Constrained Depletion in a Three Well Development

It is often the case that the maximum flow rate that can be accommodated in downstream facilities is limited in some way. For example, the spare capacity in an oil processing platform available for bringing in third-party production may be limited by production from the Operator’s field. Hence, an agreement may be signed which limits the capacity available to the third-party. In this instance, the third-party will operate his systems to not exceed the production constraint. This is usually achieved with production chokes.

This example is based on the Natural Depletion Example but in this case chokes have been included to constrain the flow rate. For illustrative purposes, it is assumed that the constraint is 9,000 bbl/d. The predicted gas and oil flow rates are shown below. It can be seen that plateau production is maintained for about 4 years. This simulation also takes about 40 seconds to complete.

Example of a Constrained Depletion LOF Model of a 3 Well Development