Drilling & Formation Evaluation While Drilling Services Used in Minerva-Hub Development Wells Helps Double Production
HOUSTON - Schlumberger Oilfield Services announced today that it has received top recognition by BG Group for a well placement solution in Minerva-Hub development wells in the southern sector of the North Sea.
With 116 submissions from 13 different countries, the project was initially selected as one of nine finalists before being announced as the Winner in the "Alliance with External Parties" category as part of this year's BG Chief Executive Innovation Awards.
Speaking today, Jon Wormley, executive vice president, Northwest Europe Region, BG Group said, "BG Group is pleased that our strategic relationship with Schlumberger enabled the project team to quickly re-design the Minerva well concept to cope with reservoir uncertainty. By tapping into the worldwide experience of Schlumberger, we identified applicable technologies and solutions to the challenges we faced. Winning the award is a tribute to the teamwork displayed by the staff of both companies in delivering an appropriate solution to the Minerva development drilling programme."
For the Minerva-Hub development wells, BG Group, Schlumberger and GlobalSantaFe designed and executed a multilateral openhole sidetrack solution to increase well exposure to reservoir sweet-spots and maximize well productivity. The 47/3c-M1 on Minerva was completed with three laterals through three fault blocks -- almost doubling production and reducing total expenditures.
"Our ongoing strategic relationship with BG Group allowed for an open and creative working environment, which factored greatly in us developing this world-first technique. The laterals were performed without tripping out of hole, which saved BG time and reduced the overall cost of the drilling operations," said Alison Goligher, managing director UK, United Kingdom, Schlumberger Oilfield Services.
"We have extensive engineering experience with multilateral wells in the southern North Sea, but this was the first time we have drilled sidetracks in the vertical plane to optimize both reservoir appraisal and sandface completions," stated Chris Ness, vice president, ADTI, the drilling management services business segment of GlobalSantaFe. "We credit the JUNO team, whose collaborative efforts brought this innovative solution to reality."
The initial Minerva development well flowed at a rate well below production expectations, despite being a 2000-foot horizontal sidetrack of the previously drilled exploration well. In order to protect the future of the development, a different approach to the design had to be taken for the remaining developments. The subsurface and drilling team determined that multilateral technology was the best technique to secure adequate lengths, as conventional multilateral technology would not have allowed the completion to be run.
To ensure the liner could be run to total depth (TD), openhole laterals were drilled exiting on the high side of the main well bore (up-laterals) regardless of whether they were to go up or down. This allowed the laterals to act as pilot holes to establish position of the well with respect to the reservoir stratigraphy, as well as contributing to well deliverability by intersecting more high permeability layers. The laterals also served as additional producers.
Key technology to aid positioning of the laterals was the use of real-time images from the Schlumberger geoVISION* downhole measurements-while-drilling (MWD) and logging-while-drilling (LWD) imaging services. These and azimuthal density neutron LWD data were viewed real-time using the InterACT* web-based system and allowed a detailed analysis of the reservoir geology while drilling.
"The data from the real-time images delivered the information needed to plan the next stage of the well and saved three bit trips to recover memory data. No well test or production log were required," said Ian Tribe, well placement business manager, Schlumberger Oilfield Services. "This mitigated risk and aided decisions on placement of the multilaterals; real-time data enabled improved reservoir understanding throughout the drilling."
-Ends-
About Schlumberger
Schlumberger is the world's leading oilfield services company supplying technology, project management and information solutions that optimize performance for customers working in the oil and gas industry. The company employs more than 50,000 people of over 140 nationalities working in 100 countries, and comprises two primary business segments. Schlumberger Oilfield Services supplies a wide range of products and services from formation evaluation through directional drilling, well cementing and stimulation, well completions and productivity to consulting, software, information management and IT infrastructure services that support core industry operational processes. WesternGeco, jointly owned with BakerHughes, is the world's largest seismic company and provides advanced acquisition and data processing services. In 2003, Schlumberger operating revenue was $11.5 billion. For more information, visit slb.com.
For further information, contact:
Emma White
Schlumberger Oilfield Services
Tel: + 44 1224 385618
ewhite2@slb.com
Linda Silinsky
Schlumberger Oilfield Services
Tel: + 281 285 4270
silinsky@slb.com
© Press Release 2006
