Prospects for the use of new technologies in assessing the impact of geological and technological risks

Abstract

Nowadays, operator companies pay much attention to the introduction and development of technologies for development of oil fields using horizontal wells. This situation is due on the one hand to relatively greater efficiency of operation on horizontal wells, as compared with vertical, and problems typical for horizontal wells (low share of 10-30 % of the “working” part of the horizontal well, specificity of the influence of heterogeneity of the reservoir during stimulations, difficulty and water source control on the other hand. In addition, it is necessary to take into account a number of factors causing the exclusive use of horizontal wells: a restriction on the location of the wellhead relative to the target areas of the reservoir, a restriction on the number of wells, the development of fields with highly viscous and super-viscous oils, and the operation of unconventional (dense) reservoirs. The main objective of this work is to determine the prospects for the application of new technologies to increase the efficiency of operation of horizontal wells. It is impossible to describe the full picture without reflecting the results of the analysis of the performance of horizontal wells in field development, the problems of planning investments for drilling horizontal wells, as well as considering aspects of the economic evaluation of the use of technologies designed to improve the efficiency of horizontal wells. Much attention is paid to identifying the causes of declining oil production due to premature irrigation of horizontal wells. Various options for the occurrence of flow heterogeneity and their influence on the development of reservoirs using horizontal wells are considered.