Increasing Oil Recovery by Preventing Early Water and Gas Breakthrough in a West Brae Horizontal Well: A Case History

Abstract

Abstract Inflow control devices, which prevent early water breakthrough by passively controlling the inflow profile of a well, have had a long and successful history in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea and in Saudi Arabia. This paper will document the first application of inflow control devices in the UK sector of the North Sea. This application took place on a 4,288 ft horizontal sidetrack of a well in the West Brae field. The completion was designed for a homogeneous permeability but the as-drilled permeability, as shown by logging-while-drilling data, had very high permeability regions in the heel of the horizontal, and lower permeability in the toe. If conventional completion methods (i.e. stand-alone screens, gravel packs, or expandable screens) were used, the result would likely have been early water breakthrough and well abandonment. The authors will highlight the inflow control device selection process, integrated completion and reservoir analysis, well completion operations summary, and production results and predictions. The successful application of inflow control devices on this well illustrates that long horizontal wells can be completed, the problem of early water and gas breakthrough can be prevented, and oil recovery can be increased by using inflow control devices.