TABLE OF CONTENTS Coning is a term used to describe the mechanism underlying the upward movement of water and/or the down movement of gas into the perforations of a producing well. Coning can seriously impact the well productivity and influence the degree of depletion and the overall recovery efficiency of the oil reservoirs. The specific problems of water and gas coning are listed below.
Costly added water and gas handling
Gas production from the original or secondary gas cap reduces pressure without obtaining the displacement effects associated with gas drive
Reduced efficiency of the depletion mechanism
The water is often corrosive and its disposal costly
The afflicted well may be abandoned early
Loss of the total field overall recovery
Delaying the encroachment and production of gas and water are essentially the controlling factors in maximizing the field's ultimate oil recovery. Since coning can have an important influence on operations, recovery, and economics, it is the objective of this chapter to provide the theoretical analysis of coning and outline many of the practical solutions for calculating water and gas coning behavior.
Coning is primarily the result of movement of reservoir fluids in the direction of least resistance, balanced by a tendency of the fluids to maintain gravity equilibrium. The analysis may be made with respect to either gas or water. Let the original condition of reservoir fluids exist as shown schematically in Figure 9-1, water underlying oil and gas overlying oil. For the purposes of discussion, assume that a well is...
