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intervention operations to optimize production. The
latest Schlumberger family of coiled tubing services—
ACTive in-well live performance—uses real-time down-
hole measurements acquired and transmitted by
fiber-optic cable to interpret and optimize intervention
operations and treatments while they are in progress.
With only one trip in the well, customers can monitor
and evaluate jobs efficiently, optimize treatment
results, and intervene as necessary.
One member of the family, ACTive Matrix* service,
is used in well stimulation operations to inject stimu-
lation treatments into the reservoir. The service
acquires pressure, temperature, and depth correlation
measurements when running in the well. Once the bot-
tom is reached, a distributed temperature survey is
conducted to yield the baseline for the well. At the
completion of each stage of the stimulation treatment,
the coiled tubing is lowered to the bottom of the well
and another distributed temperature survey is
obtained to identify the zone or zones that were recep-
tive to stimulation. This immediate access to data
means that the treatment schedule can be revised as
necessary as the operation continues—with stage-
by-stage confirmation of its effectiveness.
For wireline deployment, Schlumberger introduced
the revolutionary ReSOLVE* family of instrumented
intervention services in mid-2012. This modular sys-
tem, which can be conveyed by the TuffTRAC* cased
hole services well tractor in highly deviated or horizon-
tal wells, provides real-time measurement and control
of well intervention from a small operational footprint.
Unlike conventional intervention tools, ReSOLVE tech-
nology provides detailed monitoring, dynamic control,
and verification of actuation to bring previously
unavailable precision and certainty to conducting
complex operations.
Extending Production—
Schlumberger Production Management
An increasing trend in oilfield services is the move
toward integrated contracts under which the service
company manages deployment of the services needed
to meet agreed long-term performance targets. For
well construction, the target could be a certain number
of wells drilled and completed within a period of time.
In production services, it could be meeting production
targets for mature field redevelopment. These con-
tracts are not new to Schlumberger, which supplied
such services for more than 15 years through the
Integrated Project Management product line before
forming Schlumberger Production Management (SPM)
in 2011 for greater focus.
The Ecopetrol S.A. Casabe field project in Colombia
is a typical example. Discovered in 1941, the Casabe
field was undersaturated when production began in
1945. In the late 1970s, at the end of the primary recov-
ery period, production had declined significantly to
only 5,000 bbl/d while the recovery factor had reached
13%. Seeking to reverse the production trend,
Ecopetrol S.A. implemented the first of two major
waterflood secondary recovery programs by the mid-
1980s. Although initially successful at increasing pro-
duction, the injected water broke through prematurely
at the production wells. Water injection rates were
gradually decreased in response, and waterflooding
became less effective at improving oil recovery. From
1996 onward, the production rate declined by 7% to
8% per year.
In 2004 Ecopetrol S.A. and Schlumberger forged an
alliance via a technical and collaboration services
contract to revitalize the field. Using updated methods
for managing highly complex reservoirs, the alliance
reversed the decline in production and between March
2004 and December 2012 oil production increased to
more than 24,000 bbl/d. At the same time, the esti-
mated ultimate recovery factor increased from 16% to
23% of the original oil in place. Many factors led to this
success including teamwork, integrated reservoir man-
agement, and excellence in operational execution. Fit-
for-purpose technology, however, had perhaps the
greatest impact.
Coiled tubing services make it
possible to deploy equipment
in wells with complex
geometry while also pumping
the fluids required during
certain intervention operations
to optimize production.
