Driven by increased production rewards, multiple operators in the United States have been improving their unconventional wells by increasing lateral length. Several “superlaterals” with lengths greater than 23,000 ft have been drilled successfully in several US basins. The complete paper describes the technical challenges faced in drilling and running casing in superlaterals and the difficulties in implementing them in the Vaca Muerta unconventional play.
Introduction
In 2012–2015, many operators began to drill longer laterals. Because production did not appear to decline with increasing lateral length, one operator drilled 11 superlaterals in 2017 in the Utica shale, reporting critical cost reductions and a greater recovery per foot.
×
Continue Reading with SPE Membership
SPE Members: Please sign in at the top of the page for access to this member-exclusive content. If you are not a member and you find JPT content valuable, we encourage you to become a part of the SPE member community to gain full access.