Disruptive Dumpflooding Completion, Case Study Ecuador

Abstract

Most of the fields in Ecuador are considered "mature." Water injection is a well-known solution for mature fields. Water injection projects require a source of clean water. Traditionally, minimum specifications are achieved by surface treatment facilities. However, in the Ecuadorian Oriente Basin, the Hollin reservoir is an active aquifer with water meeting the requirements for use in waterflooding. But in other cases, water from production wells and from traditional surface facilities requires high investment costs because of associated facilities, chemical treatments, water production lines, and other requirements. A novel completion design has been developed. This proposed completion is called "modified dumpflooding" and represents a cost-effective solution for Ecuadorian mature fields. Dumpflooding is a modified version of dual concentric completion using most of its configuration pieces. It also takes advantage of extensive local experience in dual concentric completion design. Modified dumpflooding completion enables companies to use just one well for water production, injecting it into the depleted reservoir as a closed loop. Additionally, it helps to save costs in surface facilities by reducing human exposure to high pressure lines over large distances and eliminating operational expenditures for chemicals and equipment maintenance. Nodal analysis is foundational to helping companies understand how current design of waterflooding projects is behaving. It also provides a basis for mechanical configuration optimization to reduce bottlenecking points and improve completion performance.