Abstract
Abstract
Sand production prediction analyses were carried out at different stages of the development of Geographe field in Otway Basin, Australia. The analyses were conducted from very early stages of development in 2010 and carried on until 2019 using different sets of data. The exploration and appraisal wells data were used to conduct an early sanding analysis in 2010. The study showed low risk of sanding for the planned wells following the planned production. The sand production prediction model was then updated in 2014. Several additional data such as well logs, core tests and sand-free production data from the early production wells were used to improve the 2010 sanding model. The updated model also showed low risk of sanding for planned horizontal wells and suggested no sand control would be required even at high depletions. The last model update in 2019 was improve by using the production data from two long horizontal laterals. The updated model was used to assess the completion design for an approximately 2.1 km long horizontal well. Because the updated sanding model showed negligible risk of sanding for the planned well, a lower sand-face completion with pre-drilled liner was recommended for the completion system. The stability of the interbedded shale layers intersecting the horizontal section is also assessed. The result suggested that the shale layers fail under the downhole production condition. Hence, it was recommended to use packer and blank pipe against shale sections to mitigate the failure in the non-reservoir intervals. The well was eventually drilled and successfully completed in latter part of 2021. The progressing sanding analyses helped to enhance the reliability of the early prediction analysis by calibrating against the actual production data from the two horizontal wells. The sanding and shale stability analyses are used to confirm suitability of the completion system for the well throughout the entire life of the field at high pressure depletion condition.