Techbits: Recent Horizontal, Multilateral Well Trends Examined in Workshop

Abstract

Techbits More than 85 attendees converged on Merida, Mexico during 27–28 February for SPE's Applied Technology Workshop (ATW) titled "Horizontal and Multilateral Wells." The international audience of operators, service-company representatives, and academics explored the multidisciplinary nature of developing and managing these wells and the ways to maximize their design, drilling, and completions processes. Over eight sessions, the workshop covered a range of topics, including an overview of the technology; geology and geoscience concerns; reservoir performance and modeling; understanding the wellbore and its effect; drilling, completion, and stimulation practices; economic and risk analysis of the technology; and future challenges. ATW Cochairpersons Benito Ortiz of Pemex E&P and Ding Zhu of Texas A&M University chaired the first session, which focused on the current state of the art in horizontal and multilateral wells planning. Ortiz gave the opening presentation, reviewing his company's approach to horizontal and multilateral technologies. His overview addressed the importance of horizontals and multilaterals to Pemex and to the industry as a whole. Ortiz stated that "the easy oil in Mexico is over," which is the driving force for the application of the new technology. He emphasized that horizontal and multilateral wells employ multidiscipline-oriented technologies, and that successful implementation will require communication and mutual understanding between each member of the project. Chevron's Julie Bonner presented a revealing summary about the history and status of worldwide multilateral well applications. Bonner stated that high oil prices coupled with reserves availability and accessibility challenges have accelerated the implementation of horizontals and multilaterals. The efficiency and profitability of many of the technologies developed for these wells strongly depend on reservoir characteristics, and Bonner emphasized that people, planning, and proper implementation are key issues in the development of the required technology. Bonner also chairs the Technical Advancement of Multilaterals (TAML) committee, which set up a classification system for multilateral wells based on the amount and type of structural support provided at the junction of a multilateral. The TAML Level-3 junction, in which the main bore is cased and cemented and the lateral bore is cased but not cemented, is the junction of choice in the industry because of its flexibility for both new and existing well applications, its openhole support, and its ability to support multiple laterals.