The economics of an unconventional well are set on the day it is completed. Drilling costs are largely fixed by the plan, but completion intensity, which covers stage count, cluster count, proppant and fluid volume, is a variable that can double the cost and change the production profile. Finding the combination that maximises value, rather than initial rate or stage count, is the central problem.

Fracture growth is governed by stress and rock properties that vary along the lateral. Clusters within a stage compete for fluid; without limited entry design or diversion, a few clusters take most of the treatment and the rest contribute little. Production logs and tracer surveys repeatedly show that a significant fraction of perforation clusters contribute almost nothing, which is a direct loss of the money spent stimulating them.

Wells also interfere. As spacing tightens, fractures from a new well intersect depleted regions around existing wells, causing frac hits that can damage the older well and waste the treatment. Completion design in unconventional fields is therefore a field-level problem, not a single-well one. This course covers the engineering and the trade-offs at both levels.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Identify the main mechanisms of formation damage during completion and workover.
• Select completion brines based on density, crystallisation temperature, compatibility and cost.
• Specify corrosion inhibition, oxygen scavengers and other brine additives.
• Design fluid loss control using bridging agents, viscous pills and mechanical means.
• Specify filtration standards and manage solids at the wellsite.
• Plan displacement and wellbore clean-up procedures.
• Specify compatibility, return permeability and core flow testing.
• Select packer and annulus fluids for long-term integrity.
• Diagnose formation damage from well test and production data.
• Select appropriate remediation methods when damage has occurred

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Reduce formation damage and improve initial well productivity.
• Reduce the need for remedial stimulation after completion.
• Improve completion fluid specification and wellsite quality control.
• Reduce fluid-related failures such as corrosion and crystallisation.
• Improve diagnosis when wells underperform after completion or workover.

Participants will:

• Understand how completion practices damage formations.
• Be able to select and specify completion brines and additives.
• Be able to design fluid loss control and filtration requirements.
• Be able to write and supervise displacement and clean-up procedures.
• Be able to diagnose damage and choose remediation.

• Completion engineers
• Production engineers
• Well intervention and workover engineers
• Drilling fluids and completion fluids specialists
• Well services engineers
• Operations engineers and supervisors

Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.

Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.