Horizontal Well Placement Optimization for Heavy Oil Production in Girasol Field Jaime Cuadros; Jaime Cuadros Mansarovar Energy Colombia Ltd Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Nicolas Ossa; Nicolas Ossa Mansarovar Energy Colombia Ltd Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Guillermo Cuadros; Guillermo Cuadros Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Esteban Rojas Esteban Rojas Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Resources Conference, Port of Spain, Trinidad, June 2010. Paper Number: SPE-132884-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/132884-MS Published: June 27 2010 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Cuadros, Jaime , Ossa, Nicolas , Cuadros, Guillermo , and Esteban Rojas. "Horizontal Well Placement Optimization for Heavy Oil Production in Girasol Field." Paper presented at the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Resources Conference, Port of Spain, Trinidad, June 2010. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/132884-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Trinidad and Tobago Section Energy Resources Conference Search Advanced Search Abstract Girasol, one of the largest heavy oil fields in Colombia, is located in the Middle Magdalena Valley basin. The field is composed of a shallow sequence of sediments of fluvial origin in which sandstone channels contain heavy oil of 11- to 13°-API gravities.Similar fields in the country are developed using thermal recovery techniques via vertical or deviated wells. As horizontal wells have proved to offer advantages for enhanced oil recovery, from the first stages the Girasol field development plan included the execution of horizontal wells to apply cyclic steam injection techniques.Four different stacked sandstone reservoirs, located at 1,100-ft to 1,600-ft true vertical depth (TVD) below surface, are the main targets. The project included a series of parallel horizontal wells of 1,200-ft to 2,350-ft lateral extension, with a fixed lateral spacing and vertically placed to drain one reservoir per well. The targets were geological, 10- to 20-ft thickness to maximize production.Horizontal well placement in this scenario—shallow, thin, and friable formations— is, in general, difficult to achieve with the use of conventional geosteering techniques, as they generally fail to identify unexpected changes in the reservoir geometry, increasing the risk of poor results. This risk was minimized by using deep, directional electromagnetic measurements while drilling, enabling the reservoir geometry mapping in real time, several feet from the borehole.Results of the use of this technology—combined with continuous inclination measurement near the bit and an advanced geosteering process— include 96% average net pay, minimization of unproductive drilling, rig time savings, and sidetracks avoidance after 24 horizontal wells drilled to date. The strategy used for horizontally placing wells in the Girasol field can be used in similar fields worldwide. Keywords: thickness, placement, reservoir, directional drilling, development plan, directional electromagnetic measurement, bottom shale, dtb inversion display, horizontal section, bit projection Subjects: Drilling Operations, Directional drilling Copyright 2010, Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.