Abstract
Through the application of horizontal well technology in a giant shallow, un-consolidated oil-rim reservoir, Shell Gabon significantly increased field output and recovery at reduced cost, while minimising the environmental impact of field development. Systematic well design changes were implemented particularly in completion hardware and mud- and completion fluids and latest coiled tubing-technology was introduced in efforts to improve completion efficiency.
The paper summarises the observations and practices resulting in the improved completion technology and gives examples of the production logging tool selection and interpretation techniques developed. An outline is given of techniques which require further development to control over the inflow distribution in un-consolidated oil-rim reservoirs such that the recovery of the field can be achieved with the minimum number of wells.
