Use of Large Scale Earth Model for Opportunity Identification and Targeting at Kern River Field, Kern County, California

Dale Beeson
Chevron, 9525 Camino Media, Bakersfield, CA 93311

A full field geocellular model has been constructed for the Kern River Field in order to improve the understanding of remaining oil and identify development opportunities in the Field. This earth model is one of the largest in the petroleum industry at 155 million cells. The model framework is based on a dense distribution of over 12,000 normalized well logs within an area of about 7,500 acres. The reservoir framework is also populated with regularly updated surveillance log data for characterizing steam, temperature, and oil saturation values to provide a current view of remaining oil. The development of a full field earth model for reservoir characterization has provided a powerful tool for helping to prioritize subsurface opportunities. Identifying remaining oil saturated zones and their geometry and flow capacity is critical to optimizing the development of the remaining oil resource. The perspective gained with the full field model along with updated subsurface conditions from over 600 observation wells are key to successful target prioritization and selection. Most recently, the application of horizontal wells has proven to be a valuable means for targeting these identified remaining oil volumes. The effective pairing of robust target identification with horizontal well drilling and other drilling and completion activities is contributing to helping offset field decline. This type of successful reservoir management is a key component to continued vitality in the very mature Kern River Field.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90076©2008 AAPG Pacific Section, Bakersfield, California