Well Completion Types

Openhole Completion
 Openhole Completion
 Openhole or barefoot completions are only feasible in
reservoirs with sufficient formation strength to prevent caving
or sloughing. In such completions there are no means of
selectively producing or isolating intervals within the reservoir
or openhole section. The production casing or liner is set and
cemented in the reservoir cap rock, leaving the wellbore
through to the reservoir open.

 The use of openhole completions is now restricted primarily to

some types of horizontal wells and to wells where formation
damage from (air drilling) drilling fluids is severe. To prevent
an unstable formation from collapsing and plugging the
wellbore, slotted screen or perforated liners may be placed
across the open hole sections.
 Openhole Completion
 Openhole completion is predominately in thick carbonate or
hard sandstone reservoirs that produce from fracture
systems or thin permeable streaks which are difficult to
identify on logs and are easily damaged by drilling and
cementing operations. They maximize the fracture
intersections and inflow potential due to the large surface
area if drilling and completion damage is avoided.
Openhole Completion
 Openhole Completion
The decision process depends on four key issues:

Is there a risk of causing damage to well productivity with a

cased and perforated completion ?

Is zonal selectivity required ?

Is fracture stimulation required ?

Is there any potential sand production ?

 Openhole Completion
Advantages
Minimum formation damage
With gravel pack, provides excellent sand
control
No perforating Expenses
Log Interpretation not critical
Full diameter opposite pay zone
Easily deepened
Easily converted to liner or perforated
completions
 Openhole Completion
Disadvantages
Difficult control of excess gas or water production

Difficult selective stimulation

Frequent cleanout
 Openhole Completion with Liner
Advantages
Minimum formation damage
No perforating expenses
Log interpretation not critical
Adaptable to sand control technique
Clean out problems avoided
 Openhole Completion with Liner
 Disadvantages
 Difficult to control of excess Gas or water production
 Production casing is set before drilling producing zone
 Selective stimulation
 Additional rig time
 Reduced diameter
 Cannot be easily deepened
 Uncemented Liner Completions
 Uncemented liners are used to
overcome production problems
associated with openhole
completions and to extend their
application to other types of
formations. The formation is
supported by a either a slotted
liner, sand screen or is gravel
packed.
 Slotted Liner
 This type of completion entails a
liner with flow slots machined
throughout its length installed
below the production casing. A
slotted liner is used where there
is a risk of wellbore instability to
maintain a bore through the
formation which otherwise might
collapse and plug off all
production. It also helps in liquid
lift due to the smaller flow area.
 Wire Wrapped Screen
 A liner is drilled with 3/8 ins to 1/2
ins. (9.53 - 12.7 mm) holes along
its length and is then lightly
wrapped with a special V-shaped
wire
Wire wrapped screen completions
are not used very often since:
 Sand movement into the wellbore
around the screen causes
permeability (flow rate)
impairment.
 Screen erosion can occur at high
production rates.
 Wire Wrapped Screen
 These problems may be overcome by filling the annulus
void between the open hole wall and the screen with
graded coarse sand, i.e. gravel packing, which acts to
support the open hole section as well as prevent formation
sand movement.
 External Gravel pack
 An openhole gravel pack is used
where the sands are too fine or
abrasive for a plain screen. The
open hole is under-reamed to
remove drilling damage and to
create a larger annulus for the
filter sized gravel to pack against
the formation wall. When
properly installed, it is the most
effective sand control measure
for weak sandstones and
unconsolidated rocks.
Perforated Completion
Perforated Completion
 Perforated Completion

Advantages
Easy control of excessive gas or water
production
Can be selective to stimulation
Logs & formation samples available to
assist in decision to set casing or
abandon
Easily deepened
Adaptable to sand control
Adaptable to multiple Completion
 Perforated Completion

Disadvantages
Perforating cost could be significant
Liable to formation damage
Log interpretation critical
 Perforated Completion
 Perforated Completions This type of completions are the
most common world-wide due to the selectivity, flexibility,
lower costs, increased safety and convenience that they
provide.
The key issues in cased-hole completion design are:
 Perforated interval selection, gun type, shot density,
underbalance or overbalance, and perforating method, i.e.
casing guns, through tubing guns.
 Completion fluids program selection with regard to fluid
quality and formation damage.
 Type of formation and if special perforating techniques are
required, e.g. high shot density, ultra deep penetration or
stimulation treatments.
 Effective zonal isolation due to cement quality and distance
between zones.
Perforated Cased-hole with Liner
Advantages
Excessive water/gas can be
controlled
Selective stimulation possible
Can easily be deepened
Helps control sand production
Perforated Cased-hole with Liner
Disadvantages
Reduced well bore diameter
Log interpretation is critical
Difficult liner cementing
More expensive (perforating, cementing & Rig time)
 Perforated Cemented Casing
Completions with Internal Gravel
Packs
 This is where the production
casing is cemented. Perforation
of the producing interval(s) is
then performed and the
perforations cleaned out. A
screen is run and gravel is
pumped into the casing/screen
annulus and the perforation
tunnels
CLASSIFICATION-BY MODE OF
PRODUCTION
CLASSIFICATION-BY MODE OF
PRODUCTION
When the hydrocarbon reservoir can sustain flow due to its
natural pressure, flow may be up the production casing string,
up the tubing string, or both.
 Tubingless Completions
Casing flow completions are a
particularly low-cost completion
method used in marginal flow
conditions such as low rate gas
wells.
 Tubingless Completions
Most operators do not normally use casing flow completions,
primarily because the production casing is exposed to
well pressure and/or corrosive fluids. Tubingless
completions are potentially hazardous especially in
offshore installations as there is an increased risk of collision
damage with no facility to install downhole safety valve
systems. The use of casing flow production methods are
discouraged both offshore and onshore.
 Tubing Flow Completions
 Tubing flow completions utilise the
tubing to convey well fluids to surface.
 Flow rate potential is much lower in
tubing flow than in unrestricted casing
flow completions.
 The tubing string can be utilised as a
kill string or for the injection of
chemicals.
 Tubing strings may also
accommodate gas lift valves that
essentially ‘gas assists’ formation
liquids to surface; these valves
would be installed if formation
pressure diminished considerably and
natural drive ceased
 High Rate Liner (or Monobore)
 These are utilised in deep wells where
tubing/casing clearances are small
and for high productivity wells where
the use of a packer would restrict the
flow of well fluids.
 The monobore, termed from the
production liner and tubing having the
same or similar size bores, allows
much improved servicing capability by
the use of ‘through tubing’ tools and
services to conduct many operations
which had previously required the
tubing to be pulled from the well.
CLASSIFICATION BY NUMBER
OF ZONES COMPLETED
 Single Zone Completions
 Flowing wells that are
equipped with a single tubing
string are usually completed
with a packer.
 Single zone completions
include the downhole co-
mingling of production from
several intervals within a pay
zone
 Multiple Zone Completions
 When a well has multiple pay zones a decision must be
made either to:
 Produce the zones individually, one after the other,
through a single tubing string and the annulus.
 Complete the well with multiple tubing strings and
produce several zones simultaneously.
 Co-mingle several zones in a single completion.
 Produce only one zone from that well and drill additional
wells to produce from the other pay zones
 Multiple Zone Completions
a) Single String Dual Completion
This is the most basic dual completion type where production
of the lower zone is up the tubing and production of the upper
zone is up the casing/tubing annulus.

b) Twin String Dual Completion

Separate flow from each zone is maintained by the use of two
tubing strings and two packers

c) Multiple String Completions

Separate flow from each zone can be maintained by the use of
three tubing strings and three packers
 Multiple Zone Completions
d) Concentric String Completions
Concentric strings require less clearance and can often
achieve a higher overall flow capability

e) Selective Multiple Zone Completions

A single string with multiple packers and communication
devices between each packer allows individual or co-mingled
flow from a number of individual zones. This is a good
method of depleting a number of thin zones which would not
warrant individual wells drilled into each zone
Multiple Zone Completions
Multiple Zone Completions
 Multiple Zone Completions
The advantages of multiple zone completions:
Some individual zone production.
Reduced well cost.

Disadvantages of multiple zone completions are:

Production casing is exposed to well pressure and corrosive
fluids.
Tubing can be stuck in place due to solids settling from the
upper zone.
The lower zone must be killed or plugged off before servicing
can be done on the upper zone.
 HORIZONTAL COMPLETIONS

 ‘Multi-zonal’ wells are prime candidates for horizontal

completions as are formations that have naturally
fractured networks from which large production increases
can be expected
ZONE ISOLATION

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ation.psu.edu
Zone Isolation

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ation.psu.edu
Zone Isolation
Zone Isolation
Zone Isolation
Zone Isolation