METHODOLOGY FOR THE SELECTION OF THE MOST SUITABLE WATER CONING CONTROL METHOD IN VERTICAL OIL WELLS

Water coning in oil-producing wells is a critical problem. Once the water coning takes place and the water breakthrough occurs, the well starts producing an increasing amount of water and many problems arise. Moreover, after the breakthrough occurs, it may be difficult to return to the initial low value of water cut, even at the reduced oil rate, due to the irreversible change of the mobility ratio. Therefore, there is a need to control water coning through a suitable and effective method. There are different methods in practice that can be used to control water coning, which makes the selection of the most suitable method for a specific case an uneasy task. This research paper presents a developed methodology using dynamicsimulator Eclipse-100 for selecting the most suitable method for controlling the water coning problem. This methodology was applied to solve the water coning problem in some oil wells in Egypt. The research summarizes the application of the proposed methodology on water coning problems in three wells that produce from Bahariya, Balayim and Rudies Formations located in the Western Desert - Egypt. Such study is an original contribution to the knowledge of the water coning control in oil wells.