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| Today, many new field discoveries are made in tight, relatively impermeable rocks. Natural gas will not flow easily from these tight reservoirs without some assistance. Completion includes the activities following the drilling and casing of a well that prepare a well for production. The first step in the completion process is to perforate the steel casing. A perforating gun is lowered into the casing to the targeted section and small holes are shot through the casing and cement and out a short distance into the reservoir. Because the reservoir is tight (relatively impermeable), Southwestern Energy uses multi-stage fracture stimulation technology in its horizontal wells. Through this process, high pressure plus specially designed fluids and sand are used to crack the rock, which opens up small pathways within the gas reservoir to help drain more gas. Multiple stages within the lateral portion of the horizontal wells are perforated and fracture stimulated (frac’d) to connect more of the reservoir rock. Once the frac operations are completed, the plugs used to isolate each stage are drilled out, allowing the well to flow gas and fluids to the surface. The next step is to install production tubing in the well, a permanent wellhead, or Christmas tree and other necessary surface production equipment. A pipeline is built to the well pad to transport the gas to the pipeline network. |
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