Secondary Recovery Conference, 2–3 May, Wichita Falls, Texas
The design and early operation of Stage 1 or this 4640-acre water flood unit, involving 45 working interest owners and 175 royalty owners, are described and illustrated. The KMA sandstone (Zones I and II), whose subsea depth is about 2800 feet, is the reservoir being flooded. Unitization was effected July 1, 1958, and Stage I, which covers 1800 acres, began operating on May 8, 1959.
The fundamental design principle, whose objective was to effect the maximum oil recovery from the minimum combined capital and operating costs, is no different than the aim of most well-planned projects; however, some of the flood facility features - such as centrifugal injection pumps, bare steel lines, simplicity of water conditioning, and the degree of automation - are somewhat pioneering for a secondary recovery project. For example, the automation, which includes complete electrification, affords routine operating control and emergency shutdown of any part or all the system.
As a result thereof, only four men - each working five 8-hour days per week- are required to operate Stage I, which includes 14 water source wells, 118flood wells (58 injection and 60 producing), and the central injection and treating plant having a nominal injection capacity of 40,000 barrels per day.
The system is entirely unattended 128 hours per week. Any operating upset or emergency, that might occur during an unattended period, automatically signals the local telephone exchange, which in turn calls the Operator's appropriate personnel who correct the defect.
Some 8,700,000 barrels of water had been injected at the end of January,1960, or an average of 32,400 barrels per calendar day. Limited yet encouraging flood response was realized by the end of 1959.
The unitization for water flooding purposes of the southwestern portion of the KMA Field, which is now designated "KMA Water Flood, Southwest Unit", was first envisioned about 1949. The geographic location of the Unit is shown on Figure 1. Subsequent cooperative studies by several of the major leaseholders in the subject area indicated the engineering feasibility and economic justification of the project.
