Abstract
Recent activity in developing the heavy oil reserves of the Orinoco belt has required that operators there utilize cutting edge oil field technologies. The latest in pumping technology and horizontal, multi-lateral well completions are being employed and enhanced. Additionally, operators are looking at new approaches to collect and evaluate well and reservoir data. Coiled tubing is also being used to help with some of the well performance issues.
To optimize the performance of long, and/or multi-branch horizontal wells, post drilling clean-up is very important. Historically, this issue has often been overlooked or dealt with ineffectively. Not only is this step important for the resulting production performance, an effective system for accomplishing this can have additional benefits for the downstream facilities during start-up.
The zones of interest in the Orinoco belt are typically poorly consolidated sands, requiring some form of retaining completion. As slotted liners are most common, an effective method of removing solids from inside the slotted liner may also become a requirement.
This paper will discuss the technology of combining concentric coiled tubing with a jet pump to be able to do both the post drilling fluid clean-up and sand removal operations. It will detail the type of equipment used in this application. The paper will also go into specifics of the need for the service in this operation and the corresponding results. Future developments for this technology will also be covered.