Abstract
The name "Sui" has become synonymous with natural gas in Pakistan. Sui is Pakistan Petroleum Limited's (PPL) flagship gas field. Commercial exploitation of this field began in 1955.
Two major reservoirs of this field are Sui Main Limestone (SML) and Sui Upper Limestone (SUL). Both the reservoirs have become highly depleted by time. Conventional drilling technologies in these formations result in complete loss of drilling fluid, stuck pipe and severe formation damage issues.
Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) planned to drill a horizontal well Sui-93(M), where target reservoir was Sui Main Limestone (SML). Drilling a horizontal well with conventional drilling techniques can cause a complete loss of drilling fluid. Underbalanced Drilling integrated with electromagnetic telemetry transmission was successfully used to drill this well to a target depth of 2200m MD with complete directional controls. Electromagnetic transmission modeling was performed on the resistivity data of offset wells to determine signal attenuation for Sui-93(M) Well. Based on modeling results it was decided to run an extended range set-up with a downhole antenna.
The main reason for using EM-MWD was to provide real time data for annular pressure (APWD sensor) and directional controls in UBD environment. The APWD (annular pressure while drilling-real time ECD) sensor was considered mandatory to monitor and ensure underbalanced condition while drilling, thereby avoiding significant problems such as lost circulation and stuck pipe.
This paper discusses the planning, results, problems and lessons learned during the first application of the Extended Range EM-MWD (Electromagnetic-Measurement while drilling) technology in Sui-93(M) well.
The application of EM-MWD along with UB technology represents a stepwise progression for improving PPL's ability to exploit mature reservoirs, especially those that are severely depleted like in Sui Gas Field, Pakistan.
