Overview of Water Shutoff Operations in Oil and Gas Wells; Chemical and Mechanical Solutions

This paper provides an integrated overview of the water shutoff operations, starting from the causes to the solutions. The paper begins with explaining the benefits of eliminating excessive water production. Then, the different types of water production and their properties are explained. The paper also focuses in reviewing the disadvantages of producing unwanted water as well as the sources of it, followed by an explanation of the methodology for identifying the problem. Then, the chemical solutions for water shutoff are reviewed which are generally applied to solve the excessive unwanted water production in the reservoir or near the wellbore area. Finally, the paper illustrates the common mechanical solutions for water shutoff within the wellbore. The aim behind this paper is to provide a general description of identifying the unwanted water production sources and the common practices for water shutoff operations.