Problem statement: Wireline formation testing (also named Mini-DSTs) are gaining more and more popularity as a possible alternative to conventional well testing especially where there are major environmental and economical constraints. The increased offshore exploration activity, which often implies highly risky and huge operational costs, makes the conventional well testing less attractive in favor of other technologies that can provide some of the key dynamic information about the well-reservoir system through relatively quick and less expensive operations. The design phase is recognized to be one of the most critical aspects in order to guarantee an acceptable value of information in exploration scenarios where very limited data is available. The success of any mini-DST operation can be significantly compromised if two major issues are not addressed in the design phase: possibility to clearly identify the radial flow behavior and avoidance of noise in the pressure response due to the gauge resolution. Approach: The study consisted in the development of a new tool for mini-DST design to easily identify whether this technology can be successfully applied. The tool comprises dimensionless and dimensional charts, which are of general validity because they can be applied to any lithological environment and for any type of hydrocarbon. Results: Field applications proved the reliability of the charts: First of all the test durations were optimized to collect interpretable bottomhole pressures and to obtain valid reservoir characterizations. Besides, a cost saving effectiveness was achieved avoiding the acquisition of useless extra-data affected by noise due to gauge resolution. Conclusion/Recommendations: The use of the charts is strongly suggested at the early stage of decision making for new exploration/appraisal operations; they are a user-friendly tool for assessing the feasibility of a mini-DST test. Additionally, the charts are more versatile with respect to available commercial software in managing uncertainties of the major input parameters.
A WAG injection project is foreseen in a North-African field, which was first brought on stream in 2004 with production coming from two separate hydrocarbon columns within the Upper and Middle TAG-I Triassic sandstone reservoirs. The crude oil is light (44°API) and develops multi-contact miscibility with its own solution gas. The current development strategy centers on gas injection as well as water injection for pressure maintenance. Recently, the maximum gas separation capacity was reached, and because the operator respects a zero-flaring policy, a key element of the development strategy involves active gas management which may influence a number of smaller satellite fields that also tie in to the same production facilities. This paper describes efforts to further increase oil recovery in the considered field by means of miscible hydrocarbon gas injection implemented as a tapered WAG. We describe our monitoring plan which involves, among other things, systematic use of diagnostic plots to constrain and assist history matching of the field performance. Some gas breakthrough data indicate arrival of a methane bank ahead of the main gas front, which suggests that the multi-contact miscibility may not be entirely preserved due to dispersion effects. The pattern performance analysis is inspired by earlier gas injection projects and its main purpose is to enable the operator to benchmark patterns and make efficient use of the available injectant. Current gas utilization ratio is around 25-30 Mscf/stb for continuous gas flooding. It is estimated that full-field implementation of a tapered, miscible hydrocarbon WAG will lower the gas utilization ratio further and push the recovery factor towards 60%.
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