A Comprehensive Review of the Sources, Mechanisms Diagnosis Methods and Control Strategies of Excessive Water Production in Oil Fields

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Petroleum Engineering Department, Ahwaz Faculty of Petroleum, Petroleum University of Technology, Iran

10.22078/pr.2024.5292.3347

Abstract

Usually, during hydrocarbon production, water is produced along with oil. In the tertiary recovery, water flooding is conducted to reduce the pressure drop in the reservoir and increase oil production. Injected water can enter the production well through different pathways. Excess water production occurs when water enters the well more than water oil ratio economic limit. Excess water production is one of the main challenges of the oil and gas industry, which causes many economic and environmental issues. to control excess water production, knowing the source and mechanisms of water production is essential and plays a major role in designing the water shut-off methods. This review investigates the sources and mechanisms of excessive water production in oil wells. All kinds of mechanisms have been categorized in terms of water source, nature, and degree of difficulty of water control methods, and their identification methods have been classified in three groups of well logging, tests, and analytical-experimental methods to point and pathway of water entry into the production well and it should be determined accurately. According to the type of mechanisms and sources, various chemical and mechanical methods have been collected to control the entry of water into the well, each of which can be used in certain conditions. Leveraging available equipment and technology, engineers can pinpoint the exact mechanism and pathway of water ingress based on well and reservoir data. This knowledge empowers them to select the most effective method for controlling unwanted water production. By controlling the excessive water production mechanisms of injection well at the same time as reducing water production, improvement of water flooding performance which leads to the areal sweep efficiency will improve, and oil production increase.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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