Work out water cut instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
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.
Water cut
Water cut % = water rate x 100 / (water rate + oil rate)
Economics
Net revenue = oil rate x price - water rate x handling cost
Produced water disposal and reinjection are subject to environmental permits and injection pressure limits. Verify consent conditions before changing water handling.
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.
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.