The full-length paper presents the evolution of well construction in the Montney play, technical and economic challenges, and the new synergy developed between drilling and completions. Introduction The Montney formation is a prolific tight gas reservoir in the western Canadian sedimentary basin, in both Alberta and British Columbia. In the Peace River Arch area, horizontal wells with multiple fractures are the key to achieving economic success. Using various area drilling and completion techniques as a starting point, lowering the installation cost without affecting the completion or production results was the driver for the next generation of completions. Swellable-packer systems with ball-drop-actuated sliding sleeves initially were run in various openhole configurations to allow multiple fracture treatments to be pumped in one operation, a significant savings from multiple-day operations. From these successes, a drive to reduce costs further led to cemented ball-drop sliding sleeves with a hydraulic-fracture-initiator sleeve at the toe of the horizontal well.
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