Ivar Aasen Field Development: How Inflow Control Devices Affect Oil Recovery and Project Economics

Abstract

Simulations for screen-only, ICD and AICD completions in the Ivar Aasen wells have been performed by Schlumberger on behalf of Det norske oljeselskap ASA. A screen-only completion has been used as a base case, to evaluate the effect of ICD/AICD. The base case showed inflow related challenges in all the well. The biggest challenges were seen in wells with a large variation in permeability. The high permeable zones dominate production in these wells and water breaks through after only a few years. This thesis shows ICD/AICDs is a cost effective to improve oil recovery. The result of the ICD simulation showed a potential of improving the total oil produced from the field with 100 000 - 200 000 Sm3. The simulations also show an accelerated production, meaning that the plateau production is reached at an earlier stage in the field life. This generates positive cash flow early in the field s life, which will have a big impact on the project s NPV. Another important observation is that ICDs can affect wells very differently. The best ICD configuration for one of the Ivar Aasen wells, was the worst configuration for the full field recovery. The completion in a well will not only affect its own production, but the well can influence production in wells close by. This effect was observed between some Ivar Aasen wells. Bearing in mind the observations mentioned above, a recommendation for future work is to design a more customized completion for each well. This master s thesis concludes that completing the Ivar Aasen wells with ICDs have the potential to increase recovery and accelerate production. This combination will improve the field s NPV, and add value to the company.