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Multilateral wells are receiving much attention in the oil industry. Despite the increasing amount of publicity, multilateral wells in practice account for only a small fraction of the total number of wells drilled in the world today. One reason for this limited application may be that the economic benefit of drilling these wells may be in question, even though the higher construction costs associated with drilling a multilateral well can usually be justified on paper by the resulting projected rise in well producibility.

Several factors can contribute to the economic success of a multilateral project:

1. Reservoir characteristics
2. Production and facilities capabilities
3. Operator and service company experience with multilateral installations
4. Technological advances and refinements in the multilateral drilling and completion systems
5. Complexity of the drilling program
6. Effective contingency planning prior to the commencement of the drilling operations

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