Brown field side tracing and infill drilling efficiency improvement by cross-well pulse-code pressure interference testing

Introduction. Nowadays one of the strongest challenges for oil industry is hydrocarbon residual reserves localization in the cross-well space at mature oilfields. 
Goal. The paper describes the cross-well reservoir tests for the most promising oil-saturated areas revealing and drilling infill wells and sidetracks to increase oil recovery. Another purpose of the study is to assess the water fiooding system efficiency and quantify its impact on surrounding producer wells.
Materials and methods. The cross-well reservoir scanning at the mature oilfield was performed by the pulse code testing technology. It is a special kind of pressure interference testing. The study involves one generator well and several receiving wells. Generator well dramatical changing the rate and it creates pressure pulses, which propagate through the reservoir and are registered by high-accuracy quarts pressure gauges at the receiving wells. The key advantage of the technology is the creation of a special pressure “code” in a generator well by injection and shut-in periods of different durations. This special code allows to decompose the receivers’ pressure recording and recognize only the pressure variation connected to the generator rate changes. This allows not to shut oil producers during the test, as the particular pressure response can be revealed even in a presence of strong pressure noise of different nature. pressure response can be interpreted and water-oil displacement efficiency between wells can be assessed.
Results. The study quantified the pressure impact of the generator well on the surrounding wells. Also, the current reservoir pressure in tested wells was evaluated. The study also assessed connected net-pay thickness and current saturation in a cross–well space.
Conclusion. Based on results it was recommended to drill sidetrack from one of the pressure observation wells to increase the production and recovery. It was performed and oil production from the well confirmed high economic efficiency of these operations at the studied field, despite the already very high current oil recovery.

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