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    4 Oilfield Review

    Casabe: New Tricks for an Old Field

    At some point in the operational life of an oil field, natural drive dwindles and

    additional energy is needed to sustain production rates. In the Casabe field water-

    flooding has been used to enhance oil recovery. However, a combination of sensitive

    lithology, structural complexity and water channeling caused hardware to fail and

    wells to collapse, disrupting the waterflood efficiency. New techniques in geologic

    analysis, waterflooding, drilling and production optimization are restoring this

    once-prolific field to its former glory.

    Mauro Amaya

    Raúl Amaya

    Héctor Castaño

    Eduardo Lozano

    Carlos Fernando Rueda

    Ecopetrol SA

    Bogotá, Colombia

    Jon Elphick

    Cambridge, England 

     Walter Gambaretto

    Leonardo MárquezDiana Paola Olarte Caro

    Juan Peralta-Vargas

    Arévalo José Velásquez Marín

    Bogotá 

    Oilfield Review  Spring 2010: 22, no. 1.Copyright © 2010 Schlumberger.

    For help in preparation of this article, thanks to José IsabelHerberth Ahumada, Marvin Markley, José A. Salas, HectorRoberto Saldaño, Sebastian Sierra Martinez and AndreasSuter, Bogotá; and Giovanni Landinez, Mexico City.

    AIT, CMR-Plus, Petrel, PowerPak XP, PressureXpress,TDAS and USI are marks of Schlumberger.

    Crystal Ball is a mark of Oracle Corp.

    IDCAP, KLA-GARD and KLA-STOP are marks of M- I SWACO.

    Old fields have stories to tell. The story of the

    Casabe field, 350 km [220 mi] north of Bogotá

    and situated in the middle Magdalena River

     Valley basin (MMVB) of Colombia’s Antioquia

    Department, began with its discovery in 1941.

    The field was undersaturated when production

    began in 1945, and during primary recovery the

    production mechanisms were natural depletion

    and a weak aquifer. In the late 1970s, at the end

    of the natural drive period, the operator had

    obtained a primary recovery factor of 13%. By this

    time, however, production had declined signifi-

    cantly to nearly 5,000 bbl/d [800 m3 /d]. Seeking

    to reverse this trend, Ecopetrol SA (Empresa

    Colombiana de Petróleos SA) conducted water-

    flood tests for several years before establishing

    two major secondary-recovery programs in the

    mid to late 1980s.

     > Casabe oil production and water injection. Waterflood pilot projects took place in the late 1970s, but itwas not until 1985 that the first of two major waterflood programs began. During the first three years ofeach program, high injection rates were possible; however, water soon found ways through the mostpermeable sands. Early breakthrough and well collapse forced the operator to choke back injection.The steady decline in injection was accompanied by a decline in production, and attempts to reverse this trend were unsuccessful. In 2004, when the Casabe alliance was formed, production rates were5,200 bbl/d. By early February 2010, these rates had increased to more than 16,000 bbl/d.

    0

        1    9    7    4

        1    9    7    6

        1    9    7    8

        1    9    8    0

        1    9    8    2

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        1    9    8    6

        1    9    8    8

        1    9    9    0

        1    9    9    2

    Operational year

        1    9    9    4

        1    9    9    6

        1    9    9    8

        2    0    0    0

        2    0    0    2

        2    0    0    4

        2    0    0    6

        2    0    0    8

        2    0    1    0

    5

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    25

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    125

        O    i    l   p   r   o

        d   u   c   t

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     ,    1

     ,    0    0    0    b    b    l    /    d

        W   a   t   e   r

        i   n    j   e   c   t

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        W   a   t   e   r    f

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    WaterOil1. Peralta-Vargas J, Cortes G, Gambaretto W, MartinezUribe L, Escobar F, Markley M, Mesa Cardenas A,Suter A, Marquez L, Dederle M and Lozano E: “FindingBypassed Oil in a Mature Field—Casabe Field, MiddleMagdalena Valley Basin, Colombia,” presented at theACGGP (Asociación Colombiana de Geólogos yGeofisicos del Petróleo) X Symposio Bolivariano,Cartagena, Colombia, July 26–29, 2009.

      Marquez L, Elphick J, Peralta J, Amaya M, Lozano E:“Casabe Mature Field Revitalization Through an Alliance:A Case Study of Multicompany and MultidisciplineIntegration,” paper SPE 122874, presented at the SPELatin American and Caribbean Petroleum EngineeringConference, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, May 31–June 3, 2009.

    2. Cordillera is Spanish for range. Colombia has threeranges: Oriental (eastern), Central, and Occidental(western). These are branches of the Andes Mountains

     that extend along the western half of the country. TheMMVB runs WSW-NNE, and the Magdalena River r unsnorthward through it, eventually flowing into theCaribbean Sea.

    3. Barrero D, Pardo A, Vargas CA and Martínez JF:Colombian Sedimentary Basins: Nomenclature,Boundaries and Petroleum Geology, a New Proposal .Bogotá, Colombia: Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos(2007): 78–81, http://www.anh.gov.co/paraweb/pdf/publicaciones.pdf (accessed February 5, 2010).

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    Spring 2010 5

    During the secondary-recovery period, struc-

    tural complexities, sensitive shales, heteroge-

    neous sands and viscous oils all conspired to

    undermine the effectiveness of the waterflood.

     And although initially successful at increasing

    production, injected water broke through prema-

    turely at the production wells, an indicator of

    bypassed oil (previous page). Sand production

    occurred in a high percentage of wells, contribut-ing to borehole collapse and causing failure of

    downhole equipment. Water-injection rates were

    gradually decreased in an attempt to overcome

    these issues, and waterflooding became less

    effective at enhancing oil recovery; from 1996

    onward the production rates declined between

    7% and 8% per year.

    In 2004 Ecopetrol SA and Schlumberger

    forged an alliance to revitalize the Casabe field.

    Using updated methods for managing highly

    complex reservoirs, the alliance reversed the

    decline in production: From March 2004 to

    February 2010, oil production increased from

    5,200 to more than 16,000 bbl/d [820 to

    2,500 m3 /d].1 Also, the estimated ultimate recovery

    factor increased from 16% to 22% of the original oilin place (OOIP).

    This article describes the complexities of the

    reservoirs within the Casabe concession and the

    oil recovery methods employed over the last

    70 years, concentrating primarily on the major

    reengineering work using updated methods that

    began in 2004.

     A Prolific Yet Complex Region

    The middle Magdalena River Valley basin is an

    elongated depression between the Colombian

    Central and Oriental cordilleras and represent

    an area of 34,000 km2 [13,000 mi2].2 Oil seeps are

    common features within the basin; their pres

    ence was documented by the first western explor

    ers in the 16th century. These reservoir indicator

    motivated some of the earliest oil exploration andled to the discovery in 1918 of the giant field

    called La Cira–Infantas, the first field discovered

    in Colombia. Since that time, the MMVB has

    been heavily explored. Its current oil and gas

    reserves include more than 1,900 million bb

    [302 million m3] of oil and 2.5 Tcf [71 billion m3

    of gas.3

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    6 Oilfield Review

    The abundance of hydrocarbon resources in

    the basin attests to the prolific petroleum system

    active in this region. A thick, organic-rich lime-

    stone and shale succession was deposited in an

    extensive pericratonic trough along the north-

     west margin of the Guyana shield during the

    Cretaceous Period.4  These underlying source

    rocks are separated from the primary reservoirs

    by an Eocene unconformity. Major fluid-migra-

    tion mechanisms to fields within the MMVB con-

    sist of direct vertical migration where La Luna

    Formation subcrops the Eocene unconformity,lateral migration along the Eocene sandstone

    carrier and vertical migration through faults.

    The Colorado, Mugrosa and La Paz forma-

    tions that make up the Casabe field were depos-

    ited during the Paleogene Period. These are

    found at depths of 670 to 1,700 m [2,200 to

    5,600 ft]. The reservoir sands in the field are

    classified in three main groups: A, B and C,

     which are subdivided into operational units

    (above). Sands are typically isolated by imper-

    meable claystone seals and have grain sizes that

     vary from silty to sandy to pebbly.

    Structurally the Casabe field is an 8-km

    [5-mi] long anticline with a three-way closure, well-defined eastern flank and a southern plunge.

    The northern plunge is found outside the area of

    the Casabe field in the Galán field. A high-angle

    NE-SW strike-slip fault closes the western side of

    the trap. Associated faults perpendicular to the

    main fault compartmentalize the field into eight

    blocks. Drilling is typically restricted to vertical

    or deviated wells within each block because of

    heavy faulting and compartmentalization.

    Throughout the history of the field, develop-

    ment planners have avoided placing wells in the

    area close to the western fault. This is because

    reservoir models generated from sparse 2D seis-

    mic data, acquired first around 1940 and later inthe 1970s and 1980s, failed to adequately identify

    the exact location of major faults including the

    4. Pericratonic is a term used to describe the area around astable plate of the Earth’s crust (craton).

    5. Although the exact fault locations were not well-defined,by conservatively locating the wells away from thefault zones the waterflood planners ensured wellsremained within the correct block and inside thewestern fault closure.

    6. For more on historical structural maps from the Casabefield: Morales LG, Podesta DJ, Hatfield WC, Tanner H,

     > Casabe structural setting. The Casabe field lies to the west of La Cira–Infantas field in the middle Magdalena River Valley basin ( left ). The principalMMVB structures and producing fields are shown in the generalized structural cross section A to A’ (top right ). The basin is limited on the east by a thrustbelt, uplifting the oldest rocks. Cretaceous and Paleocene (green), Oligocene (orange) and Miocene (yellow) rocks are shown in the central part of the basincross section. The pre–Middle Eocene uplift and erosion have exposed the Central Cordillera on the west (gray). The Casabe field is highly layered, as shown in the detailed structural cross section (bottom right ). (Figure adapted from Barrero et al, reference 3, and Morales et al, reference 6.)

     

    0m

    Perolesfield

    La Cira–Infantasfield

    Barrancabermeja Nuevo Mundo syncline Rio Suarezanticline

    Casabefield

    CentralCordillera

    A A’

    10,000

    5,000

    15,000

    100 20 km

    50 10 mi

        M    i   o   c   e   n   e

    La Cira shale

    Cretaceous5,000 ft

        M  a    i   n     N

        E  -    S     W

        s    t   r    i    k

       e  -   s    l    i   p     f

      a   u    l    t    z

       o   n   e

        O    l    i   g   o   c   e

       n   e

        E   o   c   e   n   e

        U   p   p   e   r   s   a   n

        d   s

        A    1   a   n

        d    A    2

        R   e   a

        l

        F   o   r   m   a   t    i   o   n

        C   s   a   n

        d   s

        L   o   w   e   r   s   a   n

        d   s

        B    0

     ,    B    1

     ,    B    2   a   n

        d    B    3

    0 500 ft

    0 150 m

    Casabe

    PeñasBlancas

    Galán

    Barrancabermeja

    A

    A’

    100 km500

    50 mi250

                          P               a

                          l               e               s

                       t                      i                n

                   e          f

          a      u

             l        t

     B  a       

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    e           j           a       

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        r                  d

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           e 

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         O      r        i

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         t a     l

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     o r d

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           N       u       e       v      o      M

               u     n

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              s        y          n     c

            l        i     n

         e

                       R     i           o

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         c        l        i

         n     e

    N

    La Cira–

    Infantas   Peroles

    Jones SH, Barker MHS, O’Donoghue J, Mohler CE,Dubois EP, Jacobs C and Goss CR: “General Geology andOil Occurrences of Middle Magdalena Valley, Colombia,”in Weeks LG (ed): Habitat of Oil . Tulsa: The AmericanAssociation of Petroleum Geologists, AAPG SpecialPublication 18 (1958): 641–695.

    7. For more on undeveloped areas in the Casabe field:Gambaretto W, Peralta J, Cortes G, Suter A, Dederle Mand Lozano Guarnizo E: “A 3D Seismic Cube: What For?,”

    paper SPE 122868, presented at the SPE Latin Americanand Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference,Cartagena, Colombia, May 31–June 3, 2009.

    8. Peñas Blancas field, discovered in 1957, is located 7 km[4 mi] to the southwest of the Casabe field. Both fieldshave the same operator. The area between the fields wassurveyed because oil indicators were found.

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    Spring 2010 7

    main strike-slip fault. The lack of a more accu-

    rate structural model caused two main problems:

    Reservoir engineers underestimated OOIP and

     waterflood planners found it difficult to locate

    injector-producer pairs within the same reservoir

    and, to a lesser extent, within the same fault

    block.5 These uncertainties led the managers and

    experts of the 2004 Casaba alliance to build a

    multicomponent redevelopment plan.

    Ecopetrol SA has long-standing experience inand knowledge of the field and the measures

    undertaken to keep it producing decade after

    decade. Schlumberger provides new oilfield tech-

    nologies to the operator, including seismic sur-

     veying, downhole measurements, data analysis

    and specialized drilling, as well as domain exper-

    tise to decipher the challenges faced. With these

    capabilities the alliance was confident it could

    obtain results within a year.

    The key goals of the redevelopment plan were

    to increase reserves, manage the waterflood pro-

    grams more efficiently and address drilling-

    related problems such as reactive lithology,

    tripping problems, low ROP, borehole collapse

    and washouts, and completion challenges such as

    poor cementing and casing collapse. Tackling

    each of these elements involved close collabora-

    tion between the operator’s professionals and

    technical experts from the service company. The

    first stage of the project involved a thorough field-

     wide analysis based on existing data and the gath-

    ering of new data using the latest technologies,

    such as 3D seismic surveys and 3D inversion.

    Undeveloped Areas and Attic Oil

    Forty years ago it was common to create struc-

    tural maps by identifying formation tops from

     well data. With hundreds of evenly distributed

     wells this task was quite straightforward over

    most of the Casabe concession.6 However, a large

    undeveloped area near the main NE-SW strike-

    slip fault encompassed over 20 km2  [7.7 mi2].

    Smaller undeveloped locations also existed.7

     A lack of well log data in these undeveloped

    areas meant that formation tops were not avail-

    able to create structural maps for several key

    areas of operator interest. As a result, significant

    potential oil reserves were possibly being over-

    looked. To improve structural understanding and

    help increase reserves, Ecopetrol SA commis

    sioned a high-resolution 3D seismic survey.

    Geophysicists designed the survey to encom

    pass both the Casabe and Peñas Blancas fields

    and also the area in between.8 WesternGeco per

    formed the survey during the first half of 2007

    acquiring more than 100 km2  [38 mi2] of high

    resolution 3D seismic data; data interpretation

    followed later that year. The new data enabledcreation of a more precise and reliable structura

    model than one obtained from formation tops

     with the added advantage of covering almost the

    entire Casabe concession (below).

    In addition to accurately defining the struc

    ture of the subsurface, seismic data can also give

    reservoir engineers early indications of oil

    bearing zones. In some cases oil-rich formation

    appear as seismic amplitude anomalies, called

    bright spots. However, these bright spots do not

    guarantee the presence of oil, and many opera

    tors have hit dry holes when drilling on the basi

    of amplitude data alone.

     > Casabe structural maps and model. Structural maps of the field weregenerated using formation tops from well logs (Formation Tops). Butoperators avoided drilling along the main strike-slip fault for fear of exiting the trap; hence, tops were unavailable (Structural Sketch, red-shaded area).This poorly defined and undeveloped area represented significant potentialreserves. High-resolution 3D seismic data were used to create a refined set

    of structural maps (Seismic Data). These maps indicate additional faults in the field and adjusted positions of existing faults compared to the formation top maps. Calibration of the new maps from existing well logs furtherimproved their accuracy. Geophysicists input the maps into Petrel software to form a 3D structural model of the subsurface (inset, right ). (Figureadapted from Peralta-Vargas et al, reference 1.)

    Structural Sketchwith Well Locations

    Formation Tops Seismic Data

    Area notdrained

    or drilled

    Well location

    Depth, ft3,300

    4,050

    4,800

    Depth, ft3,300

    4,900

    6,500

    0

    0 6,000 ft

    1,000 2,000 m 0

    0 6,000 ft

    1,000 2,000 m

    0 1,000 2,000 m

    0 3,000 6,000 ft

    N N

    N

    N

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    8 Oilfield Review

    Several conditions can create misleading

    amplitude anomalies, but careful processing and

    interpretation can distinguish them. Analysis ofamplitude variation with offset (AVO) corrects

    data during the common midpoint gathering

    process (above).9 Using AVO-corrected amplitude

    maps as an additional verification tool, interpret-

    ers were able to confirm both undeveloped and

    attic oil accumulations.

     Attic oil is an old concept. Operators know

    there can be oil in these higher zones, but identi-

    fying them is difficult if the exact location of

    faults is uncertain. Interpretation of the Casabe

    3D seismic data clarified field corridors where

     wells had not been planned because of the uncer-tainty surrounding the main fault position. Wells

    have since been drilled along these corridors

     with successful results (next page, top).

     A detailed geologic model provided a better

    understanding of the subsurface conditions,

     which helped during the waterflood planning and

    drilling processes. Prestack inversion of the 3D

    survey data yielded fieldwide estimates of rock

    properties.10 Geophysicists calibrated these esti-

    mates using data acquired by a suite of new-

    generation logging tools (see “New Wells and

    Results,”  page 15 ) in approximately 150 wells.

    Using these calibrated rock types, geologists

    created a facies distribution map, which they

    combined with the structural model to create a

    model of reservoir architecture.

    The architectural model highlighted more

    than 15 reservoirs with an average thickness of3 m [10 ft] each. Reservoir engineers analyzed

    10 of these reservoirs and discovered an addi-

    tional 5 million bbl [800,000 m3] of estimated

    reserves.11 The geologic model was then used dur-

    ing the waterflood redevelopment process to help

    improve both areal and vertical sweep efficiency.

    Effective Waterflooding 

     When the Casabe field was switched from natural

    drive to waterflood in the late 1970s, the operator

    chose to use a typical five-spot pattern with

    approximately 500 injector and producer pairs.

    To sweep the upper and lower sections of Sands A

    and B, up to four wells were drilled per injection

    location (next page, bottom). During the initial

     waterflood period, injection rates peaked in 1986

    and 1991. These dates correspond to the first and

    second year after the beginning of the two water-

    flood programs for the northern and southern

    areas of the Casabe field.

    Two to three years after each peak there was

    a noticeable drop in the water-injection rates.

    This was due mainly to the restrictions imposed

    on the rates to avoid casing collapse. However,

    the reduction in water-injection rates was also

    influenced by several other factors. These issues

     were identified in the alliance’s redevelopment

    plan and became a large part of the requirements

    for reworking the Casabe waterflood programs.

      9. For more on AVO analysis: Chiburis E, Franck C,Leaney S, McHugo S and Skidmore C: “HydrocarbonDetection with AVO,” Oilfield Review  5, no. 1(January 1993): 42–50.

    10. For more on inversion: Barclay F, Bruun A,Rasmussen KB, Camara Alfaro J, Cooke A,Cooke D, Salter D, Godfrey R, Lowden D, McHugo S,Özdemir H, Pickering S, Gonzalez Pineda F, Herwanger J,Volterrani S, Murineddu A, Rasmussen A and Roberts R:“Seismic Inversion: Reading Between the Lines,”Oilfield Review  20, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 42–63.

    11. Amaya R, Nunez G, Hernandez J, Gambaretto W andRubiano R: “3D Seismic Application in RemodelingBrownfield Waterflooding Pattern,” paper SPE 122932,presented at the SPE Latin American and CaribbeanPetroleum Engineering Conference, Cartagena deIndias, Colombia, May 31–June 3, 2009.

    12. For more on understanding high-mobility ratios:Elphick JJ, Marquez LJ and Amaya M: “IPI Method:A Subsurface Approach to Understand and ManageUnfavorable Mobility Waterfloods,” paper SPE 123087,presented at the SPE Latin American and CaribbeanPetroleum Engineering Conference, Cartagena,Colombia, May 31–June 3, 2009.

     > Minimizing uncertainty of amplitude anomalies. Bright spots ( top left ) are high-amplitude features onseismic data. These features can indicate oil accumulations, although they are no guarantee. One technique for understanding bright spots begins with modeling the amplitudes of reflections fromreservoirs containing various fluids (top right ). The amplitude at the top of a sand reservoir filled withwater decreases with offset. The amplitude at the top of a similar reservoir containing gas canincrease with offset. The results are compared with actual seismic traces containing reflections from asand reservoir (bottom left ) to more accurately characterize reservoir fluid. Combined with otherinformation such as seismic inversion data, AVO-corrected amplitude maps (bottom right ) can be auseful tool to confirm the presence of oil (light-blue areas). (Figure adapted from Gambaretto et al,reference 7.)

     

    Bright spots

    AVO-correctedamplitude map

    AVO anomaly

    Typical amplitude signature

    Undeveloped area

    Hydrocarbons

    Uncorrected commonmidpoint gather

    Amplitude anomaly

    Offset

    Offset

    Offset

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    Spring 2010 9

    The operator had recorded early water break-

    through in the field’s producers during both

     waterflood programs. This was a result of injec-

    tion water channeling inside high-permeability

    layers. Also, a poor mobility ratio was present

    throughout the field: Viscous oils (14.8 to 23.3 API

    gravity in the upper sands and 15.4 to 24.8 API

    gravity in the lower sands) were pushed aside by

    the more freely flowing water, and once break-

    through occurred the water influx increased.12 

    These conditions caused a poor vertical sweep

    efficiency average of only 20%.

     > Attic well. Experts had long predicted a field corridor along the mainstrike-slip fault, but the lack of accurate seismic data made the risk ofdrilling these zones too high. Interpretation of the 2007 3D seismic surveyenabled geophysicists to identify undeveloped drilling locations (redellipses, left ) close to the major fault. A new offset well, approved for BlockVIII, was very close to the main strike-slip fault (dashed-green box, left ). 3Dseismic data and structural maps (middle ) visualized using Petrel software

    helped well planners position the well. The trajectory avoided major faultsand targeted a large undeveloped zone and two attic oil zones in the B andC sands (right ). The wells constructed during the first and second drillingcampaigns were vertical; in the third campaign, especially from late 2008onward, most of the wells drilled were offset wells in target pay zones clos to faults. (Figure adapted from Amaya et al, reference 11.) 

    Undeveloped

    Attic oilB sands

    Attic oilC sands

    Blocks I and II

    Block III

    Block IV

    Block V

    Block VI

    Block VII

    Block VIII

    Drilled wells

    Approved locations

    Proposed locations

    Undeveloped areas

    0

    0 6,000 ft

    1,000 2,000 m

    N

    N

    New well

        D   e   p   t    h ,

       m

    400

    600

    800

    1,000

    1,200

    1,400

    1,600

    . Casabe field injection and production scheme.

    Original field-development plans included asmany as four wells per injection location to flood the multilayered sands (blue wells). Up to twowells were used to extract oil, but in somelocations a single production well commingledfluids from Sands A and B, B and C, or A, B and C(green wells). The current string design for newinjector-producer pairs, shown in a later figure,limits drilling to only one well per location. Thischange has reduced cost and also the incidenceof proximity-induced well collapse. (Figureadapted from Peralta-Vargas et al, reference 1.)

    2,500

    A1

    A2

    B1 SUP

    B1 INF

    B2 SUP

    B3

    C

    A3

    3,000

    3,500

    4,000

    4,500

    B2 INF

    5,000

    5,500

        L   o   w   e   r   s   a   n    d   s

        M   u   g   r   o   s   a

        L   a    P   a   z

        C   o    l   o   r   a    d   o

        O    l    i   g   o   c   e   n   e

        U   p   p   e   r   s   a   n    d   s

    Formation –80 20

    SpontaneousPotential

    0 20mV ohm.m

    Resistivity

    Sand

    Depth,ft

    La Cira

    Shale

    A1 A2

    Injection   Production

    B1 B2 A B CBA

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    Sand production and high-velocity jetting of

    sandy water through perforations significantly

    eroded casing walls and completion hardware in

    the producers. During a critical period of the

     waterflood, numerous wells collapsed and were

    abandoned or taken off line. To sustain production

    levels the operator chose to convert many injec-

    tion wells to producers, but this drastically

    affected the waterflood patterns (left).

    Choking back injection rates to mitigate well collapses was another factor that caused an

    uneven water-flow pattern. Areal sweep was poor,

    resulting in many areas of bypassed oil. The

    field’s redevelopment team wanted to reestablish

    patterns to improve areal sweep efficiency.

    Therefore, a large part of the third drilling cam-

    paign involved planning and placement of new

    injectors and producers. These were located to

    recreate an evenly spread network of wells

    throughout the field. However, areal sweep is

    largely dependent on obtaining good vertical

    sweep efficiency. Waterflood specialists first

    needed to design better injection control systems

    that would improve vertical sweep and also pro-

     vide a mechanism to reduce the damaging effects

    of water channeling on the production strings.

     Vertical sweep efficiency is determined by the

    effectiveness of water, flowing from injector

     wells, at pushing oil through permeable layers to

    formation-connected oil producers. The original

    multiwell injector design had no injection profile

    control, so water flowed preferentially through

    the most permeable formations. This water-

    channeling effect is aggravated by several mech-

    anisms: Shallower sands can be unintentionally

    fractured during waterflooding, significantly

    increasing permeability. The injectivity index of

    deeper layers may suffer if low-quality injected

     water causes plugging of perforations or deposits

    of scale in the production casing. Also, injected

     water bypasses viscous oil, present in large

    amounts in the Casabe field, and breakthrough

    takes place in producers. As a consequence,

     water flows through the layer of highest permea-

    bility and may not be injected at all in others,

    especially in the deeper sands with skin damage.

    This has been a distinctive feature during Casabe

    production operations.To optimize flooding, water management spe-

    cialists recommended selective injection strings

    using waterflood-flow regulators (next page).

    These designs would enable the operator to choke

    back injection rates in specific layers irrespective

    of the reservoir pressure, permeability, skin dam-

    age or any other factors that would normally

    affect flow. Each layer is packed off to prevent any

     > Comparison of 1986 and 2003 waterflood patterns. By 1986 the operator had

    established an evenly distributed network of five-spot injection patterns throughout the Casabe field (top ). Well collapses had occurred in nearly 70% of the wells inBlock VI, and a significant number of collapses had been recorded in all otherblocks in the field. In 2003 (bottom ) many of the collapsed wells remained abandonedor inactive and numerous injectors had been converted to producers. Expertssuggested a new drilling campaign to reestablish fieldwide five-spot patterns.(Figure adapted from Elphick et al, reference 12.)  

    2003

     Waterflood Patterns in Block VI

    1986

    Producers

    Injectors

    Top of A sands

    Top of B sands

    Top of C sands

    Fault traces

    3,000

    2,400

    1,800

    1,200

    600

    0

    0 750 1,500

    East, ft

        N   o   r   t    h ,

        f   t

    2,250 3,000 3,750

    3,000

    2,400

    1,800

    1,200

    600

    0

    0 750 1,500

    East, ft

        N   o   r   t    h ,

        f   t

    2,250 3,000 3,750

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    fluids within that zone of the wellbore from invad-

    ing another zone. An injection nozzle is located

     within this section and is controlled from the sur-

    face. The new selective-string designs have

    improved the vertical sweep efficiency by enabling

    the operator to maintain higher injection rates

    into layers less affected by waterflood-induced

    problems. Conversely, the new designs have miti-

    gated issues related to channeling by allowing a

    reduction of rates in problematic layers.Use of a single well designed with packed-off

    flow control was also much more cost-effective

    than the previous design of up to four wells per

    injection location. Up to 16 water-flow regulators

    have now been installed in injectors in the

    Casabe field. This solution also addressed the

    possibility that drilling several injectors in close

    proximity to one another was one of the likely

    causes of casing collapse.

    Overcoming Drilling Difficulties

    From first production in 1945 to the end of 2006,

    approximately 45% of the production wells in the

    Casabe field had at some point collapsed, with

    different levels of severity. As a result, wells were

    abandoned, left inactive or reactivated only after

    costly workovers. The abandoned and inactive

     wells represented millions of dollars in capital

    investment in the field and in lost revenue due to

    lower production rates. The majority of casing

    collapses had occurred in Block VI, which also

    has the largest proven reserves. It was therefore

    the focus of a casing-collapse study.13

    In the first stage of the Block VI study,

    production engineers gathered casing-collapse

    statistics. In 2006 this block contained 310 wells.

     A total of 214 showed some degree of collapse.

    Slightly more producers than injectors collapsed,

    but the difference was minor and indicated no

    trend. Of the total number of wells with recorded

    collapse events, 67 were abandoned and 80 were

    inactive, a factor that the operator knew would

    severely impact injection and production rates.

    The remaining wells had been reactivated after

    costly workovers. The engineers then looked for

    a correlation between the 214 collapses and

     when these wells were drilled to identify any

    drilling practices that were incompatible withthe Casabe field.

    Three main drilling campaigns coincided with

    the primary-recovery, or natural-drive, period

    (1941 to 1975); the secondary-recovery, or water-

    flood, period (1975 to 2003); and finally the

     waterflood period of the Casabe alliance (2004 to

    present). Of the wells drilled during the first

    campaign, 78% had casing-collapse events during

    operation. In the second campaign this figure

     was slightly less, at 68%. This period, however,

    corresponded to the waterflood programs; hence

    many more wells had been drilled. During the

    study period there were no recorded collapse

    events in Block VI for wells constructed in thethird drilling campaign. This change was consid-

    ered to be a result of improved drilling practices,

     which are discussed later in this section.

    To determine a link between casing collapse

    and subsurface conditions, the investigators con-

    sidered the updated stratigraphic and structural

    models built from the new 3D seismic data.

    Petrel seismic-to-simulation software enabled

    the production engineers to display both models

    in the same 3D window. Using modeling tools

    they could then tag and clearly see the wellbore

    depths and the locations along the Casabe struc

    ture where collapses had been recorded.

    The engineers discovered that casing collapsehad occurred in all stratigraphic levels. However

    collapse distribution did highlight a strong cor

    relation to the overburden and to the water

    flooded formations. The analysis of well location

     > Selective injection design. New injection strings in the Casabe field have up to 16 waterflood-flow regulators (WFRs). WFRs and check valves preventbackflow and sand production in case of well shutdown. The zone-isolatedinjection devices are placed in the highly layered stratigraphic profiles of themost-prolific producers that commingle fluids from A, B and C sands.Production logs are unavailable because of rod pumps, but injection logs areavailable: Track 1 describes a typical lithology of A sands (yellow shaded

    areas); spontaneous potential logs (blue curves) are more accurate thangamma ray logs (red curve) in the presence of radiation from feldspar, whichoccurs naturally in the field. Track 2 shows resistivity response of the formationat two measurement depths (red and blue curves) and water-injection zones(green shaded area). (Figure adapted from Elphick et al, reference 12.)

     

    A3

    A21

    A2

    A1H

    Sand

    SpontaneousPotential

    mV–80 20

    Resistivity

    ohm.m0 15

    Gamma Ray

    Four-zone injector schematic

    gAPI0 150

    Perforations

    WFR

    Packer

    13. Olarte P, Marquez L, Landinez G and Amaya R: “CasingCollapse Study on Block VI Wells: Casabe Field,” paperSPE 122956, presented at the SPE Latin Americanand Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference,Cartagena, Colombia, May 31–June 3, 2009.

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     within the field and well-collapse distribution

    revealed an evenly spread number of events,

     which indicated no areal localization (above).

    The next stage of the study was a probabilistic

    analysis to evaluate the frequency of events

    based on two variables: number of casing-

    collapse events and operational year. Production

    engineers created probabilistic distributions by

    plotting both variables for each drilling campaign

    using the Monte Carlo simulation component of

    the Crystal Ball software. The results showed the

    highest number of events (about 30) for the wells

    drilled during the first drilling campaign occurred

    in 1985, coinciding with the beginning of the first

    major waterflood program.

    Interventions were more frequently per-

    formed on wells drilled during the second drilling

    campaign, which meant that the timing of each

    collapse event was recorded with greater cer-tainty than for wells drilled during the first drill-

    ing period. Therefore, the probabilistic analysis

     was even more reliable. It revealed that casing

    collapse occurred primarily during the first few

     years of the waterflood project and peaked during

    1988. Investigators identified a critical period of

     > Areal and stratigraphic localization of casing collapse in Block VI. Statistical analysis of casing-collapse events within each stratigraphic section (left )showed collapses in every formation. However, event frequency in the overburden and in the waterflooded zones (mainly Sands A1, A2, B1 and B2) wasseveral times higher than in other zones, indicating these intervals are more likely to cause collapse. Using Petrel modeling tools, engineers included Block

    VI casing collapses in the structural model. A structural map of one reservoir (right ) indicates collapses occurred throughout the block and not in anyspecific area. (Figure adapted from Olarte et al, reference 13.)

     

    Overburden Colorado Mugrosa La Paz

    A20

    10

    20

    30

    40

        N

       u   m    b   e   r   o    f   c   o    l    l   a   p   s   e   e   v   e   n   t   s

    Stratigraphic formation

    50

    60

    70

    80

    B2 B3B1A3A1 C

    Faults

    Production wells Injection wells

    N

     > Critical fluid levels for production casing and liners of the first drilling campaign. Testing usingTDAS software determined the critical load condition for fluid evacuation in Block VI wells from the firstdrilling campaign. Casing (green box, left ) and liners (red box, right ) were tested first to obtain criticalfluid-evacuation levels based on original design specifications and again after calculations of 10%, 20%and 30% wall loss. All wells for the simulation were at depths of 5,000 ft; depending on the amount of wallloss, a collapse was probable as borehole fluid levels fell. For example, 7-in., 20-lbm/ft API Grade H40casing strings could collapse even at their installed condition when the fluid was evacuated past 3,200 ft.Wells that passed the first simulated test failed when wall loss was increased. This result indicated that corrosion or general wear-and-tear (causing wall loss) would have weakened casing or liners to the limit of collapse when the fluid level dropped to values that had been recorded in the field.(Figure adapted from Olarte et al, reference 13.)

    5,000

    7-in. H40

    20 lbm/ft

    7-in. J55

    20 lbm/ft

    7-in. K55

    23 lbm/ft

    7-in. N80

    23 lbm/ft

    65 /8-in. H40

    20 lbm/ft

    65 /8-in. J55

    20 lbm/ft

    4,000

    3,000

    2,000

    1,000

    0

    4,500

    3,500

    2,500

    1,500

    500

        F    l   u    i    d

         l   e   v   e    l

     ,    f   t

    Casing Liners

    0% wall loss

    10% wall loss

    20% wall loss

    30% wall loss

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    time during which collapse frequency was high.

    This period coincided with the most intense rates

    of water injection (right).

    The next stage of the study evaluated the

    mechanical integrity of the wells in the Casabe

    field. This evaluation found that for the producers

    in Block VI collapses occurred only in the produc-

    tion liners and casing. To uncover the root causes

    for all these collapses, every event was evaluated

    using TDAS tubular design and analysis software.The application enables analysis of the mechani-

    cal performance of a casing in two scenarios.

    First, an initial installed state considers the origi-

    nal casing-design specification and downhole con-

    ditions such as temperature and pressure. The

    next scenario includes subsequent operationally

    induced events such as injection and production

    that are interpreted as forces on the casing, called

    case loads. Engineers analyzed case loads for

    compressional, tensional and triaxial stresses.

    To begin, engineers needed to define the

    installed condition, characterized by tempera-

    ture, pressure and casing strength, for casing

    designs in Block VI. Then they could apply case

    loads to determine when a casing would fail.

    Pressure and temperature profiles for each well

     were calculated using logs from the Casabe field.

    Because corrosion also significantly reduces cas-

    ing strength, the USI tool, which measures ultra-

    sonic acoustic impedance, was used to determine

    the loss of wall thickness attributed to corrosion

    (see “Scanning for Downhole Corrosion,” page 42).

     According to the USI data, wells exhibited wall

    losses between 10% and 35%. Engineers defined

    four corrosion profiles at 0%, 10%, 20% and 30%

     wall loss. These four profiles were combined with

    pressure and temperature data to generate the

    installed conditions that engineers needed to

    begin simulation of operational loads.

    Engineers performed hundreds of simulations

    using the TDAS software. The first analysis con-

    sidered fluid evacuation, a decrease of fluid level

    in the borehole, which can be a critical load con-

    dition for casing collapse. Fluid levels in the well-

    bore may become low during the productive life

    of a field for several reasons. These include low

    productivity, increased extraction during produc-

    tion, sand fill, decreased water injection, andswabbing and stimulation operations, all of which

    had taken place in the Casabe field. When fluid

    level drops, the internal pressure no longer bal-

    ances the external pressure and the casing must

    sustain this force. The critical load condition for

    casing collapse occurs when the differential pres-

    sure is higher than the casing can withstand.

     After analysis of the casing design chosen

    for wells during the first drilling campaign,

    engineers discovered that the specifications

    had resulted in casing strings that were not

    robust enough to withstand fluid evacuation

    combined with the wall losses observed in

    Block VI (previous page, bottom).

    The final mechanical analysis was related to

    the main operational events leading to casing col-

    lapse. The reservoir pressure profile within theformation during water injection could impact

    the casing in both producers and injectors. The

    calculated increase in load from waterflooding

     was applied to casing that had passed critical

    load conditions in the earlier simulations; the

    new test would determine if the additional pres-

    sure could cause them to collapse. This analysis

    indicated that waterflooding increased the like-

    lihood of casing collapse.

    Once all critical limits and conditions for

    the Casabe field had been obtained, production

    engineers ran simulations for several casing

    strings with different specifications to find an

    optimal design for future wells. The TDAS simula

    tions enabled them to specify an ideal model tha

     would give an estimated service life of 20 years

    This model has been applied to all new wells

    drilled throughout the field, with a successfu

    reduction in the frequency of recorded casing collapse to less than 2% of wells from 2006 to 2009

    This is a dramatic improvement compared with

    events during the previous 60 years, in which 69%

    of wells in Block VI experienced collapses.

     > History of casing-collapse frequency. The frequency of collapse events byyear was plotted for the first and second drilling campaigns (top ). In 1985 thehighest frequency (28) of reported events was recorded for wells from the firstdrilling campaign. For wells from the second drilling campaign, which occurredduring the waterflood period, the peak frequency (20) of reported collapsesoccurred in 1988. Both values correspond to the beginning of the waterfloodprograms in the northern and southern areas of the Casabe field. A critical10-year period from 1985 to 1995 was identified as coinciding with the highest

    rates of production and water injection (bottom ). (Figure adapted from Olarteet al, reference 13.)

     

    0

        1    9    4    7

        1    9    4    9

        1    9    5    1

        1    9    5    3

        1    9    5    5

        1    9    5    7

        1    9    5    9

        1    9    6    1

        1    9    6    3

        1    9    6    5

        1    9    6    7

        1    9    6    9

        1    9    7    1

        1    9    7    3

        1    9    7    5

        1    9    7    7

        1    9    7    9

        1    9    8    1

        1    9    8    3

        1    9    8    5

        1    9    8    7

        1    9    8    9

        1    9    9    1

        1    9    9    3

        1    9    9    5

        1    9    9    7

        1    9    9    9

        2    0    0    1

    5

    10

    15

    20

    25

    30

        N   u   m    b   e   r   o    f   w   e    l    l   s   c   o    l    l   a   p   s   e    d

    Operational year

    103

    104

        1    9    8    5

        1    9    8    6

        1    9    8    7

        1    9    8    8

        1    9    8    9

        1    9    9    0

        1    9    9    1

        1    9    9    2

        1    9    9    3

        1    9    9    4

        1    9    9    5

        1    9    9    6

        1    9    9    7

        1    9    9    8

        1    9    9    9

        2    0    0    0

        2    0    0    1

        2    0    0    2

        2    0    0    3

        2    0    0    4

        2    0    0    5

        2    0    0    6

    105

        I   n    j   e   c   t    i   o   n

       a   n    d   p   r   o    d   u   c   t    i   o   n   r   a   t   e ,

        b    b    l    /    d

    Operational year

    Oil produced

    Water injected

    First drilling campaign

    Second drillingcampaign

    Critical collapse period

    Critical collapse period

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    Together with the results from the other

    major milestones of the field-redevelopment

    plan, the new casing designs enabled the alliance

    to begin a new drilling campaign. The third

    campaign began in 2004, and by 2007 a total of

    37 wells had been drilled. The alliance wanted to

    drill as efficiently as possible to improve produc-

    tion, but problems were encountered during

    drilling. These included stuck pipe caused by dif-

    ferential sticking in depleted reservoirs, prob-lematic wiper trips resulting from highly reactive

    shales and well control issues introduced by

     water influx from the waterflooding.

    To address the hole-stability and stuck-pipe

    problems, the redevelopment team began by

    improving the drilling fluid design. Drillers had

    been using the KLA-GARD mud additive to pre-

     vent clay hydration, but it had little to no

    success at inhibiting reaction in the troublesome

    Casabe shales. Consequently, Schlumberger and

    M-I SWACO initiated an investigation to find a

    more effective shale inhibitor.

    Laboratory analysis of 13 different fluid addi-

    tives was conducted to compare their reaction-

    inhibiting capabilities on Casabe lithology.

    Experts deduced, from core and cuttings sam-

    ples, that the clays and shales were highly reac-

    tive to water; therefore, the optimal drilling fluid

    must prevent water from contaminating them.

    The KLA-STOP mud system was compatible with

    the Casabe shales and had the best properties for

    inhibiting these reactions: Its fluid composition

    includes a quaternary amine that prevents water

    from penetrating target formations by depositing

    a synthetic coating along the borehole wall.

     When the new system was put to use, however,

    it did not meet expectations, and the reactive

    lithology continued to affect drilling time. Design

    iterations continued until 2008; at this point

    experts had increased KLA-STOP concentration

    to 2% and added 3% to 4% potassium chloride

    [KCl]. However, hole problems persisted and

    experts concluded that another contaminant

    could be affecting the mud system. Using core

    samples from a wide range of wells, analysts mea-

    sured pore throat sizes and laboratory specialists

    performed mineralogical analysis to determine

    the causes.

    14. For more on bicenter bits and reaming-while-drilling technologies: Rasheed W, Trujillo J, van Oel R,Anderson M, McDonald S and Shale L:“Reducing Risk and Cost in Diverse Well ConstructionApplications: Eccentric Device Drills Concentric Holeand Offers a Viable Alternative to Underreamers,”paper SPE 92623, presented at the SPE/IADCDrilling Conference, Amsterdam, February 23–25, 2005.

     > New versus old drilling design. Original drilling designs included a traditional polycrystalline diamondcompact bit (top ), but swelling clays caused problems during tripping. Engineers designed a reaming-while-drilling (RWD) BHA that incorporated a smaller pilot bit and a reamer (tan box). RWD enabledoversized boreholes, which helped compensate for swelling and achieve target diameters for casing.Further optimizations included larger cutters and a backup set of cutters to improve ROP (blue box). Achange in the number of nozzles and in the nozzle diameter dramatically reduced the washouts thatwere causing cementing problems (bottom ). The decision to redesign the bit was made partly to copewith clay reactions. A new mud system has successfully inhibited the clay, and engineers are nowreconsidering a concentric bit to improve drilling efficiency.

     

    Pilot bit

    28 cutters

    5 nozzles

    5 blades

    13.4-mm cutter

    Reamer

    33 cutters

    2 nozzles

    4 blades

    13.4-mm cutter

    81 /2-in. bit

    Pilot bit

    26 cutters

    6 nozzles

    4 blades

    19-mm cutter

    Reamer

    27 cutters

    2 nozzles

    4 blades

    19-mm cutter

    Modification: Stabilization

    pad and guardian bearing

    to drill out

    Washout log

    Before After

    81 /2-in. OD stabilizer61 /4-in. miscellaneous sub 61 /2-in. collar

    Schematic of First Four Sections of the Original BHA with a Concentric Bit

    Design Improvements of Bicentric Bits and RWD

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    The tests indicated that concentrations of

    smectite, previously identified as the swelling

    clay, decreased with depth. But the mineralogical

    analysis also revealed the presence of illite and

    kaolinite, which were not included as part of the

    original mud system investigation. These disper-

    sive clays break off into the mud upon contact

     with water, causing drilling problems such as bit

    balling, and also increase the viscosity of the

    mud, making mud-weight curves less accurate. Amore complete understanding of downhole con-

    ditions enabled engineers to design a new mud

    system with improved KLA-GARD B and IDCAP D

    clay inhibitors. KCl was completely removed from

    the fluid, helping to reduce environmental

    impact and cleanup.

    The mineralogy study showed why drilling in

    the waterflooded zones was obviously problem-

    atic. Existing methods to avoid water influx

    involved shutting in several injection wells up to

    several weeks before drilling to reduce pressure.

    In one extreme case 40 injectors were taken off

    line to drill just 2 wells, which ultimately reduced

    production rates.

    Experts looked into the different ways they

    could reduce water influx while also limiting any

    effect on the waterflood programs. Instead of

    shutting in injectors they could increase produc-

    tion in layers that were drilling targets, even if

    this meant producing large volumes of water. In

    addition, connected producers that were cur-

    rently shut in could be reactivated, and if they

    had no pump, there was a possibility that enough

    pressure had built up for them to flow naturally.

    Only after these steps were taken and deemed

    insufficient would the alliance consider shutting

    in injectors.

     Another part of the investigation involved

    reducing injector shut-in time. To avoid water

    inflow, injectors were taken off line 15 days

    before drilling commenced. However, it was

    found that to avoid water delivery from the injec-

    tor to the drilling location, injectors could be

    shut in just before the drill bit penetrated the

    connected zone. Also, with the production-based

    pressure-reducing measures, injector shut-in

    time was reduced from seven days to just two,

    depending on the level of production.The continuing difficulties with stuck pipe and

    tripping problems led the alliance to seek other

    options. After initial analysis of the drilling-related

    issues, engineers selected a bicenter bit and ream-

    ing-while-drilling technologies.14  A pilot well,

    CB-1054, was drilled with the new hardware, and

    tripping times were notably reduced. Engineers

    used the results from the pilot well to optimize the

    bit and BHA designs. Experts ran unconfined com-

    pressive-strength tests on core samples taken at

    numerous depths from several wells in the Casabe

    field, which returned values from 585 to 845 psi

    [4.0 to 5.8 MPa]. The results from this analysis

    allowed the engineers to optimize the number of

    primary cutters and to introduce backup cutterson the drill bit (previous page).

    Since the introduction of new technologies

    and updated practices, the drilling problems

    faced in the Casabe field have been resolved.

    Better quality holes have increased the effective-

    ness of cementing jobs. Tripping times have been

    reduced by more than 22%. Higher ROPs have

    been achieved with updated cutter configura-

    tions and a PowerPak XP extended power steer-

    able hydraulic motor (below). The majority of

    new wells in the Casabe field have directional

    S-type boreholes deeper than 5,200 ft [1.6 km] to

    avoid collisions with existing and new wells or to

    reach reserves in fault zones.

    New Wells and Results

    The sands in the Casabe field have been exten

    sively developed, but it is common in mature

    fields to find oil in unexpected places. For exam

    ple, some zones in the Casabe field were over

    looked because the presence of low-resistivity

    pay is difficult to detect using traditional resis

    tivity tools; alternative tools are discussed later

    in this section. Other zones in the field were inac

    cessible because a lack of structural data madethe drilling risk too high. Using structural infor

    mation acquired by the alliance, the operator i

    now developing the highest section of the Casabe

    field’s anticline structure in the B sands within

    Block V.

    Only one well in this block, the wildcat

    Casabe-01 located downdip in the flank of the

    anticline, exhibited oil shows in the thin sand

     within the attic zones, but these zones had neve

    been tested. A new well, located updip of the

     wildcat well, was proposed to develop the A

    sands. After reviewing the new 3D seismic data

    and the projected length of the oil leg, geoscien

    tists revised the total depth for this newly pro

    posed well and suggested deepening it to reach

    the B sands.

     > Drilling results. The new RWD and bicenter bit drilling technologies havehad a considerable impact, improving hole quality, reducing total trip times,increasing ROP, minimizing stuck-pipe risk, reducing backreaming operations,and improving the quality of primary cementing jobs. Average drilling-job timeshave been cut from 15.3 days to 6.8 days.

    Well    2    0    0    4   t   o    2    0    0    6

     

        N   u   m    b   e   r   o    f    d   a   y   s

    0

    3

    6

    9

    12

    15

    18

        2    0    0    7

        2    0    0    8

        2    0    0    9

        C    B    1    1    2    5    D

        C    B    1    1    2    7    D

        C    B    1    1    2    6    D

        C    B    1    2    7    1    D

        C    B    1    1    4    0    D

        C    B    1    1    2    9    D

        C    B    1    2    5    1

        C    B    1    1    1    0    D

        C    B    1    1    4    7    D

        C    B    1    1    8    4    D

        C    B    1    1    3    7    D

    Average drilling timefor year

    2010

    Optimized wells in 2009, average depth 5,400 ft

  • 8/9/2019 Casabe New Tricks for an Old Field

    13/14

    16 Oilfield Review

    Data from this new well included chromatog-

    raphy performed on mud from the B sands,

     which revealed well-defined oil shows, and log

    interpretation confirmed the oil presence. This

    oil is due to a lack of drainage from the updip

     wells. New data acquired with the PressureXpress

    LWD tool indicated the compartment was at

    original pressure. Interpretation of data from

    the CMR-Plus combinable magnetic resonance

    logs confirmed movable oil (below). The interval

     was completed and the well produced 211 bbl/d

    [34 m3 /d] of oil with no water cut. Historically,

    A sands

    B sands

    New well

    Oil

    Water

    Lithology

    Sandstone

    Bound Water

    4,850

    4,950

    5,000

    4,900

    Depth,

    ft

    Schlumberger-Doll Research

    mD0.1 1,000

    4,

    Timur-Coates

    Permeability

    Resistivity

    mD0.1 1,000

    Neutron Porosity

    %60 0

    Bulk Density

    g/cm31.65 2.65

    T2 Cutoff

    ms0.3 3,000

    AIT 10-in. Array

    Capillary-Bound Fluid Clay 1

    ohm.m0.1 1,000

    AIT 20-in. Array

    ohm.m0.1 1,000

    AIT 30-in. Array

    ohm.m0.1 1,000

    AIT 60-in. Array

    ohm.m0.1 1,000

    AIT 90-in. Array

    ohm.m0.1 1,000

    Invaded Zone

    ohm.m0.1 1,000

    Small-Pore Porosity

    T2 Log Mean

    T2 Distribution

    ms0.3 3,000

    0 29

        4 ,    9

        0    4   t   o    4 ,    9

        2    2    f   t

        M    D

        4 ,    8    8

        3   t   o    4 ,    8

        9    2    f   t

        M    D

    0 500 1,000 1,500

    Pressure, psi

    Original pressure

    Depletedsands

    Hydrostatic

    Fault 130    D   e   p   t    h ,

        f   t

    2,000 2,500 3,000 3,5005,500

    5,000

    4,500

    4,000

    3,500

    3,000

    2,500

    2,000

    Fault 120

    PressureXpress data Hydrostatic Normal gradient

     > Discovering the unexpected in Well CSBE 1069. A new well drilled to reach Sand B in Block V (right ) reflected a change in previous practices; in this area the B sands were considered depleted and invaded by water. After interpretation of mud logs indicated oil shows in two locations, Schlumberger acquiredpressure and nuclear magnetic resonance logs in the low-resistivity intervals. Interpretation of the CMR-Plus log (left ) confirmed the presence of oil(green-shaded areas Track 4). Pressure data (inset middle ) indicated the bypassed oil zones were at original reservoir pressure (blue box) along thenormal gradient.

  • 8/9/2019 Casabe New Tricks for an Old Field

    14/14

    experts did not look for oil downdip in the

    Casabe field because the deeper formation had

    been flagged as a water zone.

    The field provided another surprise during a

    routine replacement of a retired well. A produc-

    ing well had been mechanically damaged as a

    result of sand production induced by the water-

    flood. A replacement was planned using improveddesign factors garnered from the casing-collapse

    investigation. The operator drilled the well into

    the C sands for coring purposes. Before drilling,

    this zone was considered to be water prone, but

    during drilling, mud log interpretation suggested

    there might be oil in these deeper sands. Log

    interpretation was inconclusive because of the

    low resistivity; a new approach was required to

    identify movable oil (above).

    Interpretation of CMR-Plus data suggested

    movable oil corresponding to the oil shows in the

    mud logs. Based on these results, the operator

    decided to test the well, which produced

    130 bbl/d [21 m3 /d] of oil with no water cut. After

    six months, cumulative production reached

    11,000 bbl [1,750 m3] with no water cut. These

     values represent additional reserves where none were expected.

    The Casabe field redevelopment project is

    now in its sixth year, revitalizing the mature oil

    field. Figures gathered at the beginning of 2010

    show the Casabe alliance has increased overall

    production rates by nearly 250% since 2004. This

    improvement is due in part to a fast-track study

    that quickly identified the root causes impacting

    the efficiency of the waterflood programs in the

    field and discovered additional oil reserves using

    newly acquired data.

    The collaboration between Ecopetrol SA and

    Schlumberger has been notably successful and

    the partnership is currently scheduled to con

    tinue the Casabe story until 2014. Production

     wells are being added in the newly defined southern Casabe field, enabled by the 2007 3D seismic

    survey and improved logging methods. The new

    drilling practices and waterflood technologies are

    expected to achieve commercial production rates

    for many years to come. —MJM

     > Log confirmation of low-resistivity pay. Well CSBE 1060 log interpretation indicated shaly sand zones withsalinities exceeding 50,000 ppm NaCl. Identifying oil in the presence of high-salinity formation water may be difficult

    because resistivity measurements cannot be used to distinguish the two (red-shaded area in Resistivity track).Shaly sands have higher water content than sand alone, and an alternative to resistivity measurements is needed.The CMR-Plus tool, which measures relaxation time of hydrogen molecules to identify oil and water, uncovered thepresence of oil (Free oil, red-shaded area). Based on these results the interval was tested and returned clean oil,confirming low-resistivity pay in the Casabe field.

     

    Depth,

    ft

    Caliper

    in. 166

    5,200

    5,350

    5,250

    Free water

    5,300

    Free oil

    Timur-Coates

    mD 1,0000.1

    T2 Cutoff

    ms 3,0000.3

    Computed Gamma Ray

    gAPI 1400

    Spontaneous Potential

    mV –4060

    AIT 30-in. Array

    ohm.m 200.2

    AIT 60-in. Array

    ohm.m 200.2

    Neutron Porosity

    % 060

    Bulk Density

    g/cm3 2.651.65

    Invaded Zone

    Resistivity

    ohm.m 200.2AIT 30-in. Array

    ohm.m 1,0000.1

    AIT 60-in. Array

    ohm.m 1,0000.1

    Total CMR-Plus Porosity

    Capillary-Bound Fluid Oil

    Small-Pore Porosity

    % 040

    CMR-Plus Bulk Fluid

    % 030

    CMR-Plus Bulk Water

    % 030

    Density Porosity

    % 030

    CMR-Plus 3-ms Porosity

    % 040

    Free Fluid

    % 040

    Free-Fluid Taper

    % 040

    Density Porosity

    % 040

    Invaded Zone

    ohm.m 1,0000.1

    Permeability

    Resistivity

    Moved Water

    Bound WaterT2 Log Mean

    ms 3,0000.3

    T2 Distribution

    290


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