SPE 152545

Water Coning in Naturally Fractured Carbonate Heavy Oil Reservoir –

A Simulation Study
E. Pérez-Martínez, F. Rodríguez-de la Garza, PEMEX E&P; F. Samaniego-Verduzco, UNAM

Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference held in Mexico City, Mexico, 16–18 April 2012.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
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Abstract
During production in a naturally fractured reservoir with natural water influx, under certain flow conditions an
imbalance can be generated between gravity and viscous forces within the fracture system. This phenomenon is characterized
by the gradual growth of a cone of water in the vertical and radial directions. When the radial growth of the cone base at the
oil-water contact reaches the drainage radius, the cone of water reaches its maximum height. After this, the oil-water
interface advances without suffering deformation in the pseudo stationary regime. However, when this interface is a short
distance from the bottom of the completion interval, the movement of the oil-water interface accelerates and water flows into
the well. This phenomenon may shorten the well’s life due to the complexity of oil-water separation offshore and resulting
increases in operating costs.
In many of the Cretaceous formations of the offshore Mexico Bay of Campeche, oil recovery is limited at the top by the
presence of a gas-oil contact and at the bottom by an oil-water contact. To recover the remaining hydrocarbon reservoirs it is
necessary to: (1) define the optimal operating range which should be established for each well to delay water and gas
breakthrough and (2) to schedule the necessary infrastructure to handle high production rates of water and gas as the field
matures.
The objectives of this work are to:
Model in detail the water coning in the porous fracture system using a fine radial grid, with one meter thick layers
concentric around the well, and 2 inches thick layers in the annulus, with and without cement.
Obtain an equation to determine the maximum height of water coning, the time it takes to form the cone, and the well
shut-in time necessary to undo or “heal” the water cone.

Introduction
In oil fields with bottom water, water cuts typically increase as time passes and the fields mature. When these fields
don’t have adequate facilities to separate, treat and manage formation water production, mechanical and/or chemicals
treatments are applied to reduce the water content in the produced oil and avoid penalties for its sale. Therefore, if the
phenomenon of water coning is not understood, this can translate into huge economic losses, by having to oversize the
infrastructure for water management or in the worst case scenario, when water management infrastructure is undersized or
non-existent, prematurely abandon wells with the consequent loss of significant amounts of remaining oil and economic
value.
The main producing formations of the fields in the Bay of Campeche are Cretaceous and Kimmeridgian Upper Jurassic
(KUJ), characterized by considerable formation thickness and/or structural relief. The Breccia Tertiary Paleocene Upper
Cretaceous (referred to as the BTPKS from the nomenclature in Spanish), consists of densely fractured carbonate rocks of
very high permeability. This causes severe problems during cementing of the last casing string, since, when circulating
cement to bond the formation and casing, almost all the cement is lost in the formation, resulting in an empty space in the
annulus space between the producing formation and the casing. This empty space results in a channel where the fluids can
flow without any restrictions, exacerbating water coning phenomena.
2 SPE 152545

The coning and channeling behavior of fluids in naturally fractured reservoirs depends upon petrophysical and fluid
properties, the geometry and mechanical condition of the wells and the production conditions under which they operate. The
diversity of the types of oil found in the Bay of Campeche’s reservoirs imposes an additional challenge, because, as the
quality of oil decreases, oil viscosity increases and the oil density also increases, to approximately the water density, creating
conditions more conducive for water coning.
The objectives of this work are to:
- Model in detail the water coning in the porous fracture system using a fine coning radial grid, with one meter
thick layers concentric around the well, and 2 inches thick layers in the annulus, with and without cement.
- Develop an equation to determine the maximum height of water coning, the time it takes to form the cone, and
the well shut-in time necessary to undo or “heal” the water cone.

Water coning
“Water coning”6 is the term given to the water influx mechanism underlying oil producing wells. Coning of water is
usually associated with high oil production rates and develops only under certain flow conditions. In a broader sense the
phenomenon of water coning is one of the most complex problems in reservoir engineering.
Under typical static reservoir conditions, the water zone consists of a layer below the oil zone, because oil is less dense
than water; then the start of production produces a pressure gradient which results in an imbalance between gravity and
viscous forces1. This phenomenon is characterized by the gradual growth of a cone of water in the vertical and radial
directions. When the radial growth of the cone base (oil-water contact) reaches the drainage radius, the cone of water reaches
its maximum height, then the oil-water interface envelope advances without suffering deformation in the pseudo stationary
regime2 given maintaining a constant oil production rate and constant pressure throughout the aquifer.
When this interface is a short distance from the producing interval, movement accelerates and water breaks through into
the wellbore and is produced at the platform. Most of the offshore oil fields of Mexico lack adequate facilities to separate,
treat, and manage produced water; therefore, when the water cut increases to approximately 5%, wells that produce the
highest percentage of water must be shut-in to reduce water content and avoid penalties for its sale.
Because of this, it is important to model water coning and optimize production from the wells, producing the maximum
amount permissible while avoiding water breakthrough into the well.

Development
There are several parameters that influence water coning, some can be controlled and others cannot. This paper analyzes
the sensitivity of the parameters that have the greatest impact upon the behavior of the production wells, such as oil
production rate, qo, fracture permeability, kf , oil viscosity, µo , gravity drainage, oil formation volume factor, Bo , drainage
radius, re, matrix-fracture porosity partitioning and distance between the completion interval and the oil-water contact
(OWC).
An additional parameter that adds another level of complexity to the phenomenon of water coning in the Gulf of Mexico
offshore fields is that the largest producer of oil is the Upper Cretaceous (UC) formation. This formation is composed of
densely fractured carbonate rocks of very high permeability, which results in severe problems during cementing the last
casing. Often most of the cement is lost to the producing formation, causing an empty space in the annulus between the
producing formation and the casing. This allows fluids to flow upwards from the OWC toward the completion interval
without any restriction, increasing the water coning problems.
To analyze the effect of these parameters upon water coning, we constructed a coning radial model of an individual well
drainage3 volume using the numerical simulator Eclipse-100, with the following characteristics:
- Radial model with 30 cells in direction r and 207 layers in Z (Fig. 1).
- Drainage radius of 400 m.
- The first 200 layers of the model are 1 m thick, representing the oil band.
- The 7 underlying layers are saturated with water and the total thickness of this zone is 300 m. Layers 201, 202,
203, 204, 205, 206 and 207 are assigned the following thicknesses: 1.5, 3.0, 6.1, 12.2, 24.4, 61.0 and 191.8 m.
o Porosity of the matrix-fracture system: The fracture porosity in the simulator represents the geological
fractures and vuggy interconnected pores. The matrix in the simulator represents the primary porosity and
includes microfractures. The total porosity of the rock is 8.55%. Partitioning of the matrix – fracture
porosity: 0% -100%, 50% - 50% and 85% - 15%.
- Properties of the matrix-fracture system:
SPE 152545 3

o Matrix block height = 8 ft.

o Sigma = 0.17.
o kHm = 10 md.
o kVm = 1 md.
o kHf = 0.5 - 10 Darcys.
o kv = 0.5 - 10 Darcys.
o cm = 4 x 10-6 psi-1.
-6
o cf = 40 x 10 psi-1.
- Top of the producing formation = 2835 vmss.
- Original oil-water contact (OOWC) = 3035 vmss.
- Thickness of the perforated interval = 15 m (2951-2965 vmss).
- Casing diameter OD = = 7 5/8 inches.
- Annular space between producing formation and casing = 2 inches.
o Annular space with or without cement, figs. 2 and 3.
- PVT properties of fluids from the Ku field.
- Petrophysical properties from the Ku field.

Oil production rate

The phenomenon of water coning involves several parameters4 and the oil production rate parameter has the most control
over this phenomenon. In homogeneous reservoirs, producing at rates below the critical production rate can prevent water
coning5. However, in naturally fractured reservoirs with high permeability and massive oil bearing thickness, this may not be
economic in practice due to low critical production rates. If oil wells are completed away from the OWC, then they can
produce high flow rates, by constantly monitoring the progress of the OWC. When the OWC rises to a certain distance from
the producing interval, water breakthrough can be forestalled by doing one the following: (1) decrease the choke size (thereby
reducing oil production) to reduce the imbalance of gravitational and viscous forces or (2) if the remaining oil band thickness
is significant above the top of the perforated interval, seal the lower interval and re-perforate in a higher interval.
As pressure drops in the aquifer due to the production of oil, a cone of water forms beneath the well, gradually growing
outwards to the drainage radius. At this time the water cone growth stops and all the points that define the three-dimensional
surface formed by the oil-water interface will move up vertically at the same speed in a pseudo stationary regime. When the
oil-water interface is close to the perforated interval, movement accelerates and immediately the water breaks through. The
height of the cone of water (hwc) is measured at the time of water breakthrough, taking as reference the depth of the base of
the perforated interval and the depth of the oil-water interface in the drainage radius, as illustrated in Figure 4.
Figure 5 graphs the oil production rate at reservoir conditions (qoBo) in the abscissa axis and hwc in the ordinate axis on a
log-log plot and exhibits a linear behavior of hwc, where higher oil production rates result in a larger water cone height.

Fracture permeability
Fracture permeability is the most important uncontrolled parameter in the phenomenon of water coning to analyze the
effect upon coning, different oil production rates were simulated, and hwc versus qoBo was evaluated for the following values
of kf : 10, 5, 2, 1, 0.7 and 0.5 Darcys. All other parameter of the rock and fluid were kept constant in the simulations. In these
simulations the water and oil viscosities are 0.242 and 2 cp, respectively, and the water and oil density at reservoir conditions
are 1.00 and 0.7996 g/cm3, respectively. Table 1 shows the results obtained with the radial model, highlighting the values of
hwc achieved at different oil production rates.
From the analysis obtained for each value of kf (Table 1), a family of curves was developed, characterized by higher
values of kf resulting in lower values of hwc and vice versa, as illustrated in Fig. 5. For a higher kf, the horizontal distribution
of water is higher due to gravity force and consequently the height of the cone is smaller, resulting in a more stable oil-water
interface.
Figure 5 shows that the curves of kf = 10, 5 and 2 Darcys have a log linear behavior, while, for lower permeability
curves (kf = 1, 0.7 and 0.5 Darcys) high production rates tend to be horizontal converging to a value approximately hwc = 100
m. This value is not a coincidence, since it is the distance between the OOWC and the top of producing interval. Reducing kf
increases the pressure drawdown, causing further growth of the water cone until the water cone reaches the producing
interval and water breakthrough occurs.
4 SPE 152545

In other words, if the producing interval is located farther from the OOWC, the water cone continue to grow vertically
and horizontally until the base of it reaches the drainage radius (outer boundary); then the whole water-oil interface will move
upward at the same rate in a pseudo steady state regimen. The above is modeled by modifying the depth of the producing
interval, 60 additional meters away (from 2935-2950 vmss to 2875-2890 vmss) OOWC, Fig. 6; and repeating the simulations
for cases shaded in Table 1.
Table 1. Results of the simulation model, shaded scenarios are discarded because
the water cone is not fully developed.
kf μo k f μo qo Bo qo Bo h wc
(Darcys) (cp) (Darcy/cp) (MSTB/D) (RB/STB) (MRB/D) (m)
10 2 5 20 1.200 23.999 41.5
10 2 5 10 1.204 12.039 29.9
10 2 5 5 1.206 6.031 21.1
10 2 5 2 1.209 2.418 13.9
10 2 5 1 1.212 1.212 10.0
5 2 2.5 20 1.194 23.871 57.8
5 2 2.5 10 1.200 12.001 41.6
5 2 2.5 5 1.204 6.019 29.8
5 2 2.5 2 1.206 2.412 19.0
5 2 2.5 1 1.209 1.209 13.9
2 2 1 20 1.176 23.511 88.1
2 2 1 10 1.190 11.904 62.3
2 2 1 5 1.198 5.991 46.3
2 2 1 2 1.204 2.408 29.9
2 2 1 1 1.204 1.204 21.4
1 2 1 20 1.256 25.123 99.9
1 2 0.5 10 1.176 11.756 88.1
1 2 0.5 5 1.187 5.934 62.2
1 2 0.5 2 1.193 2.386 41.7
1 2 0.5 1 1.201 1.201 29.9
0.7 2 0.35 20 1.256 25.123 99.9
0.7 2 0.35 10 1.162 11.617 97.0
0.7 2 0.35 5 1.172 5.859 72.0
0.7 2 0.35 2 1.194 2.389 49.4
0.7 2 0.35 1 1.201 1.201 35.6
0.5 2 0.25 20 1.256 25.123 99.9
0.5 2 0.25 10 1.146 11.458 97.6
0.5 2 0.25 5 1.174 5.870 88.2
0.5 2 0.25 2 1.192 2.384 57.8
0.5 2 0.25 1 1.200 1.200 41.7

Table 2 shows the results for the furthest interval from the OWC, and Fig. 7 shows a comparison of hwc in both intervals.
Increasing the distance from the producing interval with respect the OWC, increases the height hwc, allowing for a fuller water
cone, so its curve exhibits linear behavior for the hwc versus oil production relationship.
Table 2. Model results of the second perforated interval.
kf μo k f μo qo Bo qo Bo h wc
(Darcys) (cp) (Darcy/cp) (MSTB/D) (RB/STB) (MRB/D) (m)
1 2 0.5 20 1.131 22.622 132.6
1 2 0.5 10 1.176 11.756 88.1
1 2 0.5 5 1.187 5.934 62.2
1 2 0.5 2 1.193 2.386 41.7
1 2 0.5 1 1.201 1.201 29.9
0.7 2 0.35 20 1.123 22.459 145.4
0.7 2 0.35 10 1.162 11.617 97.0
0.7 2 0.35 5 1.172 5.859 70.9
0.7 2 0.35 2 1.194 2.389 49.4
0.7 2 0.35 1 1.201 1.201 35.6
0.5 2 0.25 10 1.146 11.457 133.5
0.5 2 0.25 5 1.174 5.870 88.2
0.5 2 0.25 2 1.192 2.384 57.8
0.5 2 0.25 1 1.200 1.200 41.7
SPE 152545 5

Partition matrix-fracture porosity

To analyze the effect of the ratio of the pore volume associated with the matrix with respect to the pore volume
associated with the system of fractures, three numerical models were built with matrix-fracture porosity (primary-secondary)
relationships as follows:
1. φf = φtotal,
2. φf = 0.50φtotal and φm = 0.50φtotal,
3. φf = 0.15φtotal and φm = 0.85φtotal.
Previous models analyzed the following cases:
kf = 1 Darcy and µ0 = 2 cp
kf = 5 Darcy and µ0 = 2 and 20 cp
kf = 10 Darcy and µ0 = 2 and 20 cp
This shows that there is little variation in results obtained by the three models, retaining the linear behavior of the
maximum height of water coning versus the production rate in a log-log plot.
The curves with the highest value of ratio kf /µo have large differences and the differences decrease as the kf /µo ratios
decrease, as shown in Fig.8.
Table 3 Results of the double porosity model, φf = 0.15φtotal and φm = 0.85φtotal.
kf μo k f μo qo Bo qo Bo h wc
(Darcys) (cp) (Darcy/cp) (MSTB/D) (RB/STB) (MRB/D) (m)
1 2 0.5 20 1.156 23.122 103
1 2 0.5 10 1.186 11.860 74
1 2 0.5 5 1.201 6.004 54
1 2 0.5 2 1.213 2.427 34
1 2 0.5 1 1.218 1.218 24
5 2 2.5 20 1.205 24.101 48
5 2 2.5 10 1.213 12.134 34
5 2 2.5 5 1.217 6.086 24
5 2 2.5 2 1.220 2.440 16
5 2 2.5 1 1.221 1.221 11
10 2 5 20 1.211 24.218 34
10 2 5 10 1.214 12.139 24
10 2 5 5 1.217 6.086 17
10 2 5 2 1.219 2.439 11
10 2 5 1 1.220 1.220 8
5 20 2.5 5 1.147 5.737 106
5 20 2.5 2 1.187 2.373 69
5 20 2.5 1 1.194 1.194 46
10 20 5 10 1.169 11.689 107
10 20 5 5 1.184 5.918 77
10 20 5 2 1.193 2.386 48
10 20 5 1 1.199 1.199 30

Oil Viscosity
To analyze the effect of oil viscosity upon water coning phenomena, simulations were performed at different oil
production rates, varying the oil viscosity at 5, 10, 20 and 40 cp. Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 presents the results obtained, showing
the same linear behavior (logarithmic scales) hwc versus kf , and it is observed that the higher oil viscosity, the higher water
cone.

Oil Density
To analyze the effect of oil density simulations were performed varying the oil density and oil viscosity considering a
fractured porous media with a value of kf = 10 Darcys.
The oil density at reservoir conditions was varied from 0.63 to 0.9 g/cm3, so that each curve in Fig. 13 represents the
behavior of the water coning for constant values of oil viscosity and oil density, where the blue curves represent an oil
viscosity 2 cp, observing that the higher oil density results in greater water coning. This effect is shown in the red and green
curves where the oil viscosities are 10 and 20 cp, respectively.
6 SPE 152545

Drainage Radius
To investigate the effect of the drainage radius over a range 120 to 4,000 m, simulations were conducted for a fractured
porous media with kf = 10 Darcys, oil viscosity = 2 cp and oil density = 0.7996 g/cm3 at reservoir conditions and an oil
production rate, qo = 10,000 STB/D.
The behavior of the height of the water cone versus radial distance to the no-flow outer boundary is shown in Fig. 14.
There is a greater increase in the water coning at distances close to the well. As the drainage radius increases, the vertical
height between the cone oil-water interface and the OOWC decrease, because the depression caused by disturbance of the
well production is also attenuated according with the increment of the drained volume.

Annular Space (between the producing formation and casing) with poor cement
To evaluate the phenomenon of water coning in poorly cemented wells, where the annular space between the casing and
the producing formation is without cement and behaves as a channel without flow restrictions, which magnifies the water
coning, Fig. 2. This feature is modeled in the simulation study with cells of 2 inches thick adjacent to the well, with a
porosity of 100% and kf = 100 Darcys. The analysis of parameters affecting water coning with a poorly cemented well were
conducted in a similar fashion to that carried out with the flow model with a good cemented well, discussed previously.
The results of the hwc from a poorly cemented well compared to that for a good cemented well, are very similar,
exhibiting the same linear log-log plot behavior, hwc versus qoBo. In the poorly cemented well model the hwc was slightly
higher than that obtained from a good cemented well model, as illustrated in Figs. 15, 16, 17 and 18; the hwc difference is
more evident for low kf / µo and high production rates.
Because the behavior of the height of the water cone is linear with respect to oil production rate for a given kf / µo, when
is plotted on logarithmic scales, then hwc be adjusted very precisely to a power equation as follows:

hwc = a ( qo Bo )
b

, ............................................................................................................................................(1)

Obtaining correlations to determine the maximum water cone height, hwc

Adjusting to a power equation the coefficient “a” in the ratio kf / µo, all the curves obtained with the good cemented well
model yields the following relationship:

a = 19.211 ( μ o k f )
0.5

, ….........................................................................................................................................(2)
While “b” tends to a value of 0.5, by substituting Eq. 2 and “b” in Eq. 1,
0.5
⎛q B μ ⎞
hwc = 19.211⎜ o o o ⎟
⎜ kf ⎟
⎝ ⎠ , .......................................................................................................................................(3)
Considering only the gravitational potential term of two immiscible liquids in contact, we have:
g
Δγ wo = ( ρ w − ρo ) ≈ ( ρ w − ρo )
9.81 , ....................................................................................................................(4)
Considering the term Ln(re / rw) and Eqs. 3 and 4 through a dimensional analysis, Eq. 3can be written:
0.5
⎛ q B μ Ln ( re rw ) ⎞
hwc = 2.963 ⎜ o o o ⎟⎟
⎜ k f Δγ wo
⎝ ⎠ , .......................................................................................................................(5)
where Eq. 5 accurately reproduces the results obtained with the flow model of a well with good cement, and it is also
dimensionally homogeneous, thus hwc has units of length.
Performing a similar analysis to the results obtained with the poorly cemented well model yields the following equation:
0.5
⎛ q B μ Ln ( re rw ) ⎞
hwc = 3.180 ⎜ o o o ⎟⎟
⎜ k f Δγ wo
⎝ ⎠ , .......................................................................................................................(6)
SPE 152545 7

By comparing Eqs. 5 and 6, which reproduce the results for poorly and completely cemented well models, a
dimensionless factor for poor cementation, Fbc, can be obtained:
0.5
⎛ q B μ Ln ( re rw ) ⎞
hwc = ( 2.963 + Fbc ) ⎜ o o o ⎟⎟
⎜ k f Δγ wo
⎝ ⎠ , ...........................................................................................................(7)
where:
Fbc = 0.217 for poor cement or cementless in the annular space.
Fbc = 0 for good quality of cement in the annular space.
hwc meter.
kf Darcy.
re meter.
rw meter.
qoBo MRB/D.
μo cp.
Δγwo ≈ ρw-ρo Represents the potential of two no-miscible liquids in contact, gr/cm³.
Thus the Eq. 7 takes the form of Eq. (5) when Fbc = 0, which determines the height of the cone in a good cemented well,
and, for the poorly cemented well, Fbc = 0.217, and Eq. 7 takes the form of Eq. 6.
In field units Eq. 7 is transformed to:
0.5
⎛ q B μ Ln ( re rw ) ⎞
hwc = ( 9.721 + Fbc ) ⎜ o o o ⎟⎟ , ...........................................................................................................(8)
⎜ k Δγ
⎝ f wo ⎠
Where:
Fbc = 0.712 for poor cement or cementless in the annular space.
Fbc = 0 for a good cemented well.
hwc ft.
kf md.
re ft.
rw ft.
qoBo RB/D.
μo cp.
Δγwo ≈ ρw-ρo gr/cm³.

Time for the formation of a water cone

The time for formation of the cone, thwc, is determined by taking into account the time of production of each well, until
the base of the cone reaches the drainage radius, resulting in curves similar to those obtained in determining the maximum
height of the coning water, when plotting thwc versus qoBo, as shown in Figure 19.
The curves obtained from thwc versus qoBo were fitted to power equations of the form of Eq. 1. From these equations
coefficients “a” and “b”, can be estimated which correlated with the kf / µo, yielding the following correlation:
−0.26
⎛ kf ⎞
( qO BO )
−0.72
thwc = 182.9 ⎜ ⎟
⎝ μo ⎠ , ...............................................................................................................................(9)
where,
kf = Fractured permeability, Darcys.
qoBo = Oil production rate at reservoir conditions, MRB/D.
thwc = Time of formation of the water cone, days.
µo = Oil viscosity, cp.
8 SPE 152545

Well’s shut-in time to reverse the water cone

In the case of shutting in a well with high water production, it is required to have a tool to indicate the shut-in time for
the well to “heal” or reverse the water cone. For this purpose, the curves were built by plotting the well’s shut-in time versus
water cone height as a function of fractured permeability and oil viscosity. Figure 20 shows that, the higher the permeability,
the shorter the wells shut-in time required to reverse the cone; as the fracture permeability decreases, the well’s shut-in time
increases.
In Figs. 20, 21, 22 and 23, as the oil viscosity increases, the well’s shut-in time increases. These results are consistent
with the flow dynamics in porous media, since as kf / µo decreases, the porous media requires more time to equilibrate fluids
based on the gravity force.

Conclusions
The main aim of this work has been the modeling of water coning in a naturally fractured porous medium with a fine
radial grid around the well, with layers of 1 m thick in the reservoir, whereas the annulus, between the producing formation
and casing, is modeled with layers of 2 inches thick.
It was found that water coning occurs in fractured porous media with permeabilities up to 10 Darcys and that water
coning occurs in both good and poorly cemented wells.
A “poor cementing factor” was discussed, which is associated with an additional height of the water cone due to an
uncemented the annulus between the producing formation and casing, where the annulus serves as a highly conductive
channel which accelerates the flow of fluids from the aquifer to the wellbore.
The second objective of this work was to obtain correlations to determine the maximum height of water coning
considering good and poor cement (no cement in the annulus), The time for the development of the water cone and the well
shut-in time to reverse the water cone.
With the correlations obtained, the minimum safe distance between the oil-water contact and the producing interval for a
specified free of water oil production rate can be easily determined. Or, for the reverse case, the critical oil production rate
can be determined in order for the wells to produce free of water for a reasonable time period, for a specified distance
between the oil-water contact and the producing interval.
In a fractured porous medium, the water coning phenomenon is dominated by viscous and gravitational forces.
Based on an analysis of the results of three dual-porosity models, it appears that the matrix-fracture partition ratio has
little influence in determining the maximum height of water coning.

Nomenclature

Symbols
Bo = Formation (Oil) volume factor, RB/STB.
cf = Fracture compressibility, psi-1.
cm = Matrix compressibility, psi-1.
Fbc = Poor (bad) cementation factor, dimensionless.
g = Acceleration of gravity, meter/seg2, ft/seg2.
hwc = Maximum height of the water coning, meter, ft.
kf = Fractured permeability, Darcy, md.
kHf = Horizontal permeability of fracture, Darcy, md.
kHm = Horizontal permeability of matrix, Darcy, md.
kVf = Vertical permeability of fracture, Darcy, md.
kVm = Vertical permeability of matrix, Darcy, md.
Np = Cumulative oil production, million of STB/D.
pi = Starting pressure, psi.
Sor = Residual oil saturation, fraction.
Sw = Water saturation, fraction.
Swi = Initial water saturation, fraction.
qo = Oil flow rate, MSTB/D, STB/D.
re = External radius, meter, ft.
SPE 152545 9

rw = Wellbore radius, meter, ft.

GOC = Gas-Oil contact, meter, ft.
OWC = Oil-Water contact, meter, ft.
OOWC = Original Oil-Water contact, meter, ft.
ρo = Oil density, grm/cm3.
ρw = Water density, grm/cm3.
Δγwo = Water-Oil density difference (=ρw-ρo) grm/cm3.
μo = Viscosity, cp.

References

1 Al-Afaleg N.I. and Ershaghi I., 1993, (Coning Phenomena in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs), SPE 26083.
2 Alikhan A. A., 1985, (State-of-the-art of Water Coning Modelling and Operation), SPE 13744.
3 Hua-zhang C., 1983, (Numerical Simulation of Coning Behavior of a Single Well in a Naturally Fracture Reservoir),
SPE 10566.
4 Hφyland, L. A. and Papatzacos, P. 1989, (Critical Rate for Water Coning: Correlation and Analytical Solution), SPE
Reservoir Engineering.
5 Kuo M.C.T. and DesBrisay C.L., 1983, (A Simplified Method for Water Coning Predictions), SPE 12067.
6 Muskat, M., 1981, pages 226-240, (Physical Principles of Oil Production), Springer.

Figures.

Figure 1. Radial simulation model of a well.

Figure 2. Annulus without cement. Figure 3. Annulus with cement.

10 SPE 152545

Figure 4. Representation of the maximum height of the water coning, hwc.

100
kf=10
kf=5
kf=2
kf=1
kf=07
hwc , m

kf=05

10
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D
Figure 5. hwc curves as a function of kf.

Cima de la formación
Top of the = = 2835 vmss
formation 2835 MVbnm
0 000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Segundo intervalo disparado

0*00000

Second perforated interval

0*00000
0*00000
0*00000
0*00000
0*00000
0*00000
0*00000
0*00000
0*00000
0*00000

2875 – 2890 mVbnm

0*00000

2875 – 2890 vmss

0*00000
0*00000

60 m

Primer
First intervalo disparado
perforated interval 2935 –
2935- 2950
2950mVbnm.
vmss

CwoOOWC
inicial = 3035
3035 mVbnm.
vmss

Figure 6. Depth of the two intervals analyzed

SPE 152545 11

1000
kf=0.5 Int. 1 kf=0.5 Int. 2
kf=0.7 Int. 1 kf=0.7 Int. 2
kf=1 Int. 1 kf=1 Int. 2

hwc , m 100

10
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D
Figure 7. hwc comparison of two perforated intervals at different depths. The
average level of the first interval is located at 92.5 vm from the
OWC (solid curves) and the second is located at 152.5 vm from the
OWC (dashed curves).

1000
kf=1_VISo=2_ Fit kf=1_VISo=2_2P=100%

kf=1_VISo=2_2P=50% kf=1_VISo=2_2P=15%

kf=5_VISo=2_Fit kf=5_VISo=2_2P=100%
100
kf=5_VISo=2_2P=50% kf=5_VISo=2_2P=15%
hwc , m

kf=5_VISo=20_Fit kf=5_VISo=20_2P=100%

kf=5_VISo=20_2P=50% kf=5_VISo=20_2P=15%
10
kf=10_VISo=2_Fit kf=10_VISo=2_2P=100%

kf=10_VISo=2_2P=50% kf=10_VISo=20_2P=15%

kf=10_VISo=20_Fit kf=10_VISo=20_2P=100%
1 kf=10_VISo=20_2P=50% kf=10_VISo=20_2Por=15%
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D

Figure 8. hwc comparison of three models with different porosity ratio of matrix-fracture, φf = φtotal, φf = 0.5φtotal, and φf
= 0.15 φtotal.

100
y1 y2 y3
y4 y5
hwc , m

y1 (k f =0.5) = 60.762 x 0.51

y2 (kf=1) = 44.163 x 0.49
y3 (k f =2) = 31.586 x 0.49
y4 (k f =5) = 20.081 x 0.50
y5 (k f =10) = 14.529 x 0.49
10
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D

Figure 9. hwc curves as a function of kf for µo = 5 cp.

12 SPE 152545

100
y1 y2 y3 y4

hwc , m
y1 (kf =1) = 59.930 x 0.52
y2 (kf =2) = 43.087 x 0.50
y3 (kf =5) = 28.518 x 0.48
y4 (kf =10) = 19.919 x 0.49

10
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D

Figure 10. hwc curves as a function of kf for µo = 10 cp

100
y1 y2 y3
hwc , m

y1 (kf =2) = 64.078 x 0.51

y2 (kf =5) = 38.651 x 0.50
y3 (kf =10) = 26.066 x 0.51

10
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D
Figure 11. hwc curves as a function of kf for µo = 20 cp.

100
y1 y2
hwc , m

y1 (kf =5) = 53.961 x 0.51

y2 (kf =10) = 37.463 x 0.51

10
1 qoBo, MRB/D 10

Figure 12. hwc curves as a function of kf for µo = 40 cp.

SPE 152545 13

100

hwc , m
10 VIS= 2-Den=0.626
VIS= 2-Den=0.792
VIS=10-Den=0.792
VIS=10-Den=0.845
VIS=20-Den=0.792
VIS=20-Den=0.860
VIS=40-Den=0.892
1
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D
Figure 13. hwc curves as a function of oil density and oil viscosity.

100

kf=10-VISo=2
hwc , m

10
100 1,000 10,000
re , m

Figure 14. hwc curves as a function of re.

kf =10 AS W-C
kf =5 AS W-C
100
kf =2 AS W-C
kf =1 AS W-C
kf =0.7 AS W-C
hwc , m

kf =0.5 AS W-C
kf =10 AS N-C
kf =5 AS N-C
kf =2 AS N-C
kf =1 AS N-C
kf =0.7 AS N-C
kf =0.5 AS N-C
10
1 10
qoBo, MRB/D

Figure 15. hwc comparison between wells with good and poor
cement quality of the annular for µo = 2 cp.
14 SPE 152545

100

kf =10 AS W-C

hwc , m
kf =5 AS W-C
kf =2 AS W-C
kf =1 AS W-C
kf =1 AS N-C
kf =2 AS N-C
kf =5 AS N-C
kf =10 AS N-C

10
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D
Figure 16. hwc comparison between wells with good and poor
cement quality of the annular for µo = 5 cp.

1000

kf =10 AS W-C
hwc , m

kf =2 AS W-C
100 kf =5 AS W-C
kf =10 AS N-C
kf =5 AS N-C
kf =2 AS N-C

10
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D

Figure 17. hwc comparison between wells with good and poor
cement quality of the annular for µo = 20 cp.

1000
hwc , m

100
kf =10 AS W-C

kf =5 AS W-C

kf =5 AS N-C

kf =10 AS N-C
10
1 10
qoBo, MRB/D
Figure 18. hwc comparison between wells with good and poor
cement quality of the annular for µo = 40 cp.
SPE 152545 15

1000
y1 = 280.67x -0.75, R² = 1.0
y2 = 229.13x -0.72, R² = 1.0
y1 y3 = 178.41x -0.71, R² = 1.0
y4 = 156.25x -0.72, R² = 1.0

Time, days
100
y2

y3
y4

10
1 10 100
qoBo, MRB/D
k10_Viso=5 k5_Viso=5 k2_Viso=5 k1_Viso=5

Figure 19. Water cone formation time as a function of qoBo.

100%
Reverse water cone, %

50% kf=10 -Viso= 2

kf= 5 -Viso= 2
kf= 2 -Viso= 2
kf= 1 -Viso= 2

0%
1 10 100 1,000
Well's shut-in time, days

Figures 20. Comparison of the water cone reversal as a function

of the well’s shut in time for µo = 2 cp.

100%
Reverse water cone, %

50%
kf=10 -Viso= 5
kf= 2 -Viso= 5
kf= 5 -Viso= 5

0%
1 10 100 1,000
Well's shut-in time, days

Figures 21. Comparison of the water cone reversal as a

function of the well’s shut in time for µo = 5 cp.
16 SPE 152545

100%

Reverse water cone, %

50%
kf=10 -Viso=10
kf= 2 -Viso=10
kf= 5 -Viso=10

0%
1 10 100 1,000
Well's shut-in time, days
Figures 22. Comparison of the water cone reversal as a function of the
well’s shut in time for µo = 10 cp.

100%
Reverse water cone, %

50% kf=10 -Viso=40

kf= 5 -Viso=40
kf= 2 -Viso=40
kf=10 -Viso=20
kf= 5 -Viso=20

0%
1 10 100 1,000
Well's shut-in time, days

Figures 23. Comparison of the water cone reversal as a function of the well’s
shut in time for µo = 20 and 40 cp.