Challenge: Manage reservoir drawdown in
Statoil’s Gulfaks field in wells that are equipped with downhole pressure
gauges as well as those that are not so equipped
Solution: In wells with WellWatcher real-time
reservoir and production monitoring systems, the oil production rate was
maximized by maintaining bottomhole flowing pressure slightly above bubblepoint
pressure. In wells without downhole permanent gauges, production was optimized
using calibration curves based on empirical multiphase equations and pressure
data from WellWatcher systems in nearby wells
Results: Statoil increased production fivefold
from 630 to 3,145 bbl/d on a well-by-well basis
