After drilling a well, it is important to decide if the well is mean to become a producer or be plugged and abandoned as a dry hole. In case the operator decides to develop the well further, they must undertake completion operations. These operations include some steps to transform a drilled well into a producing well. These include casing, perforating, cementing, gravel packing, and installing a production tree. These steps are carried perfectly by reputable companies like Renegade Wireline Services. Keep reading to learn more about each step:
Casing the Hole
Once a well has been drilled, it would eventually close in upon itself if the fluids are removed. Casing prevents this from happening while protecting the well stream from outside incumbents such as sand or water. Casing is composed of steel pipes joined together to create a continuous hollow tube. The well’s different levels define the casing diameter to be installed. These levels include production casing, surface casing, intermediate casing, and conductor casing.
Cementing the Well
This process includes pumping cement slurry into the well. This is meant to displace the existing drilling fluids and fill in the space between the casing and the drilled well’s actual sides. The slurry is composed of a special mixture of additives and cement. It is left to harden to seal the well from non-hydrocarbons that may try to enter the well stream and position the casing into place.
Perforation
The completion methods used on wells at the reservoir level are open-home or cased-hole completions. Cased-hole completions require the casing to run into the reservoir. The casing and cement are perforated to achieve production as it lets the hydrocarbons enter the well stream. Such a process includes running a perforation gun and a reservoir-locating device into the wellbore, usually through a wireline, coiled, or slickline tubing. After reaching the reservoir level, the gun shoots holes in the well’s sides so that the hydrocarbons enter the well stream. Accomplishing the perforations can be done by firing bullets into the sides of the casing or by discharging jets.
Gravel Pack
Sometimes, filtration systems are required by some wells to keep the well stream clear of sand. Aside from running a casing with a liner, gravel packing is used to prevent the entry of sand into the well stream. With gravel packing, the slurry is pumped into the well between the casing’s slotted liner and the sides of the wellbore. The liner’s wire screens and the gravel pack work together to filter out the sand.
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