TECHNOLOGY TODAY SERIES

Advanced Drilling in HP/HT: Total’s

Experience on Elgin/Franklin (UK North Sea)
J.-L. Bergerot, Total

Abstract Following discovery and appraisal from 1985 to 1994,

Drilling high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) explora- development started in 1996 with two unmanned wellhead
tion wells remains a challenge, despite years of experience platforms tied back to a central production facility. Eleven
acquired by the drilling/completion industry. Development wells were drilled and put on stream, with deviations up to
wells have further expanded the envelope of performance of 50°, in an average drilling duration of 120 days. These wells
the technologies and procedures required to deliver produc- were drilled before a predefined limit of depletion level had
tion from HP/HT fields safely and economically. Now comes been reached, a level at which the MWW closes—calculated
the time of drilling and completing infill wells, which para- for Elgin/Franklin as 100 bar. First oil production occurred
doxically appear to be more difficult as depletion increases in 2001. Later, two satellite structures, Glenelg and West
and the mud-weight window (MWW) diminishes. Franklin, were drilled and put on production through the
To overcome this problem, intense engineering work has existing installations in 2006 and 2007, respectively, (Fig. 1).
been carried out to better understand the effect of the deple- The reservoirs consist of Jurassic sandstones buried at
tion on compaction and fracturing gradient, to design and a depth exceeding 5300 m. The primary reservoir is the
qualify new drilling-mud systems combined with stress-cag- Fulmar, also called Franklin, sands. Reservoir fluids are gas/
ing techniques, and to prepare contingent solutions with the condensate with a bottomhole pressure of 1100 bar and tem-
deployment of expandable- and drilling-liner technologies. perature of 190°C. The Fulmar reservoir is underlain by the
Three infill wells have been drilled, completed, and put Pentland reservoir with bottomhole conditions of 1150 bar
on production by Total in the Elgin/Franklin fields on the and 200°C (Fig. 2). Despite the depth, the main reservoir
UK Continental Shelf. This success was achieved through shows significant porosity and permeability, allowing strong
severely depleted reservoirs—with depletion greater than 800 productivity. Up to 30% porosity and 1-darcy permeability
bar—and has enabled phased HP/HT developments and deep are found in some Fulmar layers
exploration beneath depleted horizons. Individual wells in the field can produce up to 3.5×106 m3/d
of gas with associated condensate. Surface production condi-
Overview of the Elgin/Franklin tions are 860-bar wellhead shut-in pressure with an associat-
Extreme-HP/HT Fields ed temperature of 180°C. The produced effluent contains 3 to
The Elgin/Franklin fields present an extreme combination 4% CO2 and 30 to 40 ppm H2S. Initially, field gas production
of pressure and temperature (1,100-bar virgin pressure and reached 14.6×106 m3/d, with 24 000 m3/d of condensate.
200°C, respectively) and remain the largest HP/HT gas/ This combination explains the strong need for technology
condensate fields developed in the British sector of the and in-depth engineering for these wells.
North Sea. The fields are approximately 200 km northeast of
Aberdeen in the Central Graben area. Challenges of Infill Wells
Infill wells are drilled for various reasons. For conventional
field management, they can increase the recovery factor, and
Jean-Louis Bergerot, Manager hence the produced reserves, or they can accelerate delivery
for HP/HT Wells Technology–Total or improve the effective drainage.
Drilling Division, joined the Total Infill wells are used to replace wells that have failed. In
group as a completion engineer in HP/HT fields such as Elgin/Franklin, wells are exposed to
1978. Assigned mostly in West Africa, multiple threats resulting from the large amount of deple-
domestic operations, and the North tion. One such threat is sand or solids production, which
Sea, he was Drilling Manager for can erode equipment, including the downhole safety valve,
Elf UK at the time of the Elgin- tree, and surface production piping. Rock-mechanics studies
Franklin HP/HT development. Bergerot also has served as Copyright 2011 Society of Petroleum Engineers
Well Productivity Engineering Manager and as Technical This is paper SPE 129422. Technology Today Series articles are general, descriptive rep-
resentations that summarize the state of the art in an area of technology by describing recent
Services Director for Total E&P UK. He holds degrees from developments for readers who are not specialists in the topics discussed. Written by individuals
École Centrale and from the Institut Français du Pétrole. recognized as experts in the area, these articles provide key references to more definitive work
and present specific details only to illustrate the technology. Purpose: to inform the general
readership of recent advances in various areas of petroleum engineering.

116 JPT • OCTOBER 2011

suggest that sand production is inevitable beyond some cer- which can act as paths for the hydrocarbons initially con-
tain depletion. tained in the underlying reservoirs. Therefore, infill wells
Currently, no field-proven downhole-sand-control method may face high levels of gas in the formation where the initial
can be implemented in the more-severe HP/HT wells. Should development wells did not encounter any hydrocarbon.
such an event occur, wells must be choked down and ulti-
mately can be lost, which leads to significant production loss. MWW Concept. The selection of mud density (mud weight)
Another threat is liner deformation caused by compaction required to drill a well section is driven by three main con-
that buckles the liner or by tectonic movements along faults siderations.
or other bedding planes. Eventually, the liner may become • Pore pressure (i.e., pressure of the fluid in the drilled
sheared off completely. formation)
Both phenomena have been experienced in North Sea HP/ • Fracturing pressure (i.e., fluid pressure breaking the for-
HT fields. Downhole measurements showed that most Elgin/ mation and triggering a fracture)
Franklin production liners have suffered a loss of internal • Borehole stability (i.e., fluid pressure maintaining the
diameter of up to 60%. Phased measurements indicate that wellbore integrity)
these deformations are worsening with time (Fig. 3). The range of density, between the pore-pressure- and the
It also may be important to be able to phase a develop- fracturing-pressure-equivalent densities, is called the MWW.
ment and not be obliged to drill all wells before first oil or Theoretically, the mud density (static and dynamic) should
gas without production history to validate reservoir-manage- remain within this window (i.e., above the value required to
ment plans. In any case, drilling infill wells in HP/HT fields balance the pore pressure, preventing any formation-fluid
remains a strong challenge. influx into the well; above the value required to maintain the
In such fields it is not unusual to observe very fast sig- borehole stability; and below the value required to fracture
nificant depletion. As an example, the initial depletion rate the formation), avoiding severe mud losses.
reached 100 bar/6 months in the Elgin/Franklin case. Two In conventional wells, the MWW is relatively large, allow-
types of issues are generated: ing the mud weight to be “fine-tuned” to prevent any fluid
• Compaction of the reservoir affects the stress distribu- influx, while avoiding mud losses. However, in some cir-
tion, even in formations far above the reservoir. cumstances, such as HP/HT or deep water, the MWW is very
• The MWW disappears. narrow, making drilling very challenging.

Consequences of Compaction. Depending upon the struc- MWW Issue. For wells drilled before reservoir depletion, an
ture’s geometry, an arching effect may develop between the MWW exists between the pore pressure and the fracturing
compacted reservoir and the surface where subsidence can pressure. As depletion occurs, the fracturing pressure in the
be seen, even if limited. This arching will generate, among reservoir decreases with the pore pressure. At the interface
other aspects, areas of high shearing stresses that may affect between the caprock (remains at virgin pressure) and the
wellbore stability of the infill wells. Faults may reactivate, depleted reservoir, the MWW decreases to zero (Fig. 4).
Depending on well configuration, differentially depleted
West Area Development Glenelg and West Franklin layers will have to be drilled in the same section with a high
risk of kick and losses or a combination of shales and deplet-
ed layers will be encountered with a high risk of instability
and losses. Regardless, drilling becomes complex and diffi-
cult, and the probability of a failure increases with depletion.

Fracturing gradient

Most likely
pressure-transition
zone

Pore-pressure
Production wells
gradient
Appraisal and
exploration wells
New development wells

Fig. 1—Central Graben development. Fig. 2—Pore- and fracturing-pressure profiles.

JPT • OCTOBER 2011 117

TECHNOLOGY TODAY SERIES

HP/HT Infill-Drilling State of the Art. When the first infill

well on Elgin/Franklin was evaluated, very few successful
trials of HP/HT infill drilling had been achieved, and none
with a depletion level in excess of 600 bar. One HP/HT
operator faced severe losses when drilling through a forma-
tion depleted by 140 bar, leading to the abandonment of the
bottom of the well. Another HP/HT operator was unable to
reach final depth of an infill well because of insufficient for-
mation strength resulting from depletion, which prevented
safe drilling of the reservoir section.
Drilling through a 600-bar-depleted reservoir in an HP/
HT field was considered far beyond what the industry had
achieved at that date. However, driven by the need of infill
wells and, consequently, of overcoming this depletion barrier,
a feasibility study was launched that concluded that drilling
such wells was feasible in the Elgin/Franklin fields and that
5.500
identified two possible well architectures. On the basis of
5.600
5.700
these results, the development phase was launched and a
5.800 target was selected on the Franklin field.
5.900
6.000
Internal Diameter Colors
Infill-Well-Drilling Feasibility
Uncertainty Identification. The Fulmar reservoir has three
main units.
Fig. 3—Example of liner deformation on HP/HT well.
• The C sands, at the top, have relatively poor characteris-
tics: degraded permeability and vertical baffles.
Ultimately, drilling with conventional techniques, within • The B sands, in the middle, have the best properties and
the fracture-pressure gradient, is not possible and new are the main production contributors.
designs, techniques, and procedures must be implemented. • The A sands, at the bottom, are tighter, but can include
On Elgin/Franklin, rock-mechanics studies estimated the good layers at the top.
depletion limit at 100 bar. Until such time that the depletion Under the main Fulmar reservoir, lie the Pentland sands
level was less than 100 bar, initial-development-well design with poor characteristics. Barely depleted, they remain close
was appropriate. Beyond that point, questions arose regard- to virgin pressure.
ing use of additional strings, with the uncertainties of the Geomechanical Uncertainties. Rock-mechanics experts
correct setting depth and consideration had to be given to were consulted to estimate the two main rock properties
the feasibility of drilling above the fracture-pressure gradient necessary to design the well: fracture-pressure gradient of
by reinforcing the wellbore artificially. the reservoirs and borehole stability of the caprock. The frac-

Estimated
Pore Pressure

MWW Disappears

SG

Fig. 4—MWW disappears with depletion. FIT=formation-integrity test.

118 JPT • OCTOBER 2011

ture-propagation gradient (FPG) is close to the minimum weight can be decreased, but it is kept high enough to drill
horizontal stress and can be modeled. For Elgin/Franklin, a the reservoir safely.
full-scale rock-mechanics model, coupled with the geological Because the main difficulty was the transition-zone cross-
and dynamic reservoir models, had already been built and ing, the architecture for the top of the well was the standard
was used for this purpose. It estimated the FPG to be 1.65- Elgin/Franklin architecture designed for virgin pressure. This
SG equivalent mud weight (EMW). The fracture-initiation design allowed focus on the transition-zone crossing and
gradient is much more difficult to predict than the FPG; provided a comfort factor because this top-of-well architec-
therefore, it was used only as an indication and was con- ture was designed to hold a well full of gas at virgin reservoir
sidered as an uncertain, but existing, margin. On this well, pressure, regardless of circumstances.
it was predicted to be 1.87-SG EMW. Both gradients are a Borehole Strengthening. The borehole-strengthening tech-
function of formation pressure. As such, their profiles suffer nique is used widely in the industry. The principle is to create
from the same uncertainty as the reservoir-pressure profiles. a fracture by using a mud weight higher than the fracture-
The other information requested from rock mechanics was initiation pressure (FIP) and plug the fracture on creation
borehole stability of the caprock. This information allowed to prevent further growth. The plug is formed by LCM that
defining the minimum mud weight that can be used to is continuously present in the mud. The created fracture
cross the transition zone without suffering unmanageable increases the rock stress locally, enhancing the hole’s ability to
borehole instability of the open hole above. Information on support high mud weight. The technique is used more com-
the caprock is even more limited than that on the reservoir. monly with water-based mud, which exhibits high filtration
Geological Uncertainties. Depending on the architecture values. The high temperatures experienced on Elgin/Franklin
selected, the top-reservoir-depth prediction was critical dictate use of oil-based mud. Because filtration of oil-based
to maximize the success of the transition-zone drilling. mud is very tight, the filtration from the fracture face into the
Extensive geophysical techniques were used to minimize the formation is virtually nil. The consequence is that the plug at
uncertainty of this test prediction. These included thorough the fracture mouth must seal tightly as soon as it is created.
examination of seismic data and uncertainty studies on depth The other difficulty is to define the width of the fracture
conversion. The prediction was given to +30 m and −45 m. to be sealed. Rock-mechanics calculations showed a direct
Often in Elgin/Franklin, some thin limestone layers (centi- relationship between fracture geometry (width and length)
meter-to-decimeter thickness) are found to be gas bearing in and the amount of overpressure. The higher the pressure, the
the caprock. These zones can be drilled underbalanced, but wider the fracture, at a given length. In this case, it was esti-
sometimes require high mud weight to enable trips. mated that the mud could be designed to form an efficient
Reservoir Uncertainties: Defining the Pore-Pressure plug of 1-mm width, while keeping reasonable rheological
Profile. Monitoring the average pressure of existing Franklin properties, despite a high solids content.
producers showed a depletion of more than 600 bar of the Therefore, the mud was designed and tested to be able to
main reservoir. The pressure of the Fulmar B sands was seal a 1-mm gap. The LCM additives consist of sized crushed
confidently estimated at 500 bar at the planned reservoir- marble and sized graphite material. Laboratory testing
penetration date. The pressure of the tighter C sands was enabled adjusting relative concentrations of LCM additives,
more difficult to predict. to achieve a quick and efficient plugging of 1-mm slots. In
The highest uncertainty was in the pressure-transition pro- addition to in-house tests, tests were performed in a third-
file between the caprock, believed to have remained at virgin party laboratory.
pressure, and the reservoir section. Is it at the very top of the Mechanical Backup—High-Collapse-Rating Expandable
reservoir or is the bottom of the caprock affected by deple- and Drilling Liners. Expandable liners are used widely in
tion through microfractures? How thick is the transition to seal off weak zones to allow increasing the mud weight to
zone, and how steep is the pressure gradient in this zone? penetrate deeper zones at higher pressure. This use makes
Considering all uncertainties, different scenarios were them work under a burst mode. In this case, the expandable
envisaged. A pressure profile along the well path was drawn, liner had to work in a collapse mode. Expanded pipe has low
and a probability of encountering higher pressure at top res- collapse capacity, and this is a limitation of the technique. To
ervoir was evaluated for each scenario. increase the collapse capacity to the required value, approxi-
mately 350 bar, a development program was undertaken
Retained Well Architectures. To deal with these drilling with the selected provider.
challenges, two architectures were defined. The first involves Although expandable liner has been run in high-tempera-
use of a specially designed mud loaded with specific lost- ture wells, the operator thought it prudent to test the expan-
circulation materials (LCMs). The technique is known as sion system with high mud weight and high temperatures.
“borehole strengthening.” Once the reservoir has been pen- This testing was conducted in a shallow well in a special
etrated, the transition zone is cased off with a 7-in. liner. testing facility in Dallas. The system was left soaking with
The second architecture involves the use of expandable liner 2.15-SG oil-based mud at 176°C for 18 hours before initiat-
to cover most of the caprock. Then, the transition zone is ing expansion and expanding 18 m of pipe. Examination
drilled with a lower mud weight below the FPG. The remain- of the seals and parts of the system afterward showed no
ing opened caprock would be short enough that borehole significant degradation. The system was declared qualified
instabilities can be managed. Then, the transition zone is for the application.
covered with a cemented 65/8-in. drilling liner. After the The liner-drilling technique also was becoming available
reservoir has been drilled, the 65/8-in. liner is covered with when development work was ongoing. This technique pre-
a 41/2-in. liner. After the transition zone is covered, the mud sented two main advantages: First, there is no need to trip

JPT • OCTOBER 2011 119

TECHNOLOGY TODAY SERIES

out of hole to run the liner, leaving the caprock in an under- Well logs showed the presence of good sands at the top of
balanced condition for a long time. Second, it allows use of a the reservoir, covered only partially by the drilled-in liner.
higher mud weight during drilling. If heavy losses were expe- Reservoir pressure was 1,004 bar, requiring a higher mud
rienced when entering the reservoir and the hydrostatic pres- weight than planned.
sure applied on the caprock dropped, the formation could The only remaining option was to drill to final depth
collapse. With a drilled-in liner, it would collapse around the with the designer mud. The losses-response plan was
liner, leaving the hole cased off. Isolation behind the liner updated accordingly, and drilling continued at a reduced
might be achieved by the collapsed formation. penetration rate into the remaining C sands, the B sands,
and 55 m into the A sands. TD was reached at 5678 m with
Implementation only a seepage loss rate noticed, approximately 200 L/h for
Top sections were drilled as planned. The 133/8-in. casing a small period. It was difficult to ascertain which of the fol-
was called 100 m short at 3585 m. This resulted in a leakoff- lowing had happened.
test value of 1.84-SG EMW instead of a planned 2.10-SG • The borehole was fractured, and the borehole-strength-
EMW. As drilling progressed in the Herring formation, 150 ening technique worked.
m before the planned phase total depth (TD) and 450 m • The designer mud increased the FIP by creating a perfect
above top of the reservoir, the gas level increased suddenly. seal between the borehole and the formation.
Drilling was stopped, and production casing was run and • The mud-column pressure was below the initial FIP.
cemented successfully at 4939 m. The final 41/2-in. liner then was run, and the well was
The main consequence of this event was that the Herring completed, perforated, and put on stream at an initial rate
high-pressure layer had to be crossed with the 81/2-in. sec- of 2700 m3/d.
tion. Its required mud weight, confirmed when crossing it
again, was 2.05 SG minimum, which was considered too Conclusions
high for implementing the borehole-strengthening tech- The first infill well was drilled successfully, completed, and
nique. Therefore, the primary architecture was ruled out perforated in an HP/HT reservoir after 660 bar of depletion
from the start of the 81/2-in. section. A decision was made to had occurred. Two architectures were designed to achieve
implement the contingent architecture. this goal, and all contingencies were used. Despite the large
amount of work performed to reduce geological and reser-
Running Expandable Liner. Before running the liner, a cali- voir uncertainties, surprises were encountered. The biggest
per was run in the open hole to estimate the best placement surprises were in the overburden, long before reaching the
of the elastomer-bonded pipes. The hole proved to be mostly reservoir. Most of them are believed to be the result of reser-
in gauge. The liner reached TD without any problems. The voir depletion.
dart was dropped and the expansion process was initiated High-permeability sands (up to 100 md) were drilled
at a much higher pressure than expected, close to the burst with 660-bar overbalance without significant losses. The
pressure of the cone-launcher element. Once initiated, the formation damage created by the designer mud, if any, was
expansion process went smoothly, and the liner was installed bypassed by the perforations.
as planned. This success opened new perspectives in the HP/HT domain.
• It enabled development of additional reserves in the
Drilling With Liner. After the expandable shoe was cleared Elgin/Franklin reservoir. Two additional wells have been
and the stability of the well assessed, the 65/8-in. drilled-in drilled successfully through more-severely-depleted reser-
liner was run. The well was displaced with the specially voirs (approximately 800-bar depletion).
designed mud loaded with the LCM originally designed for • It provided assurance that wells that fail in the future can
the borehole-strengthening technique. The liner drilled the be replaced, thus securing production over the life of the field.
remaining portion of the caprock and penetrated the reser- • From a wider perspective, phased HP/HT-field develop-
voir at 5451 m. No more than 500 L of losses was noticed ments can be contemplated. This will affect HP/HT field
when penetrating the reservoir. These very low levels of economics by allowing a reduction in preinvestments.
losses led to questioning the top-reservoir depletion. Drilling Nevertheless, deep HP/HT infill wells are not and never
was continued until 5484 m, where the liner hanger was will be routine. Dedicated and integrated HP/HT teams
about to hang on top of the expandable liner. The liner then (drilling, geology, and others) combined with while-drilling
was cemented in place. reactivity are keys to success. JPT

Reservoir Drilling. Having achieved successful isolation Acknowledgments

of the transition between caprock and reservoir, one would The Elgin/Franklin fields are operated by Elf Exploration UK
expect that the mud weight could be decreased to drill the Ltd. on behalf of itself and its coventurers:
remaining reservoir with a minimum overbalance. The mud E.F. Oil and Gas Ltd.*, Eni Elgin/Franklin Ltd., BG
weight was decreased to 1.50 SG before drilling the shoe. International (CNS) Ltd., Ruhrgas UK Exploration &
High levels of gas were experienced as soon as the shoe was Production Ltd., Esso Exploration and Production UK Ltd.,
drilled. The mud weight was raised to 1.60 SG, and drilling Texaco Britain Ltd., Dyas UK Ltd., Oranje-Nassau (UK) Ltd.
continued for 40 m, in the presumed poor-productivity C
sand, still with high gas levels. The well was displaced back *E.F. Oil and Gas Ltd. is a company held 77.5% by Elf Exploration UK Ltd. and
to 1.86-SG designer mud to allow a safe trip out of hole. 22.5% by Gaz de France.

120 JPT • OCTOBER 2011

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