Abstract
An unconventional reservoir poses not only difficulties in producing it economically but also requires constrains about the well construction and tubular selection in order to keep the budget in acceptable limits. The tubular used for well construction and well completion must offer maximum integrity at, if possible, minimum costs for the life of the well. The costs associated with tubular are generated by the steel price plus the connection costs. Use of premium connections may not be justified in all unconventional reservoir applications, but as this study will prove, they offer better solutions when the life if the well is considered.
This paper starts with a review of main tight gas fields worldwide and based on the well analysis a general tendency for well completion will be shown. The second part of the work will focus in analyzing casing design criteria used in afore mentioned fields. As a result a comprehensive discussion about casing and coupling selection for unconventional wells will be generated. Premium versus non premium connections will be discussed and their impact on the life of the well will be analyzed.
