Petroleum Engineering Commons^™

Gel Treatment Field Application Survey For Water Shut Off In Production Wells, Jingyi Liao

Masters Theses

"Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening criteria are considered as a guideline for candidate evaluation and determination. Not many screening criteria for gel treatment had been published. Some published gel treatment application surveys for water shut off only include limited number of oil fields and locations.

The current work aims to summarize the worldwide gel treatment applications for water shut off in production wells by creating and analyzing a dataset from a variety of sources. This study started from collecting and cleaning the gel treatment application data. All the data were from SPE field publications from 1990 to 2012 and from …

Evaluation Of Prosper For Modeling Long Lateral Gas Well Productivity In Toe Up, Toe Down, Horizontal Well Geometry, Abdussalam Mahmoud Mohamed

Masters Theses

"Most horizontal wells are not truly horizontal and may be drilled 'toe-up' or 'toe-down' to follow geological formations or in an attempt to keep the well from loading up. Challenges in directional drilling may also lead to horizontal gas wells with undulating wellbore profiles. This wellbore profile creates natural traps for heavy fluids in the lows and light fluid in the highs, which may result in chocked production. Hence, there is an interest in determining the best wellbore trajectory - toe-up, horizontal, or toe-down - for well unloading.

This study evaluates the capability of the well productivity software PROSPER to …

Evaluation Of Ceramic Coaxial Cable Sensors For Long-Term In-Situ Monitoring Of Geologic Co₂ Injection And Storage, Yurong Li

Masters Theses

"Monitoring is an essential component of CO₂ injection and storage projects in order to manage the injection process, identify leakage risks, provide early failure warnings, determine the movement of CO₂ plume and provide input into reservoir models. In-situ monitoring provides critical and direct data points that can be used to fulfill the above objectives. However, downhole sensors that can withstand the harsh conditions and run over decades of the project life cycle remain unavailable. A new idea of ceramic coaxial cable temperature, pressure and strain sensor has recently been put forward and the sensors are under development.

A high pressure …

Comparison Of Square Root Of Time Approach And Statistical Approach To Minimize Subjectivity In The Determination Of Minimum In-Situ Stress, Soumitra Bhaskar Nande

Masters Theses

"A formation's minimum in-situ stress is an important parameter to determine for hydraulic fracturing. While minimum in-situ stress, and its orientation, can be measured from triaxial tests on core, it is more common to measure it as closure stress, by performing pressure testing of wells in the field. Closure stress is considered equal to, or a good approximation of the minimum in-situ stress for most cases. The analytical methods applied to such pressure testing include the square root of time plot, G function plot and the G-dP/dG plot. These plots require the engineer to fit tangent lines to the data, …

Gas And Water Flow Through Nanoscale Porous Media, Songyuan Liu

Masters Theses

"This work provides a lab experiment to describe the fluid diffusion in nanoscale porous media. By using ideal ceramic membranes which have uniform pore size in nanoscale and homogeneous pore distribution instead of shale or tight sandstone which have various pore sizes and complicated pore distribution and structure, a better understanding of fluid flow through nanoscale porous media could be gained.

Core flooding test were conducted by injecting nitrogen and water separately to describe gas and liquid flow in nanoscale porous media. With all the other factors known or controlled, pressure and flow rate were measured to calculate permeability. By …

Comparison Of Class Ii Injection Well Area Of Review Requirements With Area Of Evaluation For Hydraulically Fractured Wells, Yashesh Jitendra Panchal

Masters Theses

"Since 2010 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been proposing plans to study, and has now initiated research regarding the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing processes on drinking water sources. Their work refers to an 'Area of Evaluation' around a hydraulically fractured well, inferring that the wells immediately around hydraulic fractured wells should be studied, to evaluate the conditions of these wells and their potential to contaminate overlying USDWs. Class II injection wells must have a minimum 1/4 mile radius area of review to determine the condition of wells surrounding the proposed injection well. All wells within this AOR …

Tensile Failure During Structural Development Of Single-Layer Buckle Folds, Xiaolong Liu

Masters Theses

"Folds and fold trains of sedimentary strata are among the most common structural traps systems for hydrocarbon reservoirs. The existence of tensile fractures associated to buckle folding is associated to the distribution of extensional strain in the outer arc of the fold hinges. This study investigates the conditions under which tensile stresses develop due to buckling in a realistic in situ stress scenario. By applying a 2D finite element modeling approach, the influence of realistic mechanical stratigraphy (including strain rate, overburden depth, competence contrasts, viscosity, and permeability) on the development of single-layer buckle folds with Newtonian viscous rheology is studied. …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Flow Comparison Between Openhole Sleeve And Plug-And-Perf Completion In A Hydraulic Fractured Horizontal Well, Viriyah Theppornprapakorn

Masters Theses

"Multi-stage hydraulic fracture completions in horizontal wells have facilitated economic development of natural gas from unconventional and tight gas reservoirs.Industry has relied on two horizontal multi-stage completion technologies: cemented and perforated liner or Plug-and-perf method and Openhole Sleeve Multi-stage method. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, one of the most important questions is which method yields better gas production? Computation fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool for solving complex fluid flow problems. In well completion design, CFD plays a significant role aiding the completion engineers on making decision on well completion methods. In this study, a …

Investigation Of Drillstring Vibration Reduction Tools, Mohammed Fayez Al Dushaishi

Masters Theses

"Drilling related problems such as drillstring vibration is an important cause of premature failure of drillstring components and drilling inefficiency. The vibration of drillstring interferes with measurement collected while drilling. In severe cases, drillstring vibration will lead to wellbore instability that will result in an increase in the operation cost. In the late 1980's, a lot of studies and techniques were developed to mitigate drillstring vibration and downhole vibration measurements were introduced to the industry in two forms; real time measurements and memory devices measurements

A study of drillstring vibration of three different wells located in the Norwegian North Sea …

Hydraulic Fracturing Experiments To Investigate Circulation Losses, Maximiliano Liberman

Masters Theses

"In recent years the oil and gas industry has been drilling more challenging wells due to long deviated wells, drilling through already depleted reservoirs, sub salt wells and increasing water depth. A major challenge these wells create is to prevent fluid loss into the formation and wellbore breakouts by having accurately determined the mud weight operational window. In addition to accurately determine the fracture gradient, additives in the drilling fluid have been used to enhance the fracture gradient in an industry process named wellbore strengthening. In order to study the phenomenon of fracture gradient alteration, a hydraulic fracturing apparatus was …

Evaluation Of The Reagan And Lamotte Sandstones In Southwestern Missouri For Carbon Dioxide Sequestration, Todd Jeffrey Miller

Masters Theses

"Carbon dioxide sequestration has been proposed as a way to reduce anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Several characteristics are required in order for a geologic formation to be suitable for sequestration. There must be an impermeable confining layer to restrain CO₂ migration toward the surface, the porosity and permeability must be high enough to allow for long term injection and substantial storage capacity, and the formation must be strong enough for long term injection to occur without inducing fractures. In this work, The Reagan and Lamotte Sandstones near Springfield, Missouri were evaluated for the potential for carbon dioxide sequestration. The Derby-Doe …

Investigation Of Geosteering In Non-Trivial Geological Settings, Anuroop Pandey

Masters Theses

"The well placement technology has advanced to a stage where we can explore small tolerance targets such as thin reservoirs. Well placement with geosteering, which is the real time adjustment of the well path based on the geological responses to place and maintain the well within the best part of the reservoir, is the technology that has made this progress possible. Geosteering however can get very complex with the increasing heterogeneities of the formations and there is no fixed methodology to devise a steering strategy in such complex geological settings. To accommodate this challenge, we investigated three methods to verify …

Surfactant Enhanced Oil Recovery By Wettability Alteration In Sandstone Reservoirs, Omar Elmofty

Masters Theses

"Recovering more oil from existing oil reservoirs using enhanced oil recovery methods holds the key for meeting future energy demands. Even though wettability is a cornerstone in oil recovery, few studies have focused on increasing oil recovery in sandstone reservoirs through wettability alteration. The objective of this thesis is to prove that altering the wettability of a sandstone rock to preferentially water-wet condition will reduce the remaining oil saturation and thus increase the percentage of recovered oil.

Two commercial surfactants were selected after studying both the phase behavior and the interfacial properties of 30 surfactants with oil and 1.00% sodium …

Geomechanical Characterization Of Reservoir & Cap Rocks For Co₂ Sequestration, Sudarshan Govindarajan

Masters Theses

"Geological sequestration of CO₂ has been identified as one method to reduce global emissions of CO₂ and achieve lower levels of CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere. Geological formations have to be assessed in terms of their capacity, sealing capabilities and economic feasibility before CO₂ sequestration can commence. Potential leakage of injected CO₂ from the reservoir formation could occur due to natural or injection induced faults or fractures in the reservoir or sealing formations. As part of a potential leakage investigation a geomechanical characterization which refers to the assessment of the in-situ stress conditions, rock strength and stiffness properties of the …

Direct Shear Testing Of Fractured Rocks From Missouri Used To Evaluate Potential Fault Reactivation Induced By Carbon Dioxide Sequestration, Ishan Kumar

Masters Theses

"Geological storage projects of CO₂ are designed to maintain secure storage for thousands of years. Carbon Capture and Storage has been identified as one of the methods which is used to reduce global emission of CO₂ and achieve lower concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere by capturing the CO₂ from the flue gases and storing it in underground formations. Potential leakage of injected CO₂ from the reservoir to the surface is caused by the reactivation of pre-existing faults and fractures which is caused by the change in the state of stresses and the pore pressure. To avoid damage to the …

Development Of A Shared Earth Model To Investigate Potential For Carbon Dioxide Sequestration In The Springfield Area, Mo, Imowo Celestine Akpan

Masters Theses

"Carbon dioxide (C0₂) sequestration has been extensively implemented and explored predominantly in depleted oil reservoirs and deep saline aquifers where the C0₂ is stored under supercritical conditions. A lesser explored option with great potential is based on injection into shallow reservoirs where the C0₂ may not always be in its denser supercritical state. The research evaluates the potential for injecting C0₂ into saline aquifers at depths of ~550-650 meters and formation temperatures of -22⁰C.

To evaluate injectivity and cap rock integrity, reservoir and geomechanical simulations need to be conducted separately and subsequently coupled. A Shared Earth Model is developed utilizing …

Shale Gas Rock Characterization And 3d Submicron Pore Network Reconstruction, Malek Elgmati

Masters Theses

"Determining shale gas petrophysical properties is the cornerstone to any reservoir-management practice. Hitherto, conventional core analyses are inadequate to attain the petrophysical properties of shale gas at submicron-scale. This study combines interdisciplinary techniques from material science, petrophysics, and geochemistry to characterize different shale gas samples from North America including Utica, Haynesville and Fayetteville shale gas plays. Submicron pore structure, clay mineralogy, wettability and organic matter maturation were investigated to evaluate the petrophysical properties of shale gas rocks and to determine the impact of organic and inorganic matters on wettability alteration for different fracturing fluids on shale gas rocks.

High pressure …

Numerical Simulation Of Relative Permeability Modifier Effect On Oil And Water Production, Murad Mohammedahmed Abdulfarraj

Masters Theses

"Excess water production is one of the most prevalent operational problems that oil companies are facing. Polymers and polymer gels have been used widely to control excess water production for mature oilfields. It is well known that polymers/gels can reduce the permeability to water (Krw) much more than that to oil (Kro). This phenomenon is called disproportionate permeability reduction (DPR) and the polymers or gels that exhibit this behavior are called relative permeability modifier (RPM). When RPMs are placed in reservoir, reduced permeability to water can lead to decreased water production, and sometimes increased hydrocarbon production, therefore prolonging the useful …

Experimental Study Of The Interaction Between Surfactants And Preformed Particle Gels, Farag Awadh Muhammed

Masters Theses

"Gel and surfactant treatment are two principle methods to reduce water production and enhance oil recovery (EOR). However, either method by itself has limitations that can be avoided by combining the two. Gel treatment can improve sweep efficiency but has little effect on micro-displacement efficiency. Surfactants are mainly used to improve displacement efficiency but have little effect on sweep efficiency. This research sought to investigate whether the combination of gel and surfactant treatments can be used to significantly enhance oil recovery while reducing water production for extremely heterogeneous mature reservoirs. A newer trend in gel treatments is preformed particle gels …

Mesh Optimization Of Finite Element Models Of Wellbore Stress Analysis, Ming-Yen Lee

Masters Theses

"Numerical modeling methods such as the widely used finite element method provide an excellent opportunity to analyze the wellbore state of stress for a variety of applications such as wellbore integrity, wellbore design or hydraulic fracturing. However, numerical modeling methods introduce errors by nature and may not precisely match the analytical solution if the meshing of the numerical model is not carefully taken care of. This study presents a parametric study of the meshing parameters mesh density, element type, and model size for 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional vertical wellbore models under three different types of boundary conditions, and a guideline for …

Strength Evaluation And Transportation Behavior Of Preformed Particle Gel Using Screens And Tubes, Rajesh Sarma Challa

Masters Theses

"This research included a series of experiments, using screen models to evaluate the strength of swollen gel particles. It also includes the study of PPG propagation and extrusion behavior through tubes of various internal diameters. The effect of the particle gel swelling ratio (depending on brine concentration), flow rate; and mesh size on the gel injection pressure and injectivity were studied. The results show that gel injection pressure depends primarily on the swelling ratio and the mesh size. However, the injection pressure does not increase significantly with injection rates, behavior consistent with the real-time injection pressure and injection rate change …

Structural, Depositional, And Diagenetic Controls On Reservoir Development: St. Peter Sandstone, Newaygo County, Michigan, Mark S. Caldwell

Masters Theses

Enhanced reservoir quality in the Middle Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone is observed in gas bearing zones in wells located on domal structures. Geometry and degree of this enhanced porosity development is the result of the interplay of structural, depositional, and diagenetic controls. An integrated subsurface study of the Woodville/Goodwell field area was performed in order to document controls on hydrocarbon accumulation.

Recurrent structural growth of domal features throughout the Paleozoic is well documented by isopach mapping. Burial and thermal history studies indicate that hydrocarbons were generated in Ordovician aged source rocks during late Devonian to early Mississippian time, and accumulated …

Sedimentology Of The Bedford-Berea Sequence (Early Mississippian), Williams Field, Michigan, David Alan Balthazor

Masters Theses

The Berea Sandstone has produced in excess of 1.6 million barrels of oil in the Williams field since discovery in 1980. Seven lithofacies are identified from conventional core in the Bedford-Berea sequence. These facies are interpreted as deltaic deposits comprising prodelta (Bedford Shale), delta front, destructive marine shale, abandoned distributary channel-fill, interdistributary bay-fill, transgressive marine sandstone, and marine shale (Sunbury Shale) facies. Passive channel-fill facies truncate reservoir sandstone bodies and compartmentalize the field NW-SE across the trend of the northwestplunging anticline.

The two reservoir facies in the Williams field are the delta front and transgressive marine sandstones. The sandstone framework …

Paraffin Deposition Property Measurement Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Kevin Lynn Thornsberry

Masters Theses

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) has been used in past studies to identify the cloud points of diesel fuels, lube oils, jet fuels etc. and it has been assumed that its application extends to all paraffinic hydrocarbons. To verify this and to investigate the possible application of Differential Scanning Calorimetry to the production phase of the petroleum industry, the onset of wax crystallization is compared with ASTM cloud point for a number of paraffinic mixtures including a variety of crude oils. Results show cloud point can be determined for crudes using DSC. Additionally, wax content can be found on a known …

Performance Predictions For Oil Reservoirs Under Water Influx, Briareus Mitchell Wilkinson

Masters Theses

"The intent of this thesis is to develop a program that will give reasonable recovery predictions for oil reservoirs under water influx. The main advantage is to avoid the massive storage and computational requirements of numerical simulators while achieving roughly comparable results. There are many methods already in existence that have not received their full benefit, mainly because they were developed prior to the recent advances of the computer age. This thesis therefore brings some already proven methods together with new techniques in a program which, with the aid of the computer, stimulates new life in these methods. The main …

A Two-Dimensional, Three-Phase Reservoir Simulator Using The Impes Formulation, Ralph Ross Roesler

Masters Theses

"A numerical model for two dimensional, three-phase fluid flow has been developed using the IMPES formulation. Reservoir heterogeneities have been included, such as areal variations in porosity, permeability, thickness, and depth from a reference point. The model can also solve the problem of variable bubble points.

To check the accuracy of the model, a comparison was made with the Buckley-Leverett technique of predicting waterflood performance. The reservoir in the comparison is a 40 acre five spot with an initial gas saturation of 15 percent. The study shows that the two models are in good agreement, except for differences due to …

A Purchase Estimator For Oil And Gas Reserves, Ronald Ernest Robbins

Masters Theses

"A computerized means for analyzing the profitability and purchase potential of producing oil and gas properties was developed. LOTUS 1- 2-3, a computerized spreadsheet package, was utilized in this development. The basic input data required for the implementation of the purchase estimator (BUYOUT) are the forecasts of production, price, and expense. BUYOUT itself is composed of three separate, but interactive, parts: and the system macro. the profitability model, the acquisition table,

A before federal income tax cash-flow model and several economic indicators constitute the profitability model. The profitability model is then fully interactive with an acquisition table which contains six …

Determining The Modified Derivative In Pressure Analysis, Scott Michael Frailey

Masters Theses

"The derivative type of curve technique of Bourdet for analyzing pressure tests requires calculating the derivative of the storage plot. Four numerical methods are used to evaluate the derivative: a five-point formula, Richardson's Extrapolation, a parabolic fit, and a central difference procedure. The parabolic fit and the central difference technique are good methods of determining the derivative. The effects of logarithmic s pacing of the data, using a central difference method, are studied. An investigation of the second derivative and the integral is conducted"-- Abstract, p. ii

A New Automated Pulse Testing Analysis Method Applying Inflection Point Theory, Jose Maria Donoso

Masters Theses

"This paper describes a new technique for pulse test analysis that combines the simplicity of the tangent method with the result repeatability of the iterative methods. Inflection points are used instead of time lag with the added advantage that they are calculated by a simple algorithm and are not subject to graphical misinterpretation. Charts are made for the calculation of transmissibility and storage for unequal pulse and shut-in periods from 0.1 to 0.9 relating inflection time to pulse response amplitude and dimensionless inflection time.

The graphs presented for this technique have the same dimensionless cycle period ranges (from 0.44 to …

Automated Evaluation Of Reservoir Parameters Applying Pressure Transient Theory, Steven Robert Homoky

Masters Theses

"This study presents an investigation to automatically evaluate reservoir parameters using pressure transient theory. Methods will be introduced to numerically fit the well test data in the real (time) domain (specifically the pressure change as a function of test time). The numerical fit and known fluid, rock and well properties will be used to evaluate the dimensionless storage coefficient. The theoretical dimensionless pressure (being a function of skin factor, permeability, and dimensionless storage coefficient) is obtained by Laplace Inversion. The ability to evaluate the dimensionless storage coefficient thus reduces the parameters of the pressure equation by one. Varying the skin …