A study was undertaken to evaluate the production performance/potential of horizontal wells equipped with inflow control devices (ICDs) in an offshore oil field in Saudi Arabia. Several challenges are associated with the optimal ICD completion design in this field due to the reservoir sequence of the thick sandstone with thin layers of shale, siltstone, and limestone. The sand members are unconsolidated, which poses potential issues with fine migration for screen plugging. An additional challenge to the completion design is the practice of long openhole (OH) horizontal sections, normally drilled with net pay in the range of 3,000–4,000 ft MD with oil-base mud (OBM). The reservoir has very good permeability and the high-permeability streaks pose a threat of acute water production early in the life of the wells.

Many representative wells were analyzed by constructing a calibrated ICD model based on their actual completion characteristics with ICD completion and the reservoir parameters of each well. The calibrated model was used to match the wells' production logging measurements profile and analyze future performance based on potential enhancements in the completion design. Results showed that using a nozzle-based ICD instead of a helical ICD design for the same influx profile in these wells caused a reduction in the pressure drop across the completion. The use of additional isolation packers in the ICD sections has the potential to improve the influx balance profile by creating more compartmentalization in the long OH horizontal sections. These findings are taken under consideration for optimizing the completion practices in the future development of the field.