Development of Optimal Water Control Strategies

ABSTRACT A methodology for optimizing water control treatments presented here utilizes existing injection and production data and incorporates previous treatment results into a ranking process, which can be continuously refined as additional data becomes available. Essential sequences of this methodology are explained, and the ranking and design of producer and injector gel treatments at three midcontinental fields are illustrated. Gel treatments based on this methodology performed much better than previous ones. A key element of the methodology is to assess the degree of communication between an injector and its offset producer. For reservoirs of significant gas saturation, such as those at early stages of waterflood, the correlation coefficient between water injection and production rates over appropriate time frames provides a quantitative estimate of such communication. Results show that offset producers having a high correlation coefficient with the pattern injector generally have positive response after gel treatments, and vice versa.