This article focuses on interpretation of well test data from wells completed in naturally fractured reservoirs. Because of the presence of two distinct types of porous media, the assumption of homogeneous behavior is no longer valid in naturally fractured reservoirs. This article discusses two naturally fractured reservoir models, the physics governing fluid flow in these reservoirs and semilog and type curve analysis techniques for well tests in these reservoirs. Naturally fractured reservoirs are characterized by the presence of two distinct types of porous media: matrix and fracture. Because of the different fluid storage and conductivity characteristics of the matrix and fractures, these reservoirs often are called dual-porosity reservoirs.

Steam generation for the purposes of thermal recovery includes facilities to treat the water (produced water or fresh water), generate the steam, and transport it to the injection wells. A steamflood uses high-quality steam injected into an oil reservoir. The quality of steam is defined as the weight percent of steam in the vapor phase to the total weight of steam. The higher the steam quality, the more heat is carried by this steam. High-quality steam provides heat to reduce oil viscosity, which mobilizes and sweeps the crude to the producing wells.

The Empire Abo field, located in New Mexico, US, covers 11,000 acres (12.5 miles long by 1.5 miles wide) and contains approximately 380 million stock tank barrels (STB) of original oil in place (OOIP).[1][2] This reservoir is a dolomitized reef structure (Figure 1) with a dip angle of 10 to 20 from the crest toward the fore reef. The oil column is approximately 900 ft thick, but the average net pay is only 151 ft thick. The pore system of this reservoir is a network of vugs, fractures, and fissures because the primary pore system has been so altered by dolomitization; the average log-calculated porosity was 6.4% BV. Numerical simulations of field performance and routine core analysis data have indicated that the horizontal and vertical permeabilities are about equal.

Using the single well chemical tracer (SWCT) test avoids the problems of too-wide well spacing and excessive tracer dispersion caused by layering that can occur with well to well tests. In the SWCT test, the tracer-bearing fluid is injected into the formation through the test well and then produced back to the surface through the same well. The time required to produce the tracers back can be controlled by controlling the injected volume on the basis of available production flow rate from the test well. In a single-well test, tracers injected into a higher-permeability layer will be pushed farther away from the well than those in a lower-permeability layer, as indicated in Figure 1a; however, the tracers in the higher-permeability layer will have a longer distance to travel when flow is reversed. As the tracer profiles in Figure 1b show, the tracers from different layers will return to the test well at the same time, assuming that the flow is reversible in the various layers.

Cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) recovery processes generate large volumes of sand that must be managed. In Canada in 1997, approximately 330,000 m3 of sand (approximately 45% porosity sand at surface) were produced from CHOPS wells. Individual wells may produce as much as 10 to 20 m3/d of sand in the first days of production and may diminish to values of 0.25 to 5 m3/d when steady state is achieved. Sand grain size reflects most of the reservoir. There is little sorting or segregation in the slurry transport to the well; however, not all zones in the reservoir may be contributing equally at all times.

While typical production operations seek to prevent sand production, cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) operations use sand production to increase overall productivity. This difference can create operational issues throughout the life of a CHOPS well. It has implications for monitoring strategies as well. To initiate sand influx, a cased well is perforated with large-diameter ports, usually of 23 to 28 mm diameter, fully phased, and spaced at 26 or 39 charges per meter. More densely spaced charges have not proved to give better results or service, but less densely spaced charges (13 per meter) give poorer results. More densely spaced charges may eliminate reperforating as a future stimulation choice because full casing rupture is likely to take place.

Core analyses are a critical part of analyzing CBM reservoirs to determine gas saturations. Coal cores must be placed in desorption canisters and heated to reservoir temperature. As the coal desorbs, gases are captured, and both their volume and composition are determined. Desorption continues for up to several months until the rate at which gas is being liberated from the coal becomes very small. At this point, the canisters are opened, and the cores can be described. The cores then are crushed in a mill that captures any remaining gas (residual gas), and the milled coal is mixed thoroughly to form a representative sample. An alternative to crushing the entire core is to first slab the core and crush one-half.

Biodegradation occurs when bacteria, fungi, or other organism or biological process chemically dissolves materials. The process can be beneficial or detrimental within the industry depending on the circumstances. For instance, biodegradation via bacteria can aid in the cleanup of oil spills. The process can take more or less time depending on the amount of type and amount of bacteria, the reservoir or ecosystem in which the bacteria are found, and the amount of oxygen present. In reservoirs cooler than approximately 80 C, oil biodegredation is common and detrimental.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) leaks can cause problems that affect both workers and equipment in the drilling industry. The explosive gas naturally occurs in oil and natural gas deposits. The lesser risk from H2S, corrosion of metal, paint, and epoxy, can be prevented with the use of special coating. The greater risk, the risk to the health of industry workers, can be prevented with detection equipment. More recently, nanotechnology has been tested to detect H2S in the air.

Because foam applications for mobility control during gas flooding have proven technically challenging and marginally attractive, the recent focus has shifted somewhat to the application of relatively small volumes of foam that are placed as gas blocking agents from the production well side. The application of foams as gas blocking agents has been discussed and reviewed numerous times in the literature.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Because foams are exceptionally effective at reducing gas permeability, they are good candidates for use in gas blocking treatments that are placed relatively near to producing wellbores. The foam's low effective density results in the tendency for selective placement in the upper sections of the reservoir where gas, especially coning and cusping, is entering the wellbore. The obvious and major challenges that must be overcome to successfully apply foams as a gas blocking agents are to assure that the emplaced blocking foam will have adequate strength and that the metastable foam will be stable long enough to result in attractive economics.