Successful Collaboration of Major Global Completion Vendors for Deployment of Electro-Hydraulic ICV Single Trip Intelligent Completion in Long Horizontal Water Injector in UAE Onshore Carbonate Field

Abstract

The successful deployment of well downhole flow control systems has proven to benefit in extending well life and reducing assets development cost. This paper details the sophisticated process of installing downhole zonal control completion technology in a water injector well, with a journey that spanned approximately 18 months. The process began with the selection of the candidate well by the subsurface engineering group, followed by the maturation of the completion design concept, thorough planning, and culminating in successful execution by the drilling team.

The intelligent completion downhole control system presented in this paper is an electro-hydraulic system that provides efficient and field-proven zonal control of multiple valves within a single wellbore, utilizing a minimal number of control lines. This system employs two hydraulic lines and one electric line from the surface to selectively actuate downhole flow-control devices, such as interval control valves (ICVs), from a remote location. This technology is particularly advantageous for high-rate multizone water injection.

The 7-zone electro-hydraulic ICV system was deployed into the targeted reservoir zone as part of a single-trip monobore completion. This completion comprised a conventional upper completion design with a safety valve and feed-thru production packer in the top section, while the bottom section included electro-hydraulic ICVs, permanent downhole gauges, and swell packers, all run in a cased hole 7" liner. Swell packers were installed between ICVs to provide better compartmentalization of the injection intervals across the reservoir area. A significant amount of time was dedicated to selecting the optimal candidate injection well to fully benefit from this intelligent well completion system. Once the well was chosen, the team finalized the well design concept and commenced manufacturing the equipment according to customized requirements. As the execution date approached, changes to the casing design were implemented based on lessons learned from previous single-trip completions in long horizontal holes. This considered installing a 7" slotted liner with swell packers across the openhole reservoir area, which subsequently reduced the friction factor while running the long intelligent completion string in the hole.

The deployment of the intelligent completion with electro-hydraulic ICV required close collaboration among leading and globally recognized completion and wellhead providers from the early planning stage, resulting in flawless execution. While advanced completion technology is designed to enhance oil recovery, it often involves more complex designs and field installations and comes at a higher cost than existing common completion technologies. The authors emphasize the importance of comprehensive planning when preparing to deploy such complex completions, detailing the challenges faced and the solutions utilized to overcome them. By sharing insights into technology principles and best practices based on end-user experiences, this paper aims to benefit other industry professionals.