PE R F OR ATION

OF OIL AN D GAs
w E L L S (I)
Dr Abdus Samad
Assistant Professor
Indian Institute of
Technology Madras
 Content
Introduction .1
Advantages of cased and perforated completion over .2
open hole completion
Disadvantages of cased and perforated completion over .3
open hole completion
Explosives .4
Perforating methods .5
Perforating guns .6
Problems with perforation .7
Conclusions .8

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 Introductio
nA perforation refers to a hole.oil
punched in the casing or liner of an
well to connect it to the reservoir


In cased hole completions, the well is drilled down past the 

section of the formation desired for production and has casing or
.a liner run in separating the formation from the well bore
The final stage of the completion involves running in perforating 
guns, a string of shaped charges, down to the desired depth and
.firing them to perforate the casing or liner
.A typical perforating gun can carry many dozens of charges 

Common perforation guns are run on E-line as it is traditional to 

.use electrical signals from the surface to fire the guns
.In more highly deviated wells, coiled tubing may be used 

.Newer technologies allow the guns to be run on slickline 

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 Advantages of cased and perforated
completion over open hole
•
completion .Upfront selectivity in production and injection
Ability to shut-off water, gas or sand through relatively simple techniques •
.such as plugs, straddles or cement squeeze treatments
Excellent productivity – assuming well-designed and implemented •
.perforating
.Drilling-related formation damage can usually be bypassed •
Ability to add zones at a later date. It is also possible to reperforate •
.zones plugged by scales and other deposits
Suitable for fracture stimulation, especially where fracture containment or •
.multiple fracturing is required
Reduced sanding potential through perforations being smaller than a •
.wellbore, selective perforating or oriented guns
Ease of application of chemical treatments – especially those treatments •
requiring diversion such as scale squeezes, acidisation and other chemical
.dissolvers
Ease of use with smart completions or where isolation packers are used, •
.for example with sliding side doors (SSDs)
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 Disadvantages of cased and perforated
completion over open hole
completion
The main disadvantage is the increased costs, especially with 

.respect to high angles or long intervals

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 Perforating methods
The vast majority of all perforating work is performed 

.with shaped charge or jet perforating charges

Bullet guns –a hardened steel bullet is shot from a short 

barrel “gun” to penetrate the casing and formation –one of

.first types of perforators
Abrasive perforating methods –usually a sand / water slurry 

.pumped at high pressures and aimed at the casing wall

Specialty methods –electrical, laser, acid, pressure, 

.mechanical, etc
Horizontal oriented perforating system – HOPS 

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 Perforating
A device used to perforate oil and gas 
guns.wells in preparation for production
It has different shapes of explosive 
charges
Different range of sizes and 
.configurations
The diameter of the gun used is determined 
by the presence of wellbore restrictions or
limitations imposed by the surface
.equipment
:Types
Casing gun 

Expendable gun 

Retrievable gun 

High-shot density gun 

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 Casing and expandable
gun :Casing gun
. Create holes in a casing string 

Casing guns are typically 3- to 5-in. in diameter and carry up 

to four perforating charges per foot
Allow perforation through production casing using larger 
.diameter gun assembly
:Expandable gun
A perforating gun assembly that disintegrates upon firing, 
.creating finer debris
It is used where wellbore restrictions allow only limited 
.access, as in through-tubing applications
It is relatively light and simple in design with phased 
.expendable guns
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 Expendable gun

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 Retrievable and high-shot density
gun
:Retrievable gun
.It is retrievable from the wellbore after firing 
It generate minimal debris 
Minimum distortion of the gun body to help ensure easy 
.retrieval
:High-shot density gun
.A perforating gun have more than four shots per foot 
Improves the phasing, or distribution of perforations, 
.around the wellbore
Enables improved distribution of the perforations around the 
.circumference of the casing or liner

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 High-shot density
gun

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 Bullet perforation
.Bullets lose velocity when gun clearance >0.5 in 

Often use in a unconsolidated formations 

Cheaper to use, rarely been used today 

Bullets plug the end of the flow channel 

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 Jet perforation
It uses a shaped charges contained in a perforating gun 

.assembly
Gun assembly is placed in wireline, tubing or coiled 

tubing, depending on the application and the wellbore

.conditions
High-pressure jet will penetrates the casing or liner to 

.shoot into the reservoir formation to form channels

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 Jet perforation

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 Jet
5µs Perforation

25µs

40µ
s

50µ
s

70µ
s
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 Shaped charge
Shaped charge: A relatively small container of high explosive that is loaded into a
perforating gun. On detonation, the charge releases a small, high-velocity stream of
.particles (a jet) that penetrates the casing, cement, and formation

A shaped charge for use in a hollow

career gun. The hole at the rear of the
charge accepts the detonating cord

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Carrier
gun
 Explosiv
e amount.toof32g,
The explosive used is small – typically in the range of 6
(larger charges can be used for big hole charges)


The explosive energy of the detonation is focussed in one direction 

by the conical case. This reflects a lot of the energy back into a
narrow pulse. The relatively thin charge liner also plays a critical
role by systematically collapsing and emerging as a high-velocity
.jet of fluidised metal particles
The pulse moves out at ~20,000 miles/h and generates 
.pressures between 5 and 15 million psia
There are different types of explosive. They vary in explosive 
.power and temperature stability
.Example: TNT, RDX, HMX, TATB etc 

The procurement and handling of explosives is a time- consuming 

operation. In most countries, necessarily stringent legislation
provides strict controls on the purchasing, transport and handling of
.explosives

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 Hydraulic “sand-jet” perforation
It uses high-pressure jetting of sand-laden fluid 
through an orifice
Short penetration range 

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Perforating with
Laser
Conventional explosive charge perforation method 

reduces the rock permeability

Laser perforation increase the rock permeability, hence, 

.increase the oil or gas production rate of a well

 Perforating with
laser

The Berea sandstone block is shown after perforation using

MIRACLE laser. After perforation, measurements of permeability and
.acoustic properties were taken

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 Horizontal oriented perforating
system )HOPS(
Performs oriented perforating 

Incorporating a series of swiveled gun connectors 

containing internal, explosive transfer devices and an
.internally contained gun weighting system
This system incorporates a series of short gun sections that rotate 
to the desired orientation, providing the optimum shot pattern
.and maximizing reservoir production

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 Problem with perforation
The main problem is the plugging after Perforation, 
:these caused by
Charge liner residue slugs 
Mud solids & crushed/compacted rock particles 
Solution to the problem: Cleanout of Plugged 
:Perforations, these include
Back surge perforations if consolidated 
formations
Use ‘wash tools’ if unconsolidated formations 
Breakdown with fluid or acid, and ball sealers 

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 Conclusion
Different perforation guns have specific application. 

Example: casing gun, retrievable gun, high-shot density gun,

.& expandable gun
Method perforation, these include: Bullet, Jet, hydraulic, & 

.laser
.Problem using perforation method 

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 References
S. Batarseh, B.C. Gahan, R.M. Graves and R.A Parker, 
Well Perforation using High-Power lasers, SPE Paper
No.84418
www.bakerhughes.com 
www.slb.com 
Gahan, B.C.,R.A. Parker, Laser Drilling: Effect on 
beam Application Methods on Improving Rock
Removal, SPE Paper No.84353
Gahan, B.C., Laser Drilling: Understanding Laser/Rock 
Interaction Fundamentals, Gas Tips 8 (2002):4-8
BOOK: Well completion design, by Jonathan Bellarby, 
.SPE, 2009
Other internet resourses 
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THANK YOU

?Questions