First Multi-Stage Swell Packers Open Hole Completion in Rub’ Al-Khali Empty Desert: Case Study

摘要

Many “poor” gas prospects-particularly ultralow-permeability and porosity unconventional rocks such as tight sand-become economic success when hydraulic fractures are created in the pay zone. The fractures allow a single well bore to contact many thousands of square feet reservoirs. Using swellable packer technology has mechanically simplified fracture job. Using multiple packers ensures the entire zone is treated; or in other words, knowing where the fracture fluid goes once it exits the casing, and how each set of fractures is isolated from another is a key in a successful hydraulic fracture design. Lukoil Saudi Arabia started an exploration campaign in the Rub’Al-Khali Empty Quarter in 2006 targeting Non Associated Gas and nine wildcat exploration wells have been drilled and evaluated. It was found during the early stages of the exploration that the gas accumulations in LUKOIL Saudi Arabia exploration Area (Block-A), were typically trapped in tight to ultra-tight reservoirs (see Fig. 1). These gas discoveries in the Empty Quarter have occurred in High Pressure and High Temperature (HPHT) horizons at depths between 12,000 and 20,000 ft, where the stress and temperature are extremely high in addition to micro-Darcy levels of reservoir permeability. This has made the exploration activity more challenging. To overcome the extreme challenges and to help assure the success of the exploration activities, a new completion strategy was implemented in the most recent well(Case Study). The synergy of the new strategy resulted in successfully running the first multi-stage swell packers open hole completion down to 19,251 ft and then performing staged fracturing treatment across the completion. As a result of this new adopted technology, LUKOIL Saudi announced the first Hydrocarbon Discover in Sarah Formation.