Statistical relations predict horizontal well production

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · World Oil; (United States)

OSTI ID:6512495

Maloy, W T ^[1]

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1. Centerline Oil and Gas, Inc., San Antonio, TX (United States)

Some fields and formations are more or less suited for horizontal drilling. Most horizontal candidates include complex reservoirs with heterogeneous geometries. In these, characteristics necessary for commercial production are difficult to define. As a result, many horizontal wells drilled to date have proven, or will prove, to be uneconomic. How to characterize a reservoir's suitability for horizontal drilling is a difficult question. A comparative method for fractured carbonate reservoirs with examples from the Austin Chalk/Buda trend of Texas is proposed in this paper. A statistical approach was used to characterize fracture styles. The relationships are intuitive and reveal that fracture density, interconnectedness and size are reflected respectively in the statistical measures of medium (mean), coefficient of variation (standard deviation), and range of reservoir production. Using only a statistical approach, four of five study group fields were accurately rank ordered. When risk of drainage and water production were considered, the match was perfect. Since most drilling has occurred in existing fields, these measures are readily available from production records. The analysis performed requires comparison with other similar fields for most of its usefulness. Horizontal drilling opportunities in other fields and formations might be defined using a similar statistical approach.

• OSTI ID: 6512495
• Journal Information: World Oil; (United States), Vol. 214:4; ISSN 0043-8790
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
PRODUCTION
OIL WELLS
TEXAS
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FRACTURED RESERVOIRS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
RESERVOIR ROCK
STATISTICAL MODELS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DRILLING
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCES
USA
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production
030300 - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing
020200 - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration