First Autonomous Inflow Control Valve AICV Well Completion Deployed in a Field Under an EOR Water & CO2 Injection Scheme

Abstract

Abstract Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) schemes utilizing CO2 and water injection often experience significant problems and challenges with short circuiting of CO2 gas and water between injectors and producers, thereby leaving significant oil behind. Presented herein is the description and results of a field trial of new downhole flow control technology designed to provide autonomous inflow control of produced fluids from each zone in multi-zone wells. The new technology deployed involves integrating an autonomous inflow control valve (AICV) and a conventional (passive, non-autonomous) inflow control device (ICD) into a unique 3-position "sliding sleeve", shifted by coil tubing, to allow performance comparison between the two different inflow control devices as well as multiple flow control settings of each type. The AICV was designed (and lab tested) to selectively choke back or shut off flow of free CO2 gas and also high watercut (>99%), thereby significantly improving reservoir sweep and yielding higher oil production. The AICV opens or closes autonomously depending on sensed properties of wellbore fluids. Prior to installing the advanced completion, the multi-zone (vertical) trial well was extensively characterized using PLT and other log data, which was then inputted into a commercially available computer model to help design the AICV and ICD settings. The field trial was designed to evaluate the use of flow control in the EOR scheme over a wide range of flow rates and also to compare the two different flow control technologies at different settings within the same wellbore and reservoir condititions. This paper presents the results of the world's first field trial of the AICV in a Water and CO2 injection scheme, and the world's first comparison with conventional ICD technology in the same well. In addition to lab tests, the early field trial results of the advanced flow control completion are compared with historical production and PLT data where the zones were comingled (without any downhole flow control). A performance comparison of AICV versus conventional ICD, along with conclusions, implications for other wells in the same field and other fields, and lessons learned, are all presented herein.