Water Management

As background, reservoirs are complex natural systems where water, oil and gas co-exist within a surrounding rock formation under high pressure and temperature. When penetrated, pressures decline, fluids and gasses shift positions and relative concentrations of remaining water, oil and gas change. As reservoirs mature, the industry introduces artificial mechanisms to lift oil that can include, among others: vacuums, pumps and direct injection of water and gas such as CO2 into the reservoir.

In addition, although oil brought to the surface is generally mixed with water, the ratio of water to oil increases significantly as a reservoir matures. On average, three times as many barrels of water are produced with every barrel of oil; in mature wells, this ratio can increase to 7:1 and higher. These enormous volumes of produced water have high economic costs and environmental risks related to the energy, chemicals, equipment and industrial infrastructure required to lift, separate, treat, transport and safely dispose of produced water on land or by re-injection below the surface. This mammoth challenge is becoming even larger due to increased reservoir maturation around the world and increased amounts of production from deepwater and subsea wells.

At Welltec, we have achieved a significant track record of using our down hole mechanical services to prevent water from entering the well. For example, we have gone into offshore wells producing as much as 100% water and reduced water cut to only a few percent, while also reducing the gas to oil ratio and boosting oil production. By reducing water entry at the source, we eliminate all the subsequent effort and cost needed to address it while increasing production and reducing important environmental risks. In addition, our “keyhole surgery” helps increase ultimate reservoir recovery rates and is healthier for wells and reservoirs than invasive conventional approaches that can damage these systems.