TX 75083-3836 U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThe West Salym oil field in West Siberia is a new development recently brought on stream in this mature petroleum basin. The field contains some two bln stb of oil in place. First oil was produced in 2004 and peak production is expected in 2012 at over 100,000 stb per day. Whilst the field is in an early development stage, it is crucial that reservoir management and data acquisition processes are put in place to allow efficient future field development and optimise oil recovery.The paper focuses on four main aspects of the West Salym development: project management, well and reservoir surveillance, reservoir management and petroleum resources maturation. In the project management section the multidisciplinary integrated team approach implemented in the subsurface asset and field operations teams is highlighted. In combination with technology support from world-class technical expert groups, this allows effective implementation of surveillance and reservoir management activities in the field. In the reservoir surveillance section an overview of the field surveillance program is provided and experience of using surveillance technologies in West Siberia such as hi-end logging, wireline formation testing, specialised core analysis and geochemical fluid analysis is described. The reservoir management section concentrates on several technical aspects of West Salym development, such as well pattern and reservoir stress alignment, application of highly deviated wells as an alternative to hydraulic fracturing and management of water injection under fracturing conditions. The petroleum resources maturation section describes how the reservoir management activities result in the maturation of the field petroleum resources to reserves and improvement of oil recovery. Technology opportunities for innovative wells, permanent downhole metering and enhanced oil recovery processes are also reviewed.

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