Abstract

Because of its mature stage of development, a key aspect of continued economic development of the Cedar Creek Anticline (CCA), Montana (STOOIP > 2 billion barrels with over 360 MMstb produced) is the Identification of remaining pods of high S[sub o] within the original field boundaries. Present economic conditions make it essential to select drillsites with high probabilities of success and high prognoses flow rates in these remaking high S. area. Integration of a well-constrained geologic model and reservoir simulation pinpointed remaining pods of oil in a 3-m thick, subvertically fractured, dolomitic limestone reservoir of the Carboniferous Mission Canyon Formation in the Cabin Creek Field of the CCA This resulted in a successful high-flow-rate horizontal well (initial rate >800 BOPD) whose oil production was accurately predicted by a 3-D reservoir simulation. The model has 53,750 gridblocks each of which Is 60 by 60 m. The effect of the natural-fracture network was constrained with the k[sub v]/k[sub h] (vertical to horizontal permeability ratio). The simulation covered a 40-yr. production period. Gross production was Input as a constraint; oil and water rates were matched. Adjustments to absolute permeability, aquifer volume and relative water permeability were required to obtain a match between observedmore » and simulated production rates. The model was fine tuned by matching the production of individual wells in areas with a high remaining S[sub o]. This project demonstrated that (1) interplay of geology and reservoir engineering provided a better reservoir model than could have been done individually, (2) simulation work identified horizontal drilling and recompletion candidates, with one successful horizontal well completed to date, and (3) use of the reservoir simulator for field-scale modeling In conjunction with a well-refined geologic synthesis can successfully pinpoint undeveloped reserves at CCA.« less

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