Application of Foam for Gas and Water Shut-off: Review of Field Experience

Abstract

Tlua paper wu prepared for~semauon aI tic I Y% SPE Europmn PeLIokumCunf.mence kld in Milm, IIIIY. 22-24 I!'w4w 1996. This paper was selecld lor presentatco by tfw SPE Program Ccmmitle.s fdwq _ C4rnfcmmaticm ccmtamed in an abslracl sumnmed by tfw author(s). Ombmts ot Iheã s presentd. fwa not km rwiewed W the SIXiaty of Petroleum Engiwws ard am Wbfectto KJlrq,h~lfw Wllhor(s) Th e material, as presented, dces nol -b rdlect any psttm o It!+ %xiety of Petroleum EIWJimeIS o, its members. Papers Fesenled al SPE meetmgs are su to puhkaticm review by Edttonal Committee al tie Scci* of Petro!e.Im~eers %Lsti to copf IS r.astccted m an abstract of rot more !han X0 wcrds. Ilustratlcos may not by coped. TM abstract sfwukl amtarn R%H'%15%%%!?&Rkhmc15cm, TX7508S+Y3S6 "s.faxol.,,'+w?-,.ts, mt d nbem ar!d by Acw the FE$B! was presented WMe Abstract This paper givesa critical overview of field experience with the use of foam for improved sweep efficiency and control of produced gas in the Former Soviet Union, i n the North Sea and in North America. The field practice demonstrates a wide specter of foam application and reservoir problems which the foam processes-can mitigate.Foam applications are classified as injector and producer treatments for gas and water shut-off. Foam was applied in combination with different recovery strategies such as gas and WAG injection, steam injection, in-situ combustion and waterflooding. The choice of foamer and foam placement strategy are important and depend on the reservoir and type of the problem to address. Many technical failures are explainable by erroneous problem definition.The novelty of the present overview is that it gives a comparison of foam applications in three different geographical areas with different field histories, constraints and requirements on production handling facilities. The review of foam applications in the Former Soviet Union covers field applications of foam in Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The paper also discusses interesting field examples, previously unpublished with application of new foam processes including polymer enhanced foam and foam treatment for water diversion and shut-off.

Stability and texture of CO 2 /N 2 foam in sandstone

“…Foam is essential in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects where the main aim is to recover trapped oil from the reservoirs. Foam formed by using surfactant and gas has proved to significantly increase the oil recovery because foam increases the apparent viscosity of the system and thus enhances the sweep efficiency [20,1,30,38,36] High mobility ratio, gravity segregation, and reservoir heterogeneity are the most common problems faced during gas injection enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. This has a detrimental effect on the recovery efficiency of the EOR process due to low microscopic and macroscopic sweep efficiencies.…”

Development and evaluation of foam-based conformance control for a high-salinity and high-temperature carbonate

“…Production wells were also shown to be responsive to foam treatment by exhibiting a marked reduction in water-cut. The beneficial effects of foam treatment were shown to be caused by its relative permeability and lasted for upwards of 3 months in the treated wells (Zhdanov et al 1996). Waterflooding control by foam has also been reported in the literature but has been performed mostly in the former Soviet Union.…”

“…Water injection profile was shown to improve substantially after foam injection. Two field cases that demonstrated such injection conformance control were reported in the Russian literature as summarized by Zhdanov et al (1996). Foams application for EOR operations has been continuously claimed as successful and essential.…”

Enhanced Oil Recovery: An Update Review

“…Some examples of recent steam injection projects reported in the literature are the steamfloods in the Crude E Field in Trinidad [43], Schoonebeek oil field in Netherlands [44] and Alto do Rodrigues in Brazil [45]. Although attempts to optimize steam injection processes by using solvents [46], gases [47], chemical additives [48] and foams [49] have been proposed, few of these methods have been tested in the field [38,50]). One example is the LASER (for Liquid Addition to Steam for Enhancing Recovery) process, which consist in the injection of C5+ liquids as a steam additive in cyclic steam injection processes.…”

“…The field has been developed mainly by waterflooding [27,[31][32][33][34]).  Karazhanbas is an onshore heavy oil (19 °API) reservoir with documented polymer flooding [35], steam injection [36,37], in-situ combustion and in-situ combustion with foam injection as conformance strategy [37,38]). Karazhanbas Field was developed by waterflooding, CHOPS or Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand [39] and steam injection.…”