The water-shutoff technique is used in some wells of the U reservoir in the Iro field of the Oriente Basin in Ecuador as a remediation plan to restore production after an early water breakthrough. The production historical data, workovers, and sand-body correlation of wells are compared to understand reservoir behavior, shale-baffle-sealing continuity, the existence of different sand units, and the effect on production.
Introduction
The Iro field is in the south of Block 16. Production began in March of 1996. Iro is considered a mature field that produces heavy crude oil. The U sandstone reservoir at Iro field is constituted by quartz grains subtransparent with fine grain sizes to medium, moderately classified, occasionally clay-like matrix. A thin limestone layer subdivides the U sandstone reservoir into two main stratigraphic units, Upper U and Lower U sandstone.
