IMPROVED OIL RECOVERY IN MISSISSIPPIAN CARBONATE RESERVOIRS OF KANSAS - NEAR TERM - CLASS 2

Abstract

This annual report describes progress during the final year of the project entitled ''Improved Oil Recovery in Mississippian Carbonate Reservoirs in Kansas''. This project funded under the Department of Energy's Class 2 program targets improving the reservoir performance of mature oil fields located in shallow shelf carbonate reservoirs. The focus of the project was development and demonstration of cost-effective reservoir description and management technologies to extend the economic life of mature reservoirs in Kansas and the mid-continent. As part of the project, tools and techniques for reservoir description and management were developed, modified and demonstrated, including PfEFFER spreadsheet log analysis software. The world-wide-web was used to provide rapid and flexible dissemination of the project results through the Internet. A summary of demonstration phase at the Schaben and Ness City North sites demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed reservoir management strategies and technologies. At the Schaben Field, a total of 22 additional locations were evaluated based on the reservoir characterization and simulation studies and resulted in a significant incremental production increase. At Ness City North Field, a horizontal infill well (Mull Ummel No.4H) was planned and drilled based on the results of reservoir characterization and simulation studies to optimize the location and length. The well produced excellent and predicted oil rates for the first two months. Unexpected presence of vertical shale intervals in the lateral resulted in loss of the hole. While the horizontal well was not economically successful, the technology was demonstrated to have potential to recover significant additional reserves in Kansas and the Midcontinent. Several low-cost approaches were developed to evaluate candidate reservoirs for potential horizontal well applications at the field scale, lease level, and well level, and enable the small independent producer to identify efficiently candidate reservoirs and also to predict the performance of horizontal well applications.