Integrated Modelling and Performance Reviews Helps to Unlock New Opportunities in a 40-year-old Mature Field Under Waterflood
Authors: Choudhary Manish Kumar , Mahanti Gaurav , Rana Yogesh , Garimella Sai Venkata , Ali Arfan , Li Lin 
Published: March 2021

Field X is one of largest oil fields in Brunei producing since 1970's. The field consists of a large faulted anticlinal structure of shallow marine Miocene sediments. The field has over 500 compartments and is produced under waterflood since 1980's through 400+ conduits over 50 platforms. A comprehensive review of water injection performance was attempted in 2019 to assess remaining oil and identify infill opportunities. Large uncertainties in reservoir properties, connectivity and fluid contacts required that data across multiple disciplines is integrated to identify new opportunities.

It was recognized early on that integrated analysis of surveillance data and production history over 40 years will be critical for understanding field performance. Hence, reviews were first initiated using sand maps and analytical techniques. Tracer surveys, reservoir pressures, salinity measurements, Production Logging Tool (PLT) were all analyzed to understand waterflood progression and to define connectivity scenarios. A complete review of well logs, core data from over 30 wells and outcrop studies was carried out as part of modelling workflow. This understanding was used to construct a new facies-based static model. In parallel, key dynamic inputs like PVT analysis reports and special core analysis studies were analyzed to update dynamic modelling components. Prior to initiating the full field model history matching, a comprehensive impact analysis of the key dynamic uncertainties i.e., Production allocation, connectivity and varying aquifer strength etc. were conducted. An Assisted History Matching (AHM) workflow was attempted, which helped in identifying high impacting inputs which could be varied for history matching. Adjoint techniques were also used to identify other plausible geological scenarios.

The integrated review helped in identifying over 50 new opportunities which potentially can increase recovery by over 10%. The new static model identified upsides in Stock Tank Oil Initially in Place (STOIIP) which if realized could further increase ultimate recoverable. The use of AHM assisted in reducing iterations and achieve multiple history matched models, which can be used to quantify forecast uncertainty. The new opportunities have helped to revitalize the mature field and has potential to almost increase the production by over 50%. A dedicated team is now maturing these opportunities. The robust methodology of integrating surveillance data with simulation modelling as described in this paper is generic and could be useful in current day brown field development practices to serve as an effective and economic manner for sustaining oil production and maximizing ultimate recovery.

It is essential that all surveillance and production history data are well analyzed together prior to attempting any detailed modelling exercise. New models should then be constructed which confirm to the surveillance information and capture reservoir uncertainties. In large oil fields with long production history with allocation uncertainties, it is always a challenge for a quantitative assessment of History match quality and infill well Ultimate Recovery (UR) estimations. Hence a composite History Match Quality Indicator (HMQI) was designed with an appropriate weightage of rate, cumulative & reservoir pressure mismatch, water breakthrough timing delays. Then HMQI parameter spatial variation maps were made for different zones over the entire field for understanding and appropriately discounting each infill well oil recovery. Also, it is critical that facies variation is properly captured in models to better understand waterfront movements and locate remaining oil. Dynamic modelling of mature field with long production history can be quite challenging on its own and it is imperative that new numerical techniques are used to increase efficiency.