The Coalinga field is one of the oldest oilfields in California and has been under production for over 100 years. The Temblor sands comprise the major reservoir in Coalinga at a depth of 500-2000 ft, with porosity of 33%, oil gravity of 12-14 API, and air permeability of 0.7-3 darcies. Each Temblor sand is at a different stage of drainage and thermal maturity.

Steam production represents Coalinga Field's single largest operating expenditure and managing this expense is critical to Coalinga's success. Starting in 2002, ChevronTexaco has followed an aggressive plan in Coalinga to manage and optimize the field steam injection by using monitoring tools and also maintenance and growth heat calculation tools. Heat management is used to optimize thermal recovery economic performance in Coalinga.

This paper documents how these tools are being used in Coalinga, and, more specifically, how steam Identification logs and temperature viewing tools are providing insight into how effectively the reservoir is being heated.

Keywords:
enhanced recovery, injection, steam identification log, steam injection rate, coalinga, reservoir, steam-assisted gravity drainage, requirement, heat management, evaluation
Subjects:
Improved and Enhanced Recovery, Thermal methods
Copyright 2004, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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