Powerful Hydraulic Coil Tubing Tractor Facilitates Stimulation Application in Extended Reach Wells Thru Completion Operations

Abstract

Abstract Matrix acid stimulation in carbonate formations can often be vital to remove formation damage post drilling and achieve a more uniform production profile. Reaching well total depth (TD) is critical for an effective treatment in extended reach wells (ERWs) completed with an electrical submersible pump (ESP). The ESP completion with minimum restriction of 2.44-in. limits the coil tubing (CT) and downhole tools size. Hydraulically powered CT tractors are an ideal solution to pull the CT to TD (Saiood et al. 2018). The completion minimum restriction only allows for 2-in. CT with 2-1/8-in. OD hydraulically powered CT tractors and a maximum pulling force of 3,200 lbs. Pre-job CT design-aided simulations predicted the 2-in. CT size and a 2-1/8-in. CT tractor would not reach well TD due to unfavorable trajectory and therefore potentially jeopardizing a successful stimulation treatment. An alternative method is to utilize 2-7/8-in. CT combined with a 3.5-in. hydraulically powered tractor to conduct matrix acid stimulation prior to installing the upper ESP completion with restricted ID. This alternative arrangement allows for a maximum pulling force of 9,200 lbs, ensuring a greater reach in ERWs and effective treatment. It also tolerates higher pumping rates with 2.875in. CT (up to 5 bbl/min as compared with 2 bbl/min for 2-in. CT), reducing the exposure time of acid on surface, reaching optimum rates faster creating favorable wormholes in the carbonate formation and reducing the pumping operation time by up to 50%. Matrix acid stimulation is then completed with the drilling rig still in position post drilling operations. Thereafter, the upper ESP completion with restricted ID is installed. This engineered solution provides an alternative for CT interventions in extended-reach horizontal wells featuring completion restrictions, where the main challenge is to maximize the reach for optimum stimulation. The approach of combining the 3.5-in. hydraulically powered tractor with 2.875-in. CT pipe successfully enabled effective stimulation of the openhole section to a 27,000-ft. TD in a challenging downhole environment.