Challenges in Testing and Completion of An HP/HT Reservoir in Kuwait

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Challenges in Testing and Completion

of an HP/HT Reservoir in Kuwait

R ecently, a new structure located


in northwestern Kuwait was
drilled and tested with a deep-
drilling rig. Formations in this deep
structure have very low porosity
and permeability. During short-term
testing, wells produced oil and gas with,
unexpectedly, the highest hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) content of any reservoir
so far discovered in Kuwait. Because the
Well CC, 33% H2S
reservoir was rated as high-pressure/
high-temperature (HP/HT) and sour, it Well AA, 20% H2S
was a challenge to test the wells safely
and successfully.

Well DD, 2% H2S


Introduction Well BB, 35% H2S
Jurassic carbonate reservoirs in Kuwait
fields are deep, low-permeability, and
HP/HT and generally contain sour vola-
tile oil/condensate and gas. Formations
containing these deep reservoirs are
tight and naturally fractured carbonates. Fig. 1—New-structure well location.
Najmah (NJ), Sargelu (SR), Upper Marrat,
Middle Marrat, and Lower Marrat are the that dolomitization plays a major role for wells were drilled to confirm the re-
five formations proved to hold hydrocar- matrix-porosity enhancement, which is serves potential of this structure. Some
bon-bearing reservoirs. NJ and SR for- responsible for good reservoir character. of the wells are located near the crest of
mations are tighter than the three Mar- As part of an exploration strategy, the structure, whereas some are 1.5 km
rat formations. a new structure in northwestern Ku- from the crest (Fig. 1).
The NJ formation consists of lime- wait was drilled to deep Jurassic forma- During initial short-term well test-
stone at the upper part and shale at the tions. This new structure is a northwest/­ ing, all wells in this new structure showed
bottom. The SR formation consists main- southeast-trending doubly plunging positive indication of oil and gas poten-
ly of shale and limestone. Both are natu- anticline and is intersected by a num- tial. The Marrat, NJ, and SR formations
rally fractured reservoirs, so fractures ber of longitudinal- and transverse-fault were tested. The Middle Marrat forma-
play an important role in production. sets. Earlier, a significant discovery of tion showed a positive indication of oil
The Marrat formations consist mainly light oil and gas from the new deep- and gas potential, whereas NJ and SR did
of  limestone, occasionally with streaks er structure was made from an unsuc- not show encouraging results.
of anhydrite at the top and with streaks cessful Paleozoic well through re-­entry. H2S, a highly toxic and dangerous
of shale at the bottom. The core analysis After the discovery of light oil and gas, gas, is present in almost all Jurassic res-
of the Middle Marrat formation shows three more exploration/delineation ervoirs in Kuwait, with the concentra-
tion normally in the range of 0.5 to 10%.
But during testing of the Marrat res-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
ervoir, an unexpectedly high H2S con-
of paper SPE 167647, “Challenges in Testing and Completion of Highly Sour HP/HT centration was observed (20 to 35%).
Reservoirs in the State of Kuwait,” by Y. Al-Salali, H. Al-Bader, V. Duggirala, M. High H2S levels and HP/HT conditions
Ayyavoo, P. Subban, A.R. Al-Ibrahim, and A. Rajkhowa, Kuwait Oil Company, are the main challenges in testing and
prepared for the 2013 SPE Kuwait Oil and Gas Show and Conference, Mishref, Kuwait, completing the reservoir safely. For a
7–10 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. review of subsurface and surface equip-

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

114 JPT • APRIL 2014

HPHT167647.indd 114 3/14/14 12:25 PM


ment used in these tests, please see the mentation behind the casing along the Testing Operations
complete paper. zones of interest in most of the wells Deep-drilling rigs or workover rigs are
drilled in this new structure. Cement re- used to perform well-testing operations
Deep-Well Drilling pair was attempted in some of the wells, in deep-reservoir zones of interest. The
A deep-drilling rig with 3,600-hp capac- but there was no improvement. In spite drillstem-testing (DST) technique was
ity was deployed to drill deeper Juras- of this, production tests of deeper sec- used to test all exploratory wells.
sic formations (13,500 to 17,500 ft) in tions were carried out. On completing well preparation,
this new structure. Recently, three wells the target intervals were perforated in
targeting deep formations were drilled Major Challenges/Concerns underbalanced or overbalanced condi-
without many complications. Addition- Drilling Mud. The deep, high-­pressure, tions by use of wireline- or tubing-con-
ally, one ultradeep well drilled earlier naturally fractured formations are veyed perforation. A retrievable DST
for exploring Triassic/Paleozoic forma- drilled with heavyweight mud (16 to string consists of two circulating valves,
tions was used successfully to test Juras- 20 lbm/gal), which caused severe forma- memory gauges, and a packer run on a
sic formations in this new structure. For tion damage. premium-connection tubing string to the
standard casing settings designed for the target zone. The string will allow commu-
drilling and completion of deep wells, Perforation. A deep-penetration gun nication between the tubing and annulus.
please see the complete paper. suitable for HT applications is required The isolation between tubing and cas-
The pore-pressure equivalent for perforating HP/HT wells. ing was achieved by setting a retrievable
of the  NJ and SR formations is 16 to packer on the production casing or using
18.8 lbm/gal, and that of the Marrat for- H2S. The presence of H2S concentrations a seal assembly in the polished-bore re-
mations is 14 to 16 lbm/gal. Because of up to 35% in the reservoir fluid and the ceptacle (PBR).
pore-pressure difference and more frac- possibility of surface H2S leaks pose a After perforation, a cleanup flow
tures in the NJ and SR formations, a significant risk to personnel and equip- was performed to determine prestim-
7⅝‑in. liner is usually run to isolate those ment. Suitable sour-service equipment ulation flowing parameters. Pressure/
formations, and then the Marrat section and dedicated H2S safety equipment are volume/temperature (PVT) samples
was drilled in 6½-in. hole and a 5½-in. required. Special-alloy materials are re- were captured during the initial flow pe-
liner was run for isolation. quired to test and complete the high- riod. If there was no flow, then coiled
17- to 20.5-lbm/gal oil-based mud H2S-concentration well safely. tubing was used to displace existing well
was used to drill the 12¼- to 6-in. hole fluid with diesel to achieve drawdown.
section (13,500 to 17,500 ft). During Well Killing. Bullheading would require Coiled tubing was used in all the wells to
drilling, self-flow and a number of gas extremely high operating pressures and spot acid because the injectivity from the
kicks were observed in almost all wells. may not be feasible in a tight forma- surface could not be established. Break-
To control kicks, mud weight was in- tion. Suitable annulus-pressure-­operated down acid was used to create initial flow
creased to more than 20 lbm/gal. To sta- ­reverse-circulating valves are required in from all deeper formations. The main
bilize the loss-and-gain situation, many the test tool. Heavy muds in the annulus acid stimulation was performed to im-
cement-squeeze jobs were carried out can cause difficulty in operating annulus- prove the productivity index of the car-
(with intermittent use of lost-circulation- pressure-operated tools because of solids bonate formation by matrix stimulation.
material pills). Sometimes these unstable settlement, and this may prevent pres- On completion of the main acid stimu-
downhole conditions did not allow the sure transmission to the tools. lation, the well was cleaned up again.
recording of openhole logs. A main flow was performed by flowing
For identification of real-time pres- Hydrates. Hydrates can block pipelines the well through different chokes. PVT
ence of fractures in the deep reservoir, a and interrupt production. Even if the samples were captured again during the
flowmeter was installed during drilling. production is dry, water will condense main flow period. On completion of the
This flowmeter was a flowline sensor that in the gas as it depressurizes and cools main flow period, the well was shut in for
uses advanced technology (compared while flowing to the surface. There is a short buildup to obtain information on
with conventional flow-paddle sensors) thus a risk of hydrate formation, and reservoir characteristics such as perme-
in detecting real-time fractures. even a partial blockage would be a seri- ability and skin. The well was killed by
Cement-evaluation logs recorded in ous concern because of the high pres- activating an annulus-operated circulat-
deeper sections showed very poor ce- sures involved. ing valve, and then the DST string was

TABLE 1—PVT PROPERTIES AND H2S CONTENT

H2S Content (mol %)


Solution Gas/Oil
Well Reservoir Fluid Flashed Gas Separated Gas at 5 psi Bubblepoint Pressure (psi) Ratio (scf/STB) °API

AA 14 20 37 2,632 2,183 46.7


CC 25 35 57 2,250 1,745 44.9

116 JPT • APRIL 2014

HPHT167647.indd 116 3/14/14 12:25 PM


retrieved to the surface. The tested ob- As discussed previously, high H2S To handle any emergency during
ject was isolated with a squeeze packer. content was encountered during produc- sour-well testing operations, skilled safe-
The Marrat formation was tested with tion testing of deep reservoirs. All sour ty personnel were available with masks at
a PBR assembly in 5-in. liner, and the NJ oil and gas produced during testing was all times. Personnel were also trained in
and SR formations were tested with a re- flared to the atmosphere through a burn- H2S handling, SCBA use, and HP opera-
trievable packer in 7⅝-in. liner. er/flare. SO2 is the combustion product of tions. All personnel working on location
H2S, and it is likely to be present during are equipped with H2S monitors, activat-
Fluid Characterization and flaring operations at a drillsite. Continu- ed if H2S levels reach 10 ppm.
Reservoir Interpretation ous monitoring of H2S and SO2 has been
Fluid samples have been collected suc- performed for the safety of work-site per- Results
cessfully per the procedure discussed sonnel and the nearby public. All applica- Four wells were tested in this new struc-
previously from the two tested wells, ble safety equipment is installed on-site ture. The first well in this structure pro-
and PVT analyses have been carried before starting the job and is tested along duced 20% H2S, thought to be the high-
out. Basic PVT properties and H2S con- with operational equipment. est H2S at that time. When another well
tent of the fluid at different conditions The following gas-detection/ was tested, H2S concentrations of up to
obtained from the studies are given in -monitoring and breathing equipment 35% were found, the highest H2S lev-
Table 1. was available at test locations during els discovered in the state of Kuwait to
short-term testing of wells: date. Three wells produced 20 to 35%
Health, Safety, and ◗◗Personal H2S detectors carried by H2S concentrations out of four wells
Environment (HSE) all personnel while on duty tested, and one well produced with 2%
The Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is fully ◗◗Fixed monitoring systems H2S. All high-H2S-concentration wells
committed to ensuring the health and ◗◗Perimeter-area gas-deduction were tested successfully; however, the
safety of its people and protecting the en- system flow period and main acid stimulation
vironment. KOC’s Health Safety Environ- ◗◗Self-contained breathing in the extremely sour wells were re-
ment Management System provides the apparatuses (SCBA)—for 10- and stricted to short durations for safe-
framework for managing all activities. 30-minute durations ty reasons. JPT

HPHT167647.indd 117 3/14/14 12:25 PM

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