Development of Low-Permeability Carbonate Reservoir by Use of Horizontal Wells in Mature South Umm Gudair Field in the Neutral Zone- A New Approach

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madan K. Jha ◽  
Thanh B. Tran ◽  
B. Hagtvedt ◽  
Mohammad Al-Haimer ◽  
Musaad S. Al-Harbi
2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
M. Jha ◽  
T. Tran ◽  
D. Hawkins

The South Umm Gudair (SUG) oil field located in the Neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia has produced since 1968 from an active water drive carbonate reservoir of Lower Cretaceous age. The lower zones are homogenous intervals of higher permeability which appear to be sufficiently swept by natural water drive over a period of time. The upper zones of the reservoir have lower permeability, are relatively thin and are bound by tighter intervals that act as possible barriers to the natural water drive system.Geosteering techniques are now extensively used in oil and gas industry for horizontal wells to produce hydrocarbons from thin reservoirs to maximise recovery, and restricting water-coning problems. Recent advancements in well placement using Geosteering allow successful targetting of low permeability reservoir with great precision which results in exposing more drainage area in the target pay.The geosteering technique was considered for the first time in joint operation’s SUG field targetting two horizontal wells. Improved well productivity is achieved through optimised well placement. This success has led to a development plan and strategy of additional horizontal drilling locations to maximise recovery of un-swept oil from the low permeability reservoirs. This paper reviews the success of Geosteering in SUG’s two horizontal wells, completed in July 2004.


2017 ◽  
pp. 56-61
Author(s):  
M. L. Karnaukhov ◽  
O. N. Pavelyeva

The well testing of gas-condensate horizontal wells are discussed in the article and the comparative analysis of borehole flow capacity, depending on the mode of it’s operation is presented. Extra attention is focused on the issue of timely identification of the reasons for the reduction of fluid withdrawal from the reservoir. The presence of high skin effect is proved, which confirms the existence of low-permeability of bottomhole formation zone related to condensation in the immediate area of the horizontal wellbore.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Al Qahtani ◽  
Hasan Al Hashim ◽  
Hasan Al Yousef

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Gaillard ◽  
Matthieu Olivaud ◽  
Alain Zaitoun ◽  
Mahmoud Ould-Metidji ◽  
Guillaume Dupuis ◽  
...  

Abstract Polymer flooding is one of the most mature EOR technology applied successfully in a broad range of reservoir conditions. The last developments made in polymer chemistries allowed pushing the boundaries of applicability towards higher temperature and salinity carbonate reservoirs. Specifically designed sulfonated acrylamide-based copolymers (SPAM) have been proven to be stable for more than one year at 120°C and are the best candidates to comply with Middle East carbonate reservoir conditions. Numerous studies have shown good injectivity and propagation properties of SPAM in carbonate cores with permeabilities ranging from 70 to 150 mD in presence of oil. This study aims at providing new insights on the propagation of SPAM in carbonate reservoir cores having permeabilities ranging between 10 and 40 mD. Polymer screening was performed in the conditions of ADNOC onshore carbonate reservoir using a 260 g/L TDS synthetic formation brine together with oil and core material from the reservoir. All the experiments were performed at residual oil saturation (Sor). The experimental approach aimed at reproducing the transport of the polymer entering the reservoir from the sand face up to a certain depth. Three reservoir coreflood experiments were performed in series at increasing temperatures and decreasing rates to mimic the progression of the polymer in the reservoir with a radial velocity profile. A polymer solution at 2000 ppm was injected in the first core at 100 mL/h and 40°C. Effluents were collected and injected in the second core at 20 mL/h and 70°C. Effluents were collected again and injected in the third core at 4 mL/h and 120°C. A further innovative approach using reservoir minicores (6 mm length disks) was also implemented to screen the impact of different parameters such as Sor, molecular weight and prefiltration step on the injectivity of the polymer solutions. According to minicores data, shearing of the polymer should help to ensure good propagation and avoid pressure build-up at the core inlet. This result was confirmed through an injection in a larger core at Sor and at 120°C. When comparing the injection of sheared and unsheared polymer at the same concentration, core inlet impairment was suppressed with the sheared polymer and the same range of mobility reduction (Rm) was achieved in the internal section of the core although viscosity was lower for the sheared polymer. Such result indicates that shearing is an efficient way to improve injectivity while maximizing the mobility reduction by suppressing the loss of product by filtration/retention at the core inlet. This paper gives new insights concerning SPAM rheology in low permeability carbonate cores. Additionally, it provides an innovative and easier approach for screening polymer solutions to anticipate their propagation in more advanced coreflooding experiments.


2021 ◽  
pp. 108-119
Author(s):  
D. V. Shalyapin ◽  
D. L. Bakirov ◽  
M. M. Fattahov ◽  
A. D. Shalyapina ◽  
V. G. Kuznetsov

In domestic and world practice, despite the measures applied and developed to improve the quality of well casing, there is a problem of leaky structures in almost 50 % of completed wells. The study of actual data using classical methods of statistical analysis (regression and variance analyses) doesn't allow us to model the process with sufficient accuracy that requires the development of a new approach to the study of the attachment process. It is proposed to use the methods of machine learning and neural network modeling to identify the most important parameters and their synergistic impact on the target variables that affect the quality of well casing. The formulas necessary for translating the numerical values of the results of acoustic and gamma-gamma cementometry into categorical variables to improve the quality of probabilistic models are determined. A database consisting of 93 parameters for 934 wells of fields located in Western Siberia has been formed. The analysis of fastening of production columns of horizontal wells of four stratigraphic arches is carried out, the most weighty variables and regularities of their influence on target indicators are established. Recommendations are formulated to improve the quality of well casing by correcting the effects of acoustic and gamma-gamma logging on the results.


2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (05) ◽  
pp. 453-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar ◽  
S. Ramanan ◽  
J.L. Narasimham

Summary Oil productivity from Mumbai High field, an offshore multilayered carbonate reservoir, increased significantly through the implementation of a major redevelopment program. Geoscientific information available from approximately 700 exploratory and develop- ment wells drilled in the field during nearly 25 years was incorporated during geological and reservoir simulation modeling of the field. High-technology drilling (viz. horizontal/multilaterals for the new development wells) was adopted on field scale to effectively address typical complexity of the layered carbonate reservoirs. Since the commencement of the project in 2000, approximately 140 new wells were drilled, mostly with horizontal and multilateral drainholes. Besides these, more than 70 suboptimal producers were also converted as horizontal sidetracks under brownfield development. The horizontal sidetracks were drilled as long-drift sidetrack (LDST), extended-reach drilling (ERD), LDST-ERD, short-drift sidetrack (SDST), and medium-radius drainhole (MRDH) types of wells through the application of innovative and emerging drilling technologies with nondamaging drilling fluids, whipstocks to kick off sidetrack wells, rotary-steering systems, and expandable tubulars to complete horizontal sidetracks in lower layers. With the implementation of this project, the declining trend was fully arrested and a significant upward trend in production has been established. Introduction The field redevelopment process requires the intergration of reservoir-development strategies, facility options, and drilling and production philosophies to maximize oil and gas recovery from a matured field. A significant number of case studies are available on mature field revitalization using a multidisciplinary team concept, exhaustive geo-scientific data analysis, and new drilling technologies (Chedid and Colmenares 2002; Clark et al. 2000; Dollens et al. 1999; Kinchen et al. 2001). Advancements in drilling and completion technology have enabled construction of horizontal wells with longer wellbores, more-complex well geometry, and sophisticated completion designs. Horizontal wells provide an effective method to produce bypassed oil from matured fields. In the early 1980s, this technology was in the development stage and was used in limited applications. By the 1990s, the technology had matured, and its acceptance in the industry had increased significantly. Performance of horizontal/multilateral wells, risk assessment of horizontal-well productivity and comparison of horizontal- and vertical-well performance in different fields is available in literature (Babu and Aziz 1989; Brekke and Thompson 1996; Economides et al. 1989; Joshi 1987; Joshi and Ding 1995; Mukherjee and Economides 1991; Norris et al. 1991; Vij et al. 1998). A significant number of horizontal/multilateral development wells were drilled as a part of redevelopment of Mumbai High, a matured multilayered carbonate offshore field in Western India. The details of new technologies applied and performance of these new high-technology wells are presented in this paper. Besides comparison of well productivity of horizontal and conventional sidetrack wells, this paper presents some technical issues faced.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document