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Abstract. In
this paper, we analyze the effects of primary production, producer
infills and repressurization by water injection in a low-permeability,
compressible, layered reservoir filled with oil, water and gas. The
sample calculations are for the California Diatomites, but the
equations apply to other tight rock systems. Primary oil recovery from
rows of hydrofractured wells is described by linear transient flow of
oil, water and gas with the concomitant pressure decline. During
primary, it may be desirable to drill infill wells to accelerate oil
production. At some later time, the infill wells may be converted into
waterflood injectors for pressure support and incremental oil
recovery. We analyze the pressure response and fluid flow rates for
the original wells and infill wells drilled halfway between the
original wells, and - finally - from water injection at the infill
wells. All of the formation and fluid properties are described by a
single hydraulic diffusivity assumed to be independent of time and
production or injection. We solve the one-dimensional pressure
diffusion equation analytically using pressure boundary conditions at
the original and infill wells and use superposition to account for the
water injection. We give solutions for the pressure in the formation,
oil, water and gas rates and cumulatives at both the original wells
and infill wells as functions of time. Finally, we present a
computational example of oil production from a stack of seven
independent diatomite layers with different properties and show the
effects of infill wells and water injection on the total oil
production. We show that a single-layer analytical solution and a 1-D
numerical simulation for primary production in the diatomite agree
well. Our analysis can predict the onset of pressure depletion and
quantify how long to produce from the infill wells before injecting
water. We show that producing from the infill well for a few years
significantly increases the production from the field and can minimize
the lost production at the infill well because of conversion to a
waterflood injector.
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