This paper compares observed and theoretical behavior of waterflood performance in heavy-oil reservoirs in the Lloydminster area of western Canada. Lack of reliable primary production history makes determination of primary recovery difficult and consequently makes additional oil recovery by waterflood difficult to quantify. Comparison of predicted and actual performance indicates that the floods are behaving as well as, if not better than, expected. Extra oil recovery by waterflood is not expected to add to the primary recovery of 3 to 8 % by more than 1 to 2 % of original oil in place (OOIP).

Vertical and horizontal inter-well communication in unconventional reservoirs remains a major uncertainty. This paper presents the results of geochemical analyses performed on several wells in the Bakken and Three Forks unconventional oil reservoirs. Geochemical analyses performed on oil extracted from core, oil sampled while drilling, and oil produced after stimulation indicate that the geochemical signatures of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations are different and unique to its respective stratigraphic units. Using unique geochemical signatures, this study developed a procedure for identifying the production of mixed oils and the relative contribution from each contributing startigraphic units. To further investigate vertical communication a detailed geologic model was constructed using core and outcrop data. The model was simulated and history matched to estimate contribution from adjacent layers. Various scenarios were simulated to understand the probability of communication. Analyses suggest that vertically adjacent layers contribute to production as predicted by the reservoir model and measured by the geochemical signature of the oil. This paper demonstrates (a) contribution from vertically adjacent formations can be significant, (b) geochemistry may be utilized to quantify vertical drainage, and (c) quantification of contribution from offset layers helped to constrain a reservoir simulation history match. Results from this study have facilitated the assessment of the degree of vertical communication across various flow units, which is the key to an efficient reservoir development.