| Popis: |
Horizontal wells have become very common in the Middle East because of their capability to increase reservoir contact, particularly in carbonate reservoirs. These types of formations often are naturally fractured, and because of channeling from underlying aquifers, allow the ingress of water into the production process systems. When water breaks through to the well completion, it tends to increase and becomes preferentially produced, thereby reducing the volume of produced hydrocarbons. This phenomenon adds cost to the well operation because of the requirement to lift, separate, treat and dispose of the water. Preventing and managing water-cut through cementing, chemical application or the use of mechanical openhole barriers such as inflatable packers is costly, and often, the method chosen is not effective.This paper will discuss the use of swellable packers to provide a long-term, completely effective, water shutoff tool. These packers use expanding rubber around the packer that expands to seal the annulus. When expanded, a permanent seal is created, regardless of whether the packer has been run as a straddle or as a plug. The packers can be used in open and cased-hole applications in all the most common oil-and gas-well environments.This paper discusses the development and design of the packer and presents case histories from the Middle East and other parts of the world that illustrate the advantages that swellable packer technology can provide to operators in reservoirs in which water break-through has been predicted or experienced.In these case histories, it will be shown that the packers significantly reduced water cut, which in turn, reduced water disposal costs and intervention needs while increasing production rates and extending field life. |
