A wellhead choke controls the surface pressure and production rate from a well. Chokes usually are selected so that fluctuations in the line pressure downstream of the choke have no effect on the production rate. This requires that flow through the choke be at critical flow conditions. Under critical flow conditions, the flow rate is a function of the upstream or tubing pressure only. For this condition to occur, the downstream pressure must be approximately 0.55 or less of the tubing pressure.

Steam generation for the purposes of thermal recovery includes facilities to treat the water (produced water or fresh water), generate the steam, and transport it to the injection wells. A steamflood uses high-quality steam injected into an oil reservoir. The quality of steam is defined as the weight percent of steam in the vapor phase to the total weight of steam. The higher the steam quality, the more heat is carried by this steam. High-quality steam provides heat to reduce oil viscosity, which mobilizes and sweeps the crude to the producing wells.

The electrical submersible pump, typically called an ESP, is an efficient and reliable artificial-lift method for lifting moderate to high volumes of fluids from wellbores. These volumes range from a low of 150 B/D to as much as 150,000 B/D (24 to 24,600 m3/d). Variable-speed controllers can extend this range significantly, both on the high and low side. The ESP's main components include: The components are normally tubing hung from the wellhead with the pump on top and the motor attached below. There are special applications in which this configuration is inverted.

A prime objective in all drilling operations is to minimize safety and environmental risks, while maintaining drilling performance. Operators and service companies alike take a proactive stance to reduce the potential for hazardous incidents, and to minimize the impact of any single incident. The health, safety, and environmental (HSE) policies of many companies are more stringent than those required by national governments and the various agencies charged with overseeing drilling operations. All personnel who take part in the well-construction process must comply with these standards to ensure their own safety and that of others. On most locations, a "zero-tolerance" policy is in effect concerning behaviors that might endanger workers, the environment, or the safe progress of the operation.

The most reliable way to determine stress orientation is to identify features (either geological features or wellbore failures) the orientation of which is controlled by the orientations of the present-day in-situ stresses. Other methods that rely on observing the effect of stress on rock properties using oriented core have been found to be less reliable and subject to influence by factors other than in-situ stress. As previously discussed, wellbore breakouts occur in vertical wells at the azimuth of SHmin, and drilling-induced tensile failures occur 90 to breakouts at the azimuth of SHmax. Therefore, the orientations of these stress-induced wellbore failures uniquely define the orientations of the far-field horizontal stresses when using data from vertical wells. This is true for breakouts whether they are detected using 4-arm- or 6-arm-oriented caliper logs or using electrical or acoustic images, whether obtained by wireline or logging while drilling (LWD) tools.

Obtaining and analyzing cores is crucial to the proper understanding of any layered, complex reservoir system. To obtain the data needed to understand the fluid flow properties, the mechanical properties and the depositional environment of a specific reservoir requires that cores be cut, handled correctly, and tested in the laboratory using modern and sophisticated laboratory methods. Of primary importance is measuring the rock properties under restored reservoir conditions. The effect of net overburden pressure (NOB) must be reproduced in the laboratory to obtain the most accurate quantitative information from the cores. To provide all the data needed to characterize the reservoir and depositional system, a core should be cut in the pay interval and in the layers of rock above and below the pay interval. Core from the shales and mudstones above and below the pay interval help the geologist determine the environment of deposition.

In formations with over 1% carbonate, an HCl or acetic acid preflush dissolves the carbonate to prevent waste of HF acid and formation of the insoluble precipitate calcium fluoride. Calcium and sodium chloride workover brine also must be flushed away from the wellbore with HCl acid or ammonium chloride brine. Preflushes also displace and isolate incompatible formation fluids (either brine or crude oil). Higher concentrations of ammonium chloride ( 3%) are recommended where swellable smectite and mixed layer clays are present.[1][2] For successful HF acidizing, more than 120 gal/ft of HF/HCl acid is usually required.

A useful first step in the characterization of any new coal area is to compare its characteristics with those of successful CBM projects. Table 2 summarizes the characteristics of several successful projects in the US and includes parameters related to reservoir properties, gas production, gas resources, and economics. The table shows that successful projects have many similarities, including high permeabilities and high gas resource concentration; however, the table does not include aspects such as government incentives or high-value markets, which could elevate a marginal project to commercial status.

Evaluation of reservoirs as candidates for cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) requires an assessment of the reservoir and an understanding of the key success factors for this technology. This article discusses what is known in these areas. The range of reservoir characteristics for CHOPS comes largely from Canadian experience. Table 1 contains the range of reservoir characteristics. Because Venezuelan heavy-oil deposits in the Faja del Orinoco represent a huge oil reserve, it is worth repeating that the physical properties and geological histories are similar.[1]

While typical production operations seek to prevent sand production, cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) operations use sand production to increase overall productivity. This difference can create operational issues throughout the life of a CHOPS well. It has implications for monitoring strategies as well. To initiate sand influx, a cased well is perforated with large-diameter ports, usually of 23 to 28 mm diameter, fully phased, and spaced at 26 or 39 charges per meter. More densely spaced charges have not proved to give better results or service, but less densely spaced charges (13 per meter) give poorer results. More densely spaced charges may eliminate reperforating as a future stimulation choice because full casing rupture is likely to take place.