Abstract
In the Niger Delta, most of the thin oil rim reservoirs accumulate potential recoverable reserves. However, their development/production is characterized by early water breakthrough from water coning phenomenon. Available water coning control methods reduce the water coning tendency but leave the bypassed oil in the reservoir(s). In this study, integrated water coning control approach that combines Downhole Water Loop (DWL) completion and polymeric gel injection was developed to minimize water coning tendency and improve reservoir sweep efficiency in thin oil rim reservoir(s). The simulation results obtained indicated that the integrated water coning control approach reduced water production by 62.80% and 83.26% at 6 and 3 months polymeric gel injection intervals respectively. Also, it improved oil production by 171.25% and 239.06% for the respective polymeric gel injections. Comparing the integrated approach with the DWL completion showed that the developed integrated approach performed better than the DWL completion; as the DWL reduced water production by 38.0% and improved oil production by 75.0%. Therefore, the developed integrated water coning control approach can be used as a veritable tool for minimizing water coning tendency to improve oil recovery from thin oil rim reservoirs in the Niger Delta.
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