Rosneft Drills a Record-breaking Well in Venezuela

The well is unique for the shallow depth, only 1,140 feet or about 347 meters, of the reservoir interval and the length of horizontal section 4,920 feet or 1,500 meters. The total length of the well is 6,059 feet (some 1,847 meters).

The increasing of technological implementation in field development is a top priority for Rosneft’s long-term development strategy in the upstream area, which allows maintaining cost-efficient production at brownfields, and increasing production at greenfields.

Never before have such wells been drilled in Venezuela using conventional vertical drilling units. The GG1-14 is also unique for its precise well placement in productive interval executed with continuous control of trajectory. Complex directional work was performed to build up an angle with simultaneous azimuthal turn of well direction in the limited boundaries of the reservoir interval, thus solving the challenging task of strict following of geological targets, which is often a problem on such wells. This result was achieved due to the use of an advanced rotary steerable system (RSS), which had been introduced at the Junin-6 block with the support from Rosneft specialists.

According to the generally accepted system of ERD (Extended Reach Drilling) wells complexity evaluation, the GG1-14 is classified as the most difficult, with a Directional Difficulty Index (DDI) index of 6.63 and an ERD index of 4.44, which is a record for wells in Venezuela today. In order to meet geological objectives and place the well exactly in the reservoir interval, such projects require technologically competent planning and outstanding delivery in terms of construction.

Drilling of such shallow wells opens up new prospects for the development of hydrocarbon reserves in the Venezuelan Orinoco Oil Belt. According to the geological analysis made by Rosneft and PDVSA, significant oil reserves are located in shallow formations. The Company intends to further expand the use of advanced solutions to drill more efficient wells and access significant hydrocarbon reserves.