Case Study: Optimizing Operational Efficiency Through Innovative Production-Monitoring Technologies

_ Production monitoring plays a critical role in the oil and gas industry throughout the production life cycle. It ensures optimal operational efficiency, safety, enhanced environmental compliance, and cost-effectiveness by identifying areas of production enhancement throughout the exploration and production processes. The challenges of field development span from the exploration phase to multiwell developments and extend through enhanced oil recovery. When operating within harsh environments, such as deepwater or high-pressure systems, these challenges are amplified. Deploying innovative tracers helps to solve the most difficult oil and gas production challenges related to geology, reservoir, production, and completions by providing specific subsurface measurements without the need for well intervention, shut-ins, or wires. Phase-specific chemical tracers help track and characterize the flow, presence, and behavior of liquids and gases throughout the production process. Innovative Approach To See Inside the Processes Smart tracers are used to provide fluid-flow insights in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs, allowing customers to analyze well- and zone-specific production performance at a fraction of the cost of other monitoring tools and techniques. The tracer production log eliminates the need to use expensive tools or wired systems to discover which part of a well is contributing each phase to the total flow. With this, water-entry points can be established and a water-cut profile can be provided along the wellbore with zero well intervention. The tracer production log information can then be used to develop and maximize the full reservoir field potential, as well as increase production. Smart tracers also allow an operator to determine if a well cleanout program has been effective, indicate whether there is flow from all parts of the well, and assess lateral contribution in multilateral wells. Oil-inflow and water-inflow measurement solutions, such as those delivered by industrial technology specialist Tracerco, provide a continuous picture of a well’s performance. They collect data on zone-specific production, cleanout effectiveness, water breakthrough, and plug, packer, or sleeve open or closed status. Case Study: Production Optimization Through Tracer Technology By partnering with Tracerco, an oil and gas reservoir development company in Oklahoma found success through the application of chemical tracers in its unconventional assets. Tracers were used across two horizontal wells on a single pad to determine if there was flow along the entire lateral and to confirm whether the dissolvable fracture plugs had indeed dissolved.