Optimal Well Placement Improves Heavy Oil Production

Compared to vertical or lowinclination wells, horizontal wells can deliver higher production rates, higher recovery factors, and more efficient use of steam in thermally enhanced recovery projects for heavy oil. However, the shallow, thin, and friable sand reservoirs in Columbia’s Girasol field present several challenges to the accurate placement of horizontal wells. Schlumberger was contracted to drill a minimum of 25 horizontal wells in the field. The work is being coordinated by the company’s Integrated Project Management (IPM) business segment and involves a range of services including drilling and measurements, geosciences consulting, and completions. Deep azimuthal electromagnetic resistivity logging-whiledrilling (LWD) measurements are being used to map bed boundaries in real time, enabling optimal placement of wells despite the presence of unexpected variations in reservoir geometry and lithology. Combined with continuous inclination measurement near the bit and an effective geosteering process, the technology is delivering more than 96.5% average net pay and is minimizing the risk of unplanned sidetracks. Initial data indicate that the new horizontal wells are delivering a seven-fold improvement in production rates compared to low inclination wells in neighboring fields.