Diagnosing and Controlling Excessive Water Production: State-of-the-Art Review

Bin Marta, Ebrahim Saeed; Hammouda, Mohamed Mostafa Mohamed Soliman; Tantawy, Mahmoud Abdou; Khamis, Mohammed Ali; Wahba, Ali Moustafa

doi:10.21608/jpme.2023.233102.1174

Diagnosing and Controlling Excessive Water Production: State-of-the-Art Review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

¹ PhD candidate, Petroleum Engineering department, Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Suez University, Egypt

² Prof., Petroleum department, Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Suez University, Egypt

³ Prof., Petroleum Engineering department, Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Suez University, Egypt

⁴ Associate professor, Petroleum and Natural gas Engineering department, Faculty of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA

⁵ Assistant professor, Petroleum Engineering Department, Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Suez University, Suez, Egypt

10.21608/jpme.2023.233102.1174

Abstract

The oil and gas sector faces a complex issue with excessive water production (EWP), having substantial economic and environmental consequences. The reasons that lead to EWP are called water production mechanisms (WPMs). They are classified into mechanical, completion, and reservoir problems. Each water production mechanism (WPM) needs a certain form of treatment that is suited to that situation. However, controlling water production becomes more difficult when it is related to reservoir problems. Therefore, understanding these reasons is essential to properly analyze the current situation and design the best solution for the problem. It is essential to pinpoint the problem's source first as the probability of a successful remedy is limited without a suitable diagnostic method prior to implementing a treatment strategy. Well testing and logging methods, and analytical and empirical approaches are the traditional techniques for WPM diagnosis. This paper investigated the most modern and successful strategies used to diagnose the source of EWP and suggest the proper water shutoff technique. This paper shows that the diagnostic plots derivative technique is the best way to determine the reason for EWP problems. These plots, however, should be used in conjunction with other approaches like production logging and reservoir modeling. Then, chemical, or mechanical treatment techniques can be used to stop EWP depending on the cause of the production. Mechanical techniques should typically be employed when dealing with water production management in the wellbore or adjacent to the wellbore. In contrast, chemical techniques must be utilized for matrix or fracture plugging.

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