Production Logging Techniques Enable Appraising Emulsified Horizontal Boreholes Equipped with Inflow Control Devices

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The goals of reducing excess water production appear challenging. An inflow control device (ICD) is completion hardware that is included as a part of a downhole completion across the reservoir section and that helps in distributing the inflow evenly. Production logging after the installation of ICDs can be performed to determine the flow profile and understand the downhole productivity to help with future development, and calibration of reservoir model. However, evaluating fluid flow through these complex completions with the presence of emulsion could include uncertainties. Two investigations were conducted in two emulsified horizontal wells that were ICD-completion oil producers. The presence of downhole emulsion during the operations was limiting the identification of the downhole flow rates of both oil and water. In the first example, three horizontal production logs (HPLs) were acquired before and after the ICD installation. The initial two acquisitions were to monitor and support the ICD completion design, respectively. Challenges encountered in the third horizontal production logging tool (HPLT), deployed by tractor, required evaluating the adaptive ICD performance and closing the ports that are producing water. To minimize chances of emulsion, flowing data were acquired at high, medium, and low choke settings. This was observed by electric-probe water detection and the separation of minispinners with well deviation at lower choke sizes. The other logging operation was an attempt to acquire an inflow profile along the length of 3,000 ft in the horizontal well. Due to the presence of emulsion, three-phase holdup and water-flow logs from the pulsed neutron logging tool (PNLT) were integrated with the production log to appraise the ICD performance and identify the water entry zones. Each of the investigation actions were interpreted independently before combining the data to conclude the results. The presented production logging techniques solved challenges in horizontal wells. The solution focused on reducing the requirements for evaluating complex emulsified boreholes completed with ICDs, with the goals of restoring and maximizing production, saving the operator time and money for complex interventions, and getting the maximum return on investment.