Improving Hydrocarbon Recovery Efficiency Utilising Horizontal Production and/or Injection Wells

Horizontal wells have seen a dramatic rise in the range of applications and the number of wells completed during the past decade. However, horizontal wells have been primarily drilled as producers maximising the benefit from the large reservoir contact which such boreholes allow. To date there have been only a handful of reported applications of horizontal wells as injectors. The potential benefit of horizontal injectors could lie in improving the sweep efficiency and enhancing the degree of pressure maintenance characteristics of reservoirs as they enter an advanced stage of depletion in redevelopment projects.