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A waterflood pattern realignment project in the Grayburg / San Andres McElroy Field is improving the waterflood performance. This paper presents a case history of a 640-acre [259 ha] section of the field that was realigned in 1988. Irregular and widely spaced patterns were developed into smaller and more uniform patterns. The results of the realignment are proving the economic viability of realignment work at McElroy and are improving reservoir characterization.

Surveillance, in order for it to be effective, should be implemented through an organization with adequate staffing and technology. Engineering and field operations organizations should be complementary, providing for specific lines of communications, and yet at the same time encouraging informal personal exchanges between both groups. Surveillance of a waterflood project requires constant cooperation between the two groups in order to collect, document, and analyze an immense quantity of data, and carry out an efficient operation.

The Grayburg formation in the Johnson field, Ector County, Texas, is a more complex reservoir than originally believed. Poor response from waterflooding the J. L. Johnson "AB" lease with 40-acre five-spots led to development with ZO-acre line-drive patterns. This caused a substantial production increase. Infill drilling has lead to the discovery of random, anhydrite-filled sections which act as barriers to flow. They are probably interconnected and may be the cause of poor response to injection on wide spacing.

Electronic equipment is available for installation on electric motor driven beam pumping units which provides load and displacement data for a complete well analysis including rod stress, gearbox torque and downhole pump card calculations. The electronic equipment also monitors the load and displacement and shuts the well down for a predetermined amount of time when a pumped-off condition occurs and also shuts the well down and sets an alarm when a rod part is detected.

Pioneer Natural Resources is currently undertaking a study of well casing failures in the Spraberry (Trend Area) Field located primarily in Midland County, Texas. Failure trend studies indicate a high incidence of external casing failures in the San Andres formation, a known saltwater-bearing and saltwater disposal formation that generally has substantial H2S content. Several well casings were selected as candidates for down-hole inspection logs to determine if cathodic protection could be a viable solution to the external corrosion problem.

In as much as those attending mar not be too familiar with the design and operation of a gas turbine, it would appear that a brief introduction to the unit would help the general understanding of the discussion. Having described the unit in some detail we find that the turbine lends itself to the oilfield industry primarily because it is a continuous duty unit most compatible with the continuous operation of the industry. Being air cooled, light weight, multi-fueled, simply controlled and easily packaged it is easily installed in virtually any location.

Increased drilling depths with resultant high pressures and multiple completions demand the well head manufacturers furnish equipment which is versatile and economical for all types of completions and pressure ratings. This paper discusses the various available well head components, and also presents a brief history of the evolution of the Christmas Tree from its early beginning to the present unitized well head.

Pressure transient tests are commonly used in production engineering to estimate reservoir pressure, well productivity, permeability and skin damage. In reservoir engineering, transient tests are also used to estimate the distribution of reservoir properties and presence of boundaries. During the last several decades deconvolution methods have been developed to remove wellbore effects and better estimate reservoir parameters using transient tests, but application for production evaluation have been scarce.

New wirelins logging services and procedures are supplying much needed answers to modeling CO2 floods in the Permian Basin. The new measurements of photoelectric absorptioncross section, gamma ray spectrometry and dielectric permitivity from LDT, NGT, and EPT are combined with CNL, BHC and resistivity measurements in a Synergetic log called VOLAN . Volan supplies the all important lithology, porosity, permeability and residual oil saturations needed for reservoir description.

A system has been developed based on a powerful portable microcomputer and an integrated data acquisition package, connected to the computer's expansion slot, that allows real-time analysis and visualization of pumping well performance. The system integrates all the necessary elements to obtain a complete analysis of the performance of the pumping system which includes the pumping unit (beam or submersible), the wellbore, and the reservoir.

Problems which become apparent during a conversion from secondary production to tertiary production should be corrected to help ensure success of the proposed tertiary recovery project. Some problems are inherent to secondary recovery and will carry over into the tertiary project. These problems could be tolerated during secondary recovery, but may mean the difference between success and failure for a tertiary program. These problems can be generalized in two basic categories: Restrictions of Injectivity, Unfavorable Injection Profiles.

Even with rapidly evolving technology, important issues that continue to challenge the oil and gas industry include conservation of hole size, hydraulic isolation of selected zones, maximization of well life, and economic feasibility. Addressing these issues with conventional tubular technology became more difficult, especially in deep drilling and extended-reach applications, in wells using liner hangers, and in aging wells containing deteriorating casing. Solid Expandable Tubulars (SET), a revolutionary technology, successfully addresses these issues in commercial applications.

Theory of CO2 treatment design and application is discussed. A detailed summary of past well treatments and results is presented.

Well testing, a broad general subject with as many different methods as there are operators, is a necessary part of determining the most efficient and conservative means of depleting an oil reservoir and the best method of completion to depletion. An effort will be made at this time to present some of the uses of data obtained from well tests, precautions that should be observed in order to obtain usable tests and a general look at test equipment. The presence or absence of a regulatory body may govern the number of requited well test in any given state.

To assess the importance and "best practices" method to acquire, record and report the production characteristics of a mature (Spraberry Trend) rod pumping oil well. Where pump down condition is desired for best results and the importance of recognizing and controlling outside production interference of a rod pumping oil well before and during the test process.

The process of selecting or correctly sizing any artificial lift system involves many factors and relies on accurate and dependable data. This paper presents a cost effective method to determine the productivity of a well using electric submersible pumping equipment. A variable speed test is performed to provide the operator with sufficient information to properly design a permanent artificial lift system. The uncertainty of a well's response at higher volumes or lack of substantial data, prove the need for this test system.

There is no substitute for going out to a pumping unit and gathering data from a dynamometer, amp clamp, motor rpm, and fluid level in order to fully analyze a well and have as complete an understanding as possible. The physical act of stacking the well and attaching the horseshoe load cell along with the associated peripherals is becoming a lost art.

Wellhead isolation tools can help operators control the high pressures often associated with well stimulation techniques. Fracturing requires the use of very corrosive and abrasive fluids under high pressure which can result in wellhead and tubing erosion. For safe well operation and other safety reasons, operators were usually forced to either change wellhead equipment for a fracturing job or to limit fracturing job design to the capabilities of their wellhead equipment.

In spite of today's bargain prices for tubular goods, the recovery and reuse of existing tubing provides a highly cost effective pipe stock. Most operators appreciate the value of some screening process to remove unsatisfactory tubes before they can contribute to another workover shortly after being reinstalled in a well. Several techniques exist to assist the operator with this screening. They range from a simple visual examination of the tube to a very sophisticated ultrasonic rack inspection.

The first duals which were the direct forerunners of the present multiple parallel string technology, were set in the latter part of 1952 in the South Texas tidal waters near Matagorda Island. These were clamp type duals set at about 5000 feet. Since that time, multiple string completions have demonstrated their feasibility and economy and they have become almost mandatory for off-shore programs. The downhole features of multiple completions such as packers, slide valves, tubing joint clearance, and the like, have been adequately covered in previous papers and literature.

The following is a brief review of the basic operation of the sucker-rod pump, of what fluid pound is, and of how fluid pound develops. Methods used with some of the commercially available wellsite-control systems to monitor and control and- the pumped-off well and the more prolific producers are also examined.

In 1989 water injection rates were increased in the North Cowden field. Lift revisions greater than 700 barrels per day required an ESP installation because of the capacity limitations of the existing beam equipment. The extended beam unit was designed to increase production rates to 900 barrels per day. The first unit was installed in July of 1993. Currently there are six units in service. This paper will discuss the evolution of the design and the learning process over the last three years.

The San Andres formation in the North Permian Basin in West Te.xas typically requires stimulation to be economically productive. Acid fracs are effective at increasing production but require frequent repetition due to steep declines. In the past, a comparatively small number of wells were sand-fraced and had limited success. The nature and degree of stresses in and bounding the productive zone typically result in frac treatments growing vertically into high mobility water zones.

The use of rod guides in artificial lift applications has evolved to a level where accurate simulation of downhole conditions is necessary to evaluate various materials. K&M Energy Systems has designed and built a second generation plastic wear test machine that conducts tests in a heated fluid environment. A state-of-the-art data acquisition system collects all pertinent information. A standard procedure for establishing wear rates is proposed to enable end-users to compare wear characteristics of rod guide plastics in simulated downhole conditions.

Issue management is a process everyone engages in everyday. You may not think of it as issue management but consider it problem solving or crisis management. Issue management, as discussed in this paper, is the process used to identify, analyze, evaluate, and act on regulations, legislation, public concerns, actions by others, and decisions that affect all aspects of your business. The process may be accomplished as "part of the job" or it may be a specific, deliberate action. Issue management is not limited to oil and gas operators.