Water Control and Fracturing: A Reality

Abstract

Abstract Water production in mature fields is a common situation. In many mature areas, every barrel of oil is being produced with six to ten barrels of water. The production of water results in increased operating expenses along with other water related well problems like scale, fines migration, sand face failure, water loading in wellbores etc. The goal of any hydraulic fracturing treatment is to increase the production potential of the well. This is achieved by parting the formation rock under pressure and leaving it "propped" open to create more conductive path between the reservoir and wellbore. This technique has become a common and routine method of stimulating oil or gas wells. Many operators do not associate the stimulation and water control objectives in the same treatment. In fact, it is usually the opposite; the candidate is rejected for a hydraulic fracturing stimulation treatment because of the fear of increasing the water rate. This should not be the case for a few reasons. The first, a mature well will produce water with or without the hydraulic fracture treatment. The second, the emergence of a new stimulation technique over recent years that combines water control technology as part of the hydraulic fracturing treatment, offering the potential for reduced post frac water cut with the gains in productivity that a hydraulic fracturing treatment can offer. The conformance fracturing technology opens the possibility to stimulate high water cut wells while controlling the water simultaneously. This is achieved by using specially designed relative permeability modifiers (RPMs). By placing the RPMs in the fracturing fluids, resistance to water flow will occur in the filtrate-invaded area opposite the fracture faces. The conformance fracturing treatment generally results in a net increase of oil flow with reduction in the water cut. This paper will review the evolution and progresses made in the field of conformance engineering with special focus to their applications in conjunction with fracturing treatments. It will describe the successful application of conformance fracturing technology in a mature field in South Sumatra, Indonesia. The placement method, RPM technology and the field case histories of successful treatments shall be discussed in order to substantiate the technology.