ABSTRACT
The kingdom Abo Reef Field, located in the northwestern portion of Terry County, Texas is a relatively recent discovery along a linear organic bank trend which is intermittently productive from Eddy County, New Mexico to Hockley County, Texas (Fig. 1). Gulf Oil Corporation operates a major portion of the Kingdom Abo Reef Field, thus enabling Gulf to rapidly apply the technology that is highlighted in this paper.
The first part of this paper deals with the history and initial development of the field with the objective of providing a basis for a waterflood project. The emphasis is placed not on the development of new technology, but rather the application of existing technology in characterizing the reservoir to assist in the early recognition of a low primary recovery factor. An analysis of basic data taken during development and early production operations led to the conclusion that primary operations would result in a low primary recovery, which provides the setting for the waterflood feasibility study. The description of the waterflood feasibility study emphasizes the specific methodology employed to predict the waterflood performance. The physical development of the waterflood is discussed which emphasizes both the infill expansion project and the water-injection systems. The paper concludes with a discussion of the present operations and a review of the flood's performance.
Interest in Abo carbonate reservoirs began with the discovery of the Lovington Abo Field in Lea County, New Mexico in 1951. Subsequent discoveries were made in the Empire Abo Field in 1957 and Vacuum Abo Field in 1960 along what is today called the Abo Reef Trend. It is along this geologic trend in Terry County, Texas that the Kingdom Abo Reef Field is located.
