Comparing the benefits: use of various well head gas coning control strategies to optimize production of a thin oil rim

With an increasing number of smart well applications being installed in the field, more knowledge is required to optimize their operation. This paper compares the benefits of various wellhead gas coning control strategies to optimize production of a thin oil rim. This study is performed within the "Integrated System Approach Petroleum Production (ISAPP)" knowledge center of TNO, TU Delft and Shell. For this study a field case model is used, which has been validated with field data. The field case is a thin oil rim with a horizontal well. Due to the location of the horizontal well in the oil rim, the well is particularly susceptible to gas coning. Besides gas coning, wax precipitation is a second production constraint. This makes this well challenging to operate. Different production strategies are investigated and compared against each other: intermittent production and continuous production with pressure differential control. The results of the different production strategies are presented by analyzing the advantages and disadvantages for the different gas coning control strategies, satisfying the given constraint of gas influx. This study reveals the difference in the cumulative production between the two strategies. The use of a closed loop control strategy can lead to a larger oil production in the same amount of time. This paper shows the viability of using dynamic simulation models to quantitatively assess the benefits of various production optimization strategies. This allows operators to compare emerging smart well technologies, and increase trust in specific technologies that could be of an added value to their operation. Even though much has been published about the potential benefits of a smart field philosophy, few published field cases are available. This paper offers a field case testimony of the comparison of various feedback control strategies for purpose of production optimization. Copyright 2009, Society of Petroleum Engineers.