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Abstract
It is widely agreed that gas reservoirs with a component of
water drive should be produced at high rates to minimize the
volume of gas which is trapped at high pressure by the
advancing water (often termed outrunning the aquifer). Yet
high production rates are also associated with coning (in
vertical wells) or cresting (in horizontal wells) of the
encroaching water, leading to early water breakthrough. In
vertical wells, the formation of an inverse gas cone means that
high gas rates can be maintained post-breakthrough until
almost the whole perforated interval is flowing water.
However, in horizontal wells, water breakthrough is a serious
threat to gas deliverability, because the inverse coning
mechanism does not apply and the well rapidly loads with
water. Consequently, it is not clear whether producing at high
rates is the best strategy to maximize recovery in gas
reservoirs developed using horizontal wells.
We investigate the risk associated with producing
horizontal wells at high rates by simulating gas recovery and
aquifer response over a broad range of reservoir properties and
production scenarios. We find that high rates always result in
lower gas recovery unless the ratio of vertical to horizontal
permeability is very low, in which case water cresting is
suppressed. However, there are many instances where
accelerating production recovers only slightly less gas over
much shorter timescales, so may be economically favorable.
Rate sensitivity increases in low permeability reservoirs with
thin gas columns, because these conditions increase the
tendency for water cresting, and decreases in reservoirs with
strong aquifer support, since water breakthrough occurs
regardless of the rate at which the well is produced. Our
results can be used as a reference framework to rapidly assess
gas production behavior and aquifer response within a wide
range of field development scenarios.
Introduction
Horizontal and highly deviated wells are increasingly being
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Methodology
We simulate gas production in the presence of an active
bottom water aquifer using a simple three-dimensional model
(Fig. 3). The reservoir zone measures 900 m in the x and y
(horizontal) directions and has a maximum thickness of 50 m.
A bottom-water aquifer is attached to the base of the reservoir.
The aquifer measures 1800 m in the x and y directions,
extending beyond the reservoir. Aquifer thickness is 100 m.
We change the effective size of the aquifer by modifying the
aquifer porosity away from the reservoir connection.28 This
basic model geometry is used for all simulations.
Reservoir and aquifer porosity (adjacent to the reservoir
connection) is constant in all simulations (= 0.25). We use the
relative permeability and capillary pressure data measured for
gas-water systems in the experimental work of Chierici et al.
(1963)35 and simulated in the coning study of Kabir (1983)25
(Table 1). The relative permeability to water (krw) at residual
gas saturation (Sgr) is high and yields a higher water mobility
than considered in other coning studies.28,34 Production is via
a single 330 m (1000 ft) horizontal well with 0.18 m (7 inch)
internal-tubing diameter, which is consistent with the
dimensions of high-rate gas wells utilized in the Columbus
Basin, offshore Trinidad.4 The well is located in the centre of
the model area. Initial reservoir pressure is 4094 psia, which
represents the average pressure of 12 reported water drive gas
reservoirs from the Cassia and Mahogany Fields of the
Columbus Basin.8 Reservoir permeability (kh), permeability
anisotropy (kv/kh), gas column thickness, and stand-off
between the well and the GWC, are varied in a sensitivity
analysis which is described in the following section.
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3
35
Gas
Water
Water coning
Sg
krg
krw
Pc
0.00
0.0000
1.0000
0.0000
0.10
0.0000
0.8750
0.0700
0.20
0.0000
0.7500
0.1500
0.30
0.0200
0.6250
0.2300
0.40
0.0850
0.5000
0.3000
0.50
0.2000
0.3750
0.3700
0.60
0.3700
0.2250
0.4500
0.70
0.6500
0.1250
0.5300
0.80
1.0000
0.0000
0.6000
High
Low
Low
Early
Time
Late
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Setting
the following parameter settings remain fixed for each simulation run
Well length
Tubing diameter
0.18 m (7 inches)
Porosity
0.25
4094 (psia)
BHP limit
500 (psia)
the following parameter settings are varied for each simulation run, depending upon the sensitivity analysis
Production rate
Aquifer size
Standoff
kh
kv/kh
0.01, 0.1, 1
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Sand in this basin, which considered a horizontal well of 7inch diameter and similar ranges of reservoir parameters.36
Our results suggest that it is particularly important to
characterize aquifer size in reservoirs with low kh and high
kv/kh ratio, because these conditions provide the greatest risk of
cresting leading to early water breakthrough at high
production rates. If the kv/kh ratio is low (<0.01) and aquifer
support is very strong, recovery can be marginally increased
by producing at high rate over a restricted range of kh. This is
the only situation where outrunning the aquifer yields higher
recovery. Water influx is inevitable, and gas remains trapped
at high pressure if the reservoir is produced at low rate (Fig.
6). Producing at high rate reduces reservoir pressure prior to
water breakthrough, so more gas is recovered. However, the
increase in recovery is small (<10%), and the associated risk is
high, as recovery will decrease at higher rates if the kv/kh ratio
is higher than predicted.
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Discussion
We have found that water cresting dominates aquifer response
and hence recovery in gas reservoirs with an active bottomwater aquifer, when produced at high rates through horizontal
wells, unless the kv/kh ratio is low. Cresting is controlled by
reservoir pressure drawdown, which in turn is a function of
production rate, permeability and aquifer strength. An
understanding of the interaction between these parameters is
required to develop a reservoir management strategy which
avoids water production.
In general, producing at high rates increases pressure
drawdown, leading to the formation of a water crest, earlier
water breakthrough and lower gas recovery. Consequently,
producing at high rates to outrun the aquifer does not lead to
higher recovery in bottom-water drive gas reservoirs.
However, the risk of early water breakthrough associated with
producing at high rates decreases with increasing horizontal
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