SS: Thunder Horse and Atlantis Deepwater Frontier Developments in the Gulf of Mexico" Paper Title - Deepwater Completions: The Devil is in the Details

Abstract BP's Thunder Horse and Atlantis completions are some of the most complex in the world. This complexity is both a basic requirement of the environment and a result of the desire to achieve as much functionality from a wellbore as practical. This paper will address the approach BP has taken to ensure " completions excellence?? on both the completion design and installation, but will not cover the design details of the completions themselves. Completions Excellence is a mindset of continuous improvement in organizational capability, planning, execution, and learning. Introduction Thunder Horse and Atlantis are two of BP's premiere deepwater (DW) fields in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). These fields are in water depths of 5,500 ft to 7,000 ft and cover a number of OCS blocks each, so multiple drill centers and the use of state of the art dynamically positioned drilling/completion rigs is required. Well depths are in the range of 19,000 ft to 28,000 ft MD. Reliable, high-rate well completions are critical for the success of these fields. Complex reservoirs with multiple stacked pay sands result in wells that typically require multi-zone sand control completions. A typical Thunder Horse or Atlantis completion may cost tens of millions of dollars and the completion itself will account for one-half to two-thirds of total well cost. Production from such wells may be over 50 thousand barrels per day. Initial completion designs were single and stacked cased and perforated or frac packed completions, but in order to improve capital efficiency, downhole flow control was added to better manage the reservoirs and minimize future interventions (Figure 1). The complexity of even the simplest DW GoM completions mean that any engineering or installation errors can cost tens of millions of dollars to fix, and that major workovers can be even more expensive. Despite all the complexity, most of the problems encountered in delivering these wells have involved getting the seemingly minute, simple details right. Things like O-rings, metallurgy and unforeseen sources of debris have led to some of the biggest challenges. A successful completion is the culmination of getting thousands of small details right the first time through a system of checking and re-checking during design, manufacturing and assembly in the shop; and again in the field prior to and during installation. There is no doubt that to achieve completions excellence " the devil is in the details!??