Method for determining the contributions of individual wells to the production of a cluster of wells

摘要

Disclosed is a method for determining the contributions of individual wells to the production of a cluster of wells of which the well effluent streams are commingled and routed via a fluid separation assembly into fluid outlet conduits for transportation of at least partly separated streams of crude oil, gas and/or other fluids, the method includes the steps of: a) providing flow meters for measuring fluid flow in the fluid outlet conduits of the fluid separation assembly, and providing well monitoring equipment for monitoring one or more production variables relating to well effluent streams of individual wells; b) sequentially testing wells of the well cluster by performing a well test during which production from a tested well is varied; c) monitoring during step b one or more production variables by the monitoring equipment and simultaneously measuring by means of the flow meters at the fluid outlet conduits of the fluid separation assembly any variation of the flow pattern of effluents produced by the cluster of wells, including the tested well, and obtaining from the measured variation an estimate of the production of the tested well during the well test; d) deriving from steps b and c a well production estimation model for each tested well, which model provides a correlation between variations of one or more production variables monitored by the monitoring equipment and the estimate of the production of the well during the well test as measured by the flow meters; e) producing oil and/or gas from the cluster of wells whilst a dynamic fluid flow pattern of the accumulated well effluent streams produced by the cluster of wells is measured by means of the flow meters and one or more production variables of each well are monitored by the well monitoring equipment; f) calculating during step e an estimated contribution of each well to the production of fluids by the cluster of wells on the basis of the production variables monitored by the well monitoring equipment and the well production estimation model derived in step d; g) calculating an estimated dynamic flow pattern at the fluid outlets of the fluid separation assembly over a selected period of time by accumulating the estimated contributions of each of the wells made in accordance with step f over the selected period of time; and h) iteratively adjusting for each well the well production estimation model for that well until across the selected period of time the accumulated estimated dynamic flow pattern calculated in accordance with step g substantially matches with the monitored dynamic fluid flow pattern monitored by the flow meters in the fluid outlet conduits of the fluid separation assembly.