Combining Continuous Fluid Typing, Wireline Formation Tester, andGeochemical Measurements for an Improved Understanding of ReservoirArchitecture (2006)

Combining Continuous Fluid Typing, Wireline Formation Tester, and Geochemical Measurements for an Improved Understanding of Reservoir Architecture Hani Elshahawi; Hani Elshahawi Shell Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Lalitha Venkataramanan; Lalitha Venkataramanan Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Daniel McKinney; Daniel McKinney Shell Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Matt Flannery; Matt Flannery Shell Global Solutions Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Oliver C. Mullins; Oliver C. Mullins Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mohamed Hashem Mohamed Hashem Shell Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, USA, September 2006. Paper Number: SPE-100740-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/100740-MS Published: September 24 2006 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Elshahawi, Hani, Venkataramanan, Lalitha, McKinney, Daniel, Flannery, Matt, Mullins, Oliver C., and Mohamed Hashem. "Combining Continuous Fluid Typing, Wireline Formation Tester, and Geochemical Measurements for an Improved Understanding of Reservoir Architecture." Paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, USA, September 2006. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/100740-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition Search Advanced Search AbstractIdentifying compartmentalization and understanding reservoir structure are of critical importance to reservoir development. Traditional methods of identifying reservoir compartmentalization such as drillstem tests and extended well tests often become impractical in deep water settings with costs approaching the costs of new wells and emissions becoming increasingly undesirable. Thus, compartments often have to be identified by some other means.Individually formation pressure measurements, downhole fluid analysis (DFA), and geochemistry are known to provide important information about reservoir architecture. When these powerful methods are systematically combined and applied to datasets, the synergy delivers a much more accurate and robust picture of the reservoir. In this paper, we review a number of case studies in which we have successfully combined continuous fluid facies mapping, pressure gradient measurements, DFA, and geochemistry for reservoir continuity assessment in a diverse range of geological settings including a wide range of field sizes, structural environments, reservoir lithologies, and oil types. Particular emphasis is placed on comparing the strengths and limitations of the different techniques in revealing reservoir architecture, especially vertical permeability barriers. We present a number of unambiguous cases, for which multiple data streams might be viewed as being somewhat redundant. More ambiguous cases, in which the multiple data streams are required to make a robust assessment of key reservoir properties, are also presented.Using Fluids to Understand Reservoir ArchitectureIdentifying compartmentalization and the presence of fluid flow barriers and unraveling reservoir architecture are critically important to reservoir management. Misinterpreting flow compartmentalization can result in large errors in production parameters such as drainage volume, flow rates, well placement, sizing of facilities and completions equipment and production prediction. Traditionally, drillstem testing or extended well tests are the preferred methods to test for compartmentalization in exploratory wells. However, in a deepwater well or similar setting, these techniques are inordinately expensive and are also environmentally unfriendly. Moreover, interpretation of well test responses in turbidite and multi-channel reservoirs is complicated by the complex reservoir architecture. Thus, compartments often have to be identified by some other means. During exploration and early appraisal phases, various techniques can be integrated to better assess reservoir continuity and/or compartmentalization before field development commences.Single and multiwell pressure gradient analyses play an important role in reservoir characterization. Even subtle discontinuities in pressures and pressure gradients can be indicative of reservoir compartmentalization. The key is in understanding the accuracy and precision limitations on each of the measurements (including depth) and in being able to place errorbars to quantify the uncertainty in the measurements. Careful planning and execution are required to realize the full power of these measurements, but several case studies have shown how this can be routinely accomplished.1 We will show more such examples in this paper.When investigating compartmentalization, it is quite useful to bear in mind the following general pointers on hydrocarbon (HC) sourcing and entrapment.2In stacked oil reservoirs, there is a tendency for the average API gravity, gas/oil ratio (GOR) and bubblepoint to increase in successively deeper reservoirs.The usual filling sequence for a stacked reservoir is bottom reservoir first (i.e., bottom up). Petroleum usually migrates into the overlying reservoir by spiraling up from deeper reservoirs via faults and other pathways, by hydraulic leakage from the crest of the underlying reservoir, or by capillary leakage up faults.When the petroleum charge becomes less dense with time, each reservoir fills downward from the top or from gas/oil contact (GOC) if two separate petroleum phases form. When the charge becomes more dense with time, such as during uplift, each reservoir fills from the oil/water contact (OWC). Keywords: Drillstem Testing, GOR, discontinuity, application, Reservoir Compartmentalization, Upstream Oil & Gas, communication, probability matrix, compartmentalization, probability Subjects: Formation Evaluation & Management, Drillstem/well testing This content is only available via PDF. 2006. Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.