., . —.

RESERVOIR

ENGINEERING

What is Reservoir Engineering?

P. L. ESSLEY.JR. SINCLAIR RESEARCH, INC.

I
‘iEhtEER AIME TULSA, OKIA.

I
Abstract developed in an inetllcient manner, most effectively. A better understand-
vital engineering consideratiorm often ing of the ba~c purpose of reservoir
Reservoir engineering involves more are neglected or ignored, and individ- engineering and how it can be utilized
than applied reservoir tnechanics. Tfw ual engineering efforts often are in- most effective y should result in im-
objective of engineering is optintiza- ferior to those of a decade ago. Res- proved engineering.
tion. To obtain optinumt profit jrotn ervoir engineers often disagree in their
a field the engineer or the engineer- interpretation of a reservoir’s per- Reservoir Engineering — A Group
ing team must identify and define all formance, It is not uncommon for Effort
individual reservoirs and their physi- two engineers to take exactly opposite
cal properties, deduce each reservoir’s of
positions before a state commission. The Purpose Engineering
performance, prevent drilling of utl- Such disagreements understandably The goal of engineering is optimiz-
necessary wells, initiate operating con- confuse and bewilder management, ation. The purpose of reservoir en-
trols at the proper time, and consider
lawyers, state commission members gineering is to provide the facts, in-
all important econontic factors, in-
and laymen. Can they be blamed if formation and knowledge necessary
cluding income taxes. Early and ac- they question the technical compe- to control operations to obtain the
curate identification and definition of
tenceof a professional group whose maximum possible recovery from a
the reservoir systent is essential to ef- members cannot agree among them- reservoir at the least possible cost.
fective ettgineering. Conventional geo- selves? Since a maximum recovery generaliy
logic techniques seldom provide suf-
There is considerable difference be- is not obtained by a minimum expen-
ficient data to identijy and define each
tween the reservoir engineering prac- diture, the engineer must seek some
individual reservoir; the engineer tnust
ticed by different companies, The dif- optimum combination of recovery,
suppletnent the geologic study with ferences between good engineering and cost, and other pertinent factors. How
engineering data and tests to provide ineffective engineering generally in- one defines “optimum” will depend
the necessary infortnation. volve only minor variations in funda- upon the policies of the various oper-
Reservoir engineering is difficult; mental knowledge but involve major ators and is immaterial to the views
The most successful practitioner is
differences in emphasis of what is im- presented in this paper.
usually the engineer who, through ex- portant, Some companies or groups
tensive efforts to understand the res- From an operator’s point of view
emphasize calculation procedures and
ervoir, tnanages to acquire a few more reservoir mechanics, but pay little at-
any procedure or course of action
facts and thus needs fewer assutnp- that results in an optimum profit to
tention to reservoir geology. Others
tions. the company is effective engineering,
emphasize geology and make extensive
and any that doesn’t is not, There are
efforts to identify individual reser-
Introduction voirs and deduce their performance
two reasons why a company may not
receive effective engineering. Its en-
during the development period or dur-
Reservoir engineering has advanced
ing the early operating period. They gineers may be poorly ‘trained and
rapidly during the last decade. The fail to perform properly. However, a
use reservoir engineering equations
industry is drilling wells on wider company can employ competent en-
and calculation procedures’ primarily
spacing, unitizing earlier, and recov- as tools to provide additional insight gineers and receive good engineering
ering a greater percentage of the oil work from them, but as a company,
of a reservoir’s performance, Those
in place. Techniques are better, tools utilizing the latter approach generally still do an ineffective job of engineer-
‘ are better, and background knowledge
an
are the most successful. ing. For instance, engineer might
of reservoir conditions has been great-
The. differences in practice observed do an excellent. jQb of water. flooding
ly”improved. In spite of these general
indicate that many individuals, in- a reservoir, However, if even greater
advances, many reservoirs are being
cluding managers, field personnel, ed- profit could have been received by
ucators, scientists and reservoir en- water flooding five years earlier, then
Or[ inal manuscript recdved in Society of gineers do not understand the full obviously the reservoir was not ef-
Petro Yeum Engineers office Aug. 8, 1964, Re.
vised mnnusdtM received Nov. 2. Paper re- scope of reservoir engineering or how fectively engineered by the operator.
sented at 39th SPE Annual Fall Meeting k’eld
the reservoir engineer can be used To provide optimum profits, all oper-
in Houston Oct. 11-14, 1964,
 xticms must be initiated at the proper voir uniformity, continuity, thickness the south fliittk of the structure (by
time. Effective reservoir engineer- iird other factors. We then apply gen- itccident, WCIISon the Korth flank
ing, therefore, must provide the nec- eral equations and obtain a general were completed in other zones). This
essary facts sufficiently early to allow solution pertaining to an idealized caused a shift of the initial gas cap
most dfective control of a reservoir. reservoir, We delude ourselves when towards the south. Active water cn-
we call this engineering. If we are to crorichment displaced most of the oil
The Engineering System
truly practice engineering we must on the north flank of the reservoirs
Calhoun’ has described the engi-
obtain particular solutions pertaining into the initial gas cap area, It is un-
neering system of concern to the pe-
to particular reservoir systems. necessary to carry this story much
troleum engineer as being composed
further. A large portion of the re-
of three principal subsystems: (1) the Ewlmition of the Reservoir System
coverable oil from the D-2 and D-3
creation and operation of the wells; The first consideration in reservoir
zones was lost, The operator assumed
(2) the surface processing of the engineering and the principal func-
that this field was fully developed
fluids; nnd (3) the fluids and their tion of the reservoir engineer is to
and was being efficiently drained,
behavior within the reservoir. The define and evaluate the re”ervoir sys- When considered as one reservoir, it
first two subsystems are subordinate tem, To “define” means to determine
appeared to be: wheri considered as
to the last. The nature of the reser- the areal extent, thickness, inclina-
five reservoirs, it obviously wx not.
voir(s) and the reservoir tluids deter- tion, producing limits and the geolo-
if the nature of the multiple reser-
mines how many wells ore neeclcd, gical” environment of each separa!e
voirs had been determined sufficiently
where they should be dril[ed, how reservoir witi-dn the reservoir system. early, the procedures necessary to pre-
they should be completed and pro- To “evaluate” means to determine the vent loss of recoverable oil would
duced, and what processing equip- physical properties of each separate
htivc been clear.
ment is necessary to obtain optimum reservoir and its fluids, the variation
This case is not atypical. Not far
profits. For effective engineering, the of the physical properties throughout
from this field an operator released
various subsystems cannot be isolated. the system, and the location of in-
approximately 1,000 acres of even-
They must be considered as interre- homogeneities, barriers, fractures, etc.,
tually productive, highly profitable
lated portions of a unified system. that may affect flow. Only when the
leases, located downdip from three
Petroleum engineering applies to the limits and properties of each separate
producing wells. In this case, the en-
entire engineering system whereas reservoir are determined adequately
gineers interpreted water production
reservoir engineering applies only to will an engineer have sufficient know-
from a lower sand zone as indicating
one part of the system. However, the ledge of a reservoir system to accu-
the position of the water-oil contact
entire system is controlled so com- rately deduce its future performance.
in the productive sand zone. Failure
pletely hy the reservoir’s perfornl-
Most engineers will agree to the to define the reservoir was costly.
unce that there is only minor distinc- necessity of defining and evaluating
tion between petroleum engineering In both of these cases numerous
the reservoir system. Yet surprisingly
and reservoir engineering.
clues were available for early inter-
few devote adequate effort to d>ing
The reservoir engineer is concerned pretation. Even when obvious clLtcs
it. Genersslly they rely on a structural
with reservoir fluids and their behav- do not exist, a competent engineer or
map and a few isopachous maps, An superintendent interested in defining
ior, and with identifying the geologi-
isopachous map of total net pay may
cal environment and character of and ewduat ing thc reservoir system
prove valuable for estimating original
should be capable of obtainirig the
each separate reservoir with which hc oil in place, or as a political tool
must deal. For convenience the indi-
necessary data. Modern engineering
for unitizing a reservoir, but it offers
vidual reservoirs and their fluids may techniques provide the engineer with
little help in understanding reservoir
he described as composing a reser- numerous tools and test procedures
performance if more than one reser-
voir system. to study the reservoir system, Used
voir is involved, Unfortunately, in the
wisely in conjunction with geologic
The Engineering Process
sand-shale series which comprise many
or our so-called common sources of
The reservoir engineer applies a
supply, we more often than not deal SP LN
general knowledge of reservoir behav-
with rmdtiple reservoirs, Fig, 1 shows
ior 10 a particular reservoir system -360
a typical 1st Dakota, “D” sand
to produce u desired result. The re- log from a field in the Denver-Jules- D-!
servoir systems with which the reser-
burg basin. Each sand zone in this
are

E
voir engineer must deal generally
field is separate, with unique initial -380
complex, involving multiple reservoirs,
fluid contacts and individual perform-
flow barriers, faults and irregular dis- D-3
ance. The D-5 sand zone had the
tribution of physical properties. Ob- -400
highest initial water-oil contact and D-4
taining a desired re- result from such
had an active water drive. The D-4
servoir systems may be exceeding y
reservoir is lenticular, covers only a
difficult, It seems unnecesssxy to portion of the tield, and produces by -420
state that we cannot engineer a par- D-5
a solution-gas drive, After five years
ticular rescrvair system until we have
of, production the D-4 zone pressure,
obtained adequate knowledge of the
was 800 psi less than in the underlying -440
particular system to iden[ify its parts
zone and. 500 psi less than. in the .over-
and otherwise describe it. Yet we are Iying zones. The D-2 and D-3 sand
prone to forget this vital phase of en-
zones were connected through corn-
gineering, Too often we make broad,
-460
rnon completions and thus had simi-
general assumptions regarding reser- lar pressures. Both reservoirs had
%
ELECTRICAL LOG
initial gas caps, active water drives,
~References given at end of sxwer. and were being drained by wells on Fig. I—Electrical IOK,

20 JO I: RNALOF l“I-;’t’R~l.EIJsf TE~i[WJ.W~

,–L—”—-

.“

.
 data and production data these tools may cause different sand zones to Even less often do we find a system-
can impart worthwhile insight into behave as separate reservoirs, and the atic engineering effort to prove geolog-
smaller nommiformities present with- ical interpretation and further de-
reservoir condhions.
in the larger units, which may signi- fine the reservoir system. Yet such
The Coordinated Re~ervoh’ ficantly affect flow and reservoir per- studies provide the base upon which
lhlunt ion Program
formance. Hutchinson has discussed we must build our engineering, The
When the production superinten- ability to communicate and work
nonuniformities present in reservoir
dent, geologist, and engineer cooper- Such reservoir inhomo- closely with geologists, or to per-
systems.z’s
ate during development of a field to form the functions of the geologist,
geneities may provide the key to inter-
evaluate the reservoir system, it is of- is vital to reservoir engineering.
preting reservoir performance or the
ten possible to deduce reservoir per- success of an injection project. Shale
Application of Reservoir Mechunim
formance quite early, A coordinated
or siltstreaks, or laminations, which
Reservoir mechanics generally re-
reservoir evaluation program not only restrictor prevent fluid flow, may or
provides information for better en- ceives the most retention from reser-
may not be continuous over a wide voir engineers. In fact, many engi-
gineering, it generally costs less than area. Such n’onuniformities are often neers specialize in this apparently
a haphazard program. A few drill too thin to appear on logs and we
stem tests, judiciously placed to test
worthy endeavor and limit their prac-
se!dom noted in core analyses but
tice (either by their own decision or
individual zones at selected depths. may be observed in outcrops and are by that of others) to evaluating reser-
often can give more reservoir inform-
often described in the geologist’s de- voir performance curves and predict-
ation than more numerous tests of scription of the cores. ing future performance. Superficially,
multiple zones indiscriminately
Elkins has commented on the ef- such practice appears to be a valid en-
placed. An extra log, or an additional
fect of such inhomogeneities on re- gineering specialty. Actually, it is not.
hour’s time on a drill stem test, may
ducing vertical permeability in ap- Given sufficient time the nature of a
provide, more usable information
parently clean sands.’ He has de- reservoir’s performance will generally
than can be obtained from much
scribed calculations indicating that become apparent, Hindsight is won-
more costly coring and core anal-
these minute may cause the
barriers derfully accurate but is dificult to
yses.
ratio of horizontal to vertical perme- optimize. Those who specialize in res-
Occasional y an early reservoir eval-
ability to be as high as 10,000:1. ervoir mechanics may be competent
uation program will present reason- Such barriers effectively prevent water reservoir theorists and may provide
,abie proof or reservoir communica- gas may
and coning and prevent many valuable services. yet their work
tion and’ drainage over wide areas. gravity drainage or gravity under- rarely produces the maximum possi-
This information may be the evidence However, identification of
runningl ble profit from a reservoir. A simple
necessarY to obtain wide spacing-
inhomogeneities in cores, or deducing case history will illustrate why.
Such use of engineering to reduce
their effect from well tests, does not An operator owns most of a
costs is becoming more common. A
indicate that such barriers are con- small reservoir, which produces from
few companies devote considerable
tinuous. Several reservoirs are known a tvpicsd Pennsylvanian sand-shale
effort to this phase cif reservoir en- where thin impermeable streaks, ran-
gineering. In a recent case early proof
series. Two offset wells were produc-
domly located within a large sand
ing from Zone A. The operator met
of reservoir drairudge by wide spacing
body, prevent coning but have little
these offset wells by completing two
allowed an operator to save $1,600,-
effect in preventing vertical segrega- wells in Zone B of the sand-shale
000 in unnecessary drilling costs dur- tion of reservoir fluids.
series, Detailed mapping indicated
ing development of a relatively small
Knowledge of the extent and kind that Zone B was Ienticular and existed
reservoir. Early evaluation also pro-
of nonuniformities present may help only under the operator’s lease. Zone
vides data for early unitization and
the engineer interpret reservoir data A was continuous throughout the en-
optimum timing of pressure mainte-
or design special reservoir tests to tire field. A reservoir specialist may
nance operations.
evaluate reservoir performance. Yet someday note that Zones A and B
Early definition and evaluation of the effect of nonuniformities on the have different pressures’ and will con-
the reservoir system is the, basic re- performance of a reservoir system is clude that the operator’s lease is being
quirement for effective engineering.
usually ignored by engineers. drained in Zone A without benefit of
The engineer must be allowed to ob- compensating drainage in Zone B, Hc
In reservoir engineering the geolo-
tain the data necessaly to evaluate will be doing a good job, but the com-
gic study must precede the engineer-
the reservoir system and should par- pany has not received good engi-
ing study. However, conventional geo-
ticipate in operating decisions with neering. necessary to deduce
All facts
logical techniques rarely provide suf-
regard to the reservoir. It should be performance were available at the
ficient data to define the reservoir sys-
the engineer’s job to obtain, as well time the wells were completed, Max-
as interpret, the facts necessary to tem, The engineer must supplement
imum prafits were possible only by
the geology with engineering data and
evaluate the reservoir system. It is his completing the wells properly the
tests to provide the necessary inform- in

responsibility to know~what data are first place.

ation, Production ddta, formation
required and to devise a plan to ob- There is a distinct difference be-
pressure, pressure gradients, interfer-
tain them at the minimum cost.
ence tests, and build-up tests nlaY bC tween reservoir engineering and the
The Geological Study used to prove communication be- application of reservoir mechanics.
To deftne and- evaluate the reser. tween wells or. zones, prove the .uis- The determination of a-reservoir’s pro-
voir system, the engineer must con- tence of faults or other barriers, and ducing mechanism and prediction ‘of

sider the depositiona! environment, otherwise define the reservoir. In its future performance is not in -itself
continuity, Mhology and limits of the practice, this interrelationship between engineering. Effective e~gineering re-
reservoir rock, The depositional en- geology and engineering is seldom ob- quires deducing a reservoir’s probable

. .. .
vironment Provides clues concerning tained. Only rarely do we find an ex- performance under all possible meth-
both the larger geological units, which tensive geologic study of a reservoir, ods of operation turd then controlling

.- J,\ NI!,itlY,.19siS “ ‘-” :.

 G

its performance to obtain optimum Oklahoma water flood the increased accept technicai advice with regard
profits. This usually requires operating tax liability amounted to more than to individual components of the sys-
decisions before the behavior of the a few million. In a relatively small tem. On the other hand, many tech-
reservoir is apparent. Engineers, geol- Illinois water flood, the operating .nicai personnei, with extensive train-
ogists, and superintendents are not practice increased tax liability by ap- ing and background knowiedge in cer-
infallible. They will make mistakes. proximately $500,000, Irr both cases tain disciplines, are so obsessed with
However, if operating decisions are development drilling in stages resulted their calculation procedures and bal-
preceded by a systematic attempt to in 10SS of depletion allowance for ances that they often forget they dre
define and evaluate the reservoir sys- several years. In both cases alternate deaiing with a particular system which
tem, the chances of successfully de- plans could have been devised to re- cannot be engineered untii it is de-
ducing a reservoir’s future perform- duce the tax liability. Several years fined.
ance and controlling operations to ob- ago a well-known water flood engineer
tain an optimum profit will be greatly outlined a stage development pro- Reservoir Engineerhrg - Individual
improved. Calhoun has pointed to the gram for living with prorated water Practice
analogy between effective engineering floods. The program he outlined
An Art, or a .%ienw?
and preventive medicine.’ It is not could result in w loss in depletion al-
Reservoir engineering is more of an
sufficient for the engineer to deter- lowance and increased taxes. art than an exact science, aithough it
mine the state of a reservoir’s health The reservoir engineer should con- has a broad scientific base, Most ob-
and then attempt to improve it. To
sult with a tax attorney on any de- served reservoir facts, phenomena,
be most effective, the engineer must program or
velopment involving large “symptoms” are subject to more
maintain the reservoir’s health from
expenditures for development drilling, than one iogical interpretation. Wyl-
the start. or for injection of propane, butane or Iie discussed this peculiarity of reser-
The Importnncc of Timing other materials. The engineer cannot voir engineering with regard to inter-
Optimization requires consideration justify ignoring an item that may have preting piiot fieid tests, but extended
of the time element, Often, when to such serious economic consequences. his remarks to cover aii of reservoir
do something may be nearly as im- engineering.’ It is anaiogous to the
Responsibility of the Group Effort
portant a consideration as whaf to do, mathematical condition of having
Most engineers are becoming in-
From a company point of view more unknowns than equations and
creasingly aware that proper timing
successful op-
engineering requires obtaining multipie solutions. Eikins
timizing an entire system. This gener- has aiso emphasized the necessity of
is a vital consideration in engineering.
Generalizations as to the proper time
aiiy requires a group effort. A com- investigating aii possibie interpreta-
to initiate a particular oil field oper- pany’s engineering may be ineffective tions of reservoir performance.’ When

ation are not possible, However, one due to its faiiure to recognize the ai- the complexities of reservoir geometry,
generalization concerning engineer- most totai dependence of the group muitiphase fluid flow, potentiai grad-
ing is valid: the best time to apply effort upon accurately defining and ients and reservoir mechanics arc
reservoir engineering principles and evacuating the reservoir system and considered, muitipie interpretations
study a reservoir system is as early correctiy deducing future perform- shouid not prove start Iing toany res-
as possible. ance. ervoir engineer. Yet too often we are
Reservoir engineering does not start
prone to accept the first interpretation
Economic Considerations
at some time after a fieid is devei-
that appears to fit most of the data.
Optimization requires comparison. That some pieces of information don’t
oped. For maximum effectiveness it
For logical comparison, things which fit into piace never seem to bother us
must start simultaneously with dis-
are distinctly different must be re- or cause us to question our interpre-
covery, Weii iocations, driii stem tests,
duced to a common basis. Thus, the
seiection of iogging toois, and deter- tation.
engineer must become acquainted
mination of completion intervais are The most obvious interpretation of
with certain techniques of the econo- ali reservoir engineering probiems. A 11 data often is incorrect, An exampie
mist and the banker. The details of of this is illustrated by the reservoir
development and operating decisions
economic calculations are important should be tnade by an individual who performance curves shown as Fig, 2,
to the engineer but will not be dis- Generaiiy an increase in reservoir
reco~nizes the dependence of the en-
cussed here, pressure foiiowing a reduction in the
tire systetn upon the nature and be-
In such economic calculations all havior of the reflervoir. It is notnec- reservoir withdrawal rate suggests wa-
important cost items must be consid~ essary that such an individual abe ter encroachment. However, no water
ered, It is somewhat ironic that in- “reservoir engineer”. Any manager, was being produced and the reser-
come tax, which may represent the superintendent or foreman who con- voir was apparently seaied at the
largest single cost item in an evalna, siders the entire reservoir system dur- water-oii contact by a iow graVity,
tion, is often ignored, The rate of ing operations, and not just the indi. tar-iike oii. The data were questioned
return calculated after income taxes vidual weli, and who deveiops and but were proven to be reiiabie. The
are considered may be higher than operates the tleid as a system in a engineering committee conciuded that
when ,calculated before taxes, Eco- manner which can obtain the maxi- the pressure increase couid not reflect
nomic comparisons may not be valid mum amount of reservoir informa- a true reservoir condition and was
unleis income taxes are considered. tion, is practicing one of the most caused by the method used to obtain
Tax consequences may occasionally important phases of reservoir engi- a weighted average field pressure. .Ac-
represent the major “consideration-in neering. It heips if the individual has tuaiiy, pressure increases were ob-
an operating decision. An apparently a background knowiedge of reservoir served in individual weiis in aii parts
sound secondary recovery plan may mechanics and geoiogy. However, of the reservoir and in Jater pressure
result in several million dollars’ greater many nontechnical personnei deveiop surveys, confirming a field-wide pres-
tax liability than would an equally an intuitive feei for the reservoir sure increase. The present interpreta-
attractive alternate plan. In one large system and know when to seek and tion, and the oniy one that satisfies”

Jo URKt\L OF PETROLJXM, TECHNOLOGY.

.?2.
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.
all known facts, is that the appar- agnosis of our system we generally matical expressions, Reservoir engi-

ently anomalous pressure increase rely on: (1) a few physical facts; neering is no exception, even though

was due to a redistribution of fluids (2) production statistics (often of due to the complexity of reservoir
within the reservoir, resulting from doubtful reliability); (3) samples re- systems it is iii-suited for exact math-
gravity segregation. The anomalous presenting approximately one bil” emat ical soiutions. As a consequence
pressure effect is simi!ar to the one Iionth of the reservoir; (4) statistical we have a generation of engineers
averaging techniques (often misap- schooled in the mechanics of the
discussed by Matthews and Stege-
meier,” At high producing rates most plied); and (5) stylized mathemat- mathematical solution. A few appar-
of the gas released from solution in ical equations derived from assump- ently beiieve that engineering invoives
the reservoir was”produced at nearby tions which may only remoteiy rep- no more than obtaining soiutions with
resent reservoir conditions. equations and balances. While such
wells, Following the drastic allowable
~llt, gas-oi[ ratios decreased, and the engineers are a small minority, their
Is it any wonder, then, that the
fanaticism illustrates the hypnotic ef-
high-pressure downdip gas migrated reservoir engineer has been described
fect which a calculated solution OC-’
upstructure to the low-pressure gas as “an individual a limited who takes
casionaliy has on ali engineers. This
cap, Theoretical circulations were number of facts, adds numerous as-
siren’s cali has iured many an engineer
made to determine the effect of the sumptions and arrives at an uniimit-
to a rocky concision in the past and
fluid redistribution on the tleld pres- ed number of conclusions”? Such a
no doubt wili continue to do so in the
sure and inr.iiuated a good agreement statement may have been made in
future.
with actual field performance. The jest; nevertheless, it provides an in-
A ciassic example was given re-
results are shown on Fig, 2. trinsic description of reservoir engi-
centiy by an engineering committee
Gas injection was started in this res- neering as it is often practiced. Un-
report and iater testimony of the
ervoir shortly after the pressure fortunately, due to the complexity of
chairman of the committee before a
peaked (67 million bbl cumulative the reservoir system, reservoir engi-
state commission. Pressure data in
production), For several years prior neering wiil aiways remain this way. the reservoir in question were sparse
to gas injection considerable fluids The fact that we must rely on in- but ciearly indicated a severai-thou-
were being withdrawn from the res- sufficient facts, data of poor quality, sand psi gradient towards the center
ervoir; yet the reservoir pressure was and an imperfect knowledge of the of the reservoir, The committee ex-
increasing. For several years after reservoir does not mean that we can- trapolated the pressure gradient
the start of gas injection reservoir not a good job of engineering. It
do across a distance of approxinlatelY
withdrawals were replaced, but the does mean that we cannot expect per- ~~ 1 mile to obtain the pressure at the
average field pressure ‘declined. An fection and that we should contin- water-oii contact, The extrapolated
extensive geological and engineering ually strive to obtain better data and pressure at the contact at different
study revealed that the field consisted iearn more about the reservoir. Occa- times varied from several hundred
of a large number of individual sional faiiures are inevitable. What to nearly 1,000 psi greater than the
reservoirs, resulting from Ienticular we must strive for is the highest pos- highest measured pressurei. The
zones and extensive faulting. The ai% sible batting average. The most suc- committee used this information in a
parently anomalous pressure decline cessful practitioner of the art is van Everdingen and Hurst type
was due to the fact that many wells usually the engineer who, through equation to directiy caiculate water
were producing from ,reservoirs other extensive studies to define and evalu- influx.’ They determined from their
than the ones receiving the injected ate the reservoir system, manages to calculations tg-,at a stable influx rate
gas. obtain more facts and thus requires of i,500 B/D would eventually bc
This example illustrates the diffi- fewer assumptions, Additional facts obtained. Since this was less than
cult y of interpreting field perform- can be obtained only by hard work 1/10 of the rate of reservoir with-
ance curves and the complexity of and imaginative thinking. Assump- drawals, they ccmciuded that the
some reservoir engineering problems. tions are easiiy conceived. This no iimited water influx would not ma-
Theoretical calculations in this field doubt explains our innate tendency terially alter the soiotion gas drive
have little meaning except as clues to to substitute assumptions for facts performance, The water influx cal-
aid interpretation of observed phe- when the facts are not readiiy ob- culation was the crux of their analy-
nomena. Due to the complexity of tainable. sis, A1i of their conclusions and rec-
the field, large volumes of oil could
The Hypnotic Effect of the
ommendations were dependent on it.
easily be trapped and not be drained. Csdculated Solution Yet they made no effort to confirm
Reservoir engineering in this field As a profession grows it iogically their answer by other methods, The
consists almost entirely of identify- tries to reduce concepts to mathe- fact that water had invaded an ap-
ing and defining the numerous reser- preciable portion of the reservoir,
voirs. Engineering tests are being w that numerous wells had watered
conducted to confirm or disprove out, and that actual water produc-

... .
exceeded 1,500 B/D didn’t seem
the geological interpretation,
com-
to lo-
go s.
-... ~,
‘.
FaEww i! to tion
were so

“b~~ ~~
‘..,CWW16D
cate flow barriers and determine bother them, They hypno-
municating zones. It will not be an
i ‘i,,“’”.. ‘I tized by their calculations that the
easy task. Nature hides her ,secrets chairman later testitied under oath
well. ‘ f’‘“ +.\ :;, .-;-R, .1 that oniy a minor volume of water
Irr theory, reservoir engineering is $,~, q ‘%,,‘:
I had moved. ..into the reservoir. In:
based
In practice,
on
however,
ously scientific.
deal with’
To
broad

a system
scientitlc

which
it
start
principles.
is not rigor-
with,
may
we
be
. un-
1! ..
‘JWwrnt
Pf?awculoRATE\>

CW,M.AT,VE
’s’amsatiw
\

PROCWTION
...~...-.

MILLION
=--

OBLS
ion
MO
stead of questioning
sults,

trouble
the
they

apparently
their own
went
to concoct
anomalous facts
a
fit
to
theory
considerable
to make
re-
-

believable complex and impossible to the results indicated by their calcu-

Fig. WProduction history und
define completely. To arrive at a di- pressure. lation.

.
ctdctrlatcd and observed.

:JANUASSY, 1.{J65.. “ ..-

. .., 23
—
 All equations we use m reservoir learn that we use two-climensionnl To be successful wc must bc in-
engineers are bused on certain SSS. techniques less today than oLwprede- nately curious and scientifically hon-
sumed conditions, which may or cessors did 20 years ago. Any map est. We must continually question
may not represent the conditions in or cross section is a graphical two- our own results and search for addi-
u ptirti.cular reservoir, An equation dimensional representtttion of infor- tional facts. Elkins stated this quite
which M valid in one situation may mation, Data plotted on such rmsps aptly: “Since nearly all basic features
not apply in another. Often our and cross sections will indicate reser- of reservoir performance must he in-
equrrtions must be modified to fit voir performance trends far more ferred, periodic re-evaluation of spe-
particular reservoir conditions. Used quickly mtd accurately than a field cific cases is imperative”,’
wisely and cautiously our equations performance curve. Yet we are re- From an individLial cngineer”s
are valuable engineering tools. How- lying increasingly on field perform- point of view, successful engineering
ever, they are by no means our only ance curves o’n two-dinlen-
and less is limited to optimizing a system
tools and on occasions may be our sional plots of the data and individ- from the time he first becomes ac-
least important ones. ual well. performance curves. This is quainted with it. Even from this
a step backward, as a fkld perform- more limited viewpoint effective engi-
The Use of Models
ance qurve cannot show variation of neering is dependent upon recogniz-
Due to the complexity of most
data throughout the reservoir. Variat- ing the nature of the reservoir and
reservoirs, it is impossible to dupli-
ion provides the key to early inter- its performance. Most examples of
cate a reservoir or build a true pro-
pretation of reservoir. performitnce. poor individual engineering result
totype model. All models with
which we deal are greatly sinlpli- Field performance curves have lit- from an unwarranted reliance upon
tle value for early assessment of re- field performance curves and calcula-
tfed systems. Such. models provide
wduirble information concerning the
servoir performance, They have led tion procedures as tools to evuhmte
gsneral nztLlre of reservoir systems many engineers astray. The tech- reservoir perfornumce, An increased

and the mdurc of fluid flow in such

nique of plotting, or visLlalizing, all effort to define and evaluate the reser-
data in two dimensions, used exten- voir system and greater use of two-
sys[cnls. Indeed. it is from the study
of sLlch IUOL!eISthat we obtain much sively by our predecessors, will allow dimensional plots of datu should int-

nt’ oLtr knowledge concerning reser- much earlier evaluation of reservoir prove individual engineering etior(s.

voir mcchdrsics, performance, The technique is sim-

‘1’lw Ihwkgrwmd Reqnirrd for
The advent of the high-spcecl digi- ple, quick and effective. It shoLlki he Ibsf,rmir Engintwring

lal conlpLlter hiis Wowed conNruc- used more widely, The diversity of the t’urrctions the
[imr of mathematical models for the reservoir engineer is expected 10 per-
The I)ifliculty of
study of mLl[tiphase, nlultidinlen- Reservoir Engineering form also compounds the difficulty
tional tluicl flow. These models
Reservoir engineers deal with sys- of his job, He may be required to
come close to duplicating simple re- plan a reservoir evaluation progriim
tems which cannot be examined phy-
servoir systems and provide addi- during drilling wtd cfeveiopmcnt, de-
sically, A complete knowledge of the
tional insight concerning reservoir
reservoir system is not possible. The termine proper well spacing. evalu-
behavior. As a scientific tool, they ate logs, calculate reserves, evaluate
engineer’s joh is further complicated
arc supcrh. However. in our cxLlber- hy the lack of exactness of most open flow tests or drawdown and
nnce wi[h our new toy, let LIS not data. Water nnd gas production data
l-lL1ikf-up tests, investigate the eco-
forget two significant facts: the nomics of the proposed expend iIurcs
are often unreliable, memured pres-
mat hernat icrd reservoir models are sures may not represent stabilized
(including income taxes in th~ eval-
still greatly simplified comptrred to pressures, and results obtained from uation), participate in engineering
many reservoirs, and until we can fluid samples may not represent the c.ommittec studies and unitization
dctine o reservoir system, it is im-
reservoir fluids, Consequently, we meetings, recommend procedures for
possible to duplicate it in a model.
should not expect exttct solL~tions
pressure mainteriance. dig through
No model. however rigorous, can from our calculations even on the accounting data to determine costs
provide an exact answer if the input or to determine the p~st production
rare occasions when we use rigorous
information is wrong, equations. This does not mean that of depleted reservoirs, evaluate pilot
My remarks concerning the calcu-
Ollr equations are worthless. It floods and plan secondary recovery
Itited solution also apply to the
merely means that we should regard projects, explain why a particular proj-
mathematical model. With the glam-
our calculations as providing clues to ect failed, or undertake any number of
our of the cotnpu[er and the intrigu-
reservoir behavior and not as exrrct
other duties.
ing sophistication of the mathemati- indicators of reservoir behavior. Fur- To succeed, the engineer must de-
crr[ model it will he doubly ditlicult ther, we should always question the velop the geologist% knowledge of
to treat such calculated solutions ob-
results of our calculations, If we are sediments and environmental condi-
jectively,”These remarks are not in- to obtain the right answer, we tions; the physical chemist’s knowl-
tended to discourage use of such must continually seek answers to the edge of reservoir fluid properties,
models. Rather, they are intended as following questions (I) what does phase behavior, electrical conductiv-
words of caution to the engineers the answer mean: (2) does the an- ity, and fluid flow in porous sys-
who would use these scientitlc
to obtain engineering
wisely,
clues” about
solufions.
[hey
a- reservoir’s
ance. Used unwisely, - they
will provide
perform-
can
tools
Used
valuable

lead
swer
doesn’t
sible

(5)

(6)
were
are
f-l! all
it; (4)
interpretations

the
the
data
the
are
facts:

asstlmptions”
reliable;
of
(3) why
there other pos-

(7)
the

are
data;

correct:
ad-
tems; and
edge
use
In” addition,
familiar
of
of. high-speed
he” must
the mathematician’s
numerical
digital computers,.

with
be completely
past
analysis

production
knowl-
and the

and
.
one blindly astray, ditional data necessary: (8) has completion practices in the reservoir,
l’w{,.~iillellsittllttl there hcen an ideqtiiit~ geologicttl including a knowledge of which
I{cpmentution of Dkita study: and (9) has the reservoir zones are perforated in every well
It surprises most engineers to been adequatcl y defined? and each well’s pert’ornumcc. He also

$,.
must be art eoonomist, an ac~ountartt may employ numerous engineers References
of sorts, an expert negotiator, itruf but their engineering is “too little and 1.Calhoun, J. C,: “A Definitionof l?etro-
have a working knowledge of pro- too later and is usually inadequate, Ierrm Engineerln “, low. Pet. Tech.
ration law, unitization law and taxes. h such cases company policies (July, 1963) 15, %0, 7, 725.
2.Hutchinwur,C. A,, Jr,, I)odgc, C. F. and
Few engineers develop a background greatly handicap the efforts of the in-
Polasek, T. L.: “Identification, Chrssiii-
in depth that is this extensive, How- dividual engineers, They have diffi- ration turd Prediction of Reservoir Non.
ever, the engineer must develop a culty obtaining necessary data, and uaiformitiwr Affecting Prodncin O era-
working knowledge in each area and generally must attempt to salvage timrs” low, Pet. Tech. (Marc fi, fi61)
13, NO. 3, 223.
know when to consult with specialists lost profits rather than to create new
3. Hrr~chierson, C. A,, Jr,: “A Frontier in
for additional information. The expe- profits,
Reservoir Technology: Reservoir In.
rienced reservoir engineer is a gener- homogeneity Assessment and Controi”,
Reservoir engineers often disagree
alist, not a specialist. in interpreting a field’s performance. Pet, Eng. (Sept., 1959) 31, No. 10,
B19.
Cienerally incorrect interpretations
4. Elkins, Lincdr: “Some Imporurnt Pue-
result from ignoring signicant facts wpts in Ihe Practice of Reservoir Engi.

The purpose of reservoir engineer-

or a
from failure to dig deep enough neeriag”, SPE Distinguished Lecturer
Series, 1963.64,
to uncover all the facts. Incorrecf in-
ing is to control each separate reser- 5. wylli~, M, R, J,: “Reservuir
from an un- Mechanics

,.
terpretations also result
voir’s performance to obtain an op- —Stylized Mytil or Potential Science?”,
warranted reliance on field perform-
timum profit, To accomplish this pur- ~~8J~et, Td. (June, 1962) 14, No,
ance curves and calculation proce-
pose generally requires operating de-
dures as tools for interpreting reser- 6. Matthews, C, S, and Stegemeicr, G. L.:
cisions before the performance of
voir performance, Reservoir engi- “Study of Anomalous I’res,qure Build.Ul}
each reservoir can be determined. To Behavior”, Trans., AIME ( 195B) 213,
neering is difficult. The most success- 44.
correctly deduce the performance of
each reservoir requires that the reser-
ful engineer is usually the one who 7. van Ererdingen, A, F. and Hurst. W.:
voir system be identified and defined
makes the greatest effort to define “’1’he Application of the Lapla[,x Trrms.
and evaluate the reservoir system, formation to Finw Problems in Rewr-
by geologic techniques and special
and uncovers the most facts. vuirs.”, Trws., A131E(1949) 186, 30Fi,
engineering tests to provide a basis
for deduct[on. Efleclive engineering In examining several hundred en- P, L, ESSLtiY,

requires that the reservoir engineer, gineering reports and observing en- JR.. is a senior re-
a

.,
or someone jal niliar with reservoir gineering practice for number of senrch en fiineer
enginteriqg principles, participate iit years, I have concluded that relative- ‘ “w witlt Sinclair Re-
development and operating decisions. ly few individuals truly understand search, !nc. in Ttd-

Companies which do not consider the reservoir engineering. As it result, .$k. so. He worked jive

development and operation of an oil reservoir engineering is not as effec- years with Mara-

field as, parts of an engineering sys- tive as it should be. Too often the thon Oil Co, and
tem, and do not utilize reservoir en- maxinl Lml possible profit is not ob- seven years with

gineering principles as a basis for de- tained from a reservoir. To improve kg Skeily prior to join-
velopment and operating decisions, engineering 1 offer a simple sugges- ing Sinclair in 1962. He received an
generally do not- obtain optimum tion: Put the reservoir back into re- MS degree in pe(rrtlemn engineering

pmffts from their operations, They servoir engineering. from the U. of Tul.ra in 1950.

JAiWuARY,

. 196s
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..
.
.

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