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Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol.46, No.12, 73-77, 2007
An effective horizontal well completion and stimulation system
Over the last two decades there have been many developments enabling accelerated growth in horizontal drilling. Drilling has been the primary driver, with current technology capable of drilling laterally through a hydrocarbon reservoir for thousands of feet. The second driver has been advancements in completions and stimulation. Initially, horizontal drilling was limited to naturally fractured reservoirs with simple open hole or slotted liner completions. This was due primarily to the ability of the reservoir to flow economically without the need for stimulation. Reservoirs requiring stimulation were typically not candidates for horizontal drilling. With developments in completion and stimulation technology, applications for horizontal drilling now encompass a broader range of reservoirs. Until recently, there have been two completion and stimulation options. The horizontal well can be completed open hole, or with a slotted or perforated liner. This has essentially negated any effective stimulation along the entire length of the horizontal wellbore. The second completion system requires cementing the production liner and running multiple isolation systems to effectively treat different sections of the wellbore. This requires multiple coiled tubing trips along with multiple rig up and rig down of the stimulation equipment involved. These multi-stage horizontal completions take weeks to complete at high cost and elevated risks. Ultimately, the high completion costs, or the lack of production due to ineffective stimulation, make many reservoirs uneconomical to exploit. This paper will detail a new completion system which is run as part of the production liner which does not require cementing and provides positive mechanical diversion at specified intervals so fracturing and stimulations can be pumped effectively to their targeted zone. Details of the engineering design and testing will be specified, with elaboration on the applications and case histories where these systems have been successfully deployed. The case histories will detail the operational efficiencies of the system in conjunction with the enhanced production realized.