Increasing Production by Shooting

The rate of production and the ultimate recovery of oil have been materiallyincreased by the systematic and careful shooting of wells in the west Red Riveroil field, Texas-Oklahoma boundary. Although shooting of oil wells to increaseproduction is probably the oldest and most widely used method of stimulatingproduction, little precise information is available regarding the conditionsinvolved and the results obtained. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the shooting of 25 wells on oneproperty and the results obtained. Seven of the wells were shot twice and threeof them three times, making a total of 38 shots. As separate production recordswere kept for each well, it is possible to study the results of shooting with agreat deal of satisfaction and confidence. Location of Property The west Red River oil field in the Burkburnett district is approximatelyeight miles west of the town of Burkburnett, Texas. The wells underconsideration are located in the bed of the Red River between the medial lineand the south bank of that river. (See Fig. 1.) Engineering Work Complete and accurage data are essential in working out the subsurfaceconditions of an oil field. The value of cross sections based on welllocations, derrick floor elevations, and the drilling records, is entirelydependent upon the accuracy, care and skill with which these fundamental dataare taken and recorded. As the property titles and equities involved have beenadjusted only within the last few months after years of litigation, it has beenimperative to keep a separate account for each well from the start ofoperations. Therefore, the results of shooting individual wells can be shownwith unusual accuracy. Two sets of cross-sections, one north-south and the other east-west, weredrawn so that each well appeared on at least two cross-sections and wascorrelated in four directions. Correlation and structural contours were made onthe top of the oil sand. It was especially desired to locate the top of thesand as accurately as possible in order to determine the proper place for theshots and also to study the effects of shooting in different parts of thesand.