The Umm Gudair (UG) Field is located in West Kuwait and is managed by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). With the aim of draining oil from the undrained northern flank of the west UG area, KOC decided to drill UG-132H, an openhole horizontal producer.

UG-132H was chosen as the replacement well for an abandoned well. Located in the northern flank of the field, UG-132H was placed approximately 450 m west of the abandoned well. The lateral drain hole objective of keeping the well at a minimum of 65 ft above the oil/water contact was achieved.

Executing this strategic well required careful selection of casing programs, drilling tools, services, and teamwork from all departments to keep the well within the desired target. To achieve the objectives, the KOC team decided to utilize an advanced proprietary rotary steerable system, logging while drilling (LWD) Imaging technology and the geosteering services to properly place the well within the reservoir. The steerable System enabled smooth and timely drilling of the drain hole. This resulted in a smooth and in-gauge borehole, hence producing a favourable environment for acquiring good quality real-time images for accurate structural dip determination and well placement.

This paper will focus on the well profile, and the benefits of the advanced rotary steerable system for the long drain hole section. It will also highlight the complementary nature of transmitting both the density image and resistivity image in real time to enable accurate steering decisions. It will also show how the LWD images were useful in characterizing the different facies within the reservoir.

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