Reservoir Management: A Synergistic Approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT Because of the complexities and varied areas of expertise involved in making a primary, secondary, or enhanced recovery project successful, it has become necessary to adopt a team approach for reservoir management. Until the early 1970s, reservoir engineering was considered the only item of technical importance in the management of a reservoir. However, after understanding the value of geology, this no longer holds true. The synergism provided by the interaction between geology and reservoir engineering has been quite successful, but the reservoir management has generally failed to recognize the value of other disciplines, e.g. production operations, drilling, and different engineering functions. This paper provides information on the treatment of reservoir management as a SYSTEM. The System consists of: 1) reservoir characterization, 2) creation and operation of wells, 3) surface processing of the fluids, and 4) fluids and their behavior in the reservoir. These must be considered as interrelated parts of a unified system. A reservoir management model involving interdisciplinary functions is discussed in this paper. Also, the success of this model in designing and implementing the North Ward Estes CO2 project, Ward/Winkler County, Texas, is discussed in detail. This reservoir management approach has yielded a better design and installation of this CO2 project. In addition, it has resulted in successful workovers, identification of waterflood improvements, and better plans for future CO2 projects. A team building approach, involving "in-house" reservoir management forums/workshops, has also been employed. The main objective of the workshops has been to facilitate communication among engineering, geology, geophysics, and operations staff. Synergistic recommendations for project improvement have been a mutual outgrowth of these forums.