The Beaver River Gas Field is located in northeast British Columbia on the British Columbia-Yukon Territory border approximately 130 air miles north-northwest of Fort Nelson. The reservoir, a mid-Devonian carbonate anticlinal structure, was discovered in 1960 by Pan Am A-l Beaver River a-64-k. Subsequent development by five additional wells with average depths of 13,800' has proven the existence of approximately 1.4 TCF of recoverable residue gas in the reservoir, which covers an area of approximately 17 square miles. Following completion of field end transmission line installation, the field was placed on production October 23, 1971 at raw gas rates of up to 260 MMCF/D.
This paper outlines some major production problems considered in the design of the well equipment, wellhead, and gathering system facilities. The paper has been broken down into three sections to discuss the unique problems encountered by wells producing from a reservoir with 342 °F bottomhole temperature, having flow capacities in excess of 90 MMCF/D of gas which contains approximately 6.9 per cent carbon dioxide and 0.6 per cent hydrogen sulphide.
Discussion is necessarily limited to design aspects of the well and production facilities with only brief comment on the performance of the wells and equipment to date.
Section I – Tubular Goods Stresses -This section of the paper deals with the examination of the well tubular goods of the six producing wells in the reservoir. In view of the high flowing wellhead temperatures, there was concern with regard to possible tubing and casing string failures. This portion of the paper discusses the methods used to calculate probable tubing and casing stresses, and suggests corrective measures which can be taken to minimize producing risk.
Section II – daisses the Wellhead, Completion Equipment and Crossion control as influenced by the high producing rates, high temperatures, and anticipated corrosive environment of the individual wells.
Section III – presents the problems of Gas Gathering System design to maniple the high flow rates and high wellhead gas temperatures. The facilities to handle condensed water in the gathering system which covers a distance of some 9.5 miles over difficult terrain, is also dealt with.
The Beaver River Gas Field is located approximately 130 air miles north, northwest of Fort Nelson, British Columbia and straddles the British Columbia-?Yukon Territory border approximately 16 miles west of the Liard River (see Figure No.1).
The Beaver River Mahanni reservoir is an anticlinal carbonate structure of mid-Devonian age approximately 10 miles long by 2.5 miles wide at its widest point and is described more completely by Richards. The six wells drilled on the structure, commencing with the discovery well completed in 1960, have encountered an average of 1900 gross feet of gas pay above the field water line with the maximum section encountered being 2,990 of gross pay. The average total depth of the wells is 13,800 feet.
The reservoir has a measure temperature of 342 °F at mid pay and the original reservoir pressure is 5.857 psia.
