2-D physical modeling of water coning of horizontal well production in bottom water driving reservoirs

A 2-D visible physical model of horizontal well production was set up using the advanced electronically monitoring technology and flow testing tools to investigate the fluid flow in bottom water driving reservoirs during horizontal well production.The formation and development of water coning were visualized,and the effect of water coning on water breakthrough times and recovery ratios was studied.When horizontal section is short,the water coning is formed in a short time,the two shoulders of the coning are steep and the oil/water interface deforms greatly.When horizontal section is long,the water coning is formed in a long time,the two shoulders of the coning are gentle and distributed symmetrically.With the increasing of horizontal section length,the water breakthrough time delays,the water free recovery and the ultimate recovery increase.The increase of producing pressure shortens the production period before water breakthrough,and decreases both water free recovery and ultimate recovery.