Changes

All this can create the outcome by which horizontal wells are much more productive or economic than conventional wells. This tends to be true of the following situations:

All this can create the outcome by which horizontal wells are much more productive or economic than conventional wells. This tends to be true of the following situations:

* Thin reservoirs. A conventional well will intersect a relatively thin section of the reservoir, whereas a horizontal well can run the length of the reservoir and produce much more hydrocarbons (Fayers et al., 1995).

* Thin reservoirs. A conventional well will intersect a relatively thin section of the reservoir, whereas a horizontal well can run the length of the reservoir and produce much more hydrocarbons.<ref>Fayers, F. J., S. Arbabi, and K. Aziz, 1995, Challenges in reservoir engineering from prospects for horizontal wells: Petroleum Geoscience, v. 1, p. 13–23.</ref>

* Horizontal wells can target long, narrow macroforms such as channel fill sandstones.

* Horizontal wells can target long, narrow macroforms such as channel fill sandstones.

* Fractured reservoirs. A horizontal well has a much greater chance of intersecting vertical or steeply dipping natural fractures compared to conventional wells. This can be a particularly effective way of producing fractured reservoirs with very low matrix permeabilities (Major and Holtz, 1997).

* Fractured reservoirs. A horizontal well has a much greater chance of intersecting vertical or steeply dipping natural fractures compared to conventional wells. This can be a particularly effective way of producing fractured reservoirs with very low matrix permeabilities (Major and Holtz, 1997).