TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractA laboratory experiment has been conducted to study the behavior of water coning under a horizontal wellbore having a stinger inserted. A large Hele-Shaw cell was used to perform the experiment. The length of the stinger employed, oil viscosity, and initial thickness of oil column were varied to investigate their effects on the optimal length of the stinger.Results obtained show that systems without stinger yield better early recovery performance. Installing a stinger flattens the cone of water and reduces the rate of increase in water cut, leading to an improved recovery significantly. It is found here that the optimal stinger length is about 0.3 of the length of the horizontal wellbore section, regardless of the initial thickness of oil column and water/oil mobility ratio.

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractA laboratory experiment has been conducted to study the behavior of water coning under a horizontal wellbore having a stinger inserted. A large Hele-Shaw cell was used to perform the experiment. The length of the stinger employed, oil viscosity, and initial thickness of oil column were varied to investigate their effects on the optimal length of the stinger.Results obtained show that systems without stinger yield better early recovery performance. Installing a stinger flattens the cone of water and reduces the rate of increase in water cut, leading to an improved recovery significantly. It is found here that the optimal stinger length is about 0.3 of the length of the horizontal wellbore section, regardless of the initial thickness of oil column and water/oil mobility ratio.