Radial Drilling Revitalizes Aging Field in Tarim: A Case Study

Abstract Upward trends in oil prices and the proliferation of new technology enable operators to capitalize on new opportunities. This trend is not limited to previously undeveloped fields or by lithology. Operators are also able to gain higher recovery from old fields where production has declined over time, making new opportunities for matching technology to economies of scale for such marginal projects. This paper outlines the recompletion of an old field using radial jet drilling, RJD. The reservoir in K-block, Tarim oilfield of China is a siltstone formation with low permeability and was damaged by the mud. The combination of low permeability, low productivity from traditional vertical completions in a thin net pay, and lack of low cost techniques to improve well productivity caused the production to dwindle. In 2012, the operator implemented a program of radial jet drilling to enhance field production. Radial jet drilling is a low-cost, environmentally-friendly method to drill numerous small diameter horizontal laterals from a vertical or near-vertical wellbore. It works in both new and old wells that already have a production history. The present paper outlines the completion and production history of the field, summarizes the workover effort and the production data before and after the workovers. The results show that nearly a 300% production increase was obtained. It can be clearly seen that radial jet drilling can be a viable alternative to improve productivity of shallow reservoirs that still have significant oil in place that can’t be produced with the existing conventional completions.