Abstract
Improvement of oil recovery and reduction in water-cut in a matured field requires precise time lapse saturation monitoring. Behind casing resistivity, an important member of the comprehensive analysis behind casing services suite, provides the required answer by acquiring deep resistivity information through casing for subsequent formation evaluation. A time lapse saturation figure could be generated immediately after the acquisition which is extremely instrumental to take an immediate decision. The technology is well known in the industry and already proven beneficial in many occasions. In favorable conditions, this is the most effective methods available to date for saturation monitoring as being the deepest through casing measurement in terms of radial investigation.
The case study presented in the paper describes a successful water shutoff operation and improved oil recovery from the Bahariya formation in the western desert, Egypt. The well was drilled in early 2006 followed by logging and testing and was put on production immediately after completion. During the production time of little more than one year, the oil rate decreased by 70% with 84% water-cut. This significant fall in oil output with sharp early water break through, a common phenomenon in this mature field required a proper shutoff operation. The present example discusses in detail the reason in choosing resistivity behind casing acquisition and time lapse formation evaluation to monitor present saturation profile. Comparison between original and present water saturation level immediately detects the depleted zones and the degree of depletion across perforated intervals indicates the interval contributes most of the produced water. In the present example the cased-hole resistivity acquisition shows departure (lowering) of resistivity values against some perforated intervals. The zones were isolated after identification of the intervals that showed considerably lower resistivity values. This is considered as an indication of rise in oil-water-contact or lengthening of transition zone. In the present case, the remedial measures for water shut-off operation based on time lapse evaluation have enhanced oil recovery from 540 Barrel to 2250 Barrel oil per day with significant reduction in water cut from 84% to 0.5%.
The results were encouraging enough for the operator to reinvestigate the production performance and identify wells where this technique could be meaningfully utilized. The current analysis and workflow offers a fairly good understanding about the reservoir's production scenario, monitoring and future actions for enhanced recovery.