Drilling & Completion Technology

World’s first perforated Level-4 multilateral completion

Sidetracking and drilling/completing lateral boreholes in productive Southwestern Wyoming gas wells proved a new technology to unlock additional reserves

 T. A. Harting, T. Anderson, D. Birse, BP; and R. A. Seale, Smith International

 As the levels of multilateral completions have progressed, costs, complexity and associated risks have escalated. Added cost and risk drives many prospects to uneconomical levels. However, when there is a full understanding of the type of multilateral completion required for the life of the reservoir, in many cases it is possible to design a simple, economic solution. This lowers the associated risk while maintaining a substantial reward with increased production; and the simplicity allows project execution to be the primary focus. 

 The following discussions center on design, testing and installation of the world’s first perforated, Level-4 multilateral completion,¹ as done in the Whitney Canyon field in Southwestern Wyoming, Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Field locations in Southwestern Wyoming.