Our research team has developed a new well completion and rework technology involving lasers. The system is made up of a high-power laser generator and a custom-designed directional laser drilling head. The laser head is attached to a coiled tubing unit to maximize production and to carry out special downhole tasks. In this phase of the development effort, laser technology is particularly well suited to cost-efficiently drill short laterals from existing wells in a single work phase, drilling through the casing and cement as well as the formation. The technology, which is an extended perforation solution, enables a more intensive interaction with the downhole environment and supports cutting edge subsurface engineering scenarios such as barite removal. Laser-induced heat treatment appears to be a suitable alternative to effectively remove the almost immovable deposits and scales from thermal water-well pipes.
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Brown, A.D.F., S.J. Merrett, J.S. Putnam 1991: Coil-Tubing Milling/Underreaming of Barium Sulphate Scale and Scale Control in the Forties Field. — SPE Offshore Europe Conference, Aberdeen, 17 p.
Kovács, B., I. Czinkota, J. Szanyi, T. Bozsó, M. Tóth, L. Busuttil 2014: The permeability of laser drilled laterals in sandstone reservoirs. — Geosciences and Engineering, 3/5, pp. 83–93.
Nasr-El-Din, H.A., S.H. Al-Mutairi, H.H. Al-Hajji 2004: Evaluation of a New Barite Dissolver: Lab Studies. — SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, 11 p.
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Saudi Aramco 2009: Saudi Aramco breaks new ground with in-situ laser perforation. — http://www.rigzone.com.
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