Comparison Between Homogenous and Heterogeneous Reservoirs: A Parametric Study of Water Coning Phenomena

Authors

  • Frzan F. Ali Department of Petroleum Engineering, College of Engineering, Knowledge University, Erbil, Iraq http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1108-1921
  • Maha R. Hamoudi Department of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, School of Science and Engineering, University of Kurdistan Hewler, Erbil, Iraq http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4127-3470
  • Akram H. Abdul Wahab Department of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, School of Science and Engineering, University of Kurdistan Hewler, Erbil, Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25079/ukhjse.v5n1y2021.pp119-131

Keywords:

Water Coning, Homogeneous Reservoirs, Heterogeneous Reservoirs, Production Optimization.

Abstract

Water coning is the biggest production problem mechanism in Middle East oil fields, especially in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. When water production starts to increase, the costs of operations increase. Water production from the coning phenomena results in a reduction in recovery factor from the reservoir. Understanding the key factors impacting this problem can lead to the implementation of efficient methods to prevent and mitigate water coning. The rate of success of any method relies mainly on the ability to identify the mechanism causing the water coning. This is because several reservoir parameters can affect water coning in both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. The objective of this research is to identify the parameters contributing to water coning in both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. A simulation model was created to demonstrate water coning in a single- vertical well in a radial cross-section model in a commercial reservoir simulator. The sensitivity analysis was conducted on a variety of properties separately for both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. The results were categorized by time to water breakthrough, oil production rate and water oil ratio. The results of the simulation work led to a number of conclusions.  Firstly, production rate, perforation interval thickness and perforation depth are the most effective parameters on water coning. Secondly, time of water breakthrough is not an adequate indicator on the economic performance of the well, as the water cut is also important. Thirdly, natural fractures have significant contribution on water coning, which leads to less oil production at the end of production time when compared to a conventional reservoir with similar properties.

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Author Biographies

  • Frzan F. Ali, Department of Petroleum Engineering, College of Engineering, Knowledge University, Erbil, Iraq

    He is reservoir engineer with 6 years of experience in oil and gas industry and Petroleum Engineering Lecturer at Tishk International University and Knowledge University. Teaching Reservoir Engineering, Well Testing, and Petroleum Production Engineering modules to the fourth year undergraduate students. Before this, he worked as Reservoir Engineer for HKN Energy company, an American oil operator company located in Erbil, Iraq. In this role he was responsible for working with the subsurface department to study the reservoirs, monitor the wells and forecast future performances. He used Eclipse 100, Petrel, Kappa Package (Saphire, Topaze, and Rubis), IPM package (RESOLVE, GAP, PROSPER, MBAL, and PVTP) and IHS Markit (IHS Enterprise) software in his work on daily basis. Prior to this, He worked as Production Engineer, and he was responsible monitoring production operation and facility efficiency. He participated in project technical review to ensure efficient/economic project delivery. Before joining HKN Energy company, he worked for Schlumberger company as MWD/LWD International Mobil Field Engineer in Russian Federation. He has MSc in Reservoir Engineering and BSc in Petroleum Engineering.

  • Maha R. Hamoudi, Department of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, School of Science and Engineering, University of Kurdistan Hewler, Erbil, Iraq

    She has PhD in Petroleum Engineering and Production of Petroleum. Her teaching experience extends for more than 30 years as Lecturer and Assistant Professor in petroleum Engineering Department, Engineering College, Baghdad University and other universities. She is self-motivated, well organized, dedicated person and has the ability to be involved in team working with colleagues and also independently. She hopes to pursue developing and transferring her experience and scientific knowledge in petroleum engineering to young generations to achieve the scientific communication and bridge the gap with the developed countries.

    Her research interests include oil and gas production optimization, enhanced oil recovery, fluid flow in porous media and in pipes, along with stimulation, artificial lift techniques, petroleum economics and some other scientific aspects. She has many published papers and has written a book in Arabic concerning the Horizontal Wells Technology. She has also taught and supervised many undergraduate and postgraduate theses for both MSc and PhD qualifications. She is working at UKH since 2014.

  • Akram H. Abdul Wahab, Department of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, School of Science and Engineering, University of Kurdistan Hewler, Erbil, Iraq

    He has PhD in Petroleum Engineering and teaching experience for more than 40 years in Baghdad university and field experience for 11 Years. He was Head of Petroleum Engineering Department in Baghdad university for 11 years (1996-2007). He was appointed as Iraqi cultural attache in Poland (2007-2012 ). He has recieved several appreciation letters from ministries, presidents of universities, and deans. He published 5 text books and 44 papers and supervised 55 MSc and 5 PhD theses and more than 140 undergraduate projects. He is Professor at UKH since 2013.

References

Ali, F.F., Hamoudi, M.R. & Abdul-Wahab, A.H. (2017). Application of Reservoir Performance Modeling for Production Optimization: A Water Coning Study in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. M.Sc. Research, University of Kurdistan-Hewler, Erbil.
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Published

2021-06-30

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2021): ISSUE 8

Section

Research Articles

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How to Cite

Comparison Between Homogenous and Heterogeneous Reservoirs: A Parametric Study of Water Coning Phenomena. (2021). UKH Journal of Science and Engineering, 5(1), 119-131. https://doi.org/10.25079/ukhjse.v5n1y2021.pp119-131