Enhancing inactive well recovery potential - A case history

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

1-1-2006

Abstract

This paper presents an example of a method for identifying incremental productivity of inactive watered-out wells in complex reservoir structures with edge water. The method targets inactive/marginal wells associated with bypassed oil reserves and forecasts the potential of these wells through the use of dual well completions with downhole water drainage-Downhole Water Sink (DWS) technology. In DWS wells, the top completion produces oil as the water inflow is diverted by the bottom completion acting as water drain (or sink). Described is the first step of the method, a geological analysis of reservoir compartmentalization and connectivity. The studied wells produced from a cross-bedded sand channel that had eroded the shale barrier between two normal sequence sands. The analysis identified hydraulic communication of the two sands. The second step of the presented method involved an analysis of the reservoir and well production records to diagnose pathways of fluid movements leading to un-swept oil and well invasion with water. The lower KF sand was water flooded for ten years before the A-3 well watered out. The production data implied water coning. Moreover, displacement calculations indicated that a large amount of the oil in the KE reservoir was unswept, leaving considerable amount of bypassed reserves. The paper conceptualizes why the bypassed oil could not be recovered from these wells, economically, with or without additional water flooding. Production schemes were designed for comparison. The system was modeled with a reservoir simulator and the results were compared with the other conventional solutions. The results clearly show a marked improvement with the use of DWS. The results indicate improved potential commercial development.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Canadian International Petroleum Conference 2006, CIPC 2006

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