3D Reservoir Characterization and Reservoir Management Study -- October J Nubia Field, Gulf of Suez, Egypt

By

Nabil Salah¹, Samuel Hughes¹, Doug Stoner¹, Hassan Ahmed¹, Gary Mercado¹, Gabe Artigas¹

(1) Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO), N/A, Egypt

 An extensive, multi-discipline field study was completed in 1999 on the October J Nubia reservoir, located in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Although this field is relatively small (7 active wells, 132 MMBO OOIP) as compared to other Gupco’s fields, the study proved worthwhile, generating three development prospects. All of them have been drilled and resulted in a rate increase of 6000 BOPD at a reserve gross of 6.6 MMBO.

The study team built a comprehensive, 3-dimensional Earthvision reservoir property model which was an excellent building block for understanding reservoir volumes and performance. The property model provided the tools necessary to understand fluid migration across faults in a 3-dimensional setting. The structural analysis began with the re-interpretation of a full-field, 3-dimensional seismic data set. The structural model was then populated with petrophysical parameters to produce the property model.

Extensive reservoir performance mapping also helped our understanding of fluid movement within the reservoir and helped identify areas of bypassed pay. As an example, watercut maps constructed for each of the fourteen reservoir subzones helped determine primary pathways of water encroachment.

The reservoir is a tilted fault block encompassing 750 acres. The producing formation is the highly prolific carboniferous Nubia sandstone with an average gross pay thickness of 600 feet, net pay thickness of 375 feet, porosity of 23 percent, and permeability in the darcy range. The reservoir has a fairly strong natural waterdrive, helping maintain reservoir pressure above the bubble point.

Even though the reservoir was forecasted to recover 48% of the original oil-in-place, the study located three areas of poor sweep. The three authorized drilling prospects are estimated to recover additional, risk-weighted reserves of 9 MMBO. In addition, a detailed zonal performance analysis helped identify perforation and conformance work in existing wells, which should recover an additional 3 MMBO.