Abstract
The target injection determination is one of the major issues in waterflooding management. The study resulted in a fully automatic approach to the waterflooding management via the block analysis based on continuously updated hydrodynamic models. The authors propose an automated workflow that provides a closed cycle for waterflooding management: from estimation of target voidage replacement ratio (VRR) per blocks, calculation of recommended well injection rates and monitoring of the plan implementation on optimum VRR per blocks.
The paper describes a new approach to key two problems arising from the analysis of waterflooding block performance: the identification of block boundaries with minimum cross-flows between blocks and the correct production / injection allocation (distribution) for wells located on the blocks boundaries.
A real-field example, demonstrating the application of the proposed technique, includes the construction of a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, automatically updated on a monthly basis using actual production / injection data with the streamline map generation. After that, also automatically, the adjustment of waterflooding block boundaries takes place (with the indication of poor drainage areas), with calculation of well allocation factors. The data derived are used in waterflooding performance analysis and block ranking based on a given set of parameters.