Innovative Technology to Boost Up Simultaneous Development of Several Reservoirs

For economy reasons, many oil companies have to develop two or more oil pools using a uniform pattern of producing wells. 

With regard to simultaneous development of several resevoirs, Russian supervisory agencies set stringent requirements for companies aimed at ensuring daily control over production of each reservoir in order to control the actual output.

In the case of development of several reservoirs with a uniform well pattern, the main problem is to secure separate control over water cuts and production from each of the developed reservoirs. Field geologists separate yields and water cuts according to a reservoir's physical properties determined by geophysical surveys. To control the development of sandwich-type reservoirs, it is a common practice to use indirect methods. Mostly, these methods involve downhole logging in the overhaul period, which do not exactly satisfy all the requirements.

Gazprom Neft had been developing several multizone reservoirs by means of a uniform well pattern. That is why the company had to resolve the long-standing problem of control over fluid rates, water cuts, and changing bottomhole pressures and temperatures in each of the developed reservoirs.

Together with Gazprom Neft's analytical departments, which provided procedural support, Sibneft-Noyabrskneftegasgeophysica specialists had devised and introduced a new technology. This technology allows surveying wells in cases of simultaneous development of several sandwich-type reservoirs by pumping. It suggests a few self-contained multipurpose devices to be installed on anchors over each of the developed reservoirs. For this purpose, Sibneft-Noyabrskneftegasgeophysica specialists have designed a multisensor modular system to measure flow rate, pressure and other parameters. The system should be installed at the top of each tapped reservoir on anchors by means of special automatic release devices. Information is read out during the overhaul period after retrieving the pump and devices.

Considering the optimistic results of tests of the fixed measuring systems, the conclusion may be drawn that continuous industrial-scale monitoring of crude production from individual reservoirs could be arranged based on conventional geophysical measurements with the use of standard-type sensors. Thanks to the tested technology, some restrictions on simultaneous development of several reservoirs by means of a single well may be removed. Moreover, it may provide economic incentives for the development of significant hydrocarbon reserves which are hard to recover.

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