Elf cites 5 advantages of horizontal drilling

Journal Article · Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1984 · Ocean Ind.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6196624

ELF Aquitaine used horizontal drilling during a pilot test program to bring commercial production from its Rospo Mare oil discovery in the Adriatic, which would have been a costly disappointment if drilled by a conventional vertical well bore. Rospo Mare is a large reservoir containing a top column of highly viscous crude underlain by a water column. The company felt that a well bore that penetrated the reservoir vertically would bring early flooding of the oil column and yield only water. By penetrating the reservoir with a horizontal well drilled high in the oil column, the well successfully produced on numerous tests from Oct. 1982 until the end of the test program in 1983. Production was termed excellent, with productivity during tests reportedly reaching ca 15 times the rate produced from nearby vertical wells. However, ELF said the results usually average ca 5 times the usual rate of vertical wells.

• OSTI ID: 6196624
• Journal Information: Ocean Ind.; (United States), Vol. 19:6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
ADRIATIC SEA
OIL WELLS
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
PRODUCTIVITY
AQUIFERS
FIELD TESTS
OFFSHORE DRILLING
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PETROLEUM
VISCOSITY
WELL DRILLING
DRILLING
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
TESTING
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production