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Thta paper was prepared for preaantatlon at the 67th Annual Taohnlcal ConIafenoa and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers held In Washington, 00, Or20bar 4-7, 1S62,
This papar was W1OCM for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of lnforrnatlon confained in an abatraaf aubmltfed by the author(s). Contenls of the prqwr,
aa preaenled, hava not been reviewed by the Soolety of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to corraotlon by the author(s). The material, aa preaantad, doaa not naceaaarlly reflaot
BITYW@tkrn of the S@@ Of PetrolaumEn91neare, It$ Offlcere, w M@WS. Pawfa Pfaaantadat SpE meetings are aublaot to publication review by Editorial Committees of the SOC!ety
of PeWAaum En@nears, Parrnia$ion to copy la reatricfad to an abafraot of not more than S09 wc+ds. Matratlonfr may not be cop!ed. The abatraat shoufd contain oonapkwua aoknowtadgmant
o! where and by whom tha papar is presented. Write Llbrarkm, SPE, P.O. Sox 833636, Richardson, TX 76023-SS36 U.S.A. Telex, 724920 SPEDAL,
The horizontal injector has efficiently heated a ve~ ths successful steamflood in the northeast, provided
-- . ......... .. . ....... .................................. .... the incentive for ststamffooding in the southwest.
Referencesand illustrationsat end of paper. Verticaldiscontinuities in the sands were recognbmd, .
45 ,., ,.
..
. . .. ,!
-, *.,
provldlngfurther evidencethat injectingthe steam into temperature range of 150F to 250 F, viscosityvaries
unswept zones could provide Incrementalreserves. from 520 cp to 25 cp. Current reservoir pressure in
the southwestarea of the iease ranges from 50 to 150 .
The pilot steamflood consists of six inverted five-spot PSI.Table 1 providesa summaryof pertinent reservoir
patternson approximately5/8-acre spacing (Figure2). data.
Two of the patterns are affected by horizontal injector
1-49. Three vertical Injectors (!-50, I-51, and 1-52) PILC)TDESCRIPTION
impact three connecting patterns. Radial well RI-53
affects four producers separated from the other The location of the pilot was chosen to (1) provide
patterns by one well spacing, similarstructuralposition among the injectors,thereby
facilitating comparisons between injection methods,
RESERVOIR,CHARACTERISTICS and (2) maximizefuture development potential. Four
new injectors, one radial cycilc producer, and three
Q@Q9Y obsetvatlon wells were drilled in May and June 1990.
Detailed information on the drilling of these wells can
The Mio-Plioceneage Potter formation Is a massive be found in Reference1., The seventeendirect offsets
sand sequence deposited in a shallow water (producers)were drilled between 1977and 1984;eight
environmentas grain and debris flow turbiciites. The were dd!led in 1984.
Potterunconformablyoverliesthe Antelope Shale. The
Tulare formation truncates the top of the Potter, Well I-49, is ~ medium radius horizontal well. Tots! .
causing the Potter to pinch out in a northeast- measured depth is 1,480 at a vertical depth of 937.
southwest direction approximately 800 north of the The well is completed in the Potter C zone with 400
pilot area. A typical induction/GR log is shown in of slotted iiner in the horizontal section (Figure 5),
Figure 3. Although it was drilled as a continuous injector, an ,
~fiernpt Wasmade to produce the well. After several
Structure on the property is a southeast trending pwnp changes required due to sand production, s
homocline with a dip of 10, increasing to 30 at the 5,000 MMBTU steam aycle and a foam cfeanout,
base of the productive interval. There are no econom!c rates were not achieved. The well was
recognized faults, Top Potter in the pilot area is at placed on continuous injection In Ju!y 1990 at rates
approximately +1,500 s,s., 250 TYD. consistent with the other new injectors but at a lower
tubhg pressure,
The Potter averages650 in thickness in the pilot area,
of which approximately 400 are currently productive, W,?ll Ri.53 was dri[l~ as a joint lfnocai/
The remainingPotter sand is steam/air saturated, The Petrolphyslcs/DOE project.2a Eight ultra-short radius
Potteris separatedbydiatomaceous claysor siltstones radialswere drilled in the vertical sectiori between881
into the B and C zones. The existenceof separate and 885 MD (Figure6). The radiais ranged in length
steamchestsbelow !hese Individualsilts suggests that from 14 to 103. Four of the radials were completed,
these zones serve.as permeabilitybarriers. one witha flexible sand barrier (FSB)4,two with gravel
packs and one with a gravel pack around coiled tubing
Rock and Fluid Pro~erties which was cut and left In place. While odglnally
intended to be a continuous injector, productkm
The base of the productive interval contains following the wells first steam cycle was encouraging
conglomeratlc, poorly-sorted, coarse-gralned sands. enough to warrant an extended production test. The
Upper Potter sands tend to be better sorted and well.was subsequently cycled a second time and has
contain less conglomeratlc materiaL Average produced a total of 22,00080 to date.
overburden-correcte@porosity across the interval is
28%. Air permeabilitlesrangefrom 1,000to 6,000 md. Conventionalvertical injectors 1-50,i-51, and 1-52were
Leaseaverage initial ofl saturation is 61%. completed with 5-1/# aasingc6mentedto surfaceand
perforated in one or two intervalswith one shot every
The 11.4API gravity oil, typicai of the northern end of 2 feet (Figure7). Observationwei!s 0-2,0-3, and O-5
the Midway Sunset Field, shows significant were completed with 5-1/2 casing cemented to
biodegradation, Viscosity variation with temperature surface.
(Figure 4) indicates that at the current resewolr
.,,
,,...
SPE 24$30 S. M. BULLER
havenot. Ingeneral, updipproducers arerespondlng The spike is almost non-existent in the well furthest
no better or worse than downdip producers. south in the pattern (Bremer 151), and peak
temperature in that wel! Is 13F lower. This trend
Indicatesthat heat injection Isdecreasingwith distance
Monthlv Production Data along the horizontal completion. To confirm these
Monthlyproduction datawas analyzedin three groups: results, a direct measurement of the steam injection
1) the horizontal Injector with its SIX surrounding profilethrough coiled tubing production logging will be
producers,2) the three vertical Injectionwellswith their attempted in the near future.
eight immediate offsets, and 3) the radial well with its
four surrounding producers, Figures 15 through 17 A similarcross section Incorporatingthe downd!p wells
Include production rates, steam injection rates, and the out-of-pattern producer,(Bremer261) reveals
instantaneoussteam oil ratio (SOR)and water cuts for a much less pronounced heated zone in the horizontal
each group. $lnce the radial well has to date been patterns (Figure 19). Peak temperatures are 25 to
used only as a cyclic producer, that groups
production is not Indicativeof responseto continuous
Injectlort. The three vertical well patterns were
30F less than in the updip wells,
48
SPE 24630 S. M. BllLLER 5
to steamflood pattern area, pay and injection rate to steam cycie dissipates over time, the temperature
the time required for response in the existing differentiationis iost and the heat distribution appears
steamflood suggests that oil production in the piiot homogeneous, Here again, the impact is ciear: when
verticai patterns shouid begin to increase sometime injecting steam, the radiai weil is focusing the heat in
around June 1992,two yearsafterthe start of injection. two very distinct verticai intefvais.
Afthough the actuai mechanics of steam zone growth
are obviously more complicated than simpie ratios GST and C/O Leas ,
wouid suggest, in this case they provide a rough A Gamma Spectroscopy Tool (GST), run in capture
estimateof when to expect response. mode and ineiastic mode (to obtain carbon/oxygen
data), was run in each of the three observation weils
Observation Welis on completion. The first, and to date only,
carbcm/oxygen monitor pass was conducted on O-2,
Temperatureand Duai S~aced Neutron LOCIS the weli where temperature and neutron iogs showed
Figures 21 through 23 show the foilowing data: 1) significant anomaiies. Figure 24 shows the computed
resistivity logs for both the observation weii and the log, inciuding iithology and saturations, around the
nearestinjector, 2) the temperature profiies that have intefvaiwhere i-49 is compieted, Beiow 900 MD,very
been obtained, and 3) an overlay of the far sensor iittie =turation change has occurred, considering the
reading of a duai spaced neutron iog. The overlay of toois statistical resolution of &5 saturation units.
the current (4/92) vs. the initial neutron data provides Above 900 there are s~verai intervais that have
a qualitative evacuationof current gas saturation vs. exhibited measurable oil saturation increases,
initial gas saturation, Aii observationweiis are iocated particularly the intervai 855 to 890. This intewal is
upstructurefrom the correspondinginjector, or injector approximately50 above the projected course of 1-49s
weii path in the case of the horizontal weil, The weii path, but !s weii within the depth intewai that has
observationweii for the horizontal injector is downdip exhibited the dramatic temperature increase.
of the vertical (iogged) portion of the horizontal weli
(asdepicted in the N-Scross section in Figure21), but !nklQ!3
updip of the horizcmtaiweii path, Distancesfrom the
injectors range from 55 to 100. Monthiv iniection Data
Figure25 shows each injection weiis monthly average
Figure 22 shows that up until a short time ago, injection rate and tubing pressure. Also shown are
injection in!o weii i-51 had not significantlyaffected O- pseudo injectivities: IBWPD injected + tubing
3. In stark contrast is the major temperature elevation pressure. Note that injection rates in the horizontal
which occurrsd very rapidly in O-2, the observation weii are very. simiiar to the verticai weiis. Pseudo
well opposite the horizontal injector (Figure 21). The injectivity, however,is higher in 1-49than In two of the
temperature in the sand iobe where the horizontal verticai welis, Assuming specific injectivity
injector is completed has risen 160F, and the (BWPD/psi/ft) wouid be constant, this would indicate
temperature rise has been fairly confined verticaiiy, that i-49 is injecting steam into a iarger (ionger)
The far data overlay aiso shows a significant increase intervai, not surprising when one considers that with
in gas saturation in the same area, These results are the desaturated intervais and gravity override, the
significantfor two reasons: 1) the observationweli is verticai injectors are probabiy effectively injecting
iocated approximately 160 down the horizontal steam in a relatively short intewai, ,plus the obvious
completion, indicating that heat is pmbabiy exiting at impact of injecting into the iong horizontal section.
least that far down the weii path; and 2) the heated
intervalappears to be vertically bounded. iniection Profiie D@@
injection profile surveysrun in August 1991 show that
Temperature profiies taken in the observation weii in aii three cases steam was exiting the weiibore
ciosestto the radiai well are shown in Figure 23. Oniy deeper than during a previous suwey, and the profiies
two of the eight radiaisdriiied are depicted -- Radiai3, were fairly uniform.
which was 102 in length and was gravel packed, and .,.,,
radial 1D, which was compieted with 68 of coiied
tubing and yzvel packed. Obsewation weii
No attempt was made to correlate producer response
with depth of steam injection, or to quantify production
.:
,:I
temperature data shows ciearly that when Ri-53 is resuitsbased on amount of steam injected per foot of ~
~
steamed, heat is segregated Into two distinct iobes ~ intewai, etc. i
(see6/1 1/90 ar,d 2/25/91 curves). As heat from the
v
+
I
CONCLUSlONS Is consistent with the time required before seeing ~
incremental oil In the older steamflood area of the
1. Ccmtlnuoussteam Injection into the horizontal lease,
vJeli has effected a rapid, localized
temperature rise in the intewal being targeted ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
for sweep improvement. 1
The a~hor would like to thank the management of
2. The horizontalwell patterns have exhibitedthe Unocalfor permissionto publish this paper. A speciai
sameIncreaseinwater production, considered thank you goes to Jennifer Mattison and Ray Nemetz
a precursor to incremental oi!, as the three who prepared this manuscript for publication.
vertical well patterns. Steam oil ratio in the
horizontal group is half that in the verticalwell REFERENCES
group, indicating that Injection in the {
horizontal well is more effjclent. 1. Llvlngston, N. D., Qulntana, J, M., and Buller,
S. M,: Unocals Horizontal and Radial Pilot
3. Cyclic steam injection in the radial well has injectors In the Midway Sunset Fieldt paper
resultedin pronounced temperatureincreases presented at the San Joaquln .Geologi@
In a nearby observation well, matching the Societys Symposium on Ap@lcations of
shape of the observatiori welis resistlvity log Horizontal Drilling Techniques, Sakersfleld, ,
and indicating that the radiais are effectively June 9, 1992,
focusing steam in distinct vertical intewals. 2. Nees, J., et al.: An Innovative Drilling
Consistent with the small amount of steam System, Final Repoti for Contract No. DE-
injected,thlstemperaturecharacterdisappears
with time. DOE/BC/14203-4, May 1991.
3. Dickinson, W,, et al.: Horizontal Radiais
4. Two of the four offsetting producers have Enhance Oil Production from a Therm~
respondedveryfavorabiyto the second cycles Project,Oil &Gas Journal (May4, 1992),116-
in the radial well, 124.
4. Dickinson, W,, et al,: Fiexible Sand Barrier
5. While severalwelis have shown increased oil (FSB): A Novef Sand Controi System,paper
production due to steam injection, pattern- SPE 18787 presented at the 1989 SPE
wide production lrtcreas~s in the pilot area CaliforniaRegional Meetinq, Bakersfield,APrii
have not yet been seen. The lack of response
,
Table1- ReservoirData
Intewal Potter
1
AverageThickness(G/N) [ 650/400
II /
Area 160 acres .]
, II
I ReservoirVohme
Porosity
72,000 ac-ft
28%
1
j
I
I Initial Oil Satiation ~ 61%
1 II
.;
Permeability(Air) I 1,000-6,000 md Ii 4
60
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