Optimization of the location of a multilateral well in a thin oil rim, complicated by the presence of an extensive gas cap

Abstract

The specific share of the reserves of hard-to-recover hydrocarbon raw materials is steadily growing. The search for technologies to increase the hydrocarbon recovery factor is one of the most urgent tasks facing the oil and gas industry. One of the methods to expand the coverage of oil reserves and increase oil recovery is to use the technology of drilling multilateral wells with a fishbone trajectory. In the Russian Federation, the most branched well was drilled in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) at the Srednebotuobinskoye oil and gas condensate field. The main object of development is the Botuobinsky horizon (Bt reservoir). About 75 % of the geological reserves of the reservoir are concentrated in a thin oil rim with an average oil-saturated layer thickness of 10 m with an extensive gas cap. This circumstance is one of the main complicating factors in the development of the Srednebotuobinskoye oil and gas condensate field. For such complex wells, one of the most important design stages is to determine the optimal location of the fishbone well in an oil-saturated reservoir. The article shows the results of sector modeling in the conditions of the Srednebotuobinskoye field to determine the optimal location of multilateral wells using Tempest simulator.

Keywords

• srednebotuobinskoye oil and gas condensate field
• multilateral well
• cumulative oil production
• oil flow rate
• gas cap
• gas factor
• bottom water
• thin oil rim
• inclined oil-water contact