Successful Application of Intelligent Completions in Al Khalij Field
Authors: Carpenter Chris 
Published: March 2016

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 172027, “Successful Application of Intelligent Completions in Al Khalij Field,” by X. Briz-Quintero, M. Sofyan, P. Pouget, J. Le-Roch, J. Authier, and Y. Deffous, Total; S.F. Gurses, E. Gulamov, and N. Mukashev, Schlumberger; and M.R. Jaafar, I. Abul-Hamd, and A.R. Al-Naimi, Qatar Petroleum, prepared for the 2014 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, 10–13.November. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Al Khalij field offshore Qatar is formed of a highly heterogeneous carbonate reservoir with significant remaining dynamic uncertainties. Moreover, given the current high field water cut, any operation to decrease it can have a large effect on field oil potential. This paper details the design, planning, and execution of the intelligent-completion technology in the field and covers the value generated for field development.

Field Location

The field, discovered in 1991, is located offshore Qatar (60-m water depth) and is adjacent to the Iranian border (please see the complete paper for a reservoir and geological description). The field was put into production in 1997 and has been developed through three successive phases.

In 2013, 42 electrical-submersible-pump (ESP) -activated wells were producing 223,000 B/D of liquid, with an average water cut slightly below 90%. Eight injectors are available for a total injection capacity of 205,000 BWPD. A water- treatment platform, PP1 (adjacent to the DP2 platform), allows an injection rate of 190,000 BWPD on the DP3 and WP3 platforms. On the DP4 and DP1 platforms, injected water is produced from a regional shallow aquifer, Umm Er Radhuma (600. m). The production is exported to Halul Island facilities through two pipes (Fig. 1).

Well Architecture

The well architecture in Al Khalij field is characterized by a 1500- to 2000-mlong 9.-in. production casing set in the Mishrif formation, an (on average) 1500-m-long 7-in. cemented-andperforated production liner, and an (on average) 1500-m-long 6-in. openhole extension. Both the 7-in. liner and the open hole are acid stimulated before well production. Other well architectures are also present in the field.

The oil-producing wells are ESPactivated. They are completed with two ESP strings in order to avoid production shortfalls while waiting on the workover rig should the primary ESP fail.

Downhole monitoring is provided by the pressure/temperature (P/T) gauges located at the bottom of each ESP. Fig. 2.presents a schematic of a standard dual-ESP completion with zone selectivity.

Smart-Well Strategy

Intelligent-Completion Components.

The subsurface components consist of a subsurface-controlled subsurface safety valve, production packer, temporary tubing-plugging device (to set the production packer), ESPs (including P/T gauges), isolation packers, and surface hydraulic-controlled flow-control valves (FCVs). No valve-positioning modules or additional gauges are incorporated in the string; therefore, a robust valve-tracking system is available in order to track the valve position. The FCV actuation is achieved with portable hydraulic pumps and can be actuated manually by the service- provider specialists whenever needed.