Oriented Perforation to Prevent Casing Collapse for Highly Inclined Wells

Abstract

Summary This paper shows that the oriented-perforation technique is an effective method to control casing collapse problems for highly inclined wells. Three wells were perforated with 180° phasing in the maximum in-situ stress direction. These three wells did not experience casing collapse, while surrounding wells with the standard perforation technique did. Two of the three wells with oriented perforations experienced significantly reduced sand problems. Numerical analysis was conducted to compare how effective oriented perforations were in minimizing casing failure when a sheared zone was created around a well during drilling and production.