The Integrated Approach to Formation Water Management: From Reservoir Management to the Protection of the Environment

Flores, Jose Gonzalo; Elphick, Jon; Lopez, Francisco; Espinel, Pablo

doi:10.2118/116218-ms

Cited by 22 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…The investigation of Flores and AOE et al 1 analysis cycle, identifying solutions to the water problem at the reservoir, wells, facilities and water re-injection levels, going from the conceptual idea to the field implementation and evaluation. These authors also presented a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms of water breakthrough in producers and of water re-injection that set the basis for the identification of the highest impact solutions for the Villano field.…”

Section: Water Management Solutions and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Integrated Approach to Formation Water Management 2: Field Applications and Best Practices

Correa¹,

Basta²,

Andrade³

et al. 2015

SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference

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The production of large volumes of formation water is generally accepted as the number one problem affecting the operation of mature oil fields worldwide, as it restricts the production of oil and increases the lifting and processing cost. Water must also be adequately treated and disposed to protect the environment. In fields producing from strong aquifer reservoirs or with waterflooding projects in place, water is generally produced at increasingly large flow rates. As oil production will generally decrease and water production increase, the cost associated with lifting, treating and disposing of water per barrel of produced oil will rise significantly. A water management approach can make a significant difference in the operator bottom line. The water production problem needs also to be timely addressed as a whole, identifying bottlenecks and developing solutions at the reservoir, wellbore, surface facilities and disposal systems.In an earlier publication, Flores and Agip Oil Ecuador (AOE) et al. 1 , presented the integrated water management methodology and solutions to the water problem in the Villano field, located in the amazon rainforest of Ecuador. In the year 2007, the wells, facilities and pipelines in Villano were operating at design limits, while the water cut continued increasing in all the producer wells. The need to cut oil production because of the inability to handle additional water was foreseeable then. The workflow proposed integrated solutions at the reservoir, wellbore, surface facilities, pipelines, and water disposal levels, cohesively assembled to provide viable and cost effective answers. A plant debottlenecking study 2 carried out in year 2011 served to further accelerate the implementation of the most critical water management solutions in the field. Seven years later, the solutions developed and implemented in the field have allowed managing the water problem in a cost effective and efficient manner.The highest impact actions consisted of increasing the injection capacity of the disposal wells by performing Thermal Induced Fractures (TIF) with a ⌬T of only 20°F. Improvements in the dehydrators and tanks to reduce the oil content from 80 ppm to 15 ppm helped improve injectivity by at least 25%. A coiled tubing intervention for cleaning and a further stimulation increased injectivity in one well by nearly 40%. A new disposal well was drilled and, for the first time, hudraulic fractured with proppand includes, resulting in an injectivity improvement in excess of 100% with respect to a conventional completion. This was further increased by another 150% by a TIF. Four new water injection pumps were installed in the Villano A -Pad. A new transfer pump, in combination with drag reducers helped increase by 17% the capacity of the 12 in.pipeline that connects Villano with Central Procesing Facilities (CPF). An additional generator and a new power line were installed for a more efficient energy management and to be able to sustain additional energy demands in the field. Furthermore, the develop...

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Section: Water Management Solutions and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a previous publication, Flores and AOE et al 1 and The Villano Field Ecuador-Conceptual Study carried out with Eni HQ (Plant Debottlenecking) on 2011. 2 , presented the integrated approach to formation water management, using the case of the Villano field in Ecuador as a relevant application example.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Integrated Approach to Formation Water Management 2: Field Applications and Best Practices

Correa¹,

Basta²,

Andrade³

et al. 2015

SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference

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“…This may be due to fracture propagation exposing a gradually larger surface area, including height growth. In this mode a small increase in wellhead pressure can give a large increase in injectivity 11 .…”

Section: Villano Disposal Wellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Any damage caused to the fracture face is automatically compensated by gradual fracture growth. The maximum injectivity in Villano can be achieved by ensuring that wells operate in open-fracture mode 11 . Fig 3 illustrates the injection data for Villano and CPF wells.…”

Section: Villano Disposal Wellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Induced Fracture Effect with a Lower Cool down Reduction - Case Studies for Ecuador; Villano and CPF Water Disposal Wells

Andrade¹,

Correa²,

Vaca³

et al. 2015

SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference

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The objective of this paper is to display the Thermal induced fracture effect (TIF) observed in Villano water disposal wells by decreasing the injection water temperature by 20°F (Aug 2012) and 10°F (Dec 2013) through to the installation of air-coolers at surface. Furthermore the application of fracture surveillance workflow and the design, execution and results of a controlled temperature and pressure test in CPF disposal well (Apr 2013) are also presented.The methodology aims to share the results obtained in two different cases ocurred at different times in Villano Field within the Hollin Sandstone formation, allowing improvement of the injectivity in the disposal wells. This work includes comparison of the results and identification of key factors in order to maintain maximum injectivity (100% Producer -Re-Injection water system). Additionally, the implementation of a monitoring program was necessary for a daily surveillance of the injection temperature and well behavior. Finally, field tests performed in another location (CPF) in which the injection temperature was controlled by a heat exchanger. The results were used to evaluate the differences between the documented cases and the Villano TIF cases.Thermal fracture effects in Villano increased the injection rate by 34K bwpd which resulted in significant savings as new disposal well was not required. The thermal effect was reached with a low temperature reduction (20°F and 10°F), instead of the 50°Fϩ documented; the maximum reduction in the thermo elastic stress was around 26.5 psi/°F (Propped Fractured well) and 21.7 psi/°F (Non -propped fractured wells) which decreased the injection pressure by 530 psi 217 Psi respectively. Surveillance data suggests that the fractures will remain constant or will continue to grow by maintaining a low temperature. Documented studies advise that the effect is maintained when the temperature is increased however, tests performed in CPF disposal well confirmed that the effect is not permanent if the injection conditions are removed. In the particular cases of Villano and CPF fields, the injectivity is directly proportional to the temperature.

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“…The absorption expresses mainly the water circulation and water infiltration. Infiltration and absorption are based on the water intensity inflow and outflow as well as the gravity acceleration and fluid properties, such as viscosity and density (Barenblatt, 2006, Broje, 2007, Flores, 2008.…”

Section: Factors Controlling Oil Migrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation on Crude Oil Migration in Surface and Subsurface Environment: Impact and Solution

Amro

Benzagouta

2009

All Days

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Natural degradation of crude oil is very slow and might take several years to be degraded. However, its impact on the environment will last as long as neither treatment nor solutions are undertaken. When further migration of crude oil is occurring, it will harm the soil and might contact the subsurface water or groundwater. The most relevant in that respect would be the type of fluids (Contaminants), mode of fluid transport, type of soil, environmental importance of the concerned sites, and weathering effect. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are investigation and observation of crude oil migration as toxic fluid, its penetration, and weathering effect. Achievement of the abovementioned objectives necessitates the design of an experimental model. This model consists of two separated columns, which were filled with soil and other types of rocks. One setup column contains soil in dry condition (dry system); while the other was filled with soil material in wet conditions (wet system). During its progress, crude oil penetration was recorded versus time by taking soil samples, whereas water samples were collected from the wet system. This was aimed to report a possible migration of hydrocarbons dissolved in water. Results show that the penetration depth was more performed in wet system during early stages rather than in dry system. However, with time this progress becomes more developed in both systems. Based on observation, it is important to notify that the duration of this progress will last for long time in dry system. However, the overall penetration at final stage has been found significantly higher in the dry system. In addition, it was observed that during crude oil migration in dry system, chromatographic separation of crude oil components has occurred obviously. The obtained results reveal that immediate treatment action has to be performed in both systems with particular attention to the wet system, owing to its high initial penetration rate.

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The Integrated Approach to Formation Water Management: From Reservoir Management to the Protection of the Environment

Cited by 22 publications

References 1 publication

The Integrated Approach to Formation Water Management 2: Field Applications and Best Practices

The Integrated Approach to Formation Water Management 2: Field Applications and Best Practices

Thermal Induced Fracture Effect with a Lower Cool down Reduction - Case Studies for Ecuador; Villano and CPF Water Disposal Wells

Investigation on Crude Oil Migration in Surface and Subsurface Environment: Impact and Solution

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