Reservoir Management of the Gullfaks Main Field

Abstract

Abstract The giant Gullfaks Main Field comprises Statfjord, Cook and Brent Formations of Early to Middle Jurassic. The reservoir is complex due to large number of faults and extreme permeability contrast ranging from several Darcies in the Tarbert to milli-Darcy in the Cook. The highly productive sands are poorly consolidated causing sand production problem. Reservoir fluid in some of the areas contains high H2S. Uncertainties associated with structures, degree of communication, extreme contrast in reservoir properties and effective control of sand and H2S pose a great challenge for reservoir management. Despite the challenges, the recovery factor on Gullfaks Main Field is high. A total of 335 Sm3 of oil has so far been produced, which amounts to an overall recovery factor of 56% (60% in the Brent Formation). This high recovery factor is attributed to effective reservoir management. The management strategy involves conservation of reservoir energy, implementation of simple and advanced strategies, systematic and sustained collection of data, and continuous application of improved recovery technologies. Conservation of energy is achieved through water and gas injection. Simple and advanced strategies include selective perforation of wells, sand control, zone isolation, multi-target wells, controlled drainage through DIACS technology, through-tubing drilling, etc. Data collection involves 3D and 4D seismic, core and well log, RFT/MDT pressure, PLT, RST saturation, well completion, production and injection, etc. Improved recovery techniques, studied and some of them implemented, consist of infill-drilling, water and WAG injections, polymer assisted surfactant flooding, microbial injection, CO2 injection, etc. The current IOR initiatives are meant to extend the production life of the field to 2030 and thus meet the ambition of recovering 400 MSm3 of oil. This paper summarizes the reservoir management challenges, techniques and technologies applied to evaluate and monitor the reservoir performance, and the strategies to enhance oil production.