a gyroscope and latched into the orienting pin on the PMW to take toolface readings until the PMW is
oriented within +/- 30º of highside.
 Drill an 8 1/2-in. mainbore section and complete with cemented 7-in., 26-lb/ft N-80 liner at 2, 772 M (9,094 ft) MD.
 Drill a 6-1/8-in. mainbore (lower lateral) horizontal section to Jurua formation A and completed with cemented 4½-in., 12.6-
lb/ft N-80 liner and packer assembly at 3,524 m (11,561 ft) MD.
 Set the retrievable bridge-plug packer at 2,180 m (7,152 ft) MD and pump sand above it.
 Run a drilling whipstock with a bolted-on mill assembly set in the PMW latch coupling; the mill is released from the whipstock
and the casing window is opened full gauge (8 1/2 in.), and an additional 3 m rathole is drilled into the formation to
accommodate the subsequent directional drilling BHA.
 Drill an 8 1/2-in. lateral section and complete with cemented 7-in., 26-lb/ft N-80 liner and transition joint assembly at 2, 268 m
(7,441 ft) MD.
 Drill a 6 1/8-in. upper lateral horizontal section to Jurua formation B and completed with cemented 4 ½-in., 12.6-lb/ft N-80
liner and packer assembly at 3, 268 m (10,722 ft) MD.
 Retrieve the whipstock to create a TAML Level-4 junction.
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Completion activities:
 Retrieve RBP packer and commingle completion fluid from both laterals.
 Install JST on window junction.
 Install well completion (see Figs. 14, 15, and 16).
 Co-mingle lateral legs production.

Fig. 14— Well completion schematic – Dual-lateral well # 1.

Fig. 15— Well completion schematic – Dual-lateral well # 2.

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Fig. 16—Well completion schematic – Dual-lateral well # 3.

Results
Three 9 5/8-in. x 7-in. multilateral TAML level 4 junctions were successfully drilled and completed at an average depth of 2,140 m
(7,021 ft) TVD with an average of 1,100 m (3,600 ft) upper lateral horizontals and 1,300 m (4,200 ft) mainbore lateral horizontal were
drilled and completed. The main and lateral wellbores, including the junction, were cased and cemented. A JST was installed to
provide additional support to this cemented junction and also to allow selective access to the mainbore or lateral horizontals at any
time during the life of the wells.
These multilateral technology wells had an average production rate of 350 m3 of oil with an average drilling time of 202 days per
multilateral well and an average cost of 27M USD per dual-lateral.
The typical horizontal well in the Urucu field produces an average of 200 m3, drilled in an average of 153 days, and at a cost of
19M USD. In summary, the multilateral technology wells had an average production rate of 1.75 times more than a typical horizontal
well while spending only 1.42 times the average drilling cost of the same, greatly improving the drilling efficiency in this remote
location. Moreover, multilateral technology has provided direct OPEX/CAPEX reduction by having a significant advantage over the
cost and environmental impact of drilling multiple single well sites or large drilling pads in this very sensitite area (see Fig. 17 and
18) by having a smaller well site footprint while allowing drainage of a much larger volume of the reservoir from a single surface
location. Economic evaluation of this project showed that 1.5M USD (rig location cost) was saved by having only one drilling rig (3M
USD is the cost of two drilling rigs).
Finally, wells are now producing co-mingled oil from both laterals through a single tubing string into the field-gathering system.

Fig. 17—Urucu base in Brazilian Amazon.

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Fig.18—Biodiversity in Brazilian Amazon.

Acknowledgements
The authors of this paper thank Petrobras management for their cooperation and support and for permission to publish this work.
Thanks also to the entire Halliburton team for their contributions and dedication.

Abbreviations
PMW = Pre-milled window
JST = Junction Isolation Tool
RBP = Retrievable bridge-plug
POOH = Pulling out of hole
TAML = Technology for Advancement of Multilaterals
ID = Inside Diameter
OD = Ouside Diameter
BS&W = Basic Sediment & Water

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