Gulf of Mexico Case Study Highlights Smart-Completion Application
Authors: Carpenter Chris 
Published: December 2024

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This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 218794, “Multifaceted Smart Completion Application: A Gulf of Mexico Case Study,” by Jeffrey P. Manning, Ben J. Carter, SPE, and Leila Bannister, Occidental Petroleum, et al. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

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Reservoir heterogeneity, stacked pay systems, reservoir compartmentalization, and high temperature and pressure are common challenges seen in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) fields. The use of conventional completion design in vertical wells with commingled production from multiple zones has led to multiple operational challenges. In the complete paper, the authors explore the use of intelligent completions in deepwater GOM as a solution.

Benefits of Intelligent Completions

Intelligent completions allow collection, transmission, and validation of real-time, high-frequency data. This enables analysis of completion, production, and reservoir data while selected reservoir zones are controlled and monitored remotely in real time. Intelligent completions such as multiphase flowmeters, bottomhole pressure gauges, and cased-hole logging tools enable real-time data gathering and monitoring. Additionally, downhole flow-control systems, pinpoint stimulation, intelligent injection, and multizonal isolation technology are examples of intelligent completions that enable production optimization.

This study concentrates on the application of downhole intelligent choke systems in wells that use radio frequency identification technology. Combining this technology with smart sensors or Global Positioning System technology enables sensor data to be transmitted wirelessly. Operations such as opening and closing of valves, indexing and release mechanisms, and a variety of other functions can be implemented using this technology. Multiple tools can be run at the same time without compromising the tool’s internal diameter. Each tool has a unique address; therefore, tags can be coded with data that identifies an individual tool to be actuated.

Intelligent completions can be broadly categorized into the following:

- Downhole flow-control systems: These are passive or active control systems to control flow from each zone. They are remotely controlled by hydraulic lines from the surface facility.

- Permanent downhole sensors: These are discrete or distributed systems that monitor downhole parameters.

- Permanent downhole chemical injection: These systems allow for treatment at different points in the wellbore and flowlines to prevent issues caused by corrosion, hydrates, asphaltenes, paraffin, and scaling.

Case Study: Practical Use of Intelligent Completions in the GOM

The operated field in the northern GOM has successfully used intelligent completions in multiple vertical producing wells to help significantly reduce operating costs associated with topsides water processing, mitigate the risk of sand production, and allow for better subsurface understanding using individual zone-flow tests (this synopsis concentrates on the first two of these three aspects). Intelligent completions enabled these operations without the use of an intervention vessel.