A Short Summary of Retrofit Multilateral Technology Implementation

On the Norwegian Continental Shelf there are many fields and wells in late life production. There are also many nearby drilling targets with limited volumes to add. This situation requires new mindset in order to optimize tie-ins of new reserves to existing infrastructure. Retrofit multilateral well solutions are regarded as one enabeler in this context since they enable tie-in to existing producers from nearby targets through deep sidetrack operations. There are many pre-requisites that must be in place for such solutions to be suitable. In addition, the risk of partial success involves loss of an existing producer. A few such wells have been constructed by the operator in the last couple of years. The requirements and challenges are discussed. The implementations show that it is technically feasible to use conventional multilateral technology in ways that enable installation in producing wells. Improvements to existing solutions are sought in order to facilitate future implementations and to improve robustness of this technology.