SPE Romanian Section

Abstract:

Managing uncertainties in reservoirs, particularly in carbonate rocks, is a major challenge. Intelligent completions give the ability to monitor and control specific zones within wells. Without this control, the well may be lost when a zone unpredictably waters out and require mechanical intervention with its associated risks and costs. Most of the existing intelligent completions are limited to the newly drilled wells or cased holes. The challenge is to economically convert exiting open-hole horizontal wells into smart wells to achieve real-time monitoring and control for optimal recovery, enhanced production, and maximum operational efficiency.

A large number of wells are completed at open-holes with no casing, tubing or umbilical available for power and communication. With the aging of these oil wells, unwanted gas and water break-thru are commonly reported issues. With most of these wells in horizontal open-hole configuration, this leads to a work over, or in extreme cases, abandoning or sidetracking of the wells. These solutions are expensive and require a rig to perform the job. A rig is an expensive and scarce commodity that results in long wait times and lost production. To resolve these issues, the revolutionary Thru-tubing Retrievable Intelligent Completion System (TRICS) is conceptualized that is based on thru-tubing access for both initial completion and future modifications and replacements of existing, as well as, newly drilled wells.

Award-winning TRICS is a rig-less deployed, on-demand, modular, real-time, monitoring and control solution targeted for open-hole horizontal wells. Unlike commercially available solutions, TRICS is a “free-form” platform that can be deployed ‘only’ when needed. TRICS consists of game-changing technologies that will revolutionize production engineering and reservoir management.

Biography:

Dr. Muhammad Arsalan is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in academia and various industries including energy, space, semiconductors, biomedical, and chemicals. He has over 100 international patents and publications related to advanced sensors, systems, and tools. He is the recipient of 2022 SPE Completions Award for MENA region and multiple national and international awards and distinctions for his entrepreneurial skills and groundbreaking contributions in research and innovation. He is leading a team of experts in multiphase metering, advanced sensing, and robotics at Saudi Aramco’s Advanced Research Center. His team is working on innovative surface and subsurface production monitoring, control, and optimization technologies.