Horizontal gravel-Packing Technique for Slim, Cased Holes in Highly Permeable Zones: A Single-Well Case History

摘要

This paper describes a technique for horizontal gravel packing of slim, cased holes. The key to the technique is the use of horizon- tally oriented perforations as a means of providing self-diversion of the gravel pack regardless of fluid leakoff. Traditional horizon- tal gravel packing requires minimizing fluid leakoff to the forma- tion; otherwise, premature bridging can occur during the gravel- packing process. The cased hole horizontal gravel-packing process presented here, however, does not require minimizing fluid leakoff to the formations, thus, allowing the possibility of placing a gravel pack in a horizontal casing with less resultant damage than is possible with traditional techniques.