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Abstract. We present analytical solutions for primary
production, producer infills and early response to waterflood 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 in a low permeability
reservoir 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. In this
paper, we analyze the pressure response and fluid flow rates due to
the original wells and infill wells drilled halfway between the
original wells, and - finally - due to water injection at the infill
wells. All of the formation and fluid properties are described by a
single hydraulic diffusivity, a, 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 and discuss how to
calculate oil, water and gas rates and cumulatives as functions of
time at both the original wells and infill wells. Finally, we present
a computational example of oil production from a stack of seven
diatomite layers with different properties and show the effects of
infill wells and water injection on the total oil production. We show
that results of this analytical solution and a compositional 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. It shows
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 due to conversion to a waterflood
injector. Our analysis also generates very reliable, well-by-well,
field-wise forecasts of fluid production and water injection.
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