Gulf of Mexico Lower Tertiary Development Wells - Cascade Field Case History

摘要

The Lower Tertiary (LT) play is the most recent production frontier in the deepwater of the Gulf ofrnMexico (GoM) in the United States. All LT discoveries in the area share common characteristics: deeprnreservoirs with low permeability, thick pay section, high initial reservoir pressures, Ultra-Deepwaterrndepths, and long distances from flowline tie-ins. The Cascade field started producing in 2012 and hasrnsucceeded in proving the feasibility of the LT play as a new GoM producing horizon.rnThe Cascade Field is located in the GoM at 250 miles South of New Orleans, Louisiana and 165 milesrnfrom the closest position on the Louisiana coast. Its wells are placed at 8,200 ft. water depth in the WalkerrnRidge area. The LT reservoirs (Wilcox Fm.) are composed of many sandstone layers extending verticallyrnfor approximately 1,000 ft.rnThis paper will describe technologies applied in LT projects to deal with reservoir characterization andrnmanagement, well construction, and production operations as a case history. Some of the topics addressedrnin this paper include: fracture design optimization, well completion design, pressure history, skin analysis,rnreservoir characterization, and technical limitation on production drawdown, artificial lift, and theirrnimpact on the formations.rnThe current low oil price market forces operators to become more efficient and creative in reducing thernoverall capital expenditure to develop the LT play. This paper will suggest potential future enhancementsrnin well design to make the wells more efficient and improve project economics.