Prudhoe Bay Study of Horizontal Well Injectivity and Recommended Approach to Achieving Long Term Efficient Water-flooding

Thermal fracturing in water injectors plays a large role in<br>controlling and determining injectivity. Vertical wells cannot<br>always deliver the required rates to support offtake and<br>achieve voidage replacement. Thus, horizontal wells are often<br>selected to provide better sweep efficiency, and achieve higher<br>injection rates than conventional vertical injectors. However,<br>studies from Prudhoe Bay mature waterflood field indicate<br>that these additional benefits can decline with time. A clearer<br>understanding of the injection mechanism and an integrated<br>solution was required to improve field injection performance.