Reviving Two Offshore Oil Wells by Coiled Tubing Gas Lift System Using the Reservoir Gas Cap Energy

Abstract

Abstract For two wells, performing continuous N2 lifting in an offshore environment for weeks to produce a large quantity of aquifer water that had crossed into oil-bearing zones during a long shut-in period would involve high operational and logistical risks and require a large capital investment, which was not proven economical. As an alternative, a Rigless coiled tubing (CT) gas lift system, which uses gas cap energy, was chosen as an efficient, reliable, and cost-effective technique to revive oil production from the two offshore wells. The technique involved running CT inside the production tubing. The CT was then hung up on an additional tubing hanger installed on the production tree. The injection rate and injection pressure were supplied by a choke manifold connected to a gas well that had high wellhead pressure. The gas was injected down continuously through CT, which lifted the standing water in the production tubing annulus to surface. Production logging tools, simulation models, and flow performance applications were used to Estimate the volume of water crossed into oil-bearing zones Identify the time needed to revive the wells The CT gas lift system was found to be the most efficient and cost-effective way to revive production from dead wells. In this application, the free available energy of the only gas well in the field, which was drilled in the gas cap, was used to supply the required gas rate and injection pressure. The following steps were completed with the collaboration of all parties: Successful installation of CT in production tree via additional retrievable tubing hanger Gas pressure and gas rate supplied and controlled by a choke manifold Real-time support to guide the operation towards success Successful retrieval of CT when the operation was over As expected, each well took nearly 45 days of continuous lifting to reach the pre-estimated water cut for the wells to be self-lifting. CT was then successfully retrieved, and the wells continued flowing naturally with considerable rates. The oil rate gain for both wells was around 4,000 BOPD. This methodology has been approved and adopted by the operator for future similar cases as a cost-effective method to revive oil production from dead wells. The novelty of the technique comes from the utilization of gas cap energy in the form of high wellhead pressure of the only gas well in the field, which was drilled in the gas cap, as a source of injection pressure and injection rate. This innovative technique made reviving dead wells possible without changing wellhead configuration or investing in weeks of costly N2 kickoff operations.