Artificial Lift Experts Warn of Long-Term Production Issues in Horizontal Wells

Abstract

Artificial Lift The list of challenges facing artificial lift systems in horizontal shale wells is a long one, and the stakes are high. From the shape of the borehole to harsh downhole conditions, horizontal wells are pushing the technology to its limits. The hurdles have become even higher for operators that have prioritized drilling wells as fast as possible, reducing completion costs, and attaining high initial production rates without considering the implications on long-term production. Over the past decade, oil and gas companies have borrowed billions of dollars to drill more than 70,000 horizontal wells across North America, an estimated 95% of which are dependent on some type of artificial lift to keep flowing. The investment in many of these wells has been predicated on the idea that they will profitably produce for 20 to 40 years. Whether that promise can be delivered will in large part “be pinned upon the reliability and the cost effectiveness, or the efficiency, of the artificial lift systems that we have,” said Kyel Hodenfield, president of artificial lift systems for North America at Schlumberger. Hodenfield and a panel of three other industry experts made the case for why artificial lift should be at the forefront of a shale producer’s mind at the recent Unconventional Resources Technology Conference in San Antonio, Texas. At the heart of the matter is the fact that unconventional wells are the most complex wells that artificial lift vendors have ever had to work with. “Our wells are not getting any simpler,” said Richard Luht, an executive technology leader at GE Global Research. “They are getting deeper, hotter, and (have) longer-reach laterals.” A defining characteristic of shale wells is their steep decline rates, which means some wells come onto pump within a matter of weeks of being completed. And in the first year of production, multiple artificial lift systems may be installed in a single well as the rapid change in water, oil, and gas production dictates which variation of the technology will work best.