Publications

The South Mahakam (SMK) cluster, located offshore of East Kalimantan, comprises four active gas fields. Since production began in 2012, SMK has completed the drilling of 48 development wells and 19 exploration/delineation wells. The ongoing development of SMK requires innovative and efficient strategies. This paper presents a homogeneous reservoir model approach for characterizing gas and oil reservoirs behavior that are inadequately defined in the initial geo-model. It acts as a valuable tool during the preliminary stages before upcoming updates to the geo-model.

To enhance understanding of the unique phenomena in the SMK gas and oil reservoirs due to lack of subsurface data acquisition, a comprehensive methodology has been meticulously developed. The latest approach, specifically focuses on JM-X and AD-X wells, identified as key to unlocking potential of an example of peculiar reservoirs behavior in SMK. To answer the challenge of limited data availability, a homogeneous reservoir model has been implemented. This approach utilizes data sourced from nearby wells and fields, integrating elements like PVT data, rock properties, porosity, NTG, and drainage radius. The process includes initialization, history matching, and forecasting. Initialization involves aligning the dynamic and static volumes based on the drainage radius, which informs subsequent history matching stages. It aims to create a reservoir model that aligns with the production data from JM-X and AD-X, potentially unlocking the hidden potential of the SMK reservoirs.

The homogeneous reservoir simulation approach has revealed new findings for both wells in a technically sound manner. An aquifer support mechanism in JM-X differs from the common depletion drive in SMK. This finding emphasizes the need to revisit SMK's oil reservoir driving mechanism and mid-long term plan of the well/field. On the other hand, the unique production behavior at AD-X, produced from an open reservoir with small gas but large water rates, is evaluated through several reservoir simulation scenarios. These simulation scenarios emphasize on the water production risk (incorporating the sand risk problem) in determining the production and development strategy of the AD field in the future.