First Installation of Hydraulic Flow Control System (Smart Completion)in Saudi Aramco

摘要

Saudi Aramco has successfully installed the first HydraulicDown Hole Flow Control System in Saudi Arabia in March2004, in Shaybah field. In 2002, Saudi Aramco optimized itsdrilling strategy by drilling Maximum Reservoir Contact(MRC) wells in Shaybah field to improve well productivity byproviding maximum reservoir contact and to reduce thedevelopment unit cost of drilling and production. In addition,it was necessary to equip selected wells with the options oflaterals isolation and a flow control system in order tomaximize the benefits of these wells.The objectives of using such a system are to improve thereservoir’s management, increase the life of the well and toavoid intervention.This well was drilled as a multilateral (Tri-lateral) welltargeting one reservoir with total reservoir contact of 8.7 km(28,670 ft). This paper will discuss the difficulties that wereencountered during the planning, drilling, and finallyinstallation and testing of the system. Extraordinary effortswere made to ensure the success of this system as it has a greatimpact on future installations of such technology in SaudiArabia.