Production Profiling in Sour High Rate Gas Producers Using Distributed Temperature Sensing DTS – An Alternative Solution Enabled by Coiled Tubing
Authors: Maulana Ibnu , Purwanto Bambang , Pebriyanto Pebriyanto , Nurrakhmadi Wienarno , Kalidas Sanggeetha , Seong Tan Chee , Mhiri Adnene , Rizal Jenie John , Setianti Kuswardani Diah 
Published: March 2022

As part of the strategic initiative to develop main reserves in Jambaran field in East Java, Indonesia, to supply gas and drive the national economy, six gas producers were completed targeting 300 MMscf/D of total production. The main challenge consisted in efficiently perforating underbalanced a minimum of 800 ft in each well. To this end, coiled tubing (CT) equipped with fiber optic (FO) and deployment under pressure were implemented, rigless; this was a first in the country.

Understanding of zonal contribution in those long intervals early in the life of the wells was key to addressing any potential concerns over reservoir productivity and critical to the field management. Due to the high CO2and H2S contents of formation fluids (up to 34% and 10,000 ppm, respectively), traditional production logging was impossible. Instead, distributed temperature sensing (DTS) and downhole pressure point measurements through FO CT telemetry were jointly used to compute the flow distribution along each perforated interval. The acquired data were inverted and analyzed using a pressure-temperature-rate transient analysis (PTRA) software.

In this field, reservoir K is a carbonate formation with a net thickness of ~1,450 ft and an average permeability of 46 md. Gas rates up to 60 MMscf/D were expected in each well. In such extreme downhole environment, DTS on FO CT was selected due to the possibility to circulate inhibitor throughout the operation to protect the CT pipe and downhole equipment. In addition, it enabled logging at gas rates as high as 60 MMScf/D without CT movement, which would not have been possible using wireline or slickline conveyance. In each well, a series of carefully planned shut-in and constant flowing phases were performed, during which temperature profiles and point pressure data were interpreted both qualitatively and quantitatively. A representative thermal model was built in the PTRA software utilizing reservoir properties, downhole point measurements, and surface well test data. Quantitative DTS interpretation indicated the same behavior in all six wells, with an uneven gas production along the perforated intervals. The minimal contributions observed from the upper section of the formation were attributed to low permeability whereas the high pressure drop observed across the bottom section was found indicative of a higher skin. Those findings will be key to future field developments in reservoir K.

The use of CT equipped with FO for DTS proved a reliable alternative to production logging in high-rate gas producers. This study provided critical insights on the completion strategy performance and new considerations to minimize formation damage during future drilling campaigns. It also enabled establishing new best practices for DTS production logging in high-rate producers, in particular with respect to recommended drawdown conditions to obtain reliable readings.