Abstract
Traditionally, monobore completion techniques have been able to provide operators with a high degree of flexibility for maintenance needs since the tubing imposes no restriction to any tool that may be deployed in the liner as sometimes happens when completions have tapered production strings. Unfortunately, the traditional monobore completion advantages may not be realized until later in the life of the well. While maintenance is always important, the general volatility of oil prices has forced the industry to target operational strategies that can also offer quicker returns on investment. Since the completion system discussed in this paper employs large-diameter production tubing, it provides the maintenance benefits of a monobore system but with added advantages that a large flow area can provide. The increased flow area 1) allows the number of wells to produce a given reservoir to be reduced and 2) enables production rates to be increased, which in turn, reduces long-term operating expense since the reservoir can be depleted in a shorter period of time.
The specific benefits of the large-bore monobore completion are as follows:
No restrictions are imposed on production
Production rates are maximized
Gas turbulence areas are eliminated
No restrictions on any service/intervention tools
Tubing retrieval to the liner top is allowed
Full access to the liner for squeezing or mechanical isolation of the perforations is allowed
Ancillary equipment requirements are minimized.
