Peter Elliot Smith

Openhole ICD completion with fracture isolation in a horizontal slimhole well - Case study

Preventing water or gas breakthrough and equalizing flow are two primary challenges that must be resolved when producing from horizontal slimhole wells. This paper discusses a “first-of-its-kind” concept used in a well owned by Saudi Aramco to prevent/delay water/gas breakthrough and to equalize flow across a 3-7/8-in. horizontal open hole. Inflow Control-Device (ICD)-type completions are desirable for slimhole horizontal redrills, and are a new completion design that combines the ICD-concept with swellable packers to compartmentalize the hole. The completion design was developed by a multidisciplinary team that had been assembled to review the latest technologies and to successfully bring the concept to reality.