New insights and applications of soft computing on analysis of water production from oil reservoirs

During the development of reserves of oil fields high water production is not uncommon problem. However, the practice of Oil &Gas production has witnessed many cases with poor field results and low efficiency of operational efforts to mitigate the water production problem. One of the most common reasons is a lack of a precise diagnosis to identify the problem that considers the analysis of well and reservoir integrated information. That is why the key factor in the success of a water control treatment relies in a reliable and precise diagnostics identifying the origin of the water production problem. This leads to select an adequate treatment to effectively mitigate the problem. This paper describes a new methodology of water shut-off (WSO). This methodology is implemented through a new generation computerized tool, SMART-Agua, which uses soft computing techniques (fuzzy expert systems and perceptual data mining). The system was designed to manage the diagnosis of 14 potential problems commonly found both at wells and reservoirs. The solution analysis phase offers a technical and an economic analysis of the different chemical or mechanical applications and evaluates the potential for additional productivity if the water cut is reduced. Additional modules for solution design (gels, mechanical solutions and surface separation facilities) generate the parameters of the most efficient solutions instead of selecting a particular product from the vendor. Applications of this new methodology to several oil field cases were used to validate the methodology, and results of two such cases are discussed in the paper. These cases are focused on a carbonate fractured oil reservoir and a carbonate reservoir under waterflooding.