화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol.47, No.11, 28-32, 2008
Horizontal Well Geosteering: Planning, Monitoring and Geosteering
The geosteering process should not be seen as a process solely designated for the most expensive or highest profile horizontal wells. It can be regarded as another tool for improving the odds of success by remaining in the productive zone for longer periods of drilling. Also, it can be used to optimize the positioning of a horizontal wellbore in the sweet spots within the reservoir. The current process has been successfully applied to large infill drilling programs at over 40 wells for heavy oil, tight gas, conventional oil and gas plays and for Mannville coalbed methane (CBM) in Alberta. The service has been provided irrespective of location, as long as the Wellsite Information Transfer Standard Markup Language (WITSML)/Pason Satellite service is available. Exploration and production (E&P) companies are continuously being driven to reduce the cost per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE). E&P needs and technologies related to advanced and accurate directional drilling, communication of vital data in real-time through the internet, as well as reduced cycle time associated with advanced forward-looking 3D geo-modelling and visualization technologies (Figure 1), are currently converging. The motivation to reduce costs has been responsible for advancing the horizontal well geosteering process by incorporating the Measurement While Drilling (MWD) tool into mainstream drilling practices. The universal economic benefits gained can be found in all resource play types (conventional oil and gas, heavy oil, tight gas and coalbed methane). It is important to note that the process described here is essentially collaborative, For best results, there must be cooperation between the E&P operational geologist, wellsite geologist, directional driller and geo-modelling staff, as well as the engineering consultants involved in the project (i.e. the team as a whole).