Increasing Oil While Reducing Water Production in a Mature Field with High-Permeability Sandstone and an Active Aquifer in the Colombia Llanos Basin: Case Study

Abstract Low reservoir pressure, oil production, reduced wellhead pressure, and increased water production are among the characteristics that describe mature fields. A major challenge in these fields involve the maintenance of production despite high water rates. The identification of the water production mechanism and the application of the correct treatment for each well is crucial to achieve profitable field development. The analysis and execution of water control operations in a field located in a remote region in Colombia are presented. This project was designed and executed with a combination of multiple tools, including a reservoir simulator for reservoir characterization, petrophysical software that enables continuous and iterative data collaboration and real-time well log analysis within geoscience and engineering workflows, and productivity analysis developed to optimize the design and placement of conformance treatments along with production forecast estimations of the treatment results.This water technology application represents an achievement for the field and serves as a reference for future water control operations under similar conditions, such as high permeability, heavy oil production, and a strong aquifer. The project covers the entire comprehensive diagnostics process, to include data analysis, candidate selection, water mechanism diagnosis, treatment design, and operation execution. The first pilot in a vertical well demonstrated successful results, which initiated further analysis, design, and execution for horizontal wells that present additional challenges and are part of the evaluation process to expand the project. This expansion aims to reduce water production and increase oil output throughout the field.