An operator in Ecuador drilled 2,790 ft, the longest horizontal well in the country, using PeriScope Edge™ multilayer mapping-while-drilling service. Unlike previous horizontal wells drilled in the massive Hollin Formation, this one was drilled for the thin T Sand with almost no data available prior to work.
The operator wanted to drill a horizontal well within the T Sand zone in the Hollin Formation, which presented multiple challenges. The massive sandstone formation consists of a low thickness of 10 to 15 ft with high lateral variability, crossbedding, and kaolinite intercalations. Available information for the zone was scarce. The operator wanted to place the well in the zones with the best properties and to understand the formation’s internal structure.
Based on experience drilling previous wells for the project and horizontal wells in the T Sand in other fields, the operator used PeriScope Edge service combined with the DQ1000™ wellsite mass spectrometer gas analyzer and X-ray diffraction (XRD). This combination enables high-resolution mapping of the formation in a larger volume. PeriScope Edge service provides deep calibrated resistivity and innovative high-definition deterministic inversion, and DQ1000 analyzer and XRD enable better definition of well potential and lithological variations.
Combining PeriScope Edge service with DQ1000 analyzer and XRD enabled the operator to set a record by drilling a 2,790-ft lateral, the most extended horizontal well in the country, in the previously untouched T Sand. PeriScope Edge service helped the operator understand the structure of the target formation by discriminating zones of high-energy crossbedding and low-energy bedding. The operator made real-time drilling decisions more efficiently and placed the well in the best part of the target formation.
