Impact of intelligent wells on oilfield scale management

The main challenge facing the oil industry is to reduce development costs while accelerating recovery while maximising reserves. One of the key enabling technologies in this area is intelligent well completions. Downhole inflow control devices allow for the flexible operation of non-conventional wells. By placing sensors and control valves at the reservoir face, engineers can monitor reservoir and well performance in real time, analyse data, make decisions and modify the completion without physical intervention to optimise reservoir and asset performance. They provide the ability to independently control each valve individually from the surface to maximise oil production and/or minimise formation water and/or gas production. However, they may also be used to address other produced water management issues, such as inorganic scale control. This paper describes the potential risks posed specifically to intelligent completions by scale deposition. The potential benefits to scale management that ICVs, such as control of scaling brine production and effective scale inhibitor placement, are described. Calculations are performed for a North Sea field with a barite scaling risk, and the cost benefit - specifically to scale management - of using ICVs is evaluated. These calculations demonstrate that intelligent completions significantly reduce the scale inhibitor chemical costs while improved scale inhibitor placement is achieved. Copyright 2006, Society of Petroleum Engineers.