Abstracts: Comprehensive Reservoir Characterization Using Open-Hole Wireline Logs, Core, and Downhole Video, Buena Vista Hills Field, California

BILODEAU, BRUCE J.; SMITH, STEPHEN C.; and JULANDER, DALE R.

Reservoir characterization from the field scale to the pore scale is needed in order to completely describe a reservoir for accurate reservoir simulation and determination of an appropriate enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique. A recently drilled well in the Buena Vista Hills field was cored and logged through the Antelope Shale reservoir zone to gather information for a comprehensive reservoir characterization in order to evaluate and design an appropriate EOR process.

A nearly exhaustive list of advanced technology tools and analyses have been applied to the new well as well as older wells. Core, log, and other well and field data have allowed us to 1 ) build a comprehensive reservoir model for input to a reservoir simulator and 2) determine which tools and analyses give the most value for building an accurate reservoir model.

Characterization data often comes from unexpected data sources. For example, downhole video logs have given us valuable information not obtainable from other sources. A shut-in well was observed to have static surface pressure and a static fluid level in the mid perf region, but with fluid inflow observed above the fluid level and gas inflow observed below the fluid level. This implies significant pressure compartmentalization in the reservoir and fluid and gas crossflow in shut-in and possibly producing wells.

Search and Discovery Article #90945©1997 AAPG Pacific Section Meeting, Bakersfield, California