Implementation of Streamline Derived Rate Targets Improved Oil Production of Mature Field

The application and implementation of streamline derived rate targets have proven to increase oil production and reduce water cut with minimal investment (Kornberger & Thiele, 2014). The Matzen field, and in particular the 16.TH layer, has significant peripheral water injection as well as a large operating range on the production and injection wells, making it an ideal candidate for streamline based water flood optimization measures. A multidisciplinary approach was taken to modelling the 16.TH, incorporating and analyzing data including pressures, production & injection volumes as well as individual well operational envelopes. Several uncertainties surrounding the field were also addressed in the modelling approach, for example faults and their transmissibilities. As a result, robust streamline derived rate targets could be defined and implemented across approximately 30% of the active wells in the field (around 60 wells), which significantly improved the production performance. Following implementation, the performance was continuously monitored, with impressive results. Implementation of the rate targets, resulted in a field wide daily production rate increase of up to 5%, peaking at 26 m3/day (165 boe/day) with an increase of only 140 m3/day on the liquid production and an increase of 160 m3/day water injection, exceptional for a field with an average water cut of 98%. Despite the positive results, there were several lessons learned that are discussed in the paper and can be applied to future field implementation to improve the performance further. It has been again proven that implementation of streamline derived rate targets can provide significant value, and through a defined workflow and automatic model updates this value can be realized faster, more reliably and with less manpower, offering an effective method of managing a water flooded asset and maximizing its value.