:: WELL COMPLETION:

Types and operations ::

 WELL COMPLETION:
OBJECTIVES
Well completion means
transformation of well from
drilling efforts to the
production unit.
 WELL COMPLETION: BASICS
•The various types of equipment used in well
completion involve both sub-surface and surface
equipment.
•The sub-surface equipment are casing, tubing,
packers, nipples, blast joints, subsurface safety
valve, chokes etc.
•The surface equipment are wellhead assembly,
Christmas tree and surface chokes etc.
•Type and size of the surface & sub-surface
equipment affecting the performance of well life.
 BASIC OPERATIONS
•Drilling through the producing zones,
coring, logging of zone etc.
•Placing the proper production casing
and cementing.
•Perforating.
•Installing tubing, packer and well head
assembly.
•Well activation and stimulation if
required.
Factors Influencing Well
Completion Design
•Reservoir considerations
•Mechanical considerations
 BASIC CONSIDERATIONS

FBHP – Flowing Bottom Hole Pressure

SI BHP – Shut-in Bottom Hole Pressure
 Basic philosophy
• Maximize profit
• Keep the installation simple
• Overall reliability
• Anticipate all operating
conditions
• Safety
Basic decisions to be reached in
designing the well completion are:
•Methods of completion
•Number of completions within the
well
•Casing - tubing configuration
•Diameter of the production conduit
•Completion interval
 PRIMARY DECISIONS
Before proceeding to operations
in well completion, primary
decision to be taken is about the
type of completion i.e.
•bottom hole setting and
•selection of the subsurface and
well head equipment.
 BASIC TYPES OF
WELL COMPLETION
i. Open Hole completion.
ii. Liner Completion
iii. Perforated completion
iv. Single Zone Completion
v. Multi-zone completion
 Methods of completion:-
Open Hole: Where casing is set on
the top of the producing zone.
Perforated Casing Completion:
Where casing is cemented through
the producing interval and
communication is established by
perforating.
OPEN HOLE COMPLETION
 Open hole completion Or Bare
Foot Completion: Advantages
i. No obstruction between formation and well
bore.
ii. Full diameter opposite to pay zone is
available for production.
iii. No perforation expenses.
iv. Easily converted to liner or perforated
completion techniques.
v. With gravel pack it provides excellent sand
control where productivity is important.
 Open hole completion: Limitations
i. Excessive gas or water production is
difficult to control.
ii. Selective fracturing or acidizing is
difficult.
iii. Casing set “in the dark” before the
pay zone is drilled or logged.
iv. Requires more rig time on completion
v. May require frequent clean out
operations in bore hole.
PERFORATED COMPLETION
PERFORTAED LINER COMPLETION
 LINER COMPLETION
•Liner Completion: Loose, soft sand formation
requires the Liner completion.
• The production string or oil string is cemented
just above the producing zone and a slotted or
perforated liner is suspended from the bottom of
the string so that the liner can enter the oil sand
or pay zone.
•The liner is used to prevent moving sand from
formation to the well bore.
•The liner may be gravel packed to act as a filter
against fine grained, loose sand.
 SLOTTED LINER COMPLETION
When the producing sand
is loose, but is made up of
fine to course sand grains,
a section of casing, in
which narrow vertical slots
have been cut, can be
used as a liner. The grains
of sand form the bridge
across the slot, through
which the oil can enter the
well.
 GRAVEL PACKED LINER COMPLETION
A gravel packed liner is
used in a well in which
the producing sand is
fine-grained and loose.
The gravel in the space
around the liner acts as
a filter and keeps the
sand out of the well.
 Perforated completion: Advantage
1. Excessive gas or water production can be
controlled more easily.
2. Can be selectively stimulated.
3. Logs and formation samples available to
assist in the decision to set casing or
abandon the well.
4. Full diameter opposite pay.
5. Adaptable to multiple completion
techniques
6. Minimum rig time on completion
Perforated completion: Limitations

i. Cost of perforating long zones

may be significant.
ii. Obstruction between formation
and well bore.
iii. Poor perforation may reduce
production capacity significantly
 Conventional
tubular configuration
•Single zone completion
•Multiple zone completion
 Single Zone & Multi-zone completion
•Single zone completion or Conventional
completion entails drilling to a single
pay zone whereas Multi-zone
completion seeks to provide access to
different pay zones simultaneously.
•Both use casing or liner to remain in the
well bore for long time. To avoid their
repair another string called “Tubing”
has to run along with packers for
production.
SINGLE ZONE COMPLETION
 Single Zone Completion: Factors
•High producing rates, corrosive well
fluids, high pressures, government
policies and operator traditions.
•Various hooks-up are possible
depending on objectives. Basic
questions concern use of tubing and
packers. Many wells are produced
without tubing. This possibility should
also be considered.
 Use of Tubing
i. Better flow efficiency.
ii. Circulation of kill fluids, corrosion inhibitors or
paraffin solvents.
iii. Provides multiple flow paths for artificial lift
system.
iv. Protects casing from corrosion, erosion or
pressure.
v. Provides means of monitoring bottom hole
flowing pressure.
vi. Tubing should be run open ended and set above
highest alternate completion interval to permit
through-tubing wire line surveys and remedial work.
 Use of Packers
•A packer should be run only where it
accomplishes a valid objectives such as
•Improve or stabilize flow.
•Protect casing from well fluids or pressure
•Use of a packer may increase pressure on
casing in the event of a tubing leak.
•Contain pressure in conjunction with an
artificial lift system or safety in system.
•Hold an annular well killing fluid.
DUAL STRING
COMPLETION
 DUAL COMPLETION
•Where packers are used, landing nipples to
permit installation of bottom hole chokes or
safety valves are sometimes desirable.
•Also a circulating device is desired to assist
in bringing in killing the well.
•In a high volume, annular flow well, where
casing can sustain shut – in well pressure,
and safety shut-in capability is required.
 DUAL COMPLETION
•It may be desirable to run a tubing string to
bottom, but set a packer and surface controlled
safety valve within several hundred feet of the
surface.
•Well fluids then flow through both the annulus
and tubing to point immediately below the packer.
•Here all flow is brought in to the tubing through
the safety control valve, and then back in to both
the annulus and tubing the surface. Thus safety
valve control is maintained, but pressure
restriction is minimized.
MULTIPLE ZONE COMPLETION
Single String: Multiple zone completion
• Single string-single
packer

• Single string- Dual

packer

• Parallels string -
multiple packers

• Single string -
multiple packer::
DUAL COMPLETION
 Single string-single packer
There is both tubing and annulus flow of the
producing formation fluid. This is the lowest cost
conventional dual completion.
LIMITATION:
i. Upper zone cannot be produced through tubing
unless lower zone is blanked off.
ii. Casing subject to pressure and corrosion.
iii. Only lower zone can be artificially lifted.
iv. Upper zone sand production may stick tubing.
v. Work over of upper zone requires killing lower
zone.
 Single string- Dual packer
There is both tubing and annulus flow of
formation fluid. The cross over device
permits upper zone to be flowed through
tubing.
LIMITATIONS:
i. Casing subjected to pressure and
corrosion.
ii. Must kill both zones for work over of
upper zone.
SINGLE STRING COMPLETION WITH
MULTIPLE PACKER
SINGLE STRING COMPLETION WITH
MULTIPLE PACKER
Advantages:-
1. Producing section can be opened or closed
by the use of Wireline.
Limitations:-
1. Difficulty of monitoring flow from
individuals zones
2. Difficulty of treating or even perforating
individuals zones unless well is killed and
tubing is pulled.
PARALLEL STRING MULTIPLE PACKER
 PARALLEL STRING MULTIPLE PACKER
This type of completion can lift several zones
simultaneously. Co-centric tubing and wire
line work over jobs are practical in all zones
without interfering the other zones.
LIMITATIONS:
i. High cost
ii. Susceptibility to tubing and packer leaks
iii Hesitation to perform stimulation or work
over jobs in individual zones.
PERMANENT TYPE WELL COMPLETION
MUTIPLE TUBINGLESS COMPLETION
 MUTIPLE TUBINGLESS COMPLETION
•The multiple tubing-less completion
technique is an out-growth of permanent
well completion (PWC) system and co-
centric tubing work over technology.
•It involves cementing several strings of pipes
inside one well bore. Originally this concept
was applied to multiple string of 2 7/8 inch
pipes but currently multiple string of 3 ½
inch and 4 ½ inch are used.
•The concept should not be thought of as
being limited entirely to low volume
producing or injection wells.
MUTIPLE TUBINGLESS COMPLETION
MUTIPLE TUBINGLESS COMPLETION:
ADVANTAGE
i. Reduced initial completion and future
workover costs.
ii. Each zone is independent and can be
worked on without disturbing the other
completions.
iii. Communication between strings is easily
located and eliminated.
iv. Procedures are simplified.
 MUTIPLE TUBINGLESS COMPLETION:
LIMITATIONS
i. Restricted production rates.
ii. Corrosion and paraffin control more
critical.
iii. Higher risk due to pressured well
fluids.
iv. High rate stimulation treatment
difficult.
v. Long zones sand control more
difficult.
HORIZONTAL WELL COMPLETION