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Abstract

AAPG Methods in Exploration No. 14, Chapter 8: Horizontal-well Drilling in the Heavy-oil Belt, Eastern Venezuela Basin: A Postmortem of Drilling Experiences , by D. S. Hamilton, R. Barba, M. H. Holtz, J. Yeh, M. Rodriguez, M. Sanchez, P. Calderon, and J. Castillo, Pages 127 - 141
from:
AAPG Methods in Exploration No. 14: Horizontal Wells: Focus on the Reservoir, Edited by T. R. Carr, E. P. Mason, and C. T. Feazel
Copyright copyrght.jpg (4253 bytes)2003 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

Chapter 8
Horizontal-well Drilling in the Heavy-oil Belt, Eastern Venezuela Basin: A Postmortem of Drilling Experiences

D. S. Hamilton1
R. Barba2
M. H. Holtz
J. Yeh
Bureau of Economic Geology
Austin, Texas, U.S.A.

M. Rodriguez
M. S225_a.jpg (470 bytes)nchez
P. Calderon
J. Castillo
Petr243_o.jpg (458 bytes)leos de Venezuela
Caracas, Venezuela, S.A.

1Present affiliation: Hamilton Geosciences, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
2Present affiliation: Integrated Energy Services, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.


ABSTRACT

The Bureau of Economic Geology and Corpoven S.A. (now Petr243_o.jpg (458 bytes)leos de Venezuela) jointly undertook a detailed reservoir characterization study of the Merecure and Oficina Formations in the Arecuna field of the Faja region, Eastern Venezuela Basin. The primary objective of the study was to delineate the volumes and residency of remaining oil saturation and to develop appropriate advanced recovery strategies for maximizing recovery efficiency of the heavy oil in the Faja region. Initial completions in the field were all from vertical wells, and production rates were subeconomic. The field-development strategy was to accelerate production rates by taking advantage of increased drainage efficiencies of horizontal wells. A horizontal-well drilling program, however, requires a very accurate reservoir model, particularly in the Faja, where the reservoirs were highly compartmented because of complex faulting and lateral and vertical facies heterogeneity of the fluvial reservoirs. Moreover, hydrocarbon- and water-bearing reservoirs are strongly interlayered in the field, requiring the trajectory of the horizontal wells to be targeted accurately.

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