A novel method for determining the depth of kickoff points in cluster wells based on probability analysis

The purpose of this study is to determine the depth range of kickoff points of cluster wells. A probability distribution method is proposed to analyze the control deviation of the closure distance of vertical well sections. A Box-Cox transformation was performed on the positively skewed raw data, and a function of the closure distance probability distribution with the Box-Cox transformation parameter lambda and the measured depth was established. The closure distance range was nonlinearly related to the measured depth and the distribution probability. The factors that should be considered in the function when determining the depth of the kickoff points were discussed. An engineering example was used to verify the applicability of the method. The proposed function can be used for assessing the collision risk during the project planning phase and optimizing the number of cluster wells and the wellhead spacing.

Automated summary

The study aims to determine the depth range of kickoff points of cluster wells. A probability distribution method is proposed to analyze the control deviation of the closure distance of vertical well sections. By performing a Box-Cox transformation on the raw data, a function of the closure distance probability distribution is established. The applicability of the method is verified through an engineering example.