Some Practical Aspects Of Reservoir Management
Authors: Fowler M.L. , Young M.A. , Cole E.L. , Madden M.P. 
Published: December 2007

The potential benefits of reservoir management are beginning to be recognized, and many operators are becoming interested in cost-effectively applying reservoir management concepts. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has implemented a Reservoir Management Demonstration Program of cooperative research and development projects to encourage operators with limited resources and experience to learn, implement, and disperse sound reservoir management techniques.

From work accomplished in the context of these projects, several characteristics of reservoir management have emerged. The reservoir management process is cyclic and consists primarily of the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of a reservoir management plan generally designed to maximize the profitability of a reservoir. Success in developing an appropriate reservoir management plan requires a knowledge of (1) the reservoir system, including rocks, fluids, wellbores, and surface facilities; (2) the technologies available to describe, analyze, and exploit the reservoir; and (3) the reservoir management business environment. Monitoring activities include maintaining an awareness of changes in various aspects of reservoir performance, technology, and the business environment. Such changes trigger the need for reevaluation and/or revision of reservoir management plans.

Two projects in progress in the DOE program illustrate the diversity of situations suited for interdisciplinary efforts in developing reservoir management plans. One project, the East Randolph Field Project, is in a small, newly discovered oil reservoir in the sandstones of the Cambrian Rose Run Formation of eastern Ohio. The other, the Citronelle Field Project, is in a large mature waterflood in sandstones of the Cretaceous Rodessa Formation in south Alabama. The contrasting contexts of these projects provides a proving ground to gain insight into the general procedures for formulating reservoir management plans.

Introduction

Reservoir management, sometimes referred to as asset management in the context of petroleum reservoirs, has become recognized as an important facet of petroleum production operations in recent years. It is probably not purely coincidence that this increased recognition and interest corresponds to the period of prolonged downturn in petroleum economics that began in the early to mid 1980s and has resulted in significantly lower profit margins. Numerous papers and even books have been written on the subject of reservoir management, but it is still touted as a facet of petroleum production where substantial improvements and advances could be made. In the literature, reservoir management is often treated from an idealistic perspective, focusing on major producers employing high-technology solutions to improve production from large reservoirs. Partly for this reason, reservoir management is still considered an unfamiliar and risky business by many small, independent operators and operators of smaller reservoirs.

Recognizing the relatively widespread lack of understanding of reservoir management, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has implemented a Reservoir Management Demonstration Program to encourage operators with limited resources and experience to learn, implement, and disperse sound reservoir management techniques through cooperative research and development projects. Through BDM-Oklahoma (management and operating contractor for DOE's National Oil Program), DOE has initiated two such projects illustrating the diversity of situations suited for interdisciplinary reservoir management efforts. One project is in a small, newly discovered field in a mature area, and the other is in a large mature waterflood.

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