WellWatcher Permanent Downhole

Reservoir and Production Monitoring

Systems in action
Managing the reservoir
drawdown efficiently

The Magnus field, the most northerly producing

field in the UK sector of the North Sea, was being
developed with paired producer and injector wells
operated on voidage. The reservoir had a bubblepoint pressure of 6,350 psi [43,781 kPa] and an initial
reservoir pressure of 7,200 psi [49,642 kPa]. The well
was producing 13,000 bbl/d with an 85% water cut.
To avoid problems related to gas blocking, the reservoir needed to be operated above the bubblepoint.
To control the pressure and optimize production from
the well, the surface choke needed to be adjusted
weekly. The operator decided that a permanent
downhole monitoring system would help manage
production more accurately and in real time.

A WellWatcher* permanent quartz gauge was

installed in the well at a true vertical depth of
approximately 300 m [984 ft] above the top of the
perforations. The accurate measurements allowed
the operator to precisely adjust the production choke
weekly to draw down the well to a pressure that
was much closer to the bubblepoint. As a result, the
operator was able to safely maintain the downhole
flowing pressure closely above the bubblepoint,
avoiding any risk of gas blocking. In addition, the
lower drawdown pressure allowed the production
rate to increase by more than 3%.

Achieving accurate production allocation in a subsea

field and successfully
managing the drawdown

A subsea tieback was producing from a salt dome

high-relief structure in the North Sea. The operator
needed to obtain accurate information on flow allocation per well and to properly manage the drawdown.

than 1%. The downhole pressure data were used

to control drawdown on the formation and better
manage watercut and, ultimately, meet production
quotas. Results from pressure buildup tests and
associated analyses conducted during planned
shutdowns helped the operator more accurately
characterize the reservoir and the productivity
of the individual well. The operator continued to
monitor production data through a secure Web
portal and automatic alerts for potential shortfalls
in well productivity.

WellWatcher permanent pressure gauges in each

well and a subsea multiphase flowmeter were
installed to acquire continuous downhole pressures
and to measure the flow rate at the subsea level. The
flowmeter provided well pressure data that helped
the operator understand the production allocation of
individual wells. The flowmeter also monitored and
alerted the operator when the water cut rose by more

WellWatcher Permanent Downhole Monitoring

Optimizing production from

commingled reservoirs by
controlling gas production

Two platform wells offshore Dubai were producing

gas through a single multiphase flowmeter via a
manifold. One well was moderately deviated and
segmented and was equipped with an intelligent
completion. The other well was highly deviated and
producing from the field. Flow control valves controlled the production from two sand channels. The
operator needed to know the flow contribution from
each zone. Because the production platform gashandling capability was constrained, proper control
of the gas/oil ratio was also necessary.
The wells were equipped with WellWatcher distributed temperature sensing (DTS) systems along
the producing intervals to monitor their temperature

Managing a hot, fractured,

and compartmentalized
reservoir

The Rang Dong field offshore Viet Nam includes

lower Miocene and basement reservoirs. The basement reservoirs are fractured and have bottomhole
temperatures as high as 153 degC [307 degF]. The
high-temperature environment made managing
the complex reservoir a challenge for an operator.
Field development planning required continuous
permanent downhole pressure monitoring over
several years. The operator needed a monitoring
system that was both accurate and highly reliable
at high temperatures.
Permanent WellWatcher gauges were installed
in all of the basement wells and in 25% of the
lower Miocene wells. Pressure and temperature

profiles. The temperature profile measurement in

the intelligent completion well provided information
for zonal allocation and gas detection. The temperature profile measurement enabled the operator to
make informed decisions on actuating the sleeves.
In the highly deviated well, the DTS measurements
enabled the operator to identify gas entry points and
to discretely quantify the volumes produced through
multirate testing. For both wells, gas production
characterization allowed the operator to precisely
manage and quantify gas production within the
platform capability.

data enabled the operator over time to clearly

understand the fractured reservoirs. Reservoir
pressure measurements, vital for history matching,
were continuously monitored. As a result, reservoir
characterization was greatly improved, and
continuous production was optimized. Capital
expenditures were significantly decreased because
of the reduced production downtime, and completion integrity was enhanced. Health, safety, and
environmental events were minimized. In addition,
the bottomhole data played an important role in
helping the operator assess and optimize subsequent field developments.

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Copyright 2008 Schlumberger. All rights reserved. 08-CO-302