Horizontal Barriers for Controlling Water Coning

J. C. KARP'
JUNIOR MEMBER AIME
GULF RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CO.
D. K. lOWE
PITTSBURGH, PA.
N. MARUSOV
MEMBER AIME

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ABSTRACT THEORY AND DEFINITIONS

This paper considers, from an engineering viewpoint,
several factors involved in creating, designing and locating
horizontal barriers for controlling water coning. This is
an effort to consolidate new concepts with previous infor-
mation so that a reasonable selection of barrier materials,
dimensions and vertical position can be made.
Coning theories previously developed are briefly re-
viewed and an effort is made to reduce the results of
coning-theory calculations to a point where routine calcu-
lations can be made with a desk calculator. It is expected
that these simplified calculations will give usable predic-
tions of the amounts of improvement attainable with bar-
riers of various dimensions.
Apparatus and procedures used for testing the suita-
bility of commercial cements are described and test results
are presented.
INTRODUCTION
Just about as soon as the phenomenon of water coning
was recognized as an oilfield problem, there were sug-
gestions that the production of water coning could be
controlled or completely suppressed by means of horizon-
tal barriers. It was also suggested that natural barriers
such as shale streaks were helpful in restricting bottom-
water production. The implication was that wells not
having the benefit of continuous shale streaks to suppress
bottom waters should, in some way, be supplied with an
artificial barrier.
With regard to the selection of barrier materials, there
are many references which give the merits of liquid bar-
riers.'·' These liquids include surface-active agents,' pre-
cipitates' and emulsions.' There is no real need to review
the merits of these materials again. This paper deals with
the use of solid barriers which could be made from various
cements. The two major restrictions placed on these bar-
rier cements are that (1) they must be commercially
available in large quantities, and (2) they must be appli-
cable by means of standard tools and equipment with
techniques that have been fully developed and are in
general use at the present time.
A schematic drawing of a horizontal barrier in a reser-
voir is shown in Fig. 1. Two maximum stable water cones
are illustrated-one for the wellbore diameter and the
other for a barrier. A maximum stable cone is one that
has attained its maximum volume at the critical produc-
tion rate and is on the threshold of producing water. The
volume displaced by each water cone and the rise in
water table are indications of the amount of water-free
oil produced. Corrections for porosity, connate water and
residual oil, of course, must be applied.
The water-oil interface which defines a maximum stable
cone is called a free surface. It is a surface over which
the pressure is constant. This free surface has the shape
of a limiting streamline at and below which there is no
movement or transport.
The shape of the water cone describes the pressure drop
in the reservoir. The effect of a completely impermeable
barrier on the cone shape is essentially the same as ex-
tending the well bore out to the barrier radius.
The placement of a horizontal barrier requires that
a horizontal fracture be created using a single-point entry
technique. Two methods may be employed for filling this
fracture. One method consists of propping the fracture
before filling with cement. The other consists of fracturing
with fracture fluid, then immediately following with cement
OIL ZONE
WELL BORE - - BARRIER CONE
CONE

Original manuscript received in Society of Petroleum Engineers office ORIGINAL OIL- WATER CONTACT~
Aug. 7, 1961. Revised manuscript received May 4, 1962. Paper presented
at 36th Annual Fall Meeting of SPE, Oct. 8-11, 1961, in Dallas.
"Now associated with Advanced Microelectronics Co. WATER ZONE
lReferences given at end of paper. FIG. I-HORIZONTAL BARRIER FOR CONTROLLING WATER CONING.

JULY, 1962
SPE 153
783
containing propping agents. The propping agents are used
to insure adequate barrier thickness.
BARRIER DESIGN
The essential elements which need to be considered for
the design of a barrier are the radius, thickness, vertical
position and permeability.
The only consideration for the vertical position of a
barrier is that it must be at a depth that will permit oil
production at a desired rate such as may be governed by
the daily allowable.
Methods for determining the optimum perforation in-
terval are well known and are in common use at present.
The barrier is placed immediately below this perforation
interval.
The barrier thickness is dependent on the width to
which fractures can be held open by propping agents
after the propping agents have been deformed or imbedded.
numbers at the ends of the dashed lines indicate the
maximum water-free production rates.
The curves for barriers were made by substituting the
barrier radius (ra) for the wellbore radius(r",) in Eq. I.
The figure also lists the parameters which are assumed
in order to arrive at the theoretical curves. The oil-zone
thickness, area, porosity, residual oil and connate water
determine the reservoir volume.
The "Cumulative Oil Production vs Time" plots are
very restrictive as they stand. However, a certain amount
of dimensional variation is possible on the graphs. This
means that certain parameters can be changed, with thc
result that the scales on the plots are changed but the
shapes of the individual curves are not. The parameters
which allow for such changes are displacement efficiency,
porosity, permeability, water density, oil density and oil
viscosity. The quantities such as well spacing, depth of
penetration, barrier radius and pay thickness cannot be

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It has been reported that popping agents as large as 1;4 in.
in diameter or greater could be placed in fractures."
The optimum radius of a barrier is a compromise
selection governed by the cost of placing a barrier of a
given radius and the economic advantages to be gained.
One criterion for measuring the effectiveness of a barrier
could be based on the amount of water-free oil obtained
before the barrier is by-passed and flooded. Another cri-
terion could be the reduction in total amount of water
produced after the barrier is flooded and by-passed. The
third criterion would be the total amount of oil produced
before the well is abandoned because water-handling costs
are as great as the value of oil recovered.
varied without changing the shape of the curves.
A more useful curve is shown in Fig. 3. This graph
was obtained by dividing the cumulative water-free pro-
duction obtained at a constant production rate for each
barrier radius by that production rate. This simple division
gives time to water breakthrough.
For the well conditions shown in Fig. 3, the water-free
production nearly doubles with a 5-ft radius barrier and
then requires nearly a 100-ft radius barrier to double the
water-free production again. Such satisfactory results are
not available for all well conditions. For example, Fig. 4
shows that for another set of well conditions a barrier
8 ~-,---, I I ----,---,

~ 80 ACRE
To determine the optimum barrier radius, the concept I
I
of the free surface was used. Several solutions of the free- --!
z 1
.25 POR.
surface problem have been presented and reviewed in the 2 (/)
I- ~ 0.5 DARCYS
literature.'-" The solution of the free-surface problem c.> w 6 VISC. 1.0 CPS
::J a::
yields two €quations of interest for the present discussion. Cl a::
0 <t 5
L
0.6 SP. GR.
The equation a:: CD ~ 25 FT. PENE.
c... 50% EFF.
__ "kg(p", - p,,) (17' - D') 4
(I) w 0z
II ----;~ In -(--_r..'~) - - >

I~
3
~ :::i
r 1,. <t ~
~
::J :::!E 2
gives the critical production rate above which water can :::!E
be produced. ::J
c.>
The equation
5 10 15 20 25 30
Z = h -- ~ /z' - (h' - D'). ~
In
(rc/ r ) .
(r,.jr.,.)
(2)*
TIME IN YEARS
FIG. 2-Cl;x[CLATIVE WATER-FREE OIL AS A FI-Ncrro:'-l OF TI'IL

defines the shape of the maximum stable water cone in

I
a radial system. Z
Eq. 1 may be used to prepare the basic family of curves 0 5 i----i-----T-- I T----·
l-
shown in Fig. 2. These curves give the water-free cumu- (.) I 250 BOPD
lative production as a function of years to first water for ::J
Cl 4
various barrier radii. 0 u) 80 ACRE
a:: ...J ,f 100 FT. OIL ZONE
For the development of this graph, it is assumed that
the reservoir pressure is always sufficient to produce the
0.. CD

...J
co 3 L 25 FT. PENE.
0.5 DARCYS
well at any required rate. It is further assumed that gas 0 z I
in solution in the reservoir remains in solution and that 0 2
crude oil produced from the reservoir is replaced by bot-
w -' ! 'i-\~'?- .25 POR.
> -' ((;~~ VISC. 1.0 CPS
tom water. The effects of capillary pressure and relative I- ::2
permeability are neglected.
<l: 50% EFF.
-' 0.6 SP. GR.
::J
The water table rises as oil is removed, and the pro- ::2
duction rate must be reduced to keep the water out of ::J 0
(.)
0 10 20 30 40 50
the well. This is the behavior pictured in Fig. 2. The
YEARS TO FIRST WATER
FIG. 3-PERIOD OF WATER-FREE OIL PRODUCTION FOR VARIOI-S
':'Derivation of Eq. 2 is given in the Appendix. BARRIER RAllil.

784 JO{;Rl'iAL OF PETROLEUM TECH:'\OLOG Y

 with a radius of nearly 50 ft is needed before water-free The equation is much too complicated for analytical
oil can be obtained. purposes; therefore, tables for numerical values of F for
Another important consideration for evaluating the the various dimensionless parameters were compiled. From
effectiveness of barri,ers is the amount of water production . .IS POSSI'ble to
S'Uc h ta bles It 0 bt'
am t h e ra t'IO fLw
- X qu'
- for
after the barrier is flooded as compared with the water
fLo q"
produced without a barrier. various rises in water table.
The previous water-coning solutions were extended to These values then can be plotted as shown in Fig. 6
include the condition where water under the oil phase is to give the instantaneous per cent water as a function of
also moving.'o This is a first approximation to the solution per cent of available oil produced. It is assumed that the
of the two-phase radial-flow problem and was obtained oil-production rate is held constant for the life of the well.
from first-order partial differential equations and the free- (Available oil is equal to the pore volume less the con-
surface concept."' In addition to the assumptions used for nate water and residual oil.)
the maximum stable water-cone solution, it is assumed
This plot, which predicts the water-production rate for
that in the water phase underlying the oil there exists a
all periods in the life of a well, is a basis for determining
limiting streamline which extends from the bottom of the
the economic advantages of barriers for specific areas.
water zone at the drainage radius to the bottom of the
For example, in areas where the cost of lifting and dis-
well perforations (see Fig. 5). The water below this limit-
posing of water is negligible, even large reductions of
ing streamline is stationary. It is also assumed that the

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water production may not offset the cost of a barrier. In
height to which the interface rises along the wellbore is
other areas, where the cost of handling water is high,
dependent on the rate, density and viscosities of the fluids
the payout period could be very short. Another considera-
produced and that Darcy's radial formula can be applied
tion is the prevention of premature well abandonment be-
to the well bore.
cause of high water production.
The solution makes use of dimensionless parameters
The solutions of the coning problems as outlined herein
and is in the following form.
are so cumbersome and time-consuming that one might
F( fLu,.fLo- x qu'-q" ,h---h D
- ,U
h
z".- ,Z,."'
-,
h
-)
h
=
q"fL"
.)
27l"h·kg!::.p
I nr,- ·
r"
be reluctant to use them. The diagram shown in Fig. 6
can be approximated with simplified calculations. With
(3) the aid of Eq. 1, the rise in water table needed to produce
a maximum stable water cone for a specific production
';'A condensed derivation of this solution is shown in the Appendix. A rate can be computed (original oil-zone thickness minus
comprehensive derivation is available on request (Ref. 10).
calculated h). The volume of oil represented by the drain-
age area and the rise in water table will be water-free
oil. With the aid of Eq. 2 the cone shape can be plotted.
This cone can be broken down into thin concentric cylin-
ders from which the volume in the cone can be estimated.
The sum of the oil volumes represented by the rise in
water table and the cone will be the water-free oil. This
point may be plotted on a graph similar to Fig. 7.
A straight line drawn from the point of first water to
the terminal point on the graph (100 per cent water-cut
and 100 per cent oil produced) gives the diagram shown
in Fig. 7, which is an excellent approximation of Fig. 6.

FIG. 4-PERlOD OF WATER·FREE OIL PRODUCTIO:-l WITH BARRIERS.
h rWr-________________________________~re
r
TEST METHODS
PERMEABILITY OF BARRIER MATERIALS
A completely inpermeable barrier is desirable. The
cements available, however, do have measurable amounts
of permeability. Considering the large area and thin cross-
section of barriers, it is clear that the permeability of the
barrier is important. As an aid to determining the amount

o e(r,zo) OIL ZONE 100 --,----- ,

L I
I (r, Z)
c::
w 80
40 ACRE
100 FT OIL ZONE
1,

I
!;(
;;: 25 FT. PENE lI
I 60
t , e(r,zW) I-
0.5 DARCYS
z z

O~-t--- '" WATER i~.

w
u
c::
40

--
----"'''''''-.....
-.
........ ONE I w
a.. 20

- U -L.--------f------------"-=-"'-'-..~-......
LIMITING WATER 10 20 40 60 80 100
STREAMLINE X(r) PERCENT AVAILABLE CUMULATIVE OIL PRODUCTION
FIG. 5-CONE SHAPE AND LnIlTING STREAMLINE FOR SIMULTA. FIG. 6--PER CENT WATER PRODUCTION AS A FUNCTION OF PER
NEOUS PRODUCTION OF WATER AND OIL. CEVf AVAILABLE OIL PRODUCED (BY RIGOROUS CALCULATIONS).

JULY, 1962 785

of permeability that can be tolerated, the following equa- a hand-operated piston pump. A dead-weight tester modi-
tion was derived. fied to act as a pressure-relief valve was used to maintain
the pressure at a constant value.
q", = (kb)·(~)_I_ [rb' - r y
,' _ r",' In(rb/r",)]
qo kf /Lw D to 4 2 The cement to be injected into the fracture was mixed
(4)* in a high-speed blender in accordance with API standards
or the recommendations of the supplier. The cement,
The condition under which this equation applies is that contained in a sump, was delivered to the wellbore end
the oil production be high enough to maintain a water of the fracture system through V<! -in. steel tubing by
cone under the entire barrier without producing any means of the hand pump.
water around it. The water-oil ratio is influenced by the A differential-pressure gauge connected between the
ratio of barrier to formation permeabilities. Higher bar- lines leading to the inlet and discharge ends of the test
rier permeabilities can be tolerated in higher-permeability block gave the pressure drop through the fracture system.
formations.
Two graduated cylinders were used to measure the
TEST EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURES amount of cement injected-one cylinder was at the inlet
It was the purpose of the testing procedure to determine of the injection pump, the other at the discharge of the
the permeability of cements after they had been subjected dead-weight tester. After the cement was injected, the
to conditions similar to those expected to be encountered pressure and temperature were maintained for a period of
in a reservoir. several hours to allow the cement to attain an initial set.
After the cement cured in oil for a period of at least

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72 hours, I-in. in diameter cores were cut from the block.
Test Specimen
These cores were then used to determine the permeability
Cements were injected into a 5° section of a 5-ft radius of the barrier by means of a Hassler cell assembly. The
fracture system. The fracture system consisted of two pie- permeating fluid was separated from the pressure source
shaped blocks of Berea sandstone separated by either by mercury to insure against gases going into solution in
shims or propping material. The sides and ends were the fluids.
sealed with epoxy resin-impregnated cloth. Enough layers It was found that for one of the cements, called Resin
of cloth were used to keep the blocks together under in- Cement A, the resin phase filtered into the fracture faces
jection pressures of 50 psi above simulated reservoir pres- under very low pressures. There was concern that under
sures. The top, bottom and inside surfaces were not high pressure the resin would penetrate deep enough into
treated. To subject the cements to the same type of the oil zone to damage the well. To check this possibility,
fluid-loss conditions that would be encountered in a reser- tests were conducted in a Hassler cell by placing enough
voir, a saturation history simulating reservoir conditions
was imposed on the blocks. The procedure consisted of
saturating the blocks with water, and then displacing the
water to a low water saturation with oil.
OIL
Constant-Temperature Pressure Vessel CEMENT
SLURRY
The fracture assembly inside a constant-temperature
pressure vessel is shown in Fig. 8. This device consists
essentially of a section of 8-in. steel pipe with pipeline
closures on each end. The pressure vessel was designed
to withstand pressures up to 1,500 psi. The copper coil
inside was a heat exchanger. An electric heater in a sump
outside the pressure system was the heat source. A cen-
trifugal pump circulated the hot oil and was turned on
and off by a thermo regulator.
The pressure in the vessel was increased by means of
FIG. 8-CONSTANT-TEMPERATURE PRESSURE VESSEL.

':'The derivation of Eq. 4 is given in the Appendix.

PENETRATION INCHES
100 ,---,---,---,---,---,---,---,---.-~ 0.06 0.20 0.39 1.22 1.41 2.28
It:
w 80 100 FT. OIL ZONE
ti 25 FT. PENE.
~
60 0.5 DARCYS
I-
z
w 40
<.>
It:
W
Cl.
20

10 20 40 60 80 100 20 160 200 340 500 625

PERCENT AVAILABLE CUMULATIVE OIL PRODUCTION
PRESSURE PSIG
FIG. 7-PER CENT WATER AS A FUNCTION OF PERCENT AVAILABLE
OIL PRODUCED (SIMPLIFIED METHOD). FIG. 9-PENETRATION OF RESIN "A".

786 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

 cement on top of a 3.5-in. long core to more than saturate
- the entire pore space, then applying high pressure on the
cement. The filter-cake build-up was such that 625-psi
differential pressure was required to penetrate 2.28 in.
of core. Typical results of these tests are illustrated in
Fig. 9. No appreciable damage to the oil zone is antici-
pated because of this penetration.
TEST RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS
Table 1 summarizes the results of tests made with four
commercially available cements. The costs of the various
cements tested are listed in Table 2.
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
BARRIER CEMENTS
The cements reported herein are commercially available
and small volumes can be placed either with a dump bailer
or through tubing using tubing plugs. For larger volumes,
methods and equipment applicable for conventional ce-
ment-squeeze techniques may be used.
Resin Cement A
Resin Cement A is a blend of water-soluble resin,
Portland cement, water and a set control additive. After
this cement is set, it will not dissolve in water. The flow
behavior was found to be satisfactory. The slurry fills
a 5-ft radius open fracture (1 j32-in. wide) or a fracture
propped with a monolayer of 8- to 10-mesh walnut shells
at pressures less than 50 psi above the surrounding pres-
sures. A filter cake forms on the faces of the fracture and
limits the resin-phase penetration evenly along the faces
of the fracture (see Fig. 10). At 625-psi differential pres-
sure, the resin phase penetrates 2.28 in. into Berea sand-
stone. It was not possible to fill a closely packed multi-
layer sand-propped fracture (20-40 mesh) out to a radius
of 5 ft at 50 psi with Resin A or any other cement.
With Berea sandstone, the depth of penetration of the
resin phase into the fracture faces was VB in. for pres-
sures under 25 psi. This penetration decreases the per-
meability of the sandstone to a point where a good barrier
TABLE l-PERMEABlliTY AND WATER·FlOW CAPACITY OF VARIOUS BARRIERS
Permeability
-
Cement
- --- -- --_.. _- (md)
Resin A 0.0008
Resin A
Spearhead -t Portland 0.0020
Resin A
'Penetration only 0.0023
latex 0.0160
'Resin B 0.0180
Portland 0.3700
--- -- --------- - -- - - - --
TABLE 2-COST OF BARRIER MATERIALS
Material
Resin B Cement . . . . . .
-Resin A Cement
(Low Temperature, SO " to 120" F)
first 200 gal . .
Next 300 gal
All above 500 gal
latex Cement
Slurry Volume-l.40 It'/soci<
Neat Cement, API Class A .
51-urry Volume-l.18 fI'/sack
JULY, 1962
is obtained. In one test, the main body of the cement was
flushed through, leaving only the damaged faces to act
as a barrier. With the inlet tube open to atmospheric
pressure and a hydrostatic pressure of 50 psi applied to
the outside of the entire block, the rate of seepage was
such that only 0.3 BWPD would be produced through
a 5-ft radius barrier. This damaging characteristic of Resin
Cement A constitutes a fail-safe feature in case of acci-
dental overflush or backwash of the main body of cement.
Another possibility exists. By damaging the fracture
faces near the wellbore and extending the fracture out
to a large radius, it may be possible to obtain the advan-
tages of a fracture and at the same time control either,
or both, water coning and gas coning.
Resin Cement B
Resin Cement B is a plastic cement composed of gypsum
cement and a powdered resin. There was no apparent
penetration into Berea sandstone at a 3,000-psi differential
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pressure. The flow behavior was found to be satisfactory.
Latex Cement
Latex is a blend of Portland cement, water and a
synthetic latex. There was no penetration into the pore
spaces at 50 psi. The nature of this blend is such that
penetration is not expected at higher pressures. The flow
behavior was satisfactory.
Portland Cement
The neat cement used during these tests was Portland
API Class A cement. Considerable difficulties were en-
countered while trying to fill a VB -in. fracture. The fluid
loss was so great that the filter cake bridged the gap and
a 5-ft radius fracture could not always be filled. Fig. 11
shows the pressure build-up as the fracture bridged. It
is realized that in the field much higher pressure and flow
rates are possible than would be practical in these tests.
Cement in oil wells can be forced into the formation by
either increasing the fracture width or producing new
fractures. However, because of the fluid loss and bridging,
it is doubtful if channeling in the barrier could be pre-
vented.
Resin A and Portland Cement
Water Flow
Capacity In an effort to find a way to reduce the cost of materials,
B/D/It'/psi
tests were made with a limited amount of Resin A cement
0.00009 used as a spearhead, then following with neat cement.
0.00022
No bridging difficulties were encountered. The permeability
and flow capacity of the combination barrier were slightly
0 .00025
0.000173
0.00194
0.0400
Cost
. . . . $6.90/gal slurry
$3.75/gal slurry
$3.50/ 9al slurry
$3.25/9al slurry
$1.10/gal slurry
$1.65/sack
$0.19/gal slurry FIG. 10-PENETRATION OF RESIN PHASE OF RESIN "A" CEMENT.
.1 81
 I v,. = linear velocity at a specific radius
w Z = height of oil-water interface
0: 100
:::> 200 Z" = height of oil-water interface at drainage radius
Cf)
Cf) 80 PSI Z,.", = height of oil-water interface at wellbore
w <.!)
NO APPARENT /J.. = viscosity
0: 60 {to = viscosity of oil
CL Cf) FLOW OF CEMENT--
CL 40 AFTER 25 PSI ~'w = viscosity of water
~ p = density
20
w p" = density of oil
....l 0
Z pw = density of water
0 50 100 150 200 x = height of limiting water streamline
VOLUME CEMENT DISPLACED
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
CUBIC CENTIMETERS
11
The authors are indebted to P. L. Terwilliger who Sll-
BARRIER 1/8 THICK pervised the work covered herein. They are also indebted

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FIG. ll-PRESSURE BUILD-UP FOR NEAT CEME:\T.
higher than that obtained with Resin A alone. When con-
sidering the cost of resin cement ($3.25jgal slurry) against
the cost of Portland cement ($O.20jgal slurry), a con-
siderable amount of savings can be realized.
CONCLUSIONS
It should not be inferred from these discussions that
barriers can always be placed and that these will be
effective in solving all water problems for all reservoir
conditions. The question of whether or not a horizontal
fracture can be produced in a given formation is of fun-
damental importance and should be resolved first. Reser-
voirs containing high-density or high-viscosity crude oils
or having very low permeabilities or a small oil-zone
thickness may prove to be poor candidates for barrier
treatment. It is believed that the methods outlined in this
paper will permit reasonably sound decisions regarding
the design of barriers and will permit reasonable predic-
tions of advantages to be gained by placing a barrier in
a specific reservoir.
NOMENCLATURE
D =depth of well bore penetration
F =function
g = acceleration of gravity
h = oil-zone thickness
k = permeability
k" = barrier permeability
k f = formation permeability
P = pressure
Pc = pressure at the drainage radius
P,e = pressure at the wellbore
q = volume flow rate
qo = volume flow rate of oil
qw = volume flow rate of water
r = radius
r, = drainage radius
r w = well bore radius
t b = barrier thickness
U = original thickness of water zone underlying the
oil
v = linear velocity
to J. E. Warren for the mathematical assistance and
advice given during the development of the analytical
solutions. Finally, the authors acknowledge the work of
R. A. Nelson who assisted with the laboratory tests.
REFERENCES
1. Allen, J. c.: "Oil Well Treatment", U. S. Patent No. 2,832,416
(April 29, 1958).
2. Piety, R. G.: "Oil Well Production" U. S. Patent No. 2,886,108
(May 12, 1959).
.3. Michaels, Alan S., Bergman, R. 1. and Brown: "Combat Water
Coning by Injecting Reverse-Wetting Additives", Pet. Eng,..
(Aug., 1957) B-45, B-52.
·t Howard, George c.: "Plugging Formations with Hot Solu-
tions", U. S. Patent No. 2,779,415 (Jan. 29, 1957).
S. Kravchenko, 1. 1. and Kartsev, E. V.: "Fi.eld Tests on Isolating
of Bottom Water in Fields of Bashkiria by the UFII Method",
N e/tyanoe Khoz (Oct., 1960) 38, No. 10, 20 (Translated by
Associated Technical Services, Inc., P. O. Box 271, East
Orange, N. J.)
6. Huitt, J. L.: "Hydraulic Fracturing with the Single-Point
Entry Technique", Jour. Pet. Tech. (March, 1960) XII, No.
3, 11.
7. Muskat, M.: Physical Principles 0/ Oil Production, McGraw-
Hill Book Co., Inc., N. Y. (1949) 226.
8. Meyer, H. 1. and Garder, A. 0.: "Mechanics of Two Immis-
cible Fluids in Porous Media", Jour. Appl. Phys. (Nov.,
1954) 25, No. 11, 1,400.
9. Warren, J. E.: "Coning Problems", Unpublished report, Proj-
ect 43-Q-3 (1958) Gulf Research & Development Co., Pitt,-
burgh 30, Pa.
10. Lowe, D. K.: "Two-Phase Flow", Unpuhlished File Note
KR-51 (April 10, 1961) Gulf Research & Development Co.,
Pittsburgh 30, Pa.
APPENDIX
PRODUCTION OF WATER THROUGH BARRIER
When an impermeable barrier is llsed to prevent water
coning, it is important to know how much water will
penetrate the barrier and be produced with the oil. If the
problem is restricted only to the case where the water cone
stays below the barrier, then the greatest rate of water
production occurs when the cone is at its maximum stable
position.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to know the
velocity of the oil as it flows through the formation just
above the barrier. A simple approximation of this velocity
is the average velocity. As a function of radial distance,
the average radial velocity is
=
k op
v vCr) (A-l)
/1. cr

788 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

Since the quantities above are functions of r only, the par- Then, from a continuity standpoint and neglecting com-
tial derivative can be replaced by the total derivative. Then pressibility, the flow rate of fluids through a vertical cylin-
integrating between the limits r", and r, the pressure in drical surface, concentric with the wellbore at any radius,
the formation above the barrier can be obtained, i.e., will be the same as the flow rate into the well bore. The
flow of each fluid becomes as follows.
dp = (;,Cl.~"
~k"D
)( dr)
r
(A-2)
h
k r
= J.~ -~ (~) - qo = 27r-J r -oPo) dz = 27rr-k ( h - cp"
Z) - -
p
k 27TD
In
r".
(A-3 )
fL"
( or fL" or
Z
At the end of the barrier, the pressure In the static (A-IS)
water phase just below the barrier is the same as the
pressure in the moving oil phase just above the barrier. z
The pressure in the water phase is the same at all points -. Cf ... = k
27r- Jr r(oPw)
-or dz k
= 27Tr- op"
(Z - X) --
immediately under the barrier; this pressure IS l.t" fJ.,. cl'
x
p =
\ fL., q" (1'1,)
T, 2:;;:-0 In r.~ (A-4) (A-16)

wf.,ere r is barrier radius. Rearranging, Eqs. A-IS and A-I6 become

"

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The pressure drop across the barrier is opo - qofL"
(A-17)
nr2;'rk(h - -Z) ,
'\P"=~-p== fJ~.-q"-(In"'·
k 27TD. r"
-In--'~)
r,..
(A-5)
f and
1-'" q"
::"P=kfi;15ln:: (1"') (A-6) op" - q,,,fLw
(A-18)
or i;'~k(-Z - X) .
To find the total production of water through the bar-
rier, it was necessary to assume the barrier to be a flat Assuming that the shape of the limiting water stream-
disc of radius rb and thickness lb' In addition, the barrier line is established in the same manner as the oil-water
was assumed to have a uniform permeability k b • interface and is similar to the interface, then
From Darcy's law, the velocity of water through the X(r) = - 8Z(r) -f3 (A-19)
barrier is where the constants 8 and f3 were determined to be
_ k,. 0P k,. ::"p
v. ------=---- (A-7) 8= h-D+V
- fL ... oZ 1-'·,. I"
Z(r,,) - Z(r".)
The incremental water production is
and
k" b.p
dq", = (27Tr) (v,dr) =~ 27Tr-- - d r (A-8) (h - D)Z(r,,) + VZ(r.,.)
p.'/V til f3=
Z(r.) - Z(r,,)
dq.,. = 2-;;-r-""- I~_," _Cf" ___ ln ('-"---)dr (A-9) The partial derivatives in Eqs. 17 and 18 can now be
F'w k, 27TDtb r
substituted in Eq. 14;
Then integrating between the limits of r" and r ... , qw is
q" = q .. (kl:)(f':.:')
k,
_I _, [rt-= I~~
Dl,.
,Ii" 4
r,,'.!.t:. ~rIJr,,)]
__
~
1,
2;'k~ Z~-X
[(j",P'"
- h=-z -
Cf"fL" ] _ -- ::"pg- az
(1r
(A-20)

(A-IO) Since I' and Z only are involved, it is possible to set

dZ = oZ and the following differential equation is ob-
SIMULTANEOUS PRODUCTION OF dr or'
WATER AND OIL tained where the expression X(r) from Eq. A-I8 has been
The simultaneous production of water and oil is a included.
problem in two-phase flow. Fig. 5 illustrated the flow be- 1 ( _-- (j,,'-'-,. 'j _
,q"I~" - - ::"po_,
dZ (A-2I)
havior of the two fluids. For the following approximate 27rkr (I + 8)i+73- h - Z b dl'
steady-state solution, it is assumed that a static pressure
relationship holds between all points at the same radial Eq. A-21 in integral form is
distance. The pressure relationship between the three
points shown may be expressed as follows. -- 27rLpgr~' IZ(r,) =
p(r,zw) - p(r,Zo) = pw - p .. Til' Z (ru:)
= p",g (Z - z,,) + p"g (zo - Z), (A-ll)
or j Z] [(1 + 8) Z + f3]
[h - t
lq"fL,.h - CfofLof3 -[q ... fLu + q"fL" (1 + 8)] • Z (dz .
P ... - p" = p"gz., - p,,,gz,,, + ::"pgZ (A-I2)
(A-22J
The partial derivative of Eq. A-12, with respect to r, be-
comes To make the results more usable, the following dimen-
sionless quantities have been introduced.
op"
---=::"pg-
op" oZ (A-13 )
or or or RIO
q"
== -, ll' == I~'.
-, y
Z(r".)
== - -,
Only the horizontal components of velocity as defined q" I~" h
by Darcy's law are considered. Z(r,) U h - D
E = -h-' H = -fl' } = -11 -
k op" k op"
v" = - - - a n d v.,. (A-I4)
I~" or pow or The result of the integration of Eq. A-22 then is

JULY, 1962 789

 J+H+E-Y
Y = 0.999 R
aRw + J + 0.001 . (A-26)
J+ H + E - Y + aRm (E - y) a .' +1
[- aR., (E - Y)] [J + H + E - Y - (JE + Hy)], When Eq. A-26 is used, the number of variables in-
{ [J + H + E - Y] [J + H + E - Y + aR., (E - y) r volved in the value of F is reduced from six to five. Thus,
IE + H -aRw(1 - E) I
In Y - J - aR w (1 - y)
Fin Eq. A-23 is now F(aR." J, H, E).

COMPUTING THE SHAPE OF A CONE

(J + H + E - Y)z + aR., (E - Y) (JE + Hy)
+ [J + H + E - Y][J + H + E - Y + aRw (E - Y)] To predict the shape of the maximum stable cone in a
radial system, it is necessary to know h, D, 1', and rw'
(E - Y) + liz (yz - E') t = . q~/to In (1'''')
( 2rrh-kg6.p 1', · I system WIt
F or a ra d Ja . h no water pro d uchon,
. -op", = 0 .
= - F(aRw, J, H, E, Y) (A-23) or
Eqs. A-13 and A-15 can be combined to give
This is a case of one equation and two unknowns. In
k iJZ
Eq. A-23, it is desired to assign values to E (the frac- qo =
2rrr-(h - Z) b.pg- (A-27)
tional height of rise of the water table at the drainage /to or
radius) and obtain Rw, the water-oil ratio and to plot Only (I') and (Z) are involved in this relation, so the
these values as shown in Fig. 8. partial derivative can be replaced by the total derivative

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Y must first be determined independently. (h - Z)dZ = + /toq, dr (A-28)
2rrkg(pw - p,) I'
q" - k op
v = ~---o---,---~ But qo has already been listed as Eq. 1 of the report.
o 2rrrbh (1 - Y) ----;;: 3/-'
and qo = -
rrkg(pw - Po) (hZ - DZ) . (A-29)
_ q., - k op /to In (re/ r .,)
Vw - =--. Substituting for qo
2rrr wh(Y - J) /twor
Z
If the pressure gradients in the two zones are assumed (h _ Z)dZ = - 1 (h - D') dr , (A-30)
equal at the well bore, then 2 In (1'./1'.,) I'
op - qo/to - qw/tw
r. and 1'., are fixed and D and h are known.
(A-24 ) o - 1 (h Z - D 2 )fr. -dr
or = 2rrr wkh(1 - Y)
This expression reduces to
2rrr.,kh(Y - J)
J Z
(h -Z)dZ =-
2 In 1'./1'.,
r
r
(A-31 )

Y = aR., + J (A-25)
Z' - 2hZ + (h' - D') In 1'./1' = O. (A-32)
aRw + 1 In 1',/1'.,
This approximation of Y cannot be used in Eq. A-23 Z = h - ~ Ih' _ (h' _ D') In 1'./1' . (A-33)
as it stands since the value for Y makes the natural log ., In 1'./1'.,
term indeterminate. However, by adding a small increment The free surface can be plotted by substituting various
to Y, it can be used. The revised expression used for Y is values of 1', ranging from I' = 1'., to I' = 1'.. ***

790 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY