Welcome

MAHAVIR SINGH
M.Tech. (Applied Geophysics)-III, IIT Roorkee
Email: mstomar84@gmail.com

Production Optimization

Overview

Introduction

Definition of Production Optimization

Major challenges

Productive formation

Reservoir Drives

Oil Recovery Mechanism

- EOR Techniques
-

World Oil Scenario

Optimal Management

Conclusion

Introduction
Production mangers always try to enhance their asset;
In short term, they must increase:
hydrocarbon delivery and
reduce operation costs
In long term, they must increase
reservoir recovery factor
decrease capital expenditure
maximize production
to improve well performance
Enhance Oil Recovery (EOR)
increase Net Present Value (NPV)

Def. of Production Optimization

Development of hydrocarbon reservoirs
on a Field and well basis
To enable
In order to
-

maximum sustained production rates

at the lowest possible cost
provide the greatest NPV (Net Present Value)
in safe and environmentally responsible manner
while harvesting the hydrocarbon asset to the
fullest extent possible.

Major challenges during

production
-

equipment failure
wellbore problem
saltwater disposal
reduction in permeability
pressure gradient
structural uncertainty in subsurface
oil migration (seepage or leakage)

Productive Formations
The earth's crust is composed of :
igneous
metamorphic
sedimentary
Oil and Gas are found in all three kinds of rock,
most closely they are associated with sedimentary rocks;
Sedimentary materials can be classified as
rocks (sandstone, shale)
carbonates (lime stones)
dolomites ( Mg(CO3)2 )

Oil and Gas moved

upward from the lower
sea floor source beds into
the more porous rocks
above;
Within the porous layers,
they continued to move
upward until they reached
a layer of nonporous rock,
which trapped the fluids;
The non-porous rock
which act as a barrier for
further oil and gas
migration is known as
trap;
Source: Forest Gray

Accumulation and Occurrence

of Hydrocarbon
The weight of
overlying rock
layers,
compacts the
seafloor,
squeezing the
hydrocarbons
out from the
source beds
and move
upward into
the reservoir
rocks
Source: Forest Gray

Resevoir and Oil Migration

Anticline

oil
water

water

Impermeable basement

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/edu/dees/U4735/projections/pitman/37.trap.mig.jpg

Conditions for productive reservoir

- A trap must exist to block the oil and gas;
- A reservoir must have enough
*
thickness
*
aerial extent and
*
pores space to accumulate of hydrocarbons;
*
High permeability
- It must be able to yield the fluid at a satisfactory rate;
- It must contain enough fluids to make the entire
venture commercially worthwhile;

Reservoir Drives
What creates the driving force that moves the fluids in the
rock to the wellbore?
-

pressure difference
water drive
gas cap drive
gravity drive

Gravity drive:
gas, oil, and water tend to divide themselves in reservoirs
according to their densities;
Source: Forest Gray

Oil Recovery Mechanisms

-

Oil recovery is a displacement process;

Displacing agents*
water flooding and
*
Gas (CO2, N2 , or natural gas) injection

There are basically six Oil driving mechanisms:

*
dissolved-gas drive
*
gas-cap drive
*
water drive
*
rock and liquid expansion drive
*
gravity drainage drive
*
combination drive

Factors Influencing Recovery

Characteristics of the productive formation:
porosity
permeability
connate water content
uniformity
continuity and
structural configuration
Properties of the reservoir oil:
viscosity
shrinkage
quantity of gas in solution;
Operation controls
Pressure behavior
Well conditions and structural location

Enhance Oil Recovery (EOR)

Primary recovery:
the natural pressure of the reservoir or gravity drive oil into
the production well
artificial lift techniques (such as pumps) bring the oil to the
surface
primary recovery producing 10% of the original oil in place;
Secondary recovery techniques:
water flooding
immiscible gas injection (displace oil, and drive it to a production well )
producing 20 to 40 % of the original oil in place;
Tertiary, or EOR, techniques:
chemical flooding (polymer, surfactant or alkaline)
miscible flooding (CO2 , natural gas or N2 )
thermal recovery (add heat to the reservoir to reduce oil viscosity)
producing 30 to 60% or more of the original oil;

Water-flooding
The following consideration is taken into account while
determining if a reservoir is suited for water-flooding or not:
Reservoir geometry
Lithology
Reservoir Depth
Porosity
Permeability
Continuity of rock properties
Magnitude and Distribution of fluid saturations
Relation in fluid properties and relative permeability

CO2 Injection
-

CO2 EOR involves injecting high pressure CO2 into

an oil reservoir;

The productivity of producer wells is enhanced and

CO2 is stored in the oil reservoir;

CO2 injection can increases oil recovery by 50%

Source: http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/watch/climate_change/images/eor.jpg

World Oil Scenario

-

World without oil

Demand is increasing continuously

Continuous decline production rate

Source: www.d-n-i.netfcspdfhirsch_houston_aspo.pdf

Source: www.d-n-i.netfcspdfhirsch_houston_aspo.pdf

Optimal Management
-

Use of advance techniques

Intelligent production systems

Communication systems

Data storage, retrieval & Integration

Uncertainty mapping

Surface facilities monitoring

Downhole monitoring

http://www.bakerhughes.com/investor/resources/pdf/po_analyst.pdf

http://www.bakerhughes.com/investor/resources/pdf/po_analyst.pdf

Conclusion
A multi-disciplinary team approach has been used to implement the process
of production optimization using
Internet computer network
communication links
timely team meetings
corporate database
optimizing the flow and quality of technical data
information to improve performance
Broad and effective portfolio of optimization solutions needs to:
Accelerate production
Increase recovery factors
Reduce operation costs
The manual production optimization approaches are both time consuming
error prone due to the complexity and large volume of data that have to be
considered

Cont
Optimization techniques can :
maximize the production
improve well performance
reducing operation cost
enhance oil recovery
help to achieve ultimate goal
(i.e. increasing the asset)
Tertiary or EOR techniques can increases the oil recovery by
30 to 60% as compared with primary of 10% and secondary
recovery of 20 to 40%.
CO2 injection is an efficient EOR technique which accounts for
nearly 50% recovery

Thank you for your kind

attention!