Inflow Control Devices—Raising Profiles
Tor Ellis Marathon Petroleum Company (Norway) LLC Stavanger, Norway
Alpay Erkal Houston, Texas, USA
Gordon Goh Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Timo Jokela Svein Kvernstuen Edmund Leung Terje Moen Francisco Porturas Torger Skillingstad Paul B. Vorkinn Stavanger, Norway
Anne Gerd Raffn Abingdon, England
Oilfield Review Winter 2009/2010: 21, no. 4. Copyright © 2010 Schlumberger.
For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Ewen Connell, Rosharon, Texas; and Mary Jo Caliandro, Sugar Land, Texas.
ECLIPSE, PeriScope, Petrel, ResFlow and ResInject are marks of Schlumberger.
1. Al-Khelaiwi FT, Birchenko VM, Konopczynski MR and Davies DR: “Advanced Wells: A Comprehensive Approach to the Selection Between Passive and Active Inflow Control Completions,” paper IPTC 12145, presented at the International Petroleum Technology Conference, Kuala Lumpur, December 3–5, 2008.
2. Raffn AG, Zeybek M, Moen T, Lauritzen JE, Sunbul AH, Hembling DE and Majdpour A: “Case Histories of Improved Horizontal Well Cleanup and Sweep Efficiency with Nozzle-Based Inflow Control Devices in Sandstone and Carbonate Reservoirs,” paper OTC 19172, presented at the Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, May 5–8, 2008.
3. Wellhead penetrations are holes in the wellhead through which power cables and hydraulic lines must pass to reach a device downhole. The number that can be drilled is limited by surface area and by the amount of material that can be removed from the wellhead without compromising its integrity.
4. Jokela T: “Significance of Inflow Control Device (ICD) Technology in Horizontal Sand Screen Completions,” Bachelor thesis, Det Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Fakultet, Stavanger, May 30, 2008.
Heel Toe
Maximizing reserves recovery using horizontal wells requires management of fluid flow through the reservoir. One increasingly popular approach is to use inflow control devices that slow water and gas encroachment and reduce the amount of bypassed reserves.
> Heel-toe effect. Pressure losses along a horizontal wellbore in a homogeneous formation cause the flowing tubing pressure to be lower at the well’s heel than at the toe. In time, and long before oil (green) from sections near the toe arrives at the wellbore, water (blue) or gas (red) is drawn to the heel (top), resulting in an early end to the well’s productive life. Inflow control devices inside sand screen assemblies equalize the pressure drop along the entire length of the wellbore, promoting uniform flow of oil and gas through the formation (bottom) so that the arrivals of water and gas are delayed and simultaneous.
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