Multilateral completions prepare to take off

Journal Article · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1996 · Petroleum Engineer International

OSTI ID:218358

Brockman, M ^[1]; Gann, C ^[2]

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1. Baker Oil Tools, Houston, TX (United States)
2. Baker Hughes INTEQ, Houston, TX (United States)

The development and evolutionary process of multilateral drilling and completion technology is an event in technological oil field history analogous to horizontal technology. In the same way operators and service companies integrated horizontal technology, the next 3 to 5 years will see multilateral technology grow to optimize production and lower per-barrel cost over the life of a reservoir. Chief among the remaining challenges to multilateral completion techniques is integration of drilling and completion methods that allow operators to perform future interventions while maintaining control of individual sections. The key difference between horizontal and multilateral technology is that the former was drilling-driven while the latter is completion-driven. This paper reviews the technology and equipment that is making multilateral completion come of age.

• OSTI ID: 218358
• Journal Information: Petroleum Engineer International, Journal Name: Petroleum Engineer International Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 69; ISSN 0164-8322; ISSN PEEID4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OIL WELLS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
WELL COMPLETION
WELL DRILLING