We recently marked a significant milestone at Tendeka with the 10,000th installation of our leading FloSureTM autonomous inflow control devices (AICDs).

This landmark emphasises not only our position as the market leader in AICD technology through our unrivalled record of AICD runs in the industry, it also demonstrates the growing popularity of AICDs as a completions solution for increasing oil production over the life of the field.

We’ve been working towards this record since our first AICD deployments in the North Sea several years ago. Thanks to continued development and expertise, our award-winning AICD technology has now been successfully installed in wells in multiple territories. Set up in light and heavy oil wells to overcome water or gas breakthrough, FloSureTM preferentially chokes unwanted production fluids while promoting oil for the entire length of the well. More than 50 lateral wells have been completed with FloSureTM devices to date with the record in a single well standing at over 700.

The milestone of 10,000 AICD installations marks not only a major achievement for us, but also the whole oil and gas production sector in the increasing uptake of AICDs in the development of inflow control.

One example of where FloSureTM has been successfully deployed has been in the Troll subsea field offshore Norway, where all new wells are now completed using AICDs to restrict gas.

A thin layer of oil rim of between 22 and 26 metres in the Troll West Oil Province, and between 11 and 13 metres in the Troll West Gas Province lies within Norway’s largest gas field. The challenge was to drill and complete horizontal wells that could produce this oil. Passive ICDs were successful in ensuring production from along the length of the well but once gas breakthrough occurred the high mobility fluid rapidly dominated the flow regime. The ability to adjust inflow control performance through a quick and flexible non-static control system was critical to the future oil production from the field.

The only moveable part in the AICD, a disc, will normally rest at the seat to allow maximum flow area for passing fluid. But when gas flows through the valve, pressure forces the disc to lift, closing the gap with the ICD nozzle and restricting the flow area.

Data published in SPE159634 shows an increase in cumulative oil production of 20% within the first 18 months of production from an AICD completion in comparison to a passive ICD equivalent. It also provides an example where after only 10 months of production the well has produced the same cumulative oil as a typical Troll well is expected to produce during its entire lifetime.

The Troll example is just one of several where FloSureTM AICDs are proving their worth in their own right, but along with Tendeka’s liner hanger, sand screen and zonal isolation technology, they enable us to provide a fully integrated sandface completions solution.