Eight-Well Interference Test in the Anschutz Ranch East Field

Abstract

Summary In many new fields, it is necessary to plan for secondary recovery methods before the field is fully developed or extensive reservoir data have been obtained. Shortly after discovery of the Anschutz Ranch East field, the working-interest owners recognized that planning for an improved recovery program should begin as soon as possible. Knowledge regarding the degree of communication in the reservoir, the magnitude of any directional permeability trend, and the interwell reservoir properties would be needed to select a suitable reservoir management method. A large-scale interference test was chosen as a way to provide part of this information during the early stages of development. This paper describes how the test was planned and executed and includes some of the problems that were encountered during the test performance and interpretation. The results obtained from the test confirmed the geological interpretation of a directional formation flow capacity and indicated that the Nugget formation is at least partially anisotropic.