Extended reach and complex designer wells demonstrate innovation

Journal Article · Tue Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1994 · Petroleum Engineer International; (United States)

OSTI ID:6933792

Soerheim, J O ^[1]; Skogseth, O ^[2]

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1. Statoil, Stavanger (Norway)
2. Statoil, Bergen (Norway)

The purpose of Statoil's first extended reach efforts was to eliminate subsea wells or reduce the number of subsea templates needed for field development. As a results, total costs were reduced considerably since most extended reach/designer wells drilled today have a complex well profile making it possible to drain several fault blocks and cover a large part of the reservoirs with one well. This has increased the oil reserves and productivity from a field. Also, the number of wells from a platform has been reduced, which has been a major cost reducing factor. To describe well type and degree of difficulty, wells have often been categorized as horizontal, designer, extended reach or mega reach wells. At the Statfjord and Gullfaks fields, many wells cover several categories. The trend at Gullfaks and Statfjord is to drill more complex multi-purpose wells with several targets. In the future, more extended reach wells will exist, which in addition to having a high inclination, will turn in the horizontal plane (up to 180[degree] in azimuth). One practical results of Statoil's extended reach experience is the Sleipner West development, where the number of platforms has been reduced to one. During early planning in 1980, this field was originally schedule for three platforms.

• OSTI ID: 6933792
• Journal Information: Petroleum Engineer International; (United States), Journal Name: Petroleum Engineer International; (United States) Vol. 66:11; ISSN 0164-8322; ISSN PEEID4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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