Managing Complex, Laterally and Vertically Compartmentalized Reservoirs in a Subsea Tie-Back via Smart Well Completions – Case Studies

Abstract

This paper presents case studies on reservoir and well management of two laterally and vertically compartmentalized Western Australian Triassic gas condensate reservoirs, developed by five multi-zone "smart" wells with sand control, tied back to an offshore platform via a subsea network. In managing assets with such complexity, it is imperative to understand reservoir performance on a zone-by-zone basis. Quantifying performance allows management of flux through downhole sand control systems and optimisation of offtake strategy. The majority of the material published to date on "smart" wells has been focused on completion design optimisation and minimisation of unwanted oil/water production. There are few existing articles about production and reservoir optimisation of high rate gas wells requiring flux management. This paper showcases how remotely-operated selective completions ("smart" wells with permanent downhole gauges for each completion coupled with subsea flow meters for each well) have been instrumental in facilitating prompt analysis of zonal reservoir performance and thus in yielding insights into reservoir connectivity and allowing optimisation of zonal contributions. Various case studies will be presented showing how reservoir surveillance data is acquired and interpreted to optimize well zone-by-zone production and to manage flux limits on each producing zone. These case studies will include manipulation of downhole valves to provide information for established techniques such as interference testing and P/Z analysis. Data acquisition and interpretation challenges are highlighted along with fit-for-purpose solutions developed to overcome those challenges. The insights presented could facilitate better planning of similar systems in the future.