Standard oil applies extended-reach drilling to Prudhoe Bay

Journal Article · Tue Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1986 · Pet. Eng. Int.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5562653

Littleton, J

Standard Oil Production Co. is using horizontal wells to develop a portion of the Prudhoe Bay field on Alaska's North Slope. Testing of the first extended-reach horizontal well there, JX-2, yielded 12,4000 b/d of oil for 60 days-about a fourfold increase in production rates over conventional vertical wells in the area. As a result, overall production levels may be impacted significantly. The Prudhoe Bay oil reservoir is thin in comparison to its volume and is characterized by good vertical permeability. Wells completed through the gas cap above the oil sand tend to begin producing associated gas rapidly. Wells completed in the lower section of the reservoir produce a high water cut because of a water table below the reservoir. The high water cut results in increased lift and disposal costs. The two main advantages of the horizontal well, therefore, are to expose more of the producing formation to the borehole and to reduce water and gas coning tendencies. Successful results of the first well show a potential for production from some areas of the reservoir that are not economically viable using conventional drilling techniques. This applies despite about a $1-million increase in drilling costs for the horizontal well.

• OSTI ID: 5562653
• Journal Information: Pet. Eng. Int.; (United States), Journal Name: Pet. Eng. Int.; (United States) Vol. 58:4; ISSN PEEID
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
42 ENGINEERING
423000 -- Engineering-- Marine Engineering-- (1980-)
ALASKA
ALASKAN NORTH SLOPE
ARCTIC OCEAN
BAYS
BEAUFORT SEA
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BOREHOLES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CAVITIES
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
DRILLING
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION X
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
OFFSHORE DRILLING
OIL FIELDS
OIL SANDS
OIL WELLS
OIL YIELDS
PERMEABILITY
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PRODUCTION
PRUDHOE BAY
RESOURCES
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
WATER TABLES
WELL COMPLETION
WELLS
YIELDS