TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThe surveillance and optimization of Norman Wells, a waterflooded fractured-carbonate reservoir in northern Canada, is presented. Discovered and on-production since 1920, Norman Wells is one of Canada's largest conventionally produced oil fields. Full development of this resource was undertaken in the early 1980's when directional and horizontal drilling technology allowed access to the majority of the reservoir, which underlies the Mackenzie River. Several artificial islands were constructed to provide pads for directional injection and production wells. The five-spot waterflood patterns were aligned and elongated to take advantage of the directional permeability associated with the natural fracture system. To optimize production and increase ultimate recovery, a sophisticated multi-disciplinary approach to reservoir and production surveillance has been employed. Basic surveillance methods including frequent well testing, fluid sampling, and gas sampling to ensure the accurate allocation of volumes. Surface pressure measurements have been used to accurately allocate production/injection volumes and monitor the status of the wells. Pressure measurements, including static, build-up, fall-off, flowing, and interference well tests have been utilized to monitor reservoir pressures, inflow/outflow performance and reservoir connectivity. Waterflood conformance has been assessed through the use of tracers, cased-hole production logging and injection logging. Waterflood effectiveness has been optimized through the use of voidage replacement analyses, Hall plots, the imposition of injection targets, and staging of fresh and produced water volumes.A holistic assessment of the surveillance information gathered has been accomplished through the use of streamline and floodfront analyses, material balance models, and several generations of full-field reservoir simulations. Ongoing optimization of the depletion of this complex reservoir has resulted in a 20% increase in the expected ultimate recovery since full-field start-up. An example of how the surveillance information has been utilized to improve reservoir performance is presented. prevalent Unit Conversions1 bbl = 0.1589873 m 3 1 m = 3.2808399 ft 1 kPa = 0.145 psi 1 md = 10 -15 m 2
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