Remote Activated Sliding Sleeves Improve Efficiency and Introduce Operational Flexibility to Offshore Lower Completion Design

Abstract

This paper will portray the development and deployment of remote-activated sliding sleeve devices commissioned for use in a two-stage completion North Sea project. The sliding sleeves are required within the lower completion to provide access to the reservoir, protection to a control line and act as part of the fluid-loss envelope. Remote activation technology has been implemented to the sleeve designs to improve efficiency and introduce operational flexibility.

Three variants of sleeves were designed and deployed to facilitate well objectives. The first variant is run-in-hole (RIH) Open to provide a circulation path and subsequently closed post displacement activities. The second variant is RIH Closed and is distributed across the reservoir. These sleeves are remotely opened post Xmas tree installation and provide the tubing/annulus communication for production or injection. The third variant is again RIH Closed, but this is a purely mechanical sleeve to allow further access to compartments or different reservoir units later in the well's life. A variant of open-hole anchor with bypass capability was also developed and tested.

Remote-activated sliding sleeves were prototyped and qualified to API 19AC. In addition to the standard requirements of API 19AC, open/close cycles were also performed with lost circulation material-laden (LCM) fluid along with low hydrostatic pressure function testing. This latter testing is to allow for sequential functioning without having to shut in or choke back the well, instead functioning while the well is flowing or even under full operational drawdown. Three wells have been completed to date, two producers and one injector. The RIH Open sleeves have successfully acted as a replacement to a traditional fluid loss valve and the RIH Closed sleeves have allowed zonal isolation, selective water shut-off and reservoir management. The use of open-hole anchors has also been standardised, in producers to support future stimulation operations and in injectors to combat thermal contraction. Across all three wells the RIH Open sleeves have all been actuated successfully via Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag carrier or timer and the RIH Closed via pressure sequence and / or timer. The second producer also saw the first implementation of the staged clean-up functionality with sleeves opening at four different intervals over a period of 17 days.