Discussion and comparison of horizontal-well performance in Bouri field

Seven horizontal wells were drilled in Bouri field, offshore Libya, and put on production between 1989 and 1992. This paper presents the experience gained in producing and monitoring these wells over the past few years. Comparison of well basic characteristics and performances with offset conventional wells indicates their higher productivity and general superior performance. Different monitoring activities conducted on these wells are discussed, including transient test analyses and production logs. Free gas production was found to be related to the combined phenomena of coning and fracture flow mechanism. These discussions show that, in most of the cases, production of water and gas is inevitable as long as economic oil rates are to be maintained. The targets set for these wells in terms of recovery increase and production troubles reduction were at least partially fulfilled.