Vito Project: Drilling & Completions – World Class Riserless Batch Set Performance, Best-in Class Deepening Performance, In-Well Barrier Gas-Lift System, 17 Ksi Barrier Checks, 15 MMSCF/Day Injection Rate

In 2009, the Vito field was discovered in more than 4,000 ft of water approximately 150 miles offshore from New Orleans, Louisiana. The project produces from Miocene-aged reservoirs nearly 30,000 feet below sea level. The Vito project was the first deep water project to require in-well retrievable gas-lift systems with metal-to-metal seals capable of sustaining a differential of 17 Ksi and injection rates of 15 MMscf/day. This paper provides an overview of Vito's drilling and completions, in-well gas-lift system, development process, validation and testing requirements, key challenges encountered during the project, and the technologies. This paper is part of a Vito Project series at OTC 2023, and the other papers are listed in the references. The Vito Phase 1 project consisted of 8 producer wells with slim hole and open hole gravel pack design. The project wells were drilled with an Ultra-Deepwater Dual-Activity rig. The Gas-Lift Development Team worked with vendors to identify technology gaps with existing gas-lift system to project requirements. A validation process was created by the project using the following standards: API 19G 1,2,3, QAQC, ASME, FEA, CFD & Non-metallic Standards, company standards along with partner TR2385 document to establish design, manufacturing, and validation testing guidelines to ensure the highest level of reliability possible for a gas-lift system. The project team worked alongside the vendors to design and test concepts that eventually became the project's gas-lift system. The riserless section was drilled in a batch form and was benchmarked as a world-class performance against the company fleet performance. The majority of the subsequent deepening drilling and completion operations were benchmarked as best-in-class performing wells, thanks to the implementation of competitively scoped well designs, vendor engagement and well on well learning curve improvements. The gas-lift system key challenges included understanding the phase envelope of the injection gas and potential issues that may provide for long term integrity of the well, locating testing facilities to handle 10 Ksi injection pressure with up to 15 MMscf/day of injection rates, welding and heat treatment of Inconel side pocket mandrels, long term Arrhenius testing of non-metallics, developing robust QCP plans for manufacturing, and conducting an in-well SIT (systems integration test) of the KOT (kickover tool) systems.