Abstract
This paper describes a straightforward strategy for diagnosing and solving excess water production problems. The strategy advocates that the easiest problems should be attacked first and diagnosis of water production problems should begin with information already at hand. A listing of water production problems is provided, along with a ranking of their relative ease of solution.
Conventional methods (e.g., cement, mechanical devices) normally should be applied first to treat the easiest problems— i.e., casing leaks and flow behind pipe where cement can be placed effectively and for unfractured wells where impermeable barriers separate water and hydrocarbon zones. Gelant treatments normally are the best option for casing leaks and flow behind pipe with flow restrictions that prevent effective cement placement. Both gelants and preformed gels have been successfully applied to treat hydraulic or natural fractures that connect to an aquifer. Treatments with preformed gels normally are the best option for faults or fractures crossing a deviated or horizontal well, for a single fracture causing channeling between wells, or for a natural fracture system that allows channeling between wells. Gel treatments should not be used to treat the most difficult problems—i.e., three-dimensional coning, cusping, or channeling through strata with crossflow.
