Abstract
The Bermudez Complex is located in South Mexico; it constitutes of three main fields: Iride, Samaria and Cunduacan and was discovered in 1972. In terms of oil production it is the most important field in the southern region and is one of the principle blocks in the country. Production exceeded half a million of barrels per day in the past; however since then it has experienced a drastic formation pressure reduction.
Well construction in the area has been characterized by the difficulties experienced in effectively isolating the high pressure zones located just above the carbonates in the reservoir, and by the need to drill the pay zone with hydrostatic equivalents much lower than the ones generated by conventional liquid fluids. The depth of the wells, the structure tectonically disturbed by fractured and faulted blocks, the high temperature and the need for directional drilling control, are variables that challenge the design and drilling of these wells.
Recently, a typical integrated drilling and completion commercial scheme has been implemented in the complex using five large drilling rigs operating simultaneously and managed by an integrated Project Management team allowing flexibility in applying new technologies along with standard products and services.
In spite of the unfavorable and extremely low reservoir pressures, the drilling and completion times have been considerably optimized through the application of several techniques and processes that when properly applied and coordinated allowed the project to reach aggressive goals. The main practices and technologies applied are as follows: drilling with foam densities as low as 2.9 ppg, isolation of different productive zones under hostile environments, use of the latest generation of drilling bits, a process for defining the technical limits and the capturing of best practices/lessons learned, and finally a multidisciplinary task team working closely with geosciences support enabling optimal casing seat on a highly complex geological environment.
