Reducing water cut to improve oil production in Ecuador

A mature onshore sandstone well in Ecuador was experiencing persistently high water cut, limiting hydrocarbon production and increasing operating costs. By isolating the high water producing zone and executing a targeted hydraulic fracturing treatment in a low water saturation interval, SLB enabled a significant reduction in water production while increasing oil output and restoring well profitability.

The operator aimed to reduce excessive water production that was impacting well economics and limiting the reservoir’s oil potential. The well was producing from an interval with consistently high water cut, resulting in inefficient surface handling, higher lifting and treatment costs, and reduced oil recovery.

Production data showed that the main contributing zone was largely water-producing, with minimal oil contribution. This imbalance reduced overall well performance and limited the value of the asset. Previous approaches failed to shift the production profile or effectively access more favorable intervals.

The challenge was therefore to isolate the high water-producing zone while enabling production from a lower water‑saturation interval, without compromising completion integrity or increasing intervention risk.

SLB deployed an integrated stimulation approach combining targeted hydraulic fracturing, advanced fracture modeling, and proppant flowback control technologies to directly address the root cause of high water production.

The hydraulic fracturing treatment successfully redirected stimulation energy toward a low water saturation interval, enabling increased oil contribution from the newly activated zone and shifting the well’s production profile away from the water‑dominant layer. This resulted in a sustained and measurable reduction in water production.

The use of MP1 stimulation design and modeling software ensured optimized fracture geometry and precise placement within the most productive reservoir interval, maximizing contact with hydrocarbon-bearing rock while avoiding water-prone zones.

In parallel, PropNET™ proppant flowback control technology played a critical role in maintaining long-term production performance by preventing proppant flowback. This protected the ESP, reduced the risk of equipment erosion and failure, and eliminated the need for costly remediation interventions.

As a result:

• Water production was significantly reduced
• Oil output increased from the newly stimulated interval
• The well returned to stable, reliable production
• ESP performance and longevity improved
• Operational risks and unplanned workovers were minimized
• Overall operating costs were reduced while system uptime increased

Beyond the immediate performance gains, this case established a repeatable methodology for managing high water cut wells. The operator has since begun applying the same approach across other assets, demonstrating scalability and long-term value creation.