Conformance & Water Shut-Off – Fundamentals & Examples

Conformance & Water Shut-Off – Fundamentals & Examples. Excessive water production is a major challenge in mature fields and can drastically reduce the profitability and lifespan of oil wells. Understanding its root causes is critical for selecting the appropriate conformance control or water shut-off (WSO) strategy.

Water can enter the well from various sources. A common culprit is reservoir heterogeneity—the presence of layers or zones with contrasting permeabilities. During waterflooding or natural drive, injected or formation water preferentially flows through high-permeability “thief zones,” bypassing tighter oil-bearing intervals. This results in uneven displacement, early water breakthrough, and low sweep efficiency.

Another frequent cause is aquifer encroachment. In reservoirs with a strong water drive, water can rise from below or move laterally into the oil zone as pressure declines, eventually reaching the wellbore. This is particularly problematic in reservoirs with thin oil columns or where production rates outpace pressure support.

Mechanical failures can also lead to unwanted water production. Casing leaks, poor cement jobs, or faulty packers can create flow paths from water-bearing formations into the production string. In deviated or multilateral wells, completion design issues may further aggravate zonal isolation problems.

Fractures, whether natural or induced (e.g., from stimulation), can connect water-rich intervals directly to the wellbore or facilitate crossflow between layers. Over time, such paths become dominant water conduits, further increasing the water cut.

Each of these scenarios requires a tailored response. Conformance and WSO treatments—ranging from mechanical plugs to polymer gels, resins, or relative permeability modifiers—are applied to isolate, block, or divert water inflow.

On this page, we outline the key mechanisms of water entry, diagnostic workflows to identify the source, and field-proven technologies to mitigate the problem. Our goal is to help you restore production efficiency and prolong field life through smart conformance control.

You can also check our YouTube channel for additional videos and podcasts and navigate the Polymer Flooding Guide for more content or our Academy for online courses.

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Water Shutoff Field Cases

Field Cases – Water Shutoff & Conformance Water Shutoff Field Cases. Real-world applications provide invaluable insights into the effectiveness, challenges, and optimization of water shut-off

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In-Depth Diversion

In-Depth Diversion In-depth diversion refers to the strategic placement of chemical agents—such as gels or polymers—deep within the reservoir to divert injected fluids away from

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Disproportionate Permeability Reduction

Disproportionate Permeability Reduction (DPR) / Relative Permeability Modifiers (RPM) Disproportionate Permeability Reduction (DPR)—also known as Relative Permeability Modification (RPM)—is a key mechanism in water shut-off

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Gel treatments in matrix

Gel Treatments in the Matrix Effective gel placement in the matrix is essential for controlling unwanted water production in non-fractured or mildly heterogeneous reservoirs. While

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Podcast - WSO & Conformance with Randy Seright

In this podcast episode featuring Randy Seright, we discuss the basic (yet important) concepts behind water shut-off and conformance technologies:

  • Differences between conformance and water shut-off
  • Water-cut: How did I decide there was a problem?
  • What did I do to diagnose the problem – the importance of diagnostic
  • When gel treatments apply best
  • Sizing, implementation, success in fractures
  • Conformance technologies: microgels, nanogels, etc.

Water Shut-Off - Randy Seright's Training Course

We provide the slides of Randy’s Training Course on Water Shut-Off.

Conformance & Water Shut-Off: Concepts & Technology Overview

This document provides a synthesis of ideas, concepts and guidelines to help you diagnose the problem and choose the best fix to address excessive water production issues.

Conformance during polymer floods

In this presentation, I focus on conformance and water shut-off implementation during polymer flooding projects and how it differs from water floods.