A data mining approach to finding relationships between reservoir properties and oil production for CHOPS

Abstract

Cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) is a primary oil extraction process for heavy crude oil and reservoir properties are key factors that contribute to the effectiveness of CHOPS. However, identification of the key reservoir properties and quantification of the relationships between the reservoir properties and the oil production are still challenging tasks. In this paper, we propose the use of a data mining approach for finding quantitative relationships between various reservoir properties and oil production for CHOPS. The approach includes four steps: firstly, a set of reservoir properties are identified to describe reservoir characteristics through a petrophysical analysis. In addition to common parameters, such as porosity and permeability, two new parameters – a fluid mobility factor and the maximum inscribed rectangular of net pay (MIRNP) – are proposed. Secondly, three new parameters to describe the production performance of wells are proposed: the peak value, effective life cycle and effective yield. Next, the fuzzy ranking method is used to rank the importance of the identified reservoir properties in terms of oil production. Finally, association rule mining is used to obtain quantitative relationships between reservoir property variables and the production performance of wells. The proposed methods have been applied for 118 wells in the Sparky Formation of the Lloydminster heavy oil field in Alberta. The result shows that the production performance of wells in the area could be described and predicted by using the found quantitative relations.