A Major Shift In Reservoir Management Strategies And Best Practices In A Mature Reservoir To Overcome The Current Reservoir Challenges: Case Study

Abstract

Abstract Reservoir X is a giant oil reservoir of 30×10 Km2 developed since 1973 using peripheral water injection. A major review study was done in 2016 highlighted major reservoir challenges that need to be managed and mitigated. The main challenges are (a) reservoir pressure decline in the central area (b) advancement of water cut/water conning (c) increased number of inactive strings (d) improper distribution of production offtake (e) inefficiency of current injection scheme. Consequently, reservoir deliverable potential has continuously dropped with increasing inactive strings threatening the attainment of the field mandated production target. This requires a major shift in our reservoir management strategies and best practices to cope with these challenges. In this paper, a case study for reservoir management in a mature carbonate reservoir with its detailed methodology is presented. An intensive and integrated technical work was conducted to (a) regain the target technical rate of 20% (300Mbpd) (b) arrest the pressure decline (c) implementation of a more efficient long-term plan to increase reservoir pressure and to maximize ultimate recovery. A detailed approach was developed which consisted of short, mid and longterm actions. This approach involves (a) re-prioritization of infill drilling through weighted ranking (b) pressure recovery implementation strategy through sectorization, re-balancing of production offtake and improving water injection efficiency (c) sector based evaluation using simulation/streamlines/data analysis for the voidage replacement (e) water injection optimization with the help of new peripheral water injectors, increased water injection availability (New clusters and network debottlenecking) and new Water Injection scheme (Mid Flank water injectors) (f) tracking the implementation of the Pressure Recovery Plan with a dedicated and tailored monitoring dashboard. Through this integrated approach a portfolio of wells is selected and ranked that help in achieving the objectives of the reservoir development efficiently and the 20% Technical Rate achievement. The sector wise analysis and tracking approach enabled in arresting the pressure decline in the crestal area and ensured that the focus remained on the recovering pressure in the worst affected areas of the reservoir while meeting the production requirements. Another important outcome of this work was to drive a slew of initiatives related to the improvement of water injection efficiency that is a necessary requirement to recover the pressure in the crestal area. This reservoir management methodology and framework put in place provides a platform to continuously integrate the inputs (production/injection; VRR; pressure) and develop understanding from the different disciplines of the reservoir development to monitor and manage the reservoir in and efficient and timely manner.