Europe/AfricaCase in Point
One of our clients shared their well log and seismic data with us after their field was in production. The field was in the Gulf of Mexico, developed with 34 wells including a discovery well, six delineation wells and 27 production wells. All of this work was done without the benefit of using the Fugro-Jason methodology.
Although the client had thought they were done drilling the field, they decided to drill three horizontal wells following a Jason analysis. The analysis revealed several reservoirs not yet fully exploited, and the new horizontal wells became the biggest producers in the field.
Our analysis also showed that the client could have exploited the field with far fewer wells had they used the Fugro-Jason method earlier. The results would have been substantially different:
- Much higher production rates.
- Savings of more than 30% on drilling costs (see table below).
- Much less staff effort required to plan 12 wells, not 27.
- Reduced staff time spent analyzing well results and post mortems.
- Faster payback on investment.
| Recommendation | Actual |
|---|---|
10 horizontal wells2 |
27 conventional wells1 |
Estimated cost = $56 million |
Estimated cost = $81 million |
1Assumes $3 million for conventional wells
2Assumes $5 million for horizontal wells
In addition, it is possible that the six delineation wells would not have been needed.
Technical Details
The picture below shows a seismic amplitude map with exploration, delineation, and production wells drilled into it. This seismic map seems to indicate a compartmentalized reservoir requiring a large number of wells to exploit.
(click on picture for enlarged version)
However, an analysis using the Jason suite revealed that the higher amplitude events occur where the reservoir thins to tuning thickness, and that the reservoir is not very compartmentalized after all. Because the client did not know this, some reservoirs are highly drilled while others have a single penetration or have not been drilled at all.
(click on picture for enlarged version)
Based on the Jason suite seismic inversion and analysis, the client drilled three horizontal wells into areas where additional potential production was indicated. Despite being the 35th, 36th, and 37th wells drilled, these wells were the highest producing wells in the field.
(click on picture for enlarged version)
