Fieldwide Application of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve in Increasing the Field Recovery in One of the Matured Fields in the Sultanate of Oman: Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim Buwauqi ◽  
Ali Al Jumah ◽  
Abdulhameed Shabini ◽  
Ameera Harrasi ◽  
Tejas Kalyani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control Valve ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
High Water ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Well Performance ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Water Cut

Abstract One of the largest operators in the Sultanate of Oman discovered a clastic reservoir field in 1980 and put it on production in 1985. The field produces viscous oil, ranging from 200 - 2000+ cP at reservoir conditions. Over 75% of the wells drilled are horizontal wells and the field is one of the largest producers in the Sultanate of Oman. The field challenges include strong aquifer, high permeability zones/faults and large fluid mobility contrast have resulted that most of the wells started with very high-water cuts. The current field water cut is over 94%. This paper details operator's meticulous journey in qualification, field trials followed by field-wide implementation and performance evaluation of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV) technology in reducing water production and increasing oil production significantly. AICV can precisely identify the fluid flowing through it and shutting-off the high water or gas saturated zones autonomously while stimulating oil production from healthy oil-saturated zones. Like other AICDs (Autonomous Inflow Control Device) AICV can differentiate the fluid flowing through it via fluid properties such as viscosity and density at reservoir conditions. However, AICVs performance is superior due to its advanced design based on Hagen-Poiseuille and Bernoulli's principles. This paper describes an AICV completion design workflow involving a multi-disciplinary team as well as some of the field evaluation criteria to evaluate AICV well performance in the existing and in the new wells. The operator has completed several dozens of production wells with AICV technology in the field since 2018-19. Based on the field performance review, it has shown the benefit of accelerating oil production as well as reduction of unwanted water which not only reduces the OPEX of these wells but at the same time enormous positive impact on the environment. Many AICV wells started with just 25-40 % water cut and are still producing with low water cut and higher oil production. Based on the initial field-wide assessment, it is also envisaged that AICV wells will assist in achieving higher field recovery. Also, AICV helped in mitigating the facility constraints of handling produced water which will allow the operator continued to drill in-fill horizontal wells. Finally, the paper also discusses in detail the long-term performance results of some of the wells and their impact on cumulative field recovery as well as lessons learned to further optimise the well performance. The technology has a profound impact on improved sweep efficiency and as well plays an instrumental role in reducing the carbon footprint by reducing the significant water production at the surface. It is concluded that AICV technology has extended the field and wells life and proved to be the most cost-effective field-proven technology for the water shut-off application.

Application of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve AICV in Increasing the Field Recovery in One of the Matured Fields in the Sultanate of Oman: Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim Buwauqi ◽  
Ali Al Jumah ◽  
Abdulhameed Shabibi ◽  
Ameera Harrasi ◽  
Tejas Kalyani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control Valve ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Viscous Oil ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Water Cut

Abstract One of the largest clastic reservoir fields in the Sultanate of Oman has been discovered in 1980 and put on production in 1985. The field produces viscous oil, ranging from 200 - 2000+ cP at reservoir conditions. Over 75% of the wells drilled are horizontal wells and the field is one of the largest producers in the Sultanate of Oman. The field challenges include strong aquifer, high permeability zones/faults. Due to large fluid mobility contrast, the fields have experienced in pre-mature water breakthrough that has resulted in very high-water cuts. The average field water cut for open hole horizontal well after 6-9 months of production is over 94%. This paper details a meticulous journey in qualification, field trials followed by field-wide implementation and performance evaluation of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV) technology in reducing water production and increasing oil production significantly. AICV can precisely identify the fluid flowing through it and shutting-off the high water or gas saturated zones while producing oil from healthy oil-saturated zones. Like other AICDs (Autonomous Inflow Control Device) AICV can differentiate the fluid flowing through it via fluid properties such as viscosity and density at reservoir conditions. However, AICV's performance is superior due to its advanced design based on both Hagen-Poiseuille and Bernoulli's principles. This paper describes a comprehensive AICV completion design workflow that was developed across a multi-disciplinary team. Some of the initial wells completed with AICV has shown the benefit of accelerating oil production of over 30,000 bbls within the first few months of installation. Many wells started with 5-10 % water cut and are still producing with low water cut and higher oil production. The operator has approved AICV technology based on techno-commercial analysis and its positive impact on the project such as accelerated oil production and lower cost of water handling at the surface. AICV also helped in mitigating the facility constraints of handling produced water which resulted in reduce OPEX as allow the operator continued to drill horizontal wells. At the time of writing this paper, the operator has completed several dozen wells in the field with AICV technology and has an aggressive long term plan to complete several new and old wells. Finally, this paper also discusses in detail the comparative analysis of AICV wells for different subsurface conditions and share some lessons learned to further optimise the well performance. The technology has a profound impact on improved sweep efficiency and as well plays an instrumental role in reducing the carbon footprint by reducing the significant water production at the surface. It is concluded that AICV is a cost-effective field-proven technology for the water shut-off application. Due to its ability to autonomously identify and shut off water and gas production, the AICV technology has been approved to use as full fields implementation and in other fields. Field Background and Reservoir/Production challenges The operator produces around nine barrels of water against each produced barrel of oil. In general, the water produces to the surface with hydrocarbons contains many chemicals, which are usually not environmentally friendly and required additional treatment which increases the disposal cost. The Operator was looking for a cost-effective and proven technology that can control/shut off water production and improve oil production. The fields have a strong bottom aquifer and heterogeneous reservoir properties, such as permeability and downhole water saturation profiles. The challenge with matured brownfields, typically newly drilled wells will have pre-mature water breakthrough within few months of production. The fields have a highly viscous oil, with viscosity ranges from 200 cP up to 2000 cp at downhole conditions, thus creating a high mobility contrast between the oil and water, causing water fingering and coning at an early stage of production. These production challenges cause a significant recoverable oil left in the reservoir i.e. bypassed oil. Furthermore, excessive surface water production affects the integrated production system back pressures and flow, as well as an individual well's dynamics and pump efficiencies. This also has a significant downstream impact, where substantial investment is needed to handle, treat, and dispose of the water. Reducing these water volumes at the surface adds up to a tangible reduction in OPEX for water processing as well as environmentally friendly and assist the reservoir to maintain the reservoir pressure and energy by keeping the water in the reservoir. (Hilal et al 1997, Hassasi et al 2020)

New Gel Aggregates To Improve Sweep Efficiency During Waterflooding

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 120-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanglun Lei ◽  
Lingling Li ◽  
Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
High Water ◽  
Resistance Factor ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Low Viscosity ◽  
Productivity Decline ◽  
High Water Cut ◽  
Water Cut

Summary A common problem for oil production is excessive water production, which can lead to rapid productivity decline and significant increases in operating costs. The result is often a premature shut-in of wells because production has become uneconomical. In water injectors, the injection profiles are uneven and, as a result, large amounts of oil are left behind the water front. Many chemical systems have been used to control water production and improve recovery from reservoirs with high water cut. Inorganic gels have low viscosity and can be pumped using typical field mixing and injection equipment. Polymer or crosslinked gels, especially polyacrylamide-based systems, are mainly used because of their relatively low cost and their supposed selectivity. In this paper, microspheres (5–30 μm) were synthesized using acrylamide monomers crosslinked with an organic crosslinker. They can be suspended in water and can be pumped in sandstone formations. They can plug some of the pore throats and, thus, force injected water to change its direction and increase the sweep efficiency. A high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) rheometer was used to measure G (elastic modulus) and G" (viscous modulus) of these aggregates. Experimental results indicate that these microspheres are stable in solutions with 20,000 ppm NaCl at 175°F. They can expand up to five times their original size in deionized water and show good elasticity. The results of sandpack tests show that the microspheres can flow through cores with permeability greater than 500 md and can increase the resistance factor by eight to 25 times and the residual resistance factor by nine times. The addition of microspheres to polymer solutions increased the resistance factor beyond that obtained with the polymer solution alone. Field data using microspheres showed significant improvements in the injection profile and enhancements in oil production.

Polymer Application in High-Water-Cut Wells Enhances Productivity in a Mature Field

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (09) ◽  
pp. 60-61
Author(s):  
Chris Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Oil Viscosity ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
High Water Cut ◽  
Water Cut

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 200957, “Application of Specially Designed Polymers in High-Water-Cut Wells: A Holistic Well-Intervention Technology Applied in Umm Gudair Field, Kuwait,” by Ali Abdullah Al-Azmi, SPE, Thanyan Ahmed Al-Yaqout, and Dalal Yousef Al-Jutaili, Kuwait Oil Company, et al., prepared for the 2020 SPE Trinidad and Tobago Section Energy Resources Conference, originally scheduled to be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 29 June–1 July. The paper has not been peer reviewed. A significant challenge faced in the mature Umm Gudair (UG) field is assurance of hydrocarbon flow through highly water-prone intervals. The complete paper discusses the field implementation of a downhole chemical methodology that has positively affected overall productivity. The treatment was highly modified to address the challenges of electrical-submersible-pump (ESP)-driven well operations, technical difficulties posed by the formation, high-stakes economics, and high water potential from these formations. Field Background and Challenge The UG field is one of the major oil fields in Kuwait (Fig. 1). The Minagish oolite (MO) reservoir is the main oil producer, contributing more than 95% of current production in the UG field. However, water cut has been increasing (approximately 65% at the time of writing). The increasing water cut in the reservoir is posing a major challenge to maintaining the oil-production rate because of the higher mobility of water compared with that of oil. The natural water aquifer support in the reservoir that underlies the oil column extends across the reservoir and is rising continuously. This has led to a decline in the oil-production rate and has prevented oil-producing zones from contributing effectively. The reservoir experiences water-coning phenomena, especially in high-permeability zones. Oil viscosity ranges from 2 to 8 cp, and hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide levels are 1.5 and 4%, respectively. During recent years, water production has increased rapidly in wells because of highly conductive, thick, clean carbonate formations with low structural dip as well as some stratified formations. Field production may be constrained by the capacity of the surface facilities; therefore, increased water production has different effects on field operations. The average cost of handling produced water is estimated to be between $5 billion and $10 billion in the US and approximately $40 billion globally. These volumes often are so large that even incremental modifications can have major financial effects. For example, the lift-ing cost of one barrel of oil doubles when water cut reaches 50%, increases fivefold at 80% water cut, and increases twenty-fold at 95% water cut.

Autonomous Inflow Control Valve Applications Creating Better Wells: A Review of Design Optimization and Associated Benefits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Abd El-Fattah ◽  
Ahmed Moustafa Fahmy ◽  
Hamed Wahaibi ◽  
Abdullah Shibli ◽  
Khaled Zuhaimi
Keyword(s):  
Control Valve ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Gas Oil ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Control Devices ◽  
Water Gas

Abstract One of the largest oil fields in the GCC was developed in the 1960's. The field was initially produced under natural depletion supplemented by gas injection. The high offtake rates led to a rapid displacement of the gas/oil contact; thus, the field has now been suffering from early gas/water breakthrough and uneven fluid influx along with the horizontal wells. The reservoir has been on production for more than 50 years. Water/gas breakthrough from fractures being the major challenge which negatively affects wells oil production rates. Applying technology which can manage water/gas breakthrough in a cost-effective manner whilst allowing increased oil production was a key goal from operators in this field. Passive Inflow Control Devices (ICD) were introduced to the global oil and gas market in mid/late-1990's, and the first generation of Autonomous ICD (AICD) that can help reduce more unwanted gas or water was first installed in 2007. ICD's successfully demonstrated that they could delay the gas and/or water breakthrough within horizontal wells, but they could not choke gas when the coning/gas-breakthrough occurred and along with limited abilities to stop unwanted water production. To help solve this problem, the Autonomous Inflow Control Devices (AICD-RCP) with a movable disc was introduced to the market and demonstrated reduction of gas production by 20-30% with similar gains in oil production[1]. In this paper, the newest generation of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV) technology is presented. The AICV technology has a movable piston that can close and reduce the unwanted gas and water production by up to 95%[2]. The application of AICVs discussed herein were deployed within several wells which had extremely high Gas Oil Ratio (GOR) and low oil production. The novel AICV technology can differentiate between fluid types based on viscosity and density. When undesired fluid (gas and/or water) starts to be produced, the AICV chokes the valve flow area gradually until completely shutting off, all without well intervention[3]. Well production performances are documenting the benefits of installing AICV completions. The results demonstrate the AICVs closing the zones with high gas production and favoring oil-rich zones. Majority of evaluated wells demonstrated clearly that the extremely high GOR was reduced; some wells have returned to solution GOR for more than two years, and at the same time, the daily oil production is increased.

scholarly journals Comparison Between Homogenous and Heterogeneous Reservoirs: A Parametric Study of Water Coning Phenomena

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-131
Author(s):  
Frzan F. Ali ◽  
Maha R. Hamoudi ◽  
Akram H. Abdul Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Production Rate ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Effective Parameters ◽  
Radial Cross Section ◽  
Heterogeneous Reservoirs ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Water Coning ◽  
Water Cut ◽  
Reservoir Simulator

Water coning is the biggest production problem mechanism in Middle East oil fields, especially in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. When water production starts to increase, the costs of operations increase. Water production from the coning phenomena results in a reduction in recovery factor from the reservoir. Understanding the key factors impacting this problem can lead to the implementation of efficient methods to prevent and mitigate water coning. The rate of success of any method relies mainly on the ability to identify the mechanism causing the water coning. This is because several reservoir parameters can affect water coning in both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. The objective of this research is to identify the parameters contributing to water coning in both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. A simulation model was created to demonstrate water coning in a single- vertical well in a radial cross-section model in a commercial reservoir simulator. The sensitivity analysis was conducted on a variety of properties separately for both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. The results were categorized by time to water breakthrough, oil production rate and water oil ratio. The results of the simulation work led to a number of conclusions. Firstly, production rate, perforation interval thickness and perforation depth are the most effective parameters on water coning. Secondly, time of water breakthrough is not an adequate indicator on the economic performance of the well, as the water cut is also important. Thirdly, natural fractures have significant contribution on water coning, which leads to less oil production at the end of production time when compared to a conventional reservoir with similar properties.

scholarly journals New Waterflooding Characteristic Curves Based on Cumulative Water Injection

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Zhiwang Yuan ◽  
Zhiping Li ◽  
Li Yang ◽  
Yingchun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Material Balance ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
High Water ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
High Water Cut Stage ◽  
High Water Cut ◽  
Water Cut

When a conventional waterflooding characteristic curve (WFCC) is used to predict cumulative oil production at a certain stage, the curve depends on the predicted water cut at the predicted cutoff point, but forecasting the water cut is very difficult. For the reservoirs whose pressure is maintained by water injection, based on the water-oil phase seepage theory and the principle of material balance, the equations relating the cumulative oil production and cumulative water injection at the moderately high water cut stage and the ultrahigh water cut stage are derived and termed the Yuan-A and Yuan-B curves, respectively. And then, we theoretically analyze the causes of the prediction errors of cumulative oil production by the Yuan-A curve and give suggestions. In addition, at the ultrahigh water cut stage, the Yuan-B water cut prediction formula is established, which can predict the water cut according to the cumulative water injection and solve the difficult problem of water cut prediction. The application results show Yuan-A and Yuan-B curves are applied to forecast oil production based on cumulative water injection data obtained by the balance of injection and production, avoiding reliance on the water cut forecast and solving the problems of predicting the cumulative oil production of producers or reservoirs that have not yet shown the decline rule. Furthermore, the formulas are simple and convenient, providing certain guiding significance for the prediction of cumulative oil production and water cut for the same reservoir types.

Pressure Maintenance and Improving Oil Recovery by Means of Immiscible Water-Alternating-CO2 Processes in Thin Heavy-Oil Reservoirs

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. 60-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sixu Zheng ◽  
Daoyong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Oil Saturation ◽  
Water Alternating Gas ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Water Cut

Summary Techniques have been developed to experimentally and numerically evaluate performance of water-alternating-CO2 processes in thin heavy-oil reservoirs for pressure maintenance and improving oil recovery. Experimentally, a 3D physical model consisting of three horizontal wells and five vertical wells is used to evaluate the performance of water-alternating-CO2 processes. Two well configurations have been designed to examine their effects on heavy-oil recovery. The corresponding initial oil saturation, oil-production rate, water cut, oil recovery, and residual-oil-saturation (ROS) distribution are examined under various operating conditions. Subsequently, numerical simulation is performed to match the experimental measurements and optimize the operating parameters (e.g., slug size and water/CO2 ratio). The incremental oil recoveries of 12.4 and 8.9% through three water-alternating-CO2 cycles are experimentally achieved for the aforementioned two well configurations, respectively. The excellent agreement between the measured and simulated cumulative oil production indicates that the displacement mechanisms governing water-alternating-CO2 processes have been numerically simulated and matched. It has been shown that water-alternating-CO2 processes implemented with horizontal wells can be optimized to significantly improve performance of pressure maintenance and oil recovery in thin heavy-oil reservoirs. Although well configuration imposes a dominant impact on oil recovery, the water-alternating-gas (WAG) ratios of 0.75 and 1.00 are found to be the optimum values for Scenarios 1 and 2, respectively.

scholarly journals Design and Implementation of the Array Logging Tool on Horizontal Production Logging

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Wenguang Song ◽  
Haiyu Chen ◽  
Qiujuan Zhang ◽  
Jiahao Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
High Water ◽  
Oil Fields ◽  
Measuring Instruments ◽  
Conventional Production ◽  
Production Wells ◽  
Specific Retention ◽  
High Water Cut ◽  
Water Cut ◽  
Logging Tool

The measuring instruments have some errors in the measurement of high water cut production wells, and many domestic oil fields are also in high water cut state. The measured data from the conventional production logging instrument are all almost inaccurate. This project has designed a staggered probe array flow meter well logging apparatus based on the characteristic of electromagnetic wave specific retention meter that can fully cover the wellbore fluid and improve flow measurement accuracy. According to the application in horizontal wells, the accuracy of this measuring instrument now has been proved to be more than 90% and can meet the requirements of production logging interpretation in horizontal wells.

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