SPE/Petroleum Society of CIM 65515

HPHT Horizontal Sand Control Completion

D. Law, SPE, BP Amoco Exploration, A.S. Dundas, SPE, and D.J. Reid, SPE

Copyright 2000, SPE/PS-CIM International Conference on Horizontal Well Technology

The accumulation comprises a gently tilted fault block with
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2000 SPE/Petroleum Society of CIM Inter- hydrocarbons contained within Triassic fluvial sandstones,
national Conference on Horizontal Well Technology held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 6-8
November 2000. sealed predominantly by Cretaceous mudstones and
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE/PS-CIM Program Committee following
argillaceous limestones. Hydrocarbon fluid properties vary
review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the considerably across the structure with relatively lean gas
paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers or the
Petroleum Society of CIM and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as present in the eastern terrace and condensate-rich fluids
presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers,
the Petroleum Society of CIM, its officers, or members. Papers presented at SPE/PS-CIM
contained within the western area of the main accumulation.
meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of Petroleum Compared to conventional North Sea reservoirs it is near
Engineers and Petroleum Society of CIM. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of
any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of HPHT with a pressure of 9123 psia and a temperature of 3100F
Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract
of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain (Table 1).
conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write
Librarian, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.
Initial plans for a stand alone field development with 22
conventional wells failed to clear economic hurdles. It was not
until the mid-90’s when a project bringing together several
Abstract medium sized fields using the one infrastructure (Eastern
The Marnock field is a retrograde gas condensate Trough Area Project) and advancements in horizontal well
accumulation in the central area of the North Sea. Compared to technology, that the development became economically viable.
conventional North Sea reservoirs it is near HPHT with a The development was based on the Central Processing
pressure of 9123 psia and a temperature of 3100F. Facility (CPF) being placed over the Marnock field, and 6
The development plan comprised six horizontal wells, with horizontal production wells drilled through the platform by a
average reservoir sections of 750m length. Drilling was heavy duty jack-up (HDJU) rig. Sanction to proceed with the
conducted in two phases and has delivered four wells capable field development was given prior to the well concept being
of the original plateau rate expected from six wells. proven, as no analogues were known at this time. As HPHT
Well completion design for this field presented significant horizontal wells with sand control were somewhat unique,
challenges. The main ones were; installing downhole sand additional slots were included on the platform as contingency.
control in a horizontal well, flow back of 1.9 sg drilling mud The completion design for this field has presented
through sand screens and the use of an isolation valve to allow significant challenges, primarily;
the upper completion to be installed under balance.
Completion operations were initially delayed by equipment • Installing down hole sand control in a horizontal well
failures, and difficulties achieving the hole quality required for
• Flow back of 1.9 sg drilling mud through the sand screens
installation of sand screens. The main elements of the
• the use of an isolation valve to allow the upper completion
completion design were revised to a modular approach,
to be installed under balance
reducing interdependency and adding flexibility to the
• Provision of a big bore (5” ID) high pressure TRSCSSV
operation. Improvements in the drilling and preparation of the
reservoir section were also implemented. • The use of cement filled ECP’s for future water shut off
The four wells completed are capable of delivering sand • The introduction of HP coil tubing to the North Sea
free production, with individual well rates of up to
120mmscf/d. This paper addresses the key areas of work and significant
changes implemented throughout the project to take the
Introduction completion from concept to an operationally deliverable result.
Marnock is a gas condensate accumulation, containing ca. 1 tcf
gas and 110 mmstb condensate in-place, located within the
Eastern Trough in the UK Central North Sea, some 130 miles
east of Aberdeen in water depths of around 95 metres (Fig. 1).
2 D. LAW, A.S. DUNDAS, D.J. REID SPE/PS-CIM 65515

Completion Design
Completion Requirements. In addition to the production Completion Fluids. Inhibited seawater was selected as the
objective of >100mmscf/d, the small margin between reservoir packer fluid for the development wells, although at the time a
pressure and dewpoint called for a low drawdown completion review of industry practice indicated a preference for heavy
to maximise condensate recovery. The reservoir management weight brines. Seawater was also chosen as the packer fluid for
objectives for the wells included; a minimum stand-off from testing the first well. Selection of seawater for the completion
the aquifer of 85m, the intersection of potentially different was based on its simplicity and stability for the duration of the
drainage areas (average horizontal section 750m), downhole field life. Furthermore the 9 5/8” casing design for these
temperature and pressure measurement and isolation within the development wells would not withstand the high burst load of
reservoir section to allow flow evaluation and water shut off a surface tubing leak over a column of kill weight fluid.
capability.
Scale. The hydrocarbon column is in direct communication
Rock Mechanics. A review of the original laboratory core with a large aquifer of high salinity brine (350,000ppm). Water
work from the exploration wells and additional petrophysical saturation within the reservoir is also relatively high at 40-
analysis was carried out to give an up to date rock mechanics 60%. One of the advantages of the horizontal well design in
view of the field. The rock does have some competence with conjunction with a minimum stand-off from the aquifer would
unconfined compressive strength (UCS) in the range 1250- be to reduce the drawdown on the aquifer and hence the risk of
4500psi. However, the range of strengths and the presence of a early water breakthrough in the wells.
weak chlorite cement in places meant that the reservoir was Water production was expected to result in a high risk of
expected to produce sand during the early years of field life. salt (predominately NaCl) and scale (predominately BaSO4)
The desire to reduce the number of wells required to deplete deposition. To reduce the risk of this forming downhole, a
the field led to higher individual well rates (>100mmscf/d). At large bore well design was chosen to limit the pressure drops
these rates producing sand to surface for any period of time in the well, with the object of transferring the problem to
was considered to be untenable. Therefore downhole sand surface where it could be dealt with more easily. A wash water
control was deemed essential from the outset. facility on the flowline was provided for this purpose.

Formation Damage. A review of potential drilling/completion Condensate Banking. Reduced drawdowns were seen as
fluids was carried out including formation damage testing. beneficial in delaying the onset of condensate banking and the
Both oil and water based fluids were investigated and while consequent reduction in relative permeability. An accurate
both proved acceptable, synthetic oil based mud was chosen knowledge of downhole conditions, through the use of
based on drilling parameters. Note; the solids content permanent downhole gauges, would allow some management
(predominately barite) of the mud was expected to be in excess of the problem within individual wells. However, the
of 30%. Heavy clear brine systems for sand control installation downhole temperatures would be at the limit of electronic
were not readily available and so emphasis switched to work gauge technology. Fibre optic gauges were identified as a
being carried out by BP on the flow back of whole mud possible solution.
through screens (Ref.1and 2). Laboratory testing was carried
out with various screen designs and conditioned mud to assess Reservoir Evaluation. To help assist with reservoir
the probability of back flowing whole mud successfully. performance evaluation and future water shut off, some form
Results quickly identified, that due to plugging, only a simple of zonal isolation would be required within the reservoir
screen design would be acceptable. section. The use of a sand screen completion precluded the
majority of isolation methods other than External Casing
Screen Design. Based on the results of the lab work and Packers (ECP’s). Due to the high temperatures simple mud
formation particle size distribution, a dual wire wrap screen filled ECP’s would be unlikely to last for the life of the field
design with 11gauge slot size was recommended. Damage to These packers required to be cement filled if they were to be
the screens while running was identified as a possible issue. effective in Marnock conditions. Furthermore, a simple PLT
Simulations were run to confirm that screen placement would log of the reservoir after clean-up was planned to determine
be achievable, however the limited forces that could be placed the level of clean-up achieved and identification of
on the screens left little margin to work them if resistance was contributing reservoir intervals. To this end ECP’s were
encountered. The screen assembly was designed to include one included in the early sand face completion designs.
centraliser per joint, and a dual screen configuration was
chosen to give some degree of redundancy should the outer Technology Development. Turning the conceptual design into
wrap suffer mechanical damage. Strength testing of sample an operationally deliverable completion required technical
screens was carried out to confirm the load that could be taken firsts and new equipment in several areas;
by the screens without damage. This resulted in an upper limit
of 30 k lbs applied to the screen jacket.
SPE/PS-CIM 65515 HPHT HORIZONTAL SAND CONTROL COMPLETION 3

• Flow back of 1.9 sg drilling mud through the sand screens have required a full work over to remedy. This well was
• An isolation valve capable of greater than 5000psia suspended, and subsequently side tracked.
• Provision of a big bore (5” ID) high pressure TRSCSSV One further well was drilled through the reservoir prior to
• The use of cement filled ECP’s for future water shut off moving the rig off location for the jacket installation. During a
• The introduction of HP coil tubing to the North Sea wiper trip the drilling assembly became stuck. The well was
side tracked, and the sand screens run, becoming stuck 400m
Where appropriate, programmes were put in place with the off depth. This positioned the liner top higher than acceptable
selected vendors and service companies to deliver working in the casing. The well was suspended to plan a revised
solutions. This included additional lab work and yard testing completion following jacket installation.
where possible. Testing in the yard and in a local test well was With the jacket installed and the rig moved back onto
also used to check the interface between the various vendors. location, it was possible to complete the second well with the
Wherever possible field mud was utilised and equipment tested permanent completion, and carry out a clean up flow. During
at operating temperature. this operation a series of equipment failures required the upper
completion to be run a total of four times. The most significant
Completion Installation Phase I failure was during the displacement of the kill weight brine.
The timing of installation of the subsea template, jacket and This was one of the key steps in the completion programme,
topsides required the drilling and completion operations to be leaving the well 3800 psi under balance across the sand face
in several phases. As there was uncertainty in the delivery of isolation valve and packer. This was done prior to landing off
the chosen well design, a key objective of the first phase of the tubing hanger. A packer failure resulted in a gas influx; it
operations was to eliminate some of these uncertainties. Batch was contained by closing the BOP, and displacing back to kill
drilling and completion was therefore discounted in the first weight fluid. A full workover was undertaken to recover the
few wells. The wells would be drilled, tested and suspended failed equipment, and allow investigation of the components.
with hydrocarbons across the reservoir prior to the jacket This determined the cause of the failure, and allowed the well
installation, then tied back and re-completed before the to be completed with modifications.
topsides were installed. The target reservoir section length for Experience on the Phase I wells highlighted that significant
the first well was 500m, the objective was to extend this on work was required on installation of sand screen liner, well
later wells to achieve an average 750m. bore cleanup, equipment reliability and completion
Drilling of the first well was completed without configuration. An improved method for displacing out the kill
encountering any significant problems. On completion of weight brine was also required.
drilling the 8 ½” reservoir section, a wiper trip was run with At the end of this first phase of operations, one well had
the drilling assembly to check hole condition. Pipe conveyed been completed ready for production, with three wells part
logging was carried out, followed by a final wiper trip prior to drilled and suspended.
running the sand control screens. While running the screens,
higher than anticipated drags were experienced at a number of Completion Installation Phase II
points throughout the operation, with screens finally run to 12 Well Design Requirements. In preparation for the second
m off bottom. The packer was set and anchored, however it phase of wells, a thorough review was undertaken of the well
was not possible to obtain a pressure test. Inflation of the two design. The main elements were: a requirement for down hole
ECP’s was then carried out, it was not possible to use cement sand control, large bore tubing and a permanent down hole
for inflation as planned due to the failure of the packer to seal. gauge. These were challenged, and verified by a workgroup
The contingency of mud was used to successfully inflate the reviewing the drilling and completion. The workgroup
first ECP, however the second one leaked during inflation. The consisted of representatives from the partners in the field, the
sand face isolation valve was closed while recovering the inner HPHT project group within BP and the BP Marnock wells
string on this run. A second packer was run and pressure team. This approach improved the understanding and
tested, providing isolation at the top of the screens. confidence in the well design, and allowed input from different
A test string was run in the drilling mud, prior to displacing perspectives. Having agreed the design, sections of the
above the screens to seawater and setting the permanent workgroup focussed on specific areas of concern and
production packer. This took the well 3800 psi under balance developed solutions.
across the liner isolation valve and packer. During final
pressure tests on the string, a crossover in the string failed near Well Bore Cleanup. A kill weight brine was displaced into
surface, severing the test string. The well was displaced back the well to allow running of the upper completion in a clear
to mud, and a protracted recovery operation undertaken to fluid. The isolation valve was used as a dual purpose barrier,
retrieve the test string. Zinc Bromide was used thereafter to to prevent gas influx to the wellbore and fluid loss to the
provide a solids free kill weight fluid to run the test string. It reservoir. Once the completion was installed, the well was
was not however possible to test the well, due to damage to displaced to seawater above the isolation valve.
completion equipment. The damage was extensive, and would
4 D. LAW, A.S. DUNDAS, D.J. REID SPE/PS-CIM 65515

The initial displacement from mud to brine required system, due to the design of the cable and terminations.
detailed planning to achieve a satisfactory standard of Splicing operations were necessary on two occasions, and were
cleanliness for the completion. An additional factor was the carried out successfully offshore. The systems have
use of Zinc Bromide brine, which required total containment subsequently required tuning of the operating parameters of
and extensive precautions for personnel in contact with it. the laser and sensors on the platform. This is necessary as
Displacement of the drilling mud was done directly, using a changes in the operating conditions have resulted in loss of
train of cleaning pills in the kill weight brine. The returning the signal from the gauges.
pills were diverted into pits for recovery, and the brine filtered
to achieve the specified cleanliness level. This approach of Screen Installation. Installation of sand screens was
using kill weight brine for the cleanup was taken to eliminate troublesome on both the Phase I wells. It was concluded that
well control concerns using an under balance fluid. It was also the method of drilling the wells was the main contributing
logistically simpler, minimising the volume of fluid on the rig factor.
and the risk of contamination. Techniques to improve hole condition with wiper trips and
reaming were not successful. Solid centralisers were fitted to
Brine Displacement. Well control while displacing out the the screens providing stand off to minimise friction and wear
kill weight fluid to inhibited seawater was a potential weakness to the screens. Simulations to predict drag and optimise the
during the Phase I completions. It was dependant on the running strings were carried out, these provided a good
drilling BOP for primary well control, which could not be correlation during normal running. It was apparent however,
assured due to the presence of a gauge cable and TRSCSSV that the sticking events were due to reasons other than hole
control line. The immediate solution implemented in Phase I profile and weight available to run the screens.
was to use a ported slick joint. The solution used on the Phase For the subsequent wells, drilling assemblies were selected
II wells was to lock down the tubing hanger, and pressure test to produce a smooth hole, with minimal doglegs. Screens were
it prior to taking the well under balance. Circulation was past run to bottom without difficulty on the next two wells,
the production packer before setting. Yard testing was however on the third well they became stuck before reaching
conducted in a flow loop to determine a safe rate for TD. This was a setback after the previous successes, and was
circulation without risk of damage to the packer element. This due mainly to the increased length and tortuosity of the well.
technique avoided adding circulation devices above the A well planning model was developed as a means of
production packer, which would present additional leak paths. assessing the risk of well designs to successful screen
Testing indicated that rates of up to 10 bpm were acceptable, installation during planning (Ref. 3). This empirical model will
in practice a limit of 4 bpm was adopted. be used for all future well planning. On site support was also
increased, with specialists monitoring hole and mud condition.
Modular Design. A review of the completion design led to a This allowed the rig site supervision to concentrate on the
fundamental change. The initial design combined the isolation planning and control of the operation.
valve with the sand screen liner, in a configuration
successfully used by other developments (Fig.2). In Marnock Isolation Valve. An isolation valve was used as a barrier
the differential pressures, and high solids content of the mud below a permanent packer. Use of this device was driven by
made the design less suitable. the need to establish a reliable bi-directional barrier, which
A simpler step by step approach of installing the screens, could be opened without intervention. As the wells were
followed by a separate run with a packer and isolation valve horizontal, simple devices such as drop subs were not useable.
was adopted (Fig.3). This allowed for contingencies to by pass The isolation valve used was successful for fluid loss control,
the isolation valve should it not open, without loss of sand and as a barrier during under balance operations.
control. It also separated two critical operations, allowing Working in 1.9 SG mud did however show a lack of debris
focus on the sand face followed by the upper completion. tolerance in the pressure cycling and mechanical opening of
Changing to a modular approach brought benefits in the valve. This was addressed by modifications to the valve
simplifying the installation operations, and allowing design. The isolation valve was run in the open position to
contingencies. Although this configuration increased the time assist in packer deployment, and closed using a service tool
taken to install the completion, the advantages were significant attached to the packer running string. A positive pressure test
enough to justify the additional time employed. confirmed that the valve was closed, and a retrievable packer
was used to inflow test by displacing the drill string to
Permanent Downhole Gauge. Permanent gauges were run in seawater.
all completions; one electronic and three fibre optic. A During all operations the valve was successfully closed,
temperature related failure occurred in the electronic gauge and pressure tested. It was intended to pressure cycle the valve
within 48 hours of installation, however all three of the fibre open from surface, this was only achieved on one occasion. As
optic gauges are presently functioning. Installation of this first a contingency, coiled tubing was available to deploy a reverse
generation fibre optic gauge was slower than the electronic circulating junk basket to remove the mud solids and any
SPE/PS-CIM 65515 HPHT HORIZONTAL SAND CONTROL COMPLETION 5

debris. A mechanical opening tool was then utilised to open Flowback Constraints. It was determined from flare
the valve. To ensure the valves remained open, lock open simulations, that the proximity of the HDJU to the platform
sleeves were installed. living accommodation, would allow the use of only one of the
rig flare booms during flow back and testing. This, in addition,
ECP’s. No ECP’s were run in the Phase II completions. There to BP’s commitment to minimising the flaring of
was a requirement for them to provide future isolation for hydrocarbons, and the inability of the production facilities to
water control. The poor success on Phase I combined with handle mud, imposed a severe constraint on the ability to clean
specific well issues overrode this. As two of the Phase II wells up the wells prior to producing through the facilities.
were side tracked, future isolation using ECP’s was not viable. A compromise solution was effected, in which the
Additionally the ECP’s were believed to have contributed to produced fluids were processed through a temporary test
the sand screens hanging up in two wells. spread on the rig, the mud knocked out and collected, with the
hydrocarbons recombined and flowed back to the platform
Coiled Tubing Operations. Coiled tubing operations were facilities. Limited flowrates were achieved on the first clean
planned for PLT, contingency intervention and stimulation up, however following de-bottlenecking, gas and condensate
operations during the well test and completion phases. rates of up to 70 mmscf/d and 8000 bpd respectively were
Maximum expected SITHP on the wells was 7400 psi, this was achieved. A consequence of reducing the back pressure to
outwith the pressures normally encountered during coiled achieve these rates required flaring the gas through the
operations in the North Sea. A set of equipment was platform flare stack. However, the condensate was recovered
manufactured to service this work, based on a 1.5” heavy wall and exported via the LP separator. This had several benefits:
coil. An extensive testing programme was carried out to • Reduced emissions as condensate not flared
provide crew training and familiarisation. Coiled tubing was • No mud or hydrocarbon spills/sheens on the sea during
eventually used to intervene during completion operations in clean up
all wells. • Revenue generated from the sale of condensate
• Substantial rig cost savings as no weather related downtime
Completion Performance. At the end of Phase II, four wells was recorded during clean up operations.
were completed and on production. Continued development of In order to minimise the emission from gas flared, well
the completion design and its installation had been carried out flowback was restricted to a clean up period only, with all well
throughout the operations. However during Phase II, only testing subsequently carried out though the production
minor changes to the completion installation procedures were facilities.
required.
Well Test Results. Of the 4 development wells completed, 3
Well flowback and testing were flowed back immediately after completion. In the
Mud Testing and Conditioning. Although whole mud flow remaining well, HA1z, mud was left across the screens for a
back through screens had been successfully applied in a period of some 7 months, following suspension after technical
number of occasions with low to medium weight drilling difficulties were encountered. Furthermore, the ability to flow
fluids. The application of this technique in a 1.9sg mud system back mud was compounded by screens being set high in two of
had yet to be tried. Utilising field mud, core and representative the wells, leaving sumps of 264m and 421m of 8 ½” hole
screens, extensive laboratory testing was conducted to beneath the screens in HA5 and HA1z respectively.
determine the extent of formation damage and screen plugging Estimated skin pre-completion, for the wells, was in the range
expected for a number of mud systems and screen 0 to +5.
configurations. The outcome of this work indicated that for the The test results from the four wells show skin values
selected 1.9sg SBM system and 11 gauge dual wrap screen; ranging from -2 to +7 (Table 2). This compares well with
• formation damage levels were low, in the range 15% - results from other fields developed with whole mud flow back
37%. Experience has shown that damage levels < 40% through screens, albeit with lighter mud weights. It is
have minimal impact on productivity in horizontal open interesting to note that the two wells with the higher skins
hole completions. produced back only ca 50% of the mud in hole prior to
• no screen plugging was exhibited for the selected screen. flowing clean, with maximum achievable clean up rates of <
To minimise screen plugging, the mud was conditioned 40mmscf/d, due to back pressure constraints. This compares
prior to and during the drilling of the reservoir sections. This with rates of 70mmscf/d for HA2 and HA5, where the bulk of
consisted of passing the mud over 230 mesh screens, utilising mud was produced back.
only ultra fine barite when weighing up. Additionally, prior to Based on initial flow rates a field potential of 370mmscf/d
running screens, the plugging propensity of the mud was was achieved from four wells , with individual well rates of up
checked by use of a particle size analyser and an onsite flow to 120mmscf/d.
through tester, containing a section of representative screen.
6 D. LAW, A.S. DUNDAS, D.J. REID SPE/PS-CIM 65515

Production Issues. Subsequent production through the Acknowledgements

facilities has raised a number of issues related to whole mud The authors wish to thank BP and the Marnock co-venturers
flow back. for permission to publish this paper. They would also like to
Early in production life choke failures occurred in the form thank the members of the Marnock Wells Team and associated
of shattering of the tungsten carbide choke stem tips. service companies for their contribution to the delivery of
Although not conclusively attributable to post clean up mud these wells.
flow back, it is likely that surges of barite laden mud have
contributed to this phenomena. References
Also, on a recent entry of the test separator, some 40bbls of 1. Ryan, D.F., Browne, S.V., Burnham, M.P., : “Mud Clean-up in
mud sludge was removed, equating to 30% of the vessel Horizontal Wells: A Major Joint Industry Study,” Paper 30528
capacity. presented at ,The Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas,
The inability to clean up the wells at maximum expected Oct 95.
2. Browne, S.V., Ryan, D.F., Chambers, B.D., Gilchrist, J.M.,:
production rates/drawdowns and the screens being of bottom Bamforth, S.A., “Simple Approach to Clean-up of Horizontal
in 2 wells has potentially reduced the effectiveness of the mud Wells with Pre-pack Screen Completions,” Paper 30116
flowback during clean up and the initial contribution of presented at ,The European Formation Damage Conference, The
intervals towards the toe of the well. Hague, May 95.
The continued flow back of mud post clean up, has resulted 3. Swanson, B., Inglis, C., Reed,D., : “A Model for Sand Screen
in some disruption to the plant operation, however the Running on Marnock: A Horizontal, near HPHT Well,” Paper
limitations during clean up were recognised as a compromise 63192 presented at ,The Technical Conference and Exhibition,
and the risk to the facilities assessed prior to acceptance of the Dallas, Oct 2000.
wells by production. This has required close co-operation and
understanding between wells and production staff during both
the clean up and production phases.

Conclusions
1. The modular completion concept approach has proven
successful both in simplifying the installation and reducing the
interdependency of sand face and upper completion, allowing
flexibility in the event difficulties are encountered.
2. The use of an isolation valve has proved invaluable in
allowing the safe installation of the upper completion in a
solids free fluid. However, the transfer of technology from
benign applications to HPHT conditions, requires that detailed
contingency planning is in place, in addition to extensive front
end testing.
3. The clean up technique of whole mud flow back through
screens in horizontal, open hole completion has been
successfully applied in a heavy mud weight environment
(1.9sg). Extensive mud testing, screen selection and mud
conditioning during drilling and completion are crucial to
ensure success.
4. The flow back of wells containing heavy muds through a
temporary test spread linked to production facilities has
resulted in significant environmental and cost benefits.
However, short and longer term production facilities
considerations must be taken into account, with risks clearly
defined and understood by both wells and production staff.
5. Fibre optic gauges have been installed successfully and are
continuing to operate in HPHT conditions. Regular tuning has
been required, with these first generation gauges, to ensure
continued operability. Hence, post installation support is
recommended for future fibre optic applications.
SPE/PS-CIM 65515 HPHT HORIZONTAL SAND CONTROL COMPLETION 7

UKCS NOCS

Aberdeen Monan
Mungo
TABLE 1 - RESERVOIR PROPERTIES
MARNOCK Mirren

Reservoir Triassic Fluvial Sand

Lomond
Depth to crest 3400m ss
Gas Water contact 3579m ss
Egret
Skua
Porosity 20% (range 12-25%)
Pierce
Scoter Permeability 5-10mD (range 001-2000mD)
Heron Cod Fluids Gas Condensate
Machar
Shearwater
Condensate/Gas ratio 30-170 bbls/mmscf
Elgin
Erskine
CO2 2%
H2S negligible
Franklin Initial Reservoir Pressure 9123psia
Initial Reservoir Temperature 310F
Km Dewpoint 7000-7500psia
0 10 20 30 Puffin Blane
30/1c

Fig.1- Marnock Location Map

7” TRSCSSV

TABLE 2 - INITIAL TEST DATA

Well kH Skin
107 (HA1) 1530 +7.1
105 (HA3) 6630 +7.4
109 (HA2) 5370 -1.8
DOWNHOLE GAUGE 108 (HA5) 3700 -1.9

PRODUCTION PACKER

ISOLATION VALVE
5 1/2" WIRE WRAP SCREENS

Fig. 2 - Initial completion design

7” TRSCSSV

DOWNHOLE GAUGE

PRODUCTION PACKER
ISOLATION PACKER
ISOLATION VALVE
5 1/2" WIRE WRAP SCREENS

Fig. 3 - Modular completion design