The distinctive nature of the unconventional resources in the Najmah formation in The State of Kuwait poses unique challenges that must be overcome to achieve economic development. The Najmah potential has been characterized with large detail in several asset areas of the country, however, a regional, country-wide Play Fairway Assessment was carried out to high-grade those areas that could constitute the sweet spot for focusing on Pilot Well Design and Resource Evaluation. 1D and 3D Mechanical Earth Models were also developed to fine-tune the proposed sweet spot area and aid in the pilot wellbore design evaluation.
The objective of the Play Fairway Analysis study was to carry out a thorough integration of Geology, Geophysics, Petrophysics, Geomechanics and Drilling data to produce an evaluation throughout the state of Kuwait. In this study, we developed and implemented an Unconventional Evaluation Workflow with the objectives of assessing a recommended sweet spot area and planning a pilot program to enable testing of the unconventional resource potential in Kuwait.
This work compiles the results obtained from the Play Fairway Analysis (PFA) and the 1D & 3D MEM with particular emphasis on seismic-driven modeling, integrating them into the selection of a "sweet spot" area where a pilot multi-stage horizontal fractured well (MSHFW) is proposed as the completion methodology for the world-class Najmah Shale Unconventional reservoir. A seismic-well model was selected as the basis for mechanical, and petrophysical properties in the final geological grids.
The Eagle Ford shale formation in the Gulf Coast basin of south Texas was designated as the analog Unconventional reservoir for the Najmah Shale, as it has similarities in lithology, clay content, TOC volume fraction, reservoir depth, formation temperature and initial reservoir pressure.
The novelty of this study was to integrate to the best extent the available multidisciplinary data and propose a pilot unconventional well program that gives the best chance of success to evaluate the Najmah Unconventional potential. The Najmah reservoir poses unique and challenging characteristics that require an out-of-the-box approach. The pilot well design focused on incorporating existing, industry-wide proved, and available technology. The proposed MSHFW completion incorporates current industry trends and best practices regarding stage spacing, fluid selection, proppant selection, and pumping schedules. The proposed completion design was also influenced by the need to compare and contrast with production test results from established analogous unconventional plays.