Conducting Oil Well Performance Analysis to Forecast & Optimize Production

CoViz 4D provides an integrated view of reservoir data, sophisticated 4D workflows, and a set of analytic tools tailored to the needs of geoscientists and petroleum engineers.
Oil well performance analysis can deliver greater value when the calculations, simulations, modeling, and monitoring of production metrics can be evaluated in an environment that facilitates the sharing of all relevant information and collaborative analysis by geoscience and engineering teams. Today, visualization and analysis software solutions are giving reservoir engineers greater ability to more efficiently develop forecast estimates and optimize production as all additional data acquired throughout the life of an oil well, can be assimilated in a common environment as it becomes available.
Whether you’re using Vogel’s inflow performance relationship, isochronal well testing, multi-rate methods incorporating non-Darcy flow effects, or other variations, depending on the phase flow, oil well performance analyses become more insightful when evaluated in the context of the subsurface geological and petrophysical data and conditions. Below, we describe how visualization and analysis software, such as DGI’s CoViz® 4D, can help reservoir engineers gain a better understanding of oil well potential and closely monitor performance throughout the production cycle, feeding new data into the process.

Evaluate Oil Well Potential

A reservoir team can achieve a more complete understanding of oil well and field potential by integrating all relevant information such as 3D geologic models, seismic, well tests, reservoir simulations, and cellular grids into a single, visualization and analysis environment that facilitates collaboration among disciplines. CoViz 4D provides an integrated view of reservoir data, sophisticated 4D workflows, and a set of analytic tools tailored to the needs of geoscientists and petroleum engineers, providing a powerful platform for assessing production anomalies and highlighting where intervention is required. Some of the key capabilities available in DGI’s CoViz 4D include:

  • Workflows that use flow/saturation models to develop petroelastic (velocity and density) models, which are then used to create synthetic 3D seismic volumes
  • Visualizing formation testing data alongside a cellular grid to help quantify pressure, permeability, oil chemistry, porosity, and other data to help estimate ultimate recovery
  • Three-dimensional property (stratigraphy, lithology, porosity, permeability, fluid saturations, seismic) distributions depicted within fault blocks to better understand reservoir dynamics
  • Analysis of a nearby wells’ geologic, petrophysical, and production data to provide insight to understand a well’s production and decline curve
Integrate seismic data with reservoir simulation results to give engineers a clearer understanding of reservoir characteristics.

Integrate seismic data with reservoir simulation results to give engineers a clearer understanding of reservoir characteristics that influence the production strategy.

The results of these analyses provide a more complete and accurate assessment of a well’s potential and can guide the initial development strategy in the following ways:

  • Design well geometries to maximize wellbore exposure within a formation as well as avoid collisions with existing wells.
  • Evaluate the pros and cons of various completion and artificial lift options, based on historical data from similar wells in the reservoir.
  • Plan a multilateral completion sequence to minimize the risk of well interference or thief zones.
  • Use microseismic data to monitor the development of a fracture network and adjust the completion strategy stage-by-stage to optimize results.

A reservoir team that employs CoViz 4D’s data integration and visualization capabilities in the initial stages of oil well analysis can gain a more detailed and complete understanding of reservoir characteristics. This level of shared understanding leads to the development of more accurate production forecasts and updating during drilling. Teams can then use this information as a baseline for further optimizing production.

Oil Well Performance Analysis to Optimize Production

Initial oil well performance analysis needs to be revised throughout the production cycle. As engineers acquire production data on a regular basis, these data are used to help further optimize production. Operators accustomed to spreadsheet analysis of production data will find they can more easily identify factors that influence production when oil well performance data is visually presented within the context of a 3/4D geospatial model of the subsurface conditions. Visualization of oil well performance enables engineers and geoscientists to:

  • Easily compare a well’s production rate relative to nearby wells, depicting oil-gas-water as 3D towers that quantify cumulative volumes.
  • Assess how the addition of a new lateral is affecting pressure in nearby wells.
  • Understand how rock type, production depth, pump type, casing diameter, and reservoir pressure in a specific wellbore are impacting production rates.
  • Monitor changes in water cut in response to secondary recovery methods.
  • Evaluate “sanding out” probability by seeing which formation the well was landed in and compare with other wells in that zone.
  • Plot the production curves of different wells together to compare the IP’s and decline curves to see which production strategy has worked better.
Multi-disciplinary data, including reservoir simulations, 4D seismic, seismic attributes, structure models, and production data integrated and visualized.

Reservoir engineers gain a detailed understanding of how development decisions impact production when multi-disciplinary data, including reservoir simulations, 4D seismic, seismic attributes, structure models, and production data are integrated and visualized.

Visualizing reservoir pressure in the context of 3D geology and existing well locations allows engineers and geoscientists to back-interpolate on the pressure model to compare with the observed reservoir pressure (and other properties) along the entire wellbore to see the full picture and assist in determining optimization strategies such as modifying pump stroke rate, changing casing diameter to improve flow, or evaluating the cost-effectiveness of a workover. On a broader, field-wide scale, engineers could opt for an EOR technique such as water, steam, or chemical injection to help improve production metrics.

Oil Well Performance Analysis With CoViz 4D

Engineers and geoscientists can more efficiently and accurately conduct oil well and field  performance analysis with the aid of CoViz 4D software, developed specifically for the needs of petroleum industry professionals. CoViz 4D easily integrates a wide range of data relevant to well performance using a Data Registry. With shared access to relevant oil well performance data, as well as geological and petrophysical data, CoViz 4D’s powerful visualization capabilities and a rich analytic toolset give reservoir teams the ability to more accurately forecast and optimize production.
Oil well performance analysis can span decades. CoViz 4D provides the ability to manage and understand data chronologically and to animate reservoir evolution using all required data. Using the powerful analytical tools available, disciplines can also see how individual and collaborative decisions have affected oil well performance over any time period of their choosing—a day, weeks, months, and years.

CoViz 4D, a data visualization and analytics software from Dynamic Graphics, Inc., gives oil and gas professionals the ability to easily access and analyze relevant data associated with HPHT reservoirs. Powerful visualization capabilities enable reservoir teams to explore data relationships, calculate gradients, and more accurately analyze how subsurface conditions influence drilling and completion methods. To learn more about CoViz 4D, contact our team.

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