SPE 26998

A HORIZONTAL WELL IN A DEPLETED RESERVOIR IN LAKE MARACAIBO: A CASE STUDY

By: Tony Su~rez; Schlumberger Venezuela
Now wlh Shell Venezuela, S.A.

SPE MEMBER

Copyright 1995 ScOety d Petroleum Eng!neers Inc

Permlsslon to copy IS restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 v.urds Il!ustratlons
may not be cop!ed The abstract should conta!n conspwuous acknowledgment of
where am by whom th(s paper was pre~nted Wrda Lrbmma., SPE P O .%. 833836 of 50 MMSTB, an ad-
Richardson TX 754393.3836, USA fax 01.21 4-652 -943S
Selected for presentation at the Ill Latin Anwncan/Cartbbean Petroleum Engmer?rmg
ditional 8 MMBbls
Conference held !n Buenos A)res, Argentina 25.28,1994 are still to be pro-
duced from the= ac-
cumulations. VLA-8
is a longitudinal res-
Summanr.
ervoir leaning
against one of the
This paper describes an integrated resewoir study
major and better de-
performed to select a location for Maravens first
fined faults in the
horizontal well in Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. A de-
Maracaibobasin, the
pleted reservoir producing for 40 years, and with over
Icotea Fault. H is di-
80% of its recoverable book reserves produced, was Fig 2 Structural Map VLA8 C7
vided in two zones,
selected to place the horizontal drainhole. The field has
according to the structure, one, known as El Pilar,
been yielding high water cuts since 1975,ranging from
towards the eastern boundary, characterised by low
85 to 95 ?40, and vertical new wells would water out
dips (2 to 100), whereas the other presents higher dips
within weeks. The reservoir study used a synergetic
(30-45) as it encounters Icotea, and is known as The
approach from a team composed of Petrophysicists,
Attic, (Fig 2)
Geologists, Sedimen-
tologists and reservoir
The field was originally put on production in 1954. By
engineers, from both the
p%,:; the end of 1958, four wells drilled in the area were
operator and the sewice -.\
,*4, contributing close to 9.7 Mbopd. Water was produced
company, aimed at
from the beginning. By 1960 the average water cut of
choosing the reservoir .-e ,
-J\1, 9 % the reservoir reached 20%, and production rates from
and the best location 1,
the wells were still held high, from 3 to 6 Mbopd. The
within it. The selected .*<,,U. -.. period elapsed from 1970 to 1981 saw a production
reservoir has a dip of 30 ., .-h
decline from 6 to 2 Mbopd, mainly due to water
degrees and leans Lti. 1/
-*
SIC; production, which peaked at 45A in 1970. A study
against one of the ma- ~a
Niai published in 1982 pointed out the possibilities of water
jor faults defined in the ok , ,!fr. cusping between the main line of producers, parallel to
Lake Maracaibo basin. F!g 1 VLA.8 loc.mon map.
Icotea. This Attic area was considered to be the last
possibility of any further development. By 1981 it was
Introduction,
apparent that additional wells had to be drilled, if
production was to be maintained at a plateau. Ten
The VLA 8, C- 7 resetvoir, of mid eocene age, has
years later, water cusping had left behind considerable
contributed over 42 MMSTB of oil to the volumes
amounts of oil to be recovered, while water cut troughout
produced by Maraven in Lake Maracaibo, in western
the field was averaging 857., with most of the wells shut
Venezuela (Fig 1). Reservoir calculations have re-
in because of water production. Reservoir pressure
vealed an OOIP of about 118 MMbbls, and a recovery
had declined from an original 3200 psi at 6500 to
factor of42%. With an estimated producible oil volume
approximately 1800 psi, and the last vertical well
SPEAdvanced Technology Scriw W. 4. No. I I 03
drilled in the reservoir, VlA798, produced up to 1992a during the next ten years the existing conventional wells
total of only 0.4 MMSTB of oil and some 2 MMbls of would have only recovewd some additional 1.8 MMSTB,
18% of the recoverable book reserves, provided that no
~..
Fioklwida PIOUIJUIOn Rxu
, ---- -,- more wells were shut in, that there would be no sensible
T -- 1 - r ! increments in water cuts and sustaining a declining rate
of 6% annual. Also, the most recent wells drilled in the
area ruled out the possibility of adding a new vertical
drainhole to the reservoir, The water cusps made
difficult to find out the exact position of the oil water
contact at a given point, and simulation made apparent
the fact that the lower sands were flooded.

Two possibte locations were originally selected,(Fig 4)

one north-east of well VLA-I 37, while a second scenary
placed the well up structure from wellsVLA-417 and
VIA-462, with a sedlon length of 1200 into the reser-
voir, both parallel to Icotea fault.

Geological DescrirXion.
TIME

Flg 3 Chronological Pfoduct!on and Pfessurn
water. Figure 3 shows the pressure and production
history of the resewoir.
This paper addressesthe reservoir management proce-
dures and the decisions made by an integrated team of
geoscientists from both Maraven and Schlumberger
that Iedtothe recommendation that a horizontal drainhole
be placed in the Attic patl of the VLA-8 reservoir. The
geological, petrophysical and geophysical inputs from
Hfstoty VLA-8 The structure chosen for placement of the horizontal
drainhole is known as The Attic of VIA-8, on the eastern
flank of Lake Maracaibos Block 1.This structure origi-
nates from one of the most important geological events
of the area: the Lama-lcotea fault, of Mio-Pliocene age,
oriented NE-SW. The results of 3D seismic interpreta-
tion rendered an anticline, cut by the aforementioned
fault, with dips 35-400 in a southeastern direction (Fig.
4). From geological considerations, the horizontal sec-
tionofthewellwas
planned to be par- Fig 4 Powble

the teams involved, allowed a static resetvoir descrip allel to the Lama-
tion that was then incorporated into a dynamic reservoir Icotea fault,100m
model. The expected performance of the horizontal east of it, oriented
well, named VLA-1 035, was compared to the field N12E, westwards
history, and its impact on the Iongterm development of and upstructre
this depleted reservoir was considered. from the main line
of producers.

Antecedents The target sands

were the C-7 units
The sands of VI-A-8, C7 have historically presented a of the Misoa For-
moderate sweep efficiency. The abrupt increases in mation. The main
water production during the last thirty years of drainage, flow unit is com-
cusping from an active underlying aquifer, have left the posed of massive
reservoir with important volumes of recoverable oil that sand bodieswhich
could not be extracted through conventional means of vary in thickness
drainhole. The high pressure drawdowns, which the from 60 to 200 ft.,
existing producers.have been subjecledto, have helped of deltaic and flu-
create these cusps, causing water to be produced vial depositional
freely. environments. Ac-
cording to sedi-
The Iimitationscaused by this high water production, led mentological in-
management to consider a proposal to drill a horizontal terpretation, this
well in the C 7 sands, aimed at recovering part of the 8 formation is rep
MMbbls of hydrocarbons still in place. Among the resented by a
considerations taken into account, was the fact that model consisting

104 SPE Advanced Technology Series, Vol. 4, No. 1

 z

, , !+
!i-
of meandering fluvial channels and bars. The proposed 1 ! I -II IAQSS tom
Iw

trajectow followed the meandering bars in the lowest
unit of C-7 (C-7-L), which show shaly, fine grained 6250

sands, located at 6700, subsea. Also prospective were

the sands of the upper C-7, (C-7-U), also constituted by
bars and channels, oriented S-N, in a complex fluvio-
6500
deltaic environment (Fig 5). The quality of the sands
prevailing in this zone also made these upper bodies a
prospective entry area. A typical log of this section is
shown in Fig. 6. 6150

-a-
Reservoir ProDetiles and Performance.
c -7
7m
This relatively homogeneous accumulation bears a ,,, ,,,
~
u
34API black oil, and its initial pressure and tempera- .,

,,,

ture, at a datum of 6500, were in the order of 3200 psi {m

M
and 204 F. Average porosity fieldwide is 23?40and
permeability ranges from 200 to 400 md. Initial water
saturation was 17Y0.Most of the wells started production L
7454

at very high rates, and on continuing to do so, caused
Ftg 6 Typical Icg S the C7 sands
local pressure drawdowns high enough to have water
cusping from producer to producer, irrupting from an
Development of the field took place in three stages:
active aquifer below. Extraction has taken place mainly
From 1954to 1958, with three w@lls, which reached 9.7
from a drainage line parallel to Icotea, with wells being
Mbopd. The structurally lowest wells had high water
produced simultaneously from the flow units of C-7. Out
cuts soon thereafter, undermining oil rates. A second
of the original 118 MMBIs of oil in place, 46% belonged
stage started in 1960, with the addition of four wells,
to C-7-U, and 30?-foto C-7-L. The remaining 24%
bringing production from 1.2 to 11 Mbopd by 1965.
pertained to C-7-M.
Water cuts increased from 10% in 1960 to 45?10in 1970,
when production had declined to 6 Mbopd. By 1981
water cut fieldwide had risen to 65/0and field contribu-
tion was 1.9 Mbopd. A new well was added, then, and
rates were kept fairly CQnstant, but declined to about 0.8
Mbopd in 1991, with water cuts reaching 800/o, and
GORS 2000 scf/bbl. Historic production from the field
can be seen in Figure 3. Upon looking at this behavior,
it can be inferred that the resetvoir had high production
during the first two stages, and that water rates in-
creased throughout its history, due possibly to high
pressure drawdowns.

Predrill Studies.

Due to the fact that an additional vertical well in the

area would produce with high water cuts, reservoir
management concentrated on the feasibility of a hori-
zontal drainhole. A multidisciplinary team composed of
geoscientists from both the operator and the sewice
5:7
BQ3
$ company was assembled to consider the issue. Studies
of the 3D seismic helped refine the structural frame-
118 f./ M.B.S.

Meandarlag Iku Sysbm
work, and cores from nearby wells provided the sedi-
mentological model. A pilot hole was proposed to
464
obtain required petrophysical data, and to better define
the fluid distribution, as to tackle the presence of the
Flg 5 S&nentolcgwal Model, C-7 sands water table. A major concern in this project was the fact
that water had cusped between producers. Locating it
would affect the short and long term performance,
SPE A(l\imd Tcchmh)gy Series, Vol. 4. N(). 1 I05
 Flg 7 Pressure l.hstory Match
including well rates and ultimate recove~ until water
invasion. A reservoir simulation would then provide the
well path for the horizontal section for optimal OWC
standoff, After considering quality of sands, oil satura-
tions, areal drainage and local knowledge of the struc-
ture, it was recommended to place the well parallel to
the fault, upstructurefrom wells VLA-462 and VLA-417,
in the Attic of the reservoir.
To study the behavior, and to be able to predict the
performance of a horizontal drainhole located within the
C-7 sands, a predrill simulation model was created,
using the Simbest II simulator, which included a 24X36X3
grid, for 2592 cells. A good history match of production
and pressures was accomplished, (Figs. 7,8), thus
giving confidence in the model. The reservoir was
considered being patilally anisotropic. Horizontal
permeabilities of 250 md were chosen as input values,
Flg 8 Cumulative PrductIon Hstory
106
Ftg 9 Resemtr Mode{ areal water dmtrvbutmo
according to transient interpretation results. Analysis of
cores from nearby wells had suggested a KJK~ of 0.5.
An aquifer was placed as a boundary, with WOC at
7118. The Lama4cotea fault ran NE-SW, as a western
boundary. The grid mesh was overlaid on the appropri-
ate maps (structural, isopachs, porosity). Local grid
refinement was used in the area of the proposed hori-
zontal well. Figures 9 & 10 show the oil and water
saturations before placing the horizontal section. Oil
saturations remained higher than 60V0 at the crestal
part, next to Icotea. Horizontal drainhole were simu-
lated in the 3 main sub units of C-7, and the Ienghts
considered were 584, 884, 1200 and 1600 ft. Finally, a
horizontal drainhole of 1200 ft, covering C-7-L from
cells 13 to 20, parallel to the fault, was deemed best
(Fig. 11). Also prospective in the area, with oil satura-
tions in excess of 6026,were the upper C-7 sands. Both
were chosen as possible targets from the well - up
structure from the main line of producers - with prefer-
ence towards C-7-L, from reservoir and fluid displace-
ment considerations. The predicted behavior is shown
in Fig 12, which presents forecasted oil rate production,
beginning at 2.5 Mbopd and declining to 0.33 Mbopd in
4 years.
Modeling indicated that the horizontal well would re-
cover significantly more oil than a vetilcal well at the
same locations over the time stipulated. The same
comparison was made between a horizontal and two
additional conventional wells. Results indicated a re-
covety of 2.1 MMstb against 0.8 and 1 5 MMstb, respec-
Match
tively ( Fig 13). The horizontal drainhole would then
recover 87% of its total during the first four years, for a
considered time span of 10 years.
SP13 Advanced Technology Sermi. Vol. 4, No. I
 FIg 11 Area
selected fof
-.;,,: Horizontal
;0 Drainhole
F!g lC17R~ewolr M&e! areal cd d!stnbutnon

change in the bed dipping with respect to the expected

!2d!!mL
Well planning considered drilling an 812 pilot hole at 55
deviation. Plans also contemplated three possible
drainhole trajectories (Fig 14). A whole set of open logs
was to be run here before proceeding with the horizontal
section. The pilot hole also had the objective of defining
the oil water contact in the C-7 sands, since uncertainty
prevailed about the way the water hammocks had
developed, even afterthe reservoir simulation. Further-
more, comparisons were to be made, in the pilot,
between data acquired using LWD and wireline logs.
The latter would be lacking in the horizontal drainhole,
The actual operation consisted of three steps. The well
was drilled vertically to a kick off point of 5350. The hole
angle was then built up to 51, at an average rate of 6/
100 ft, using a visco elastic system as the drilling fluid.
At this stage, MWD* measurements in real time were
taken, transmitted to surface via mud-pulse telemetry.
Porosity and density data were recorded as parl of the
required acquisition. Wireline logging operations faced
response, the well encountered an oil water boundary
after 200 of oil bearing sand. The path was raised from
95 to 99, and the payzone was reentered at 7276 MD,
It was then decided to plug back this hole and restart the
horizontal section, according to the new geological
information gathered. The path was then sidetracked
from 6095 MD, and thus the third stage started. The
horizontal drainhole reentered C-7 at 6720 and 83
deviation. Build rates varied between 6-120/1 00 to
obtain a 95 inclination and conform to the 4-5 apparent
formation dip. Drilling was carried onto the planned MD
of 8050, with a horizontal drainhole of 1300, and 1082
of oil bearing footage. This stage was possible due in
part to the high performance of the drilling fluid, which
helped sustain a stable hole and avoid problems asso-
ciated with high angle drilling (Fig. 15).
,,
........................ ...............................
. ,
i, a
!!
.
-!. .
.J
. .
. ....
.
. . ,-

some difficulties, as the second tool became stuck at $

about 400 ft short of TD. The pilot hole was plugged ;.

back, opened up to a hole size of 12 %, thus setting 9 4

,-
5/8 casing at 6062. :j
Based upon the final petrophysical evaluation results, ../

- -4-..4
.-.-..
f =i
the upper C-7 sands were selected as the zone where
the horizontal drainhole would be placed. The second
z~
.
~.--::+>..
.

...-
M--
..! .. -.

stage of the drilling process started at 6246 MD,

traversing the objective sand at 6639. Due to a local Fbg 12 Horizontal well predfcted prodwt!on p.aformance

SPF. Adwmcd Tcchnoh)gy Swici Vol. 4. ?40. I I07

 KOP
I >,
,, {
,,
,, 440 @62!lo5m.sfJ
IloR!mw 04
WA.*, ,,

,,

!,, . 60%
Or- 2TD

00 ,
.. . . . . . . . . .
,$... $, . . . . . . . . . . . . .-
0$, ? wmld~ $ ,,, .. . . ...!.

. ...-
\ 7493 n w To
,,*!SW W.-mm 0!0

mm
10 da da ku Km ,m ,aa ,,w Zml
FIg 13 Hcmzordal m Vwt!cal, predcied recovery
Dbplaeemem {hot)

F!g 15 Verttcal Trajectory Flot cd Planned w Actual WIII Paths

Slowing Vanat!ons m Drainhole Elevations

Petrophvsical Evaluation.
the highest in the well.(fig 16)
Following the analysis performed on data from nearby
wells of Block 1, it was concluded that an evaluation
As a second objective, the evaluation of the mechanical
program required a full set of logs on the pilot well. This
feasibility of drilling a horizontal section in these sands,
would take into account productivity considerations, as
the IMPACT* program was used. This allowed calcula-
well as the mechanical stability requirements to ensure
tions of the dynamic elastic moduli, rock strengths and
a succesful drilling of the horizontal section. The set of
in situ stresses. It determined the range of mudweights
logs started with {he real time recording of the LWD*
needed for safe drilling. DSI data permitted the compu-
logs CDR* and CDN*. This LWD* operation was fol-
tation of the moduli, which matched closely with those
lowed by the wireline runs of Dual Laterolog(DLL*),
derived from lab measurements made on cores. The
Dipole Sonic Imager (DSI*) and NGT*. It had been
estimation of the horizontal stresses was achieved by
decided that at this stage the target intewal for the
horizontal drainhole would be selected.

To achieve this objective, a full petrophysical evalua-

tion was performed with the help of the ELAN* program,
using all available data coming from the mentioned
logs. The fact that several resistivity measurements
were available, allowed definition of the invasion profile
at two different times, one just after drilling (CDR*) and
the other several hours later by means of the DLL* data.
From this evaluation, it was apparent that C-7 upper had
less effective porosity due to higher clay contents than
its other members, but its hydrocarbon saturations were

Flg 14 Trajectories planned for horizontal sect!on Flg 16 ELAN resuits, Plot V@

108 SPE Adv:inced Twhnology Series, Vol. 4, No, I

using a Poro Elastic model. The results of these com-
putations are shown in Figure 17, a W13S*plot (Wellbore
Stability). Hole collapse and ovalization occured over
the sections where the mud weight was outside the
mechanical stability envelope. Next, the 90 deviation
was simulated (15 azimuth). The results showed a
slight narrowing of the safe mud envelope, making it
advisable to increase the mud weight for the horizontal
hole. The petrophysical results for both the pilot and the
horizontal section are presented in Fig. 18, along the
wells trajectories.

This evaluation established a 40 thick payzone in C-7-

U. This lens, also part of a meandering fluvial bar,
showed lesser porosity and permeability values than
the rest of the bodies in C-7. It seems that the extra clay
content may have prevented hydrocarbon migration,
, .rrm
l!l~~s$B9i?Q5g?Es

Flg 18 PM hole and horuontal drainhole

patiially preserving this interval from the overall reser-
voir depletion, which may explain the higher oil satura-
tions observed. Thus, C-7-U was selected as the
drainage area.
Completion.
Production was expected with reasonably low water
cuts for a year, with gas lift available for future require-
ments. Consideration was given to the fact that the
completion chosen should provide for frequent pres-
sure/temperature data gathering, for evaluation pur-
yn~gi~~
petrophysical results
poses. Itwas also required to simplify completion
practices and to minimise operational problems.
The recommended completion wasto run a slotted liner
with an external casing packer. Zone isolation and
future workovers, the main reason to have chosen a
cemented liner, were not considered requirements. A
7 casing was run and cemented from the top of C-7-U
to the 9 8 casing, using an external packer to isolate
the overlying resefvoir. A port collar was placed above
the top of the horizontal slotted section. The well was
completed with 3% tubing equipped with gas lift man-
drels. (Fig 19)

Performance of the Horizontal Well.

Well VLA-1 035 has performed according to the expec-

tations generated by the reservoir simulation. The well
was evaluated using different choke sizes, beginning
with 3/8, yielding 0.7 Mbopd. Chokes were increased
to %, 3/4 and l, for oil rates of 1.0, 1.8 and 2.4 Mbopd
respectively, with water cuts stable at 3% and GOR no
higher than 540 scf/bbl, Critical rate studies and eco-
nomic considerations, determined that the wells pro-

m W*4 11 b,,

-----------------

Ptizalw ------------- -_
PKkor ,.~c, ... . .

F!g 17 Wellbore SIab(rty plot F(g 19 Complehoo Scheme for HW

SPE Advanced Technology Series, Vol. 4, No. 1 109

duction should be set at 1.3 Mbopd, to impose a
pressure drawdown that would not affect heavily the
water influx, under the conviction that a sustainable
production life from this horizontal well should be attain-
able by producing at lower pressure drawdowns than
those observed in the existing line of producers.
Since December 1992, the well has produced a stable
1.4 Mbopd, with 3?10water and a GOR of 544 scf/bbl.
This production rate is already 5-9 times better than that
of the vertical wells in the reservoir (Fig. 20). Production
of water from the horizontal well is substantially below
the zones average, while GOR has remained at half the
Mrmlmnlm ,
, a
!- /-
. .>. ,..,,
F(g 20 Horizontal Well petiormance vs conventional
regular rates,
Conclusions
- A horizontal well was designed and drilled successfully
in the attic area of VtA-8 resewoir. This area was
considered unfit for further conventional development,
because of early water irruption in the wells.
-A synergetic approach from a multidisciplinary team of
geoscientists was key to the success of this project.
Intensive involvement generated geological,
petrophysical, sedimentological and geophysical mod-
els that were integrated into a dynamic reservoir model.
This integration yielded a confidence interval that led to
the decision to drill a horizontal drainhole in these C-7
sands of VLA-8.
-A quality reservoir description of VLA-8 was achieved.
Two zones had been selected astargetsforthe horizon-
tal drainhole, thus providing more flexibility on the final
decision. The information now gathered about this
reservoir opens possibilities regarding drilling another
horizontal well in this area, and the methodology ap-
plied will be extended to future horizontal development
in Lake Maracaibos reservoirs.
- A pilot hole was drilled to acquire petrophysical data
needed for better understanding of the reservoir and for
placement of the horizontal drainhole. Comparisons of
the response of LWD tools and conventional wireline
tools in the post hole, allowed cost effective evaluation
of the horizontal section,
- The positive results of well VLA-1 035 have opened
development opportunities forthe existing reservoirsin
Lake Maracaibo. Horizontal well technology has proven
to be ideal for recovering hydrocarbons from zones
presenting waterconing problems. VIA-8, with over 8
MMbls of oil to be recovered, and suffering from severe
water coning problems, opens a new and succesful
. production strategy in the area. Initial tests yielded
.
. water cuts well below the 80% characteristic for these
.aA,om
,. sands, and oil rates over 7 times greater than those of
the vertical counterparts, Production rates are still
mantained at these levels,
Acknowledgments
The author would like to show his appreciation to the
management of Maraven,S.A. and to Schlumberger for
encouraging the completion of this project and for
allowing publication of this paper. Also, our deepest
wells IN VLA.8 appreciations to other members of the team: A. Marot,
B. Lesso, R,Luque, R.Lambertini and F,Chacartegui, for
their leadership. To C. Taylor, B,Cortiula, F. Escorcia,
E. Sampson and V. Roque, whose vehemence and dedi-
cation were always a challenge, up to the last minute,
and to all of those involved in the field, mainly Maravens
G. Tomes, J. Ordaz and E.Martins. To M. Gibson, for
believing in the FIS group.
References
1. Dartey,J.: Lake Block 1: Reservoir Engineering
Analysis of the C-6-1 and C-7 Reservoirs, Maraven,
1982.
2. Su6rez, T.: Reservoir Engineering Considerations
for placing a Horizontal well in the C-7 Sands of VLA-8,
Block 1, Lake Maracaibo, Schlumberger, 1992,
3. Koonsman, T.: Ness Horizontal Well Case Study
, JPT, October 1992
4. Babu, D and Odeh A.: Productivity of a Horizontal
Well, SPE-RE, Nov. 1992.
5. Novy, R.: Pressure Drops in Horizontal wells: When
can they be Ignored?, SPE paper 24941
6. Murphy, P.: Performance of Horizontal wells in the
Helder Field, JPT, June 1990
7. Contreras, L.:Conventional Reservoir Study of the
C-7, VLA-6/8/l 1/12 reservoirs, Block l, Ma raven, 1992
SPE Advanced Ttxhnology Series. Vol. 4, No. 1