Discussion and comparison of performance of horizontal wells 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 wells 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 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 economical oil rates are to be maintained, and that the targets put for these wells, as recovery increase and production troubles reduction, were at least partially fulfilled.