Economic Recovery of Oil Trapped at Fan Margins Using Hig Angle Wells Multiple Hydraulic Fractures

The Yowlumne field is a giant field in the southern San Joaquin basin, Kern County, California. It is a deep (13,000 ft) waterflood operation that produces from the Miocene- aged Stevens Sand. The reservoir is interpreted as a layered, fan-shaped, prograding turbidite complex containing several lobe-shaped sand bodies that represent distinct flow units. A high ultimate recovery factor is expected, yet significant quantities of undrained oil remain at the fan margins. The fan margins are not economic to develop using vertical wells because of thinning pay, deteriorating rock quality, and depth. This project attempts to demonstrate the effectiveness of exploiting the northeast distal fan margin through the use of a high- angle well completed with multiple hydraulic- fracture treatments. A high-angle well offers greater pay exposure than can be achieved with a vertical well. Hydraulic-fracture treatments will establish vertical communication between thin interbedded layers and the wellbore. The equivalent production rate and reserves of three vertical wells are anticipated at a cost of approximately two vertical wells. The near-horizontal well penetrated the Yowlumne sand; a Stevens sand equivalent, in the distal fan margin in the northeast area of the field. The well was drilled in a predominately westerly direction towards the interior of the field, in the direction of improving rock quality. Drilling and completion operations proved to be very challenging, leading to a number of adjustments to original plans. Hole conditions resulted in obtaining less core material than desired and setting intermediate casing 1200 ft too high. The 7 in. production liner stuck 1000 ft off bottom, requiring a 5 in. liner to be run the rest of the way. The cement job on the 5 in. liner resulted in a very poor bond, which precluded one of three hydraulic fracture treatments originally planned for the well. Openhole logs confirmed most expectations going into the project about basic rock properties: the formation was shaly with low porosities, and water saturations were in line with expectations, including the presence of some intervals swept out by the waterflood. High water saturations at the bottom of the well eliminated one of the originally planned hydraulic fracture treatments. Although porosities proved to be low, they were more uniform across the formation than expected. Permeabilities of the various intervals continue to be evaluated, but appear to be better than expected from the porosity log model derived in Budget Period One. The well was perforated in all pay sections behind the 5 in. liner. Production rates and phases agree nicely with log calculations, fractional flow calculations, and an analytical technique used to predict the rate performance of the well