Developing Wellbore Construction Planning for an Exploratory Well in Vitiacua Block

Aleksandr Geraskin

Research output: ThesisMaster's Thesis

Abstract

Gazprom EP International and Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (Bolivia’s state-owned oil and gas company) reached an agreement in June 2018 to explore and develop Vitiacua license area, located in the southern part of Bolivia, by joint efforts. Promising block will become the part of existing system in case of gas condensate field discovery. To prove the presence of hydrocarbons and declare commercial viability of the project, Gazprom and YPFB have a plan in the near future to drill the first exploratory well in that area. In respect to this fact, development of technical documentation for the well construction are relevant tasks for both companies at present time. Considering the fact that drilling conditions in Sub-Andean foothills are characterized by a number of distinctive challenges (geological, technological, technical and issues related to logistics), the process of well construction might take several years to reach target depth. Accordingly, well planning is the key issue for the first exploratory well within perspective block. Elaborated planning of well construction process will allow to reach better key performance indicators and reduce non-productive time during project execution. Challenging drilling conditions require implementation of integrated approach to well construction to make substantial change in advancing drilling performance. In the context of planning phase of the Vitiacua-1 well, the prime goal of the thesis is to develop comprehensive drilling program which covers aspects of planning from wellsite selection to well construction time estimation. The first part of the thesis covers identification of non-productive time root causes in Sub-Andean region and associated geology related drilling hazards, offset wells construction time analysis, determining the potential area for improvement in the prospective VItiacua-1 well. The second part is specified for exploratory well technical design comprising key elements of drilling program: geological information, casing and cementing design, drilling fluid, directional drilling program, well control and formation evaluation summary. Third part provides time projection and cost estimation for Vitiacua-1 well. The last part is devoted to the strategy proposed for improving drilling efficiency in the planning well. It includes different cutting-edge technologies and tools overview, advice for high-quality drilling performance indicators monitoring in real-time and general recommendations for improving drilling process.
Translated title of the contributionEntwicklung einer Bohrlochaufbauplanung für ein Explorationsbohrloch im Vitiacua-Block
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDipl.-Ing.
Awarding Institution
  • Montanuniversität
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Thonhauser, Gerhard, Supervisor (internal)
  • Elmgerbi, Asad, Co-Supervisor (internal)
  • Leonov, Evgeniy, Supervisor (external), External person
  • Gorlovoi, Vyacheslav, Co-Supervisor (external), External person
Award date22 Sept 2020
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Bibliographical note

embargoed until null

Keywords

  • Wellbore Construction Planning
  • Vitiacua Block

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