An Integrated Study of the Grayburg/San Andres Reservoir, Foster and South Cowden Fields, Ector County Texas

For a part of the Foster and South Cowden (Grayburg-San Andres) oil fields, improvement in oil production has been accomplished, in part, by using �pipeline fracturing� technology in the most recent completion to improve fluid flow rates, and filtration of waterflood injection water to preserve reservoir permeability. The 3D seismic survey acquired in conjunction with this DOE project has been used to calculate a 3D seismic inversion model, which has been analyzed to provide detailed maps of porosity within the productive upper 250 feet of the Grayburg Formation. Geologic data, particularly from logs and cores, have been combined with the geophysical interpretation and production history information to develop a model of the reservoir that defines estimations of remaining producible oil. The integrated result is greater than the sum of its parts, since no single data form adequately describes the reservoir. Each discipline relies upon computer software that runs on PC-type computers, allowing virtually any size company to affordably access the technology required to achieve similar results