“The boom barrier” for gas and water. The new technology for extraction of “difficult” oil is being tested in Messoyakha

Two wells with the Autonomous Inflow Control Device (АICD) were built in the East-Messoyakhskoye field in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. This technology was used in the perimeter of “Gazprom Neft” for the first time; it is designed to minimize risks of gas and water breakthrough into the exploitation well.

The device is the system of valves that are built into layout of the shank during drilling. The information was given to the news agency “Sever Press” in the board of corporate communications of “Messoyakhaneftegaz”. High-viscous oil freely passes through this “boom barrier”, which is closed, when gas and water appear. For extracting operators of hard-to-recover reserves of Messoyakha, where oil reservoirs are located inside the gas-water “sandwich”, these devices can become the panacea from reduction of oil production rate associated with ingress of low-viscous fluids into the well. According to experts of Messoyakhaneftegaz, АICD is also applicable to deep horizons of the arctic field, which are characterized with interlayering of oil, gas and water-saturated layers.

“The company uses various tools to improve production efficiency. It is impossible to develop hard-to-recover arctic reserves, when there is a minimum set of inflow intensification technologies in the arsenal. For different cases we use different keys: high-tech drilling, hydraulic fracturing, polymer flooding. All this helps us to maintain growing dynamics of production, to maintain efficiency and profitability of the project”, Victor Sorokin, the director general of “Messoyakhaneftegaz” said.

According to expert forecasts, the new method is able to increase accumulated extraction through the well up to 20%. The decision to replicate the technology will be taken by the end of 2019, when two more wells with АICD will be built, and the results of long-term operation will be obtained. If successful, the Autonomous Inflow Control Devices will be actively introduced within development of the West-Messoyakhskoye field, where deposits of viscous oil are complicated with the massive gas cap.