Fracture study suggests horizontal drilling will improve Algerian oil field production

A study of the natural fractures in BA oil field in Algeria's Sahara Desert suggests horizontal and multilateral drilling may improve production. There are four Cambrian reservoir units. The study focused on two lithological Units 1 and 2. Overall the reservoir is highly fractured with an index of fluctuation between 1.75 and 0.2. The fractures are vertical and horizontal and classified as open, half-filled or sealed. Results suggests that horizontal and multilateral drilling would improve production in the field. The lithologies in this field consists mainly of detrital sedimentary rocks with a Precambrian socle. Data from the studies show that there are diverse discrepancies between different boreholes. Unit 1 shows low porosity, Unit 2 is characterized by a maximum porosity of 10% and permeability values for Unit 2 are low. The fractures have five different orientations, mainly similar to the major tectonic events affecting the studied area. Findings show that more than 40% of the boreholes encountered within BA oil field are characterized by fractured system. The case study was concerned with different parameters such as the presence of the high rate of opened and half opened fractures and the considerable sandstone thickness of the reservoir. All of these factors may be considered the main stimulators to focus on advanced drilling technology.King Saud Universit