Best Practice of Gas Cap Condensate Allocation Being Produced with Oil Rim Wells
Authors: Adli Mustapha , Al Hammadi Yousif , Hoda Mohammad , Kaouche Salim , Whitson Curtis , Kuntadi Arif 
Published: November 2019

Objectives/Scope

Recently Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has called Whitson (PERA), a world leading PVT modelling consultancy company, to develop a best practice methodology/tool to quantify the condensate liquid production originating from the gas cap that is produced through oil rim producers' wells. This practice is integrating simulation work with field measured data and provided for the first time a solution to an oil and gas industry challenge, which is causing a conflict of interest between shareholders especially when oil rim and the associated gas cap are belonging to different concessions.

Methods, Procedures, Process

The work has been done for a giant oil field with large gas cap (rich in condensate) where only the oil is being developed since the 1960s. Initially the production GOR was limited to RS, but in 2010 the development strategy changed, and the field was being produced at GOR higher than RS allowing free gas from Gas Cap (rich with condensate) to be produced with oil. The question then arised of how much condensate is being produced through the oil rim producers. The condensate allocation method makes use of all measured well test data (Qo, GOR and API) and compositional reservoir simulation results. The used EOS (equation of state) model has been tuned to all available laboratory PVT data. This method uses a history-matched, reservoir simulation model run with a "dual-EOS" that is constructed by duplicating the tuned EOS model into two identical EOS models - one for the initial gas cap, and the other one for the initial oil zone. The dual- EOS run gives identical performance to single EOS model run. The generated dual-EOS compositional wellstreams are adjusted (1) to honor exactly the historical well test GOR data for each well, and (2) to honor as best possible the historical well test APIs for each well. The resulting wellstream will honor exactly the simulation model oil rates of each well throughout history, exactly the measured well test GOR, and close-to-exact APIs for each well. The final altered well streams are processed through a 4-stage field separator, yielding the well total stock-tank oil and condensate volumes.

Results, Observations, Conclusions

Historical gas cap condensate volumes produced from wells completed in the oil rim has been achieved during the field history. This was made possible by using (1) well production test data (GORs and APIs), (2) results from a history-matched compositional model, (3) tracking of components originally found in gas cap and in oil rim, and (4) application of a tuned EOS model. The conclusion is that such an integrated approach will result in a consistent and quantitatively accurate volume of condensate production volumes.

Novel/Additive Information

An innovative quantitative approach to the accurate estimation of condensate volumes originating in the gas cap - but produced from wells completed in the oil rim zone - has been developed and validated and could be applied for other fields, in addition it is fully flexible for future enhancements if needed. This methodology will definitely save time and unnecessary discussion and will provide more consistent results that will lead to more consensus from different parties.