Reservoir characterization

Reconciling Log-Derived Water-Saturation and Saturation-Height Function Results

Saturation-height functions (SHFs) play a key role in reservoir description and in quantifying oil in place. The functions must compare well with other sources of water saturation (Sw), such as core measurements and well-log interpretations. This study reconciles different sources of Sw.

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Saturation-height functions (SHFs) play a key role in reservoir description and in quantifying oil in place. The functions must compare well with other sources of water saturation (Sw), such as core measurements and well-log interpretations, when they are available. The authors have reconciled different Sw sources through a reliable SHF function based on the Brooks-Corey model with parameters optimized for the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Thunder Horse (TH) Field. The function is used to populate oil volumes in the 3D static and dynamic models.

General Description of the Hydrocarbon Field

TH is located in a six-block “lease unit” of the Mississippi Canyon (MC) area of the deepwater GOM. The field is approximately 69 miles from the Louisiana coastline in water depths ranging from 6,000 to 6,500 ft.

The TH facility consists of a taut-wire-moored semisubmersible system with production, drilling, and quarters (PDQ). The PDQ is located near the southern boundary of MC 778. The PDQ is designed to handle 250,000 BOPD, 200 MMscf/D, and 140,000 B/D of produced water.

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