Intelligent Completions: Design and Reliability of Interval Control Valves in the Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

Abstract The first intelligent completion was deployed in the Snorre field offshore Norway in August 1997, marking a major milestone for advanced completion engineering, reservoir insight, and production control. For the first time, an operator could manipulate tubing outflow performance at, or near, the sandface inflow node, without intervention or workover, but rather live via remote control using an interval control valve (ICV). Twenty years later, technological advancements have significantly increased the reliability and capability of intelligent completion tools with applications in ultra-deepwater, mature fields, as well as in the cost-sensitive unconventional arena. This paper discusses the significant technological advancements and reliability of ICVs by comparing the following: case history examples of technology, applications, and installations from the past and present; associated technological and operation challenges with solutions and resulting reliability increases; and a view of the future design and reliability aspects of ICVs with respect to hydraulic vs. electric control and actuation. ICV case history examples are discussed below: Comparing two field-wide offshore deepwater Africa campaigns in 2007 and 2015 with respect to ICV reliability, operational improvements, and technology from eight years of continuous improvement. Using a remotely operated hydraulic ICV installed above the production packer as a circulating device and a gas-tight barrier. This ICV was actuated through pressure signals to a battery-operated control module and micro-hydraulic pump vs. control lines to surface. History of ICVs installed as part of the mature fields of the Middle East and why high-actuation force will always be a requirement. A current high rate water injection completion campaign as part of an offshore mature field in which ICV position sensors transmitting choke positions in real time have significantly increased the operator's confidence of zonal-flow allocation. A Middle East operator's current application for low-cost ICVs. History of ICVs installed in multi-lateral completions and why they should stay in the motherbore. The steady increase in ICV reliability is the result of advancing technology, as well as continuous improvement in operational procedures. These case histories help detail each advancement. The future of intelligent completions and ICVs is tied to precision of device control, system reliability assurance, and effective use of sensor data to generate recognizable value. Precision and data require electronic control and transmission; however, hydraulic actuation offers more advantages with current available technology. This paper concludes with an argument for the future of practical ICV installation, zone control, actuation, and closed-loop operator interface.