Secondary natural gas recovery in mature fluvial sandstone reservoirs, Frio Formation, Agua Dulce Field, South Texas
- Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
- ResTech, Inc., Houston, TX (United States)
- Research and Engineering Consultants, Inc., Englewood, CA (United States)
- Envirocorp Services and Technology, Houston, TX (United States)
- Pintas Creek Oil Company, Corpus Christi, TX (United States)
- Coastal Texas Oil and Gas, Houston, TX (United States)
An approach that integrates detailed geologic, engineering, and petrophysical analyses combined with improved well-log analytical techniques can be used by independent oil and gas companies of successful infield exploration in mature Gulf Coast fields that larger companies may consider uneconomic. In a secondary gas recovery project conducted by the Bureau of Economic Geology and funded by the Gas Research Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy, a potential incremental natural gas resource of 7.7 bcf, of which 4.0 bcf may be technically recoverable, was identified in a 490-ac lease in Agua Dulce field. Five wells in this lease had previously produced 13.7 bcf from Frio reservoirs at depths of 4600-6200 ft. The pay zones occur in heterogeneous fluvial sandstones offset by faults associated with the Vicksburg fault zone. The compartments may each contain up to 1.0 bcf of gas resources with estimates based on previous completions and the recent infield drilling experience of Pintas Creek Oil Company. Uncontacted gas resources occur in thin (typically less than 10 ft) bypassed zones that can be identified through a computed log evaluation that integrates open-hole logs, wireline pressure tests, fluid samples, and cores. At Agua Dulce field, such analysis identified at 4-ft bypassed zone uphole from previously produced reservoirs. This reservoir contained original reservoir pressure and flowed at rates exceeding 1 mmcf/d. The expected ultimate recovery is 0.4 bcf. Methodologies developed in the evaluation of Agua Dulce field can be successfully applied to other mature gas fields in the south Texas Gulf Coast. For example, Stratton and McFaddin are two fields in which the secondary gas recovery project has demonstrated the existence of thin, potentially bypassed zones that can yield significant incremental gas resources, extending the economic life of these fields.
- OSTI ID:
- 6963154
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9310237-; CODEN: AABUD2
- Journal Information:
- AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 77:9; Conference: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) mid-continent section meeting, Amarillo, TX (United States), 10-12 Oct 1993; ISSN 0149-1423
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ABANDONED WELLS
EVALUATION
NATURAL GAS
ENHANCED RECOVERY
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
TEXAS
EXPLORATION
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
NATURAL GAS FIELDS
RESERVOIR ROCK
US DOE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCES
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
WELLS
030300* - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing