Intelligent Well System with Hydraulic Adjustable Chokes and Permanent Monitoring Improves Conventional ESP Completion for an Operator in Ecuador

摘要

Installing an intelligent well system in an existing completionrncan help operating companies accelerate production, increasernultimate recovery, and reduce interventions. It is of particularrninterest when all three of these benefits can be achieved in thernsame well.rnThis paper focuses on such a well, the two-zone oilrnproducer EY-D11 located in the Eden-Yuturi field ofrnEcuador’s Block 15, in which an intelligent well system (IWS)rnwas installed in conjunction with an electric submersiblernpump (ESP) during the workover of an existing completion.rnThe two main value drivers for implementing the intelligentrncompletion were 1) the ability to commingle production fromrntwo zones to meet accelerated production goals whilernfulfilling governmental requirements of properly allocatingrnproduction and 2) the ability to regulate water production fromrnboth zones during commingled production. Secondary driversrnincluded reducing the need for well interventions, the desire tornpull the completion easily to repair or replace the ESP, and thernacquisition of additional knowledge regarding thernperformance of the upper zone. These value drivers werernsatisfied with a system whose key components includedrnremotely operated hydraulic adjustable chokes controlled by arnsemi-automated surface control system; and a field-provenrnsuite of downhole sensors composed of a venturi-type singlephasernflow meter and pressure / temperature gauges with allrnsensors controlled via a single surface data acquisition unit.rnThe intelligent well system satisfies the drivers byrncommingling flow from multiple zones while dealingrnsimultaneously with the different characteristics of each zonernto optimize production.rnThe EY-D11 well currently has commingledrnproduction from an upper and lower zone utilizing a singlernESP, gaining incremental production of 3,500 barrels/day overrnthe previous single-zone ESP completion. Based on thernsuccessful installation and results from this well, a secondrnidentical intelligent completion system was installed in thernEY-D15 well in the Eden-Yuturi field in April 2004. Threernadditional completions are scheduled for the field in 2004rnusing essentially the same system.