SPE 89373

Enhanced Oil Recovery with Horizontal Waterflooding, Osage County, Oklahoma

R. V. Westermark SPE, Grand Directions, D. Dauben, SPE, Dauben International Energy Consultants, Inc.,
S. Robinowitz, Grand Resources, Inc., and H. V. Weyland, U.S. Department of Energy

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2004 SPE/DOE Fourteenth Symposium on technique of using parallel horizontal water injection and
Improved Oil Recovery held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A., 17–21 April 2004.
production wells as a method of enhanced oil recovery
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
information contained in a proposal submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to
Background
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any Historical Waterflooding in Osage County
position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at
SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of The Bartlesville reservoir in northeastern Oklahoma has been
Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper
for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is
one of the most prolific oil producing formations in the United
prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to a proposal of not more than 300 States. Ye1 reports that 1.5 billion barrels of oil have been
words; illustrations may not be copied. The proposal must contain conspicuous
acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O. produced from the Bartlesville formation through the 1960s.
Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. The Bartlesville formation remains an important producing
horizon even though it is considered to be in a mature stage of
Abstract depletion. In spite of the large cumulative production from the
Bartlesville, the recovery efficiency has been low, usually less
This paper provides details of a project to test horizontal than 20% of the original oil in place (OOIP). Recovery during
waterflooding as a means of improved oil recovery in Osage primary production operations is low due to: (1) a solution
County, OK. Supported by a grant from the Department of gas-drive mechanism, which results in rapid pressure
Energy (DOE), an independent operator, Grand Resources, depletion and (2) low initial reservoir pressure which is a
Inc., has developed a process for selecting and developing consequence of the shallow depth. The remaining 80% of the
candidate reservoirs for horizontal waterflooding. Reservoir OOIP has attracted many secondary and tertiary recovery
screening is the first step in the process and then rock techniques to be attempted.
mechanics are used to predict wellbore stability for determining Secondary recovery operations are often not effective or
the most efficient completion method. Geologic and reservoir economic due to shallow depth, existence of natural fractures
parameters are considered when selecting the radius of and low permeability. The Bartlesville sandstone across Osage
curvature for the horizontal well to be drilled and the air/foam County ranges in depth from 1,000’ to 3,000’ is known to be
drilling fluids to be utilized to avoid formation damage. The naturally fractured2 and typically has permeability values less
final step is to run a comprehensive set of logs through the than 50 millidarcies (md). In an attempt to improve the
curve and out into the reservoir allowing for petrophysical economics of Bartlesville waterfloods, operators frequently
evaluation. inject water above the fracture-parting pressure to achieve
To accomplish an economically successful project, given better injectivity. The result is often unfavorable since the
the basic assumption of an existing field infrastructure having water tends to channel through the fractures bypassing much
an adequate water supply well available, the following three of the remaining oil in the matrix. Development of small
goals must be met: 1) demonstrate that horizontal patterns with closer well spacing can lead to improved
waterflooding is technically and economically feasible for recovery, however, the economics are impacted negatively
recovering additional oil in shallow low permeability because of the number of wells required.
reservoirs; 2) demonstrate that open hole completions are a Recent Horizontal Waterflooding Reported
viable technique based on wellbore stability considerations; 3) This process was first presented by Taber3 and has been
demonstrate that short radius rotary steerable technology can successfully demonstrated in several field projects, including
drill horizontal wells at low cost and without reservoir damage. those reported by several authors 4,5,6,7. Most of the prior
applications have focused on the use of horizontal wells in the
Introduction deeper reservoirs (greater than 4,500’) where horizontal wells
It is solidly established that significant amounts of oil are still can save money by replacing the need for multiple vertical
trapped in the producing formations when wells in wells. While horizontal waterflooding has been successfully
waterflooded fields are abandoned due to high water-oil ratio demonstrated in various deeper formations, the application of
(WOR) causing production to be uneconomical. Many horizontal injection and producing wells in shallow, low
techniques have been developed with a goal of economically permeability reservoirs is an area of opportunity for horizontal
recovering this bypassed oil. This paper discusses the well technology. Kelkar8, in a DOE supported project,
2 SPE 89373

attempted to use a horizontal injection well to overcome the performance over conventional waterflooding, but not to a
injectivity limitations of the Red Fork (geologic equivalent of sufficient degree to be economically successful.
the Bartlesville) formation in a pilot area of the Glenn Pool A suitable test site was identified in the nearby Wolco
Field, south of Tulsa. Unfortunately, the horizontal well was Field also shown in Figure 1. The Wolco field is adjacent to
not completed due to mechanical difficulties. the North Avant Field, an abandoned 1980s waterflood. The
Horizontal wells can be very expensive due to drilling Wolco Field was re-drilled in the 1980s, but not subjected to
techniques that typically increase completion costs. The use of waterflood activities. In the pilot test area, there are three
mud as the drilling fluid is a serious problem in all wells; existing wells in the quarter section; Wolco #1A, #2A, and
especially those wells drilled in low permeability and low- #3A. There is a shut-in water supply well in the adjacent
pressure reservoirs9. To remediate drilling mud invasion into quarter section to the southwest available for use in the
the formation, expensive completion techniques are required horizontal waterflood pilot.
to remove mud filtrate damage from the near-wellbore region Simulation studies were conducted to confirm the
and establish contact with the reservoir’s natural permeability. suitability of the Wolco site and also to determine the
These completion techniques can also destabilize the wellbore, optimum placement of wells. The Bartlesville sandstone at this
requiring a liner to be set further increasing well costs. site has a thickness of around 85’, porosity in the range of 16-
In a review of the current applications of horizontal wells 20% and estimated permeability in the range of 30-100 md.
in 2003, Joshi10 found most domestic horizontal wells were Based on simulation studies, the horizontal injection well
drilled in low permeability fractured carbonate reservoirs. In should be drilled 20’ from the bottom of the sand and the two
the same article, several fields are listed where horizontal producing wells will be drilled 20’ from the top of the sand.
wells have been used for waterflooding purposes. The key Figure 2 shows the results of a simulation performed in the
issues in correct application of horizontal well technology pilot area. This simulation indicated that high injection and
pivots around achieving desired productivity/injectivity of the producing rates can be maintained during the life of the
project wells and the cost associated with drilling the project. The oil is recovered quickly which will be highly
horizontal wells without damaging the depleted, low pressure beneficial in achieving an economic operation. The WOR
reservoirs. increases which must be considered in the design and upgrade
of surface production facilities.
Horizontal Waterflooding Project Figure 3 is a structure map of the pilot test area, showing
Selecting Pilot Field Test in Osage County the location of the pre-existing wells and the three pilot area
Horizontal waterflooding as applied in this project consists of wells drilled parallel to the suspected prevailing fracture
one horizontal injection well and two adjacent parallel orientation within the field. Alignment with the expected
horizontal producing wells that straddle the injection well. The fracture orientation was planned as a precaution in the event
basic concept is that large volumes of water can be injected at that open fractures are encountered. In such a case, good
pressures below the fracture parting pressure of the reservoir. sweep efficiency can still be maintained while injecting water
The horizontal producing wells in turn can capture the oil that to displace oil toward the adjacent horizontal producing wells.
has been mobilized. By contrast, conventional waterflooding Figure 4 is a cross section X-X’ drawn through the pre-
is often not effective in shallow, low permeability reservoirs, existing wells showing the top and bottom of the Bartlesville
typical of the Bartlesville sandstone, because of the inability to formation with an upward dip of 1.5 degrees to the northeast.
establish adequate injectivity below the fracture parting Drilling Technique
pressure. The fracture parting pressure is often exceeded Cost effective drilling operations are the cornerstone of this
resulting in channeling the injection water and the bypassing horizontal waterflooding program. Open hole completions
of reserves. provide the least expensive method of completing the wells
The project is attempting to demonstrate the economic into the Bartlesville sandstone. Rock mechanic studies
impact of horizontal waterflooding in an area adjacent to a indicate that the matrix of this Pennsylvanian formation has
pre-existing vertical waterflood. The infrastructure of the the strength and competency allowing for openhole
existing field operations is assumed to be adequate to handle completions.
the increased injection volumes and produced water volumes The directional drilling is accomplished by using the
with only minor expenditures for equipment upgrades. proven rotary drilling system developed and licensed by
Initially, the project team concentrated on the collection of Amoco (now BP). Simply put, this system consists of
data for a pilot in the Woolaroc Field (the location of this field basically two drilling assemblies: a curve drilling assembly
is shown in Figure 1). Reservoir description studies were (CDA) and the lateral drilling assembly. The CDA drills a
conducted to identify a suitable un-flooded area within the very predicable curve of a designed turning radius based on
field for the pilot test area. A vertical well was drilled in the tool configuration. These wells were drilled with the CDA
pilot area to collect additional data including well logs and configured to drill a 70’ radius curve. (The well path goes
cores. The plan was to plug back after the data collection and from vertical to horizontal following a curve scribed by a 70’
then drill a horizontal lateral into the reservoir. The core radius.) Thus by drilling 110’ measured depth, the inclination
collected during this process indicated that the reservoir was increased from zero (vertical) to 90o (horizontal).
relatively uniform in properties and contained a significant The CDA is removed from the well and the lateral drilling
amount of oil, however, the permeability was unexpectedly assembly is run in to drill the desired horizontal section of the
low. Simulation studies using core permeability values well. To explain the details of this short radius, underbalanced
indicated that horizontal waterflooding would improve drilling technique, the field operations for the Wolco #4A will
SPE 89373 3

be reviewed. The location of this well is shown on Figure 3. Project Economics

The vertical portion of this well was drilled to a total depth Three Bartlesville Sandstone horizontal wells were drilled in
of 1,628’. Open-hole logs (gamma-ray, induction and a sonic the Wolco Field in the following sequence: Wolco #4A; #6A;
based borehole televiewer) were run to confirm geology and to and #5A. A continuous improvement process of well planning,
identify fracture existence and orientation. No fractures were drilling and post well review is an effective method applying
identified during this logging run. lessons learned from each well drilled. This technique resulted
The 5 ½” production casing was run to 1,627’ and cement in each successive well being drilled more efficiently and
was circulated to the surface. The CDA was picked up and run more cost effectively than the last. The first well drilled,
into the well. A gyroscopic surveying tool was utilized to Wolco #4A, cost $257,000. The second well drilled, Wolco
orient the CDA. The 70’ radius curve was drilled per the well #6A, cost $214,000, and the third well drilled, Wolco #5A,
plan from 1,635’ to 1,733’ (measured depth). The curve cost $202,000. Today’s cost to drill and complete a typical
maintained the desired direction and ended as planned, which vertical well in the Bartlesville in the Wolco Field is estimated
allowed the lateral section to be drilled parallel to a slightly up at $98,000.
dip formation. The curve was drilled using water as the Simulation results, coupled with an economic evaluation
circulating medium. indicate a horizontal waterflood on 23 acre spacing would
The lateral section was drilled underbalanced circulating generate $2.9 million cumulative revenue over 6 years of
with air/foam in an effort to minimize formation damage in operation, compared to $1.4 million cumulative revenue over
the low pressured reservoir. Two different lateral drilling 30 years of operation for a five-spot vertical waterflood.
assemblies were used for drilling the horizontal section of the Present values (PV10) for horizontal and vertical five-spot
well. A modified air hammer bottom hole assembly was first waterfloods in the Wolco Field are $2.3 and $0.4 million
run in the well, but a correction run was necessary as the air respectively. Horizontal waterflooding responds more quickly
hammer assembly was dropping angle too quickly. After the to water injection, resulting in significant amounts of
correction run, a packed hole rotary drilling system was used, incremental oil produced early in the project. This early
with frequent surveys taken to check for proper wellbore horizontal waterflood response yields more attractive
direction and inclination. The packed bottom hole assembly investment opportunities as compared to vertical waterflood
held the desired inclination angle and direction. Wolco #4A projects.
was drilled to a measured depth of 2,732’. Production Results
A directional plot of Wolco #4A can be found as Figure 5. Initial conditions prior to producing from or injecting into the
This figure presents the well plan and the actual wellbore path horizontal wells were determined by taking fluid levels with
based on survey results. The drilling of Wolco #4A followed an acoustic fluid level device in both idle wells and the new
the plan regarding direction, inclination and total length wells. The pressure in the pilot area averages 126 psi.
drilled. A water supply well (Wolco WS #1) has been completed
Logging Short Radius Wells with a submersible pump capable of moving 2,000 bwpd from
Grand Resources has developed a method to log horizontal the Arbuckle formation which is approximately 500’ below
wells through short radius curves by deploying logging tools the Bartlesville. The injection water is transferred directly into
via sucker rods. The gamma ray, density, induction and the injection well via the submersible pump.
borehole televiewer logs were run to determine fluid Pumping units have been installed on the two producing
saturations, identify fractures and confirm geology through the wells. The tank battery is capable handling the produced fluids
horizontal section of Wolco #4A. and disposing of produced water in a disposal well, Wolco
Logs were run into the horizontal section of the wellbore #1A, on the north end of the pilot area.
approximately 500’. After logging 500’ of lateral section, The producing wells are completed with insert pumps in
friction and the flexibility of the sucker rods prevented the the 2 7/8” tubing set in the 5 ½” casing in the vertical section of
logs from going any further into the lateral. To overcome the the well. This places the pump inlet 90’ above the horizontal
distance limitation of the sucker-rod conveyed logging section of the well. The producing wells began pumping in
technique, work is currently progressing on adapting a early January 2004.
commercially available down hole wireline tractor to pull the The injection well, Wolco #4A, was completed with a
logs out into the lateral section through the short 70’ radius packer in the 5 ½” casing in the vertical section of the well
curves. with 2 7/8” duo-lined (internally coated) tubing to combat the
The borehole televiewer log was run from 1,626’ to mildly corrosive nature of the injection water. Water injection
2,248’. This log is designed to detect and interpret fracture began on December 30, 2003. The submersible pump in the
existence and orientation. The log encountered very few water supply well is providing the necessary pressure to move
fractures in the wellbore. The density log was run through the the 2,000 bwpd being injected into Wolco #4A at zero surface
lateral from 1,732’ – 2,245’ and porosity values averaged pressure. This provides an initial injectivity substantially
16%. The induction log was run through the curve and 550’ greater than the historical injectivity of former injection wells
into the lateral portion of the well. Resistivity values in the top adjacent and to the south of the Wolco pilot area.
section of the Bartlesville (1,650’ – 1,700’ measured depth) Between the time injection was begun and this paper was
were approximately 5 ohms. Resistivity values along the submitted for publication only ten days had elapsed, not
length of the lateral (1,732’ – 2,270’) averaged 2 ohms. Low sufficient time for a response to the injected water. Hence,
resistivity values were expected in this wellbore due to its there is no horizontal waterflood production data to report at
position near the bottom of the reservoir.
4 SPE 89373

this date. The results of the first four months of the horizontal References
waterflooding will be reported at the conference. 1. Ye, Liangmiao and Kerr, Dennis: “Sequence Stratigraphy of the
Middle Pennsylvanian Bartlesville Sandstone, Northeastern
Conclusions Oklahoma: A Case of an Underfilled Incised Valley”, AAPG
1. The originally proposed site in the Woolaroc Field Bulletin, Vol. 84, No. 8, August 2000, pp 1185-1204.
2. Guo, Genliang and Carroll, Herbert B.: “A New Methodology for
proved to be unsuitable for a horizontal waterflood Oil and Gas Exploration Using Remote Sensing Data and
project because of the unexpectedly low permeability Surface Fracture Analysis”, Performed Under DOE Contract
obtained from the Bartlesville core. Number DE-AC22-94PC91008, February 1999.
3. Taber, J. J.; Seright, R. S.: “Horizontal Injection and Production
2. A nearby site in the Wolco Field appears to be much Wells for EOR or Waterflooding”, SPE 23952, presented at the
more suitable for the demonstration of this 1992 SPE Permian Basin Oil and Gas Recovery Conference,
technology because of a thicker sand section and Midland, Texas, March 18-20, 1992.
improved permeability. 4. Huang, W. S.; Kaetzer, T. R.; Bowlin, K. R.: “Case History of a
Horizontal Well Waterflood Project-New Hope Shallow Unit,
Texas-An Update”, Paper HWC94-08, presented at the
3. Simulation studies for thicker sand sections indicate Canadian SPE/CIM/CANMET International Conference on
that optimum performance can be achieved by Recent Advances in Horizontal Well Applications, Calgary,
placing horizontal injection wells near the bottom of Alberta, Canada, March 20-23, 1994.
the formation while placing horizontal producing 5. Hall, S. D.: “Multilaterals Convert 5-Spot Line Drive Waterflood
wells near the top of the formation. Good vertical in SE Utah”, SPE 48869, presented at the 1998 SPE
permeability is required. International Conference and Exhibition in China, Beijing,
China, November 2-6, 1998.
4. Reservoir modeling is critical in evaluating the 6. Lach, J. R.: “Captain Field Reservoir Development Planning and
suitability of a proposed area for a demonstration test. Horizontal Well Performance”, OTC 8508, 1997 Offshore
Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, May 5-6, 1997.
7. Collier, F.B.; Pickett, S.L.; Sharma, A.K.; Stewart, T.L.:
5. The demonstration project has indicated that short “Horizontal Wells Optimize Waterflood”, Petroleum Engineer
radius horizontal wells can be drilled with air/foam International, November 1995, pp. 24-28.
economically. 8. Kelkar, M.C.; Liner, C.; Kerr, D.: “Integrated Approach Towards
the Application of Horizontal Wells to Improve Waterflooding
6. Logging through 70’ radius curves was successfully Performance”, Final Report, DOE/BC/14951-16, October 1999.
achieved. 9. Joshi, S.: “Horizontal Well Technology”, PennWell Publishing
Company, 1991.
10. Joshi, S.: “Cost/Benefit of Horizontal Wells”, SPE 83621,
Acknowledgements
presented at SPE Western Region/AAPG Pacific Section Joint
This work was prepared with the support of the U.S. Meeting May 19-24, 2003.
Department of Energy, under Award No. DE-FG26-
02NT15452. The project is indebted for the hearty
endorsement of Principal Chief Jim Gray and the Osage Tribal Metric Conversion Factors
Council. bbl X 1.589 873 E – 01 = m3
ft x 3.048* E – 01 =m
inch x 2.54* E + 00 = cm
Nomenclature lbf x 4.448 222 E + 00 =N
bbls = 5.61 cubic feet md x 9.869 233 E – 04 = m2
md = millidarcy psi x 6.894 757 E + 00 = kPa
OOIP = original oil in place
WOR = water oil ratio
SPE 89373 5

Figure 1 Location of Horizontal Waterflood Pilot Test Area

Comparison of Producing Rates for Conventional and

Horizontal Waterflood on 23 Acre Spacing

1000

Oil Rate for Horizontal Waterflood Water Rate for Horizontal Waterflood
Producing Rate, bpd

100

Water Rate for Vertical Waterflood

10

Oil Rate for Vertical Waterflood

1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Time, year

Figure 2 Comparison of Simulation Results for Vertical and Horizontal Waterfloods

6 SPE 89373

Figure 3 Structure Map of Bartlesville Sandstone in Pilot Test Area Scale 1 inch = 1000 feet

Cross Section " X - X' "

2A 443 ft 3A 1026 ft 1A

-700 -700

Bartlesville
-800 -800
Bartlesville
Bartlesville

b Bartlesville

-900 b Bartlesville b Bartlesville -900

TD=1876

TD=1807 TD=1850

Figure 4 Cross Section of Bartlesville Sandstone in Pilot Test Area

SPE 89373 7

1200

P L A N V IE W
1300

South(-)/North(+) (1000 ft/in)

750
LE GE ND
True Vertical Depth (200 ft/in)

500
1400 Plan
250
4A, Wellbore #1, Actual V0
0
1500
0 250 500 750
West(-)/East(-) (1000 ft/in)
1600

1700

1800
-100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200

Vertical Section at 40.07° (200 ft/in)

Figure 5 Directional Plots for Wolco #4A