Water Cut Calculator

Work out water cut instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Water Cut Calculator

Water cut is water as a percentage of total liquid production. It drives lift and treatment cost and eventually determines the economic limit of a well: the water cut at which water handling cost consumes the oil revenue. Mature waterfloods routinely run above 90% water cut.

Formulas

Water cut

Water cut % = water rate x 100 / (water rate + oil rate)

Economics

Net revenue = oil rate x price - water rate x handling cost

Worked example

With the default values below, Water Cut Calculator returns Water Cut of 73.333%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Water Productionminimum 0 bbl/day: 2,200 bbl/day
Oil Productionminimum 0 bbl/day: 800 bbl/day
Water Handling Costminimum 0 per bbl: 1.8 per bbl
Oil Priceminimum 0 per bbl: 78 per bbl

Results

Water Cut: 73.333%
Water-Oil Ratio: 2.750
Daily Net Revenue: $58,440.00
Economic Limit Water Cut: 97.74%

Step by step

1Values used
2Water cut
3Economics
4Water Cut= 73.333
5Water-Oil Ratio= 2.750
6Daily Net Revenue= 58,440.00
7Economic Limit Water Cut= 97.74

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
Produced water disposal and reinjection are subject to environmental permits and injection pressure limits. Verify consent conditions before changing water handling.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Produced water disposal and reinjection are subject to environmental permits and injection pressure limits. Verify consent conditions before changing water handling.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can be done about high water cut?

Water shut-off treatments, selective perforation, downhole water separation, and converting to a lower-cost lift method. Sometimes reduced drawdown lowers water cut enough to raise net revenue.

Why does water production cost so much?

It must be lifted, separated, treated to specification and either reinjected or disposed of under permit. In mature fields water handling can exceed all other operating costs combined.