The Advantages of Having Dedicated Downhole Gauges and Wellhead Meter: A Reservoir Management Perspective from a Massive Tight Gas Reservoir in the Remote Area
Authors: Rizkiaputra Ricko , Goesmiyarso Satrio , Nurak Jufenilamora , Laya Krishna Pratama , Ramadhan Dimmas , Sinlae Esterlinda , Subekti Ari , Iswara Anindyajati Anak Agung Gde 
Published: October 2021

Even though the downhole gauges and wellhead meter (wet gas meter) have been invented decades ago, having them installed in every wells are still considered as a luxury for many companies. However, does this view still reasonable for a tight gas reservoir let alone located in a remote area? This study will describe the benefit of having both equipment for reservoir management practice in one of the biggest tight gas reservoirs in Indonesia.

Generally, reservoir management is an iterative process that incorporates the analysis of reservoir characterization, development plan, implementation, and monitoring. There are many analyses from the reservoir management process that can be performed using above mentioned equipment. Several analyses have been performed, such as: (i) Interference Test and Pressure Transient Analysis (PTA) after well is completed; (ii) Evolution of connected volume since early production until present day using Dynamic Material Balance (DMB); (iii) Flow regime and reservoir properties using Rate Transient Analysis (RTA); and (iv) Reservoir simulation: regular model update and project opportunity identification. In this study, the above-mentioned analyses are performed in one of the massive tight gas reservoir in Indonesia that is located in the remote area.

Having a complete reservoir surveillance tools such as downhole gauges and wellhead meter on each wells is beneficial for reservoir management practice. Precious subsurface data can be obtained anytime without having to wait for equipment mobilization to location. This is critical for managing tight gas reservoir which usually demands robust subsurface data to reduce its uncertainties. There are several findings based on the above mentioned analyses, such as: (i) The interference test indicates there is reservoir connectivity among the production wells; (ii) The PTA indicates that the reservoir has tight properties, although longer buildup/observation time is still needed to better understand the reservoir characteristics in wider scale; (iii) The DMB analysis can be performed even in daily basis to provide the insight on connected gas initial in place (GIIP) evolution through time, as in this case it still shows an increasing GIIP through time which is suspected due to the transient flow regime on the wells; (iv) The RTA can also be performed in similar fashion, if it is combine with other analyses, this analysis able to provide a multi-scale reservoir properties investigation from near wellbore to far field and flow period observation (boundary observation) through time, as in this case the reservoir properties is tight and flow is still in transient period; (v) It increases robustness of reservoir simulation update since it is supported by many analyses, as such, series of hopper can be confidently presented to management, as in this case a project of well stimulation (Acid Fracturing) has been performed successfully and opportunity of further field development plan can be identified.

This paper shows that, for the tight reservoir in the remote location, having each well equipped with downhole gauges and dedicated wellhead meter is significantly increasing the robustness of reservoir management process. Thus, providing economic optimization for the managed asset. Regarding the capital that is invested at the beginning, it will simply pay out quickly, looking at the time and resources that need to be spent for having equipment on site.