Reservoir Management Integration of Asset Development and Asset Optimization Aspect in Managing DSF Field New Area Steam Flood Project

Abstract

DSF Area 13 is the newest steam flood project that has developed about 800 acres area, utilizing over 350 oil producers and 145 steam injectors at initial development. Steam injection optimization is quite challenging due to poor lateral connectivity and lower reservoir quality; hence the area was behaving with poor steam flood response. A reservoir management integration and effort are introduced in 2021 to improve overall area steam flood performance. Method includes continues improvement on the Reservoir Management Strategy which integrates new development and optimization of the current asset. The integrated effort consists of geological new conceptual model development, new development well strategy, injection strategy updates, and drainage process improvement at existing wells. Those efforts are grounded by steam flood life cycle knowledge in gravity drainage model and aimed to improve steam chest progression which was slow before due to poor reservoir. The uniqueness of the area demands those efforts to be dependently executed and requires holistic reservoir management. A geological new conceptual model reveals that the area has various geological characteristics which correspond to production-injection performance. New infill wells show massive bypass oil which is not expected at 7+ years steam flooded area. It also enables steam injection optimization by improving pressure depletion and lateral connectivity. It impacts faster heat maturity and furthermore will enable faster heat management and faster oil recovery simultaneously. Injection strategy update results to three difference approaches of steam injection. Conventional steam-increased strategy is applied to medium connectivity pattern and is aimed to accelerate breakthrough time. Revisiting injection is applied at high pressure pattern and will be executing through staging approach. Theoretical heat requirement is re-evaluated at pattern which has new infill wells to achieve production-injection alignment. Existing producer well is optimized by performing pump optimization, acidizing job campaign, and steam cyclic stimulation resulting in good production response and impact to improved reservoir pressure depletion in the high-pressure pattern. As a result, in area level, oil production shows an inclining trend which is not expected from the last 2-3 years’ forecast, adding more than 7.7 MMSTB reserves from previous year's booking. This paper explains all efforts related to reservoir management to improve the performance of this new steam flood project from both optimization and development aspect. It explains how to demonstrate reservoir management at particular asset and ultimately to turn a poor steam flood area into an inclining trend. Hopefully it can be adopted to another area/ field which is experiencing the same poor steam flood performance.