Background. Identifying the locations and amounts of unproduced gas in mature reservoirs is often a challenging problem, due to several factors. Complete integrated reservoir studies to determine drilling locations and potential of new wells are often too time-consuming and costly for many fields. In this work, we evaluate the accuracy of a statistical moving-window method (MWM) that has been used in low-permeability (“tight”) gas formations to assess infill and recompletion potential. The primary advantages of the technique are its speed and its limited need for data, using only well location and production data. Method of Approach. To test the method, we created a number of hypothetical reservoirs and calculated infill well potential using a reservoir simulator. We used the MWM to analyze these data sets, then compared results to those from the reservoir simulations. Results. The results validate empirical observations made using MWM during field evaluations. Depending on the level of reservoir heterogeneity, the MWM infill predictions for individual wells can be off by more than ±50%. The MWM more accurately predicts the production potential from a group of infill candidates, the MWM, however, more often to within 10%. We describe a procedure to estimate the number of wells needed to predict production potential to within a stipulated accuracy. The ability of MWM to accurately predict production performance for groups of wells shows that it can be a useful tool for scoping studies or identifying areas for more detailed evaluation.
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e-mail: linhua.guan@ChevronTexaco.com
e-mail: mcvay@spindletop.tamu.edu
e-mail: jensen@spindletop.tamu.edu
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September 2004
Technical Briefs
Evaluation of a Statistical Method for Assessing Infill Production Potential in Mature, Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs
L. Guan,
e-mail: linhua.guan@ChevronTexaco.com
L. Guan
ChevronTexaco, 4800 Fournace Place, Room E537, Bellaire, TX 77401
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D. A. McVay,
e-mail: mcvay@spindletop.tamu.edu
D. A. McVay
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3116 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3116
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J. L. Jensen,
e-mail: jensen@spindletop.tamu.edu
J. L. Jensen
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3116 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3116
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G. W. Voneiff
G. W. Voneiff
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L. Guan
ChevronTexaco, 4800 Fournace Place, Room E537, Bellaire, TX 77401
e-mail: linhua.guan@ChevronTexaco.com
D. A. McVay
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3116 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3116
e-mail: mcvay@spindletop.tamu.edu
J. L. Jensen
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3116 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3116
e-mail: jensen@spindletop.tamu.edu
G. W. Voneiff
Contributed by the Petroleum Division for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY. Manuscript received by the Petroleum Division December 11, 2003; revised manuscript received June 17, 2004. Associate Editor: A. Wojtanowicz.
J. Energy Resour. Technol. Sep 2004, 126(3): 241-245 (5 pages)
Published Online: October 19, 2004
Article history
Received:
December 11, 2003
Revised:
June 17, 2004
Online:
October 19, 2004
Citation
Guan , L., McVay , D. A., Jensen, J. L., and Voneiff , G. W. (October 19, 2004). "Evaluation of a Statistical Method for Assessing Infill Production Potential in Mature, Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs ." ASME. J. Energy Resour. Technol. September 2004; 126(3): 241–245. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1781672
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