An Application of an Expert System for Bailing Operation Management: Field Case Study

Abstract

The success of a bailing operation depends solely on management in order to keep the operation economical.A novel approach to solve this management challenge is to use an expert system. To automate the bailing evaluation the required knowledge base was divided into one main frame and two subframes. The non-quantitive data are translated to computer form using the rule-based approach. The main frame determines the number of wells for bailing and each subframe handles operational problems. This paper presents field applications. About twenty wells were selected and pertinent data were stored in database form. Primary priority of the bailing wells were set according to the predicted bailing gain and date with a special decline curve analysis program. Then, the expert system evaluated individual well according to the operational constraints and problems. Since the expert system interacted with the database system, one database file listed all the bailing wells and the other list all the operational problems for future reference. The bailing operation is found to be more efficient and economical.