Assessment of Multistage Stimulation Technologies as Deployed in the Tight Gas Fields of Saudi Arabia

The increasing demand for oil and gas resources to support the worldwide development plans means that the petroleum industry is always actively engaged in exploring new frontiers in drilling and production, including tight multilayered reservoirs. It is becoming evident, more than ever, that producing the most oil and gas out of the drilled reservoirs is an absolute necessity. Accordingly, completion techniques have presented themselves as a crucial well construction parameter and a key to optimally producing wells. Several completion techniques have been exhaustively trial tested in Saudi Aramco to determine the most successful completion mode for each reservoir. Among those various techniques, open hole multistage stimulation has demonstrated superior performance in minimizing skin damage and maximizing reservoir contact through efficient propagation of fracture networks within the rock matrix. Overall, the production results from wells completed using open hole multistage stimulation systems — as deployed in the tight gas fields of Saudi Arabia — have been very positive. Of the approximately 40 wells here this new technology was utilized, the majority of the wells have met or exceeded the pre-stimulation expectations for gas production. Various multistage open hole completion systems were run over these 40 wells and the production results varied. This study highlights these systems and discusses their impact during the fracturing operation and the final stabilized well production. This study will also present some case studies in multistage fracturing operations and investigate the operational impact on productivity enhancement. Following the lessons learned and best practices from these experiences, with correct implementation, the findings from this study should increase the probability of having a more successful multistage stimulation job from a productivity standpoint.