The goals of well production technologies are to maximize the rate of hydrocarbon production, increase the recovery rate from the reservoir, and reduce production costs. Included in this flagship are completions, multilaterals, stimulation technologies, and intervention systems. Some of the new technologies discussed under reservoir solutions, such as RMT Elite, also contribute to advancing the art of well production.

Intelligent completion technologies provide downhole sensing, communication and remote control of completion tools. This allows operators on the surface and in remote locations to optimize reservoir performance by interpreting downhole data in real time and operating flow control devices. Halliburton developed SmartWell™ technology for intelligent completions with PES (International). In February 2000, Halliburton acquired the remaining 74 percent of PES, and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary. In April, Halliburton announced plans to form WellDynamics, a joint venture with Shell International Exploration and Production B.V., to further develop and market this technology.

WellDynamics will combine Halliburton’s SmartWell intelligent completions technology with Shell’s iWell™ intelligent well technology. Together, they will be the state of the art in downhole measurement, inflow control, downhole processing, and communications technologies that will enable operators to reconfigure a well’s architecture at will using real-time data. The net result will be maximized fluids production without intervention, and improved total recovery — a combination that will have a dramatic impact on a well’s economics for Halliburton’s customers.

Another important tool for boosting reservoir performance debuted in 2000 when Halliburton received a patent for a neural network method of controlling reservoir development. Developed jointly with BioComp Systems, Inc., of Redmond, Washington, and using their self-optimizing neural network technologies, this system will provide better ways to determine the optimum method of completing a reservoir, optimizing production with stimulation and treatment, and predicting the output.

BioComp’s neural networks can learn the relationships among the variables that affect future production, such as the geological formation and drilling, completion, and stimulation methods. Halliburton’s engineers can use this information in conjunction with reservoir understanding to perform the delicate balancing act involved in choosing optimum completion strategies. This technology has been incorporated into Halliburton’s Sigma SM service.