Design of Simultaneous Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Dioxide Storage Applied to a Heavy Oil Field Offshore Trinidad

Sobers, Lorraine; Blunt, Martin J.; LaForce, Tara

doi:10.2118/147241-ms

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

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“…Given that the average reservoir pressure for the continuous gas injection was comparable with that of the water-over-gas injection schemes, the greater fraction of dissolved CO 2 can be attributed to physical dispersion, which is much greater than numerical dispersion effects, as determined by grid-refinement studies on the model (Sobers 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Design of Simultaneous Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Dioxide Storage With Potential Application to Offshore Trinidad

2013

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We developed an injection strategy to recover moderately heavy oil and store carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) simultaneously. Our compositional simulations are founded on pressure/volume/temperature-(PVT-) matched properties of oil found in an unconsolidated deltaic sandstone deposit in the Gulf of Paria, offshore Trinidad. In this region, oil density ranges between 940 and 1010 kg/m 3 (9 to 18 API). We use countercurrent injection of gas and water to improve reservoir sweep and trap CO 2 simultaneously; water is injected in the upper portion of the reservoir, and gas is injected in the lower portion. The two water-injection rates investigated, 100 and 200 m 3 /d, correspond to the water-gravity numbers 6.3 to 3.1 for our reservoir properties. We applied this injection strategy using vertical producers with two injection configurations: single vertical injector and a pair of horizontal parallel laterals in a simplified representation of the unconsolidated Forest sand found offshore Trinidad. Twelve simulation runs were conducted, varying injection-gas composition for miscible-and immiscible-gas drives, water-injection rate, and injection-well orientation. Our results show that water-over-gas injection can realize oil recoveries ranging from 17 to 30%. In each instance, more than 50% of injected CO 2 remained in the reservoir, with less than 15% of the retained CO 2 in the mobile phase.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Design of Simultaneous Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Dioxide Storage With Potential Application to Offshore Trinidad

2013

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Investigating the effects of fault reactivation and CO2 migration during combined CO2-EOR and sequestration within a mature oil reservoir

Pulchan

Alexander

Boodlal

2020

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

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The investigation into the combined processes of CO2-EOR and geologic carbon sequestration was seen to be a viable solution to reducing CO2 emissions from the atmosphere, while boosting production from mature oil fields. However, the practicality of the combined process hinges on the determination of an optimum injection pressure to maximize the application of both methods. In addition, the success of these two operations is also contingent upon the dynamic sealing capacity of bounding faults, to allow hydrocarbon accumulation and trapping of injected CO2. Consequentially, the goal of this research is to optimize the implementation of combined CO2-EOR with simultaneous CO2 sequestration and investigate the enhancing/diminishing aspects of fault reactivation and CO2 migration. The study was approached from two scenarios; the first was the determination of an optimum injection pressure for the combined process, with the main focus on maximizing recovery from a mature oil field. The results saw a maximum cumulative recovery of 73.7090 Mbbls being facilitated at an optimal injection rate of 722 Scf/day. The second scenario entailed the investigation of the occurrence or lack thereof, of injection-induced fault reactivation at this predetermined injection rate of 722 Scf/day. Simulations reflecting the characteristics of fault reactivation were conducted, and are indicative of relations between fault opening stress, reactivation time, hydraulic fracture permeability, fracture propagation length, and leakage. Conclusively, the viability of the combination of CO2-EOR and sequestration were seen to depend on the technicalities of fault reactivation. In some cases, reactivation resulted in increases of accessible storage capacity, whereas, in other instances, it led to the leakage of the injected CO2.

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Comparison of WAG and Water Over Injection for Carbon Storage and Oil Recovery in a Heavy Oil Field

Sobers

2012

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Compositional reservoir simulation studies show that CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2EOR) combined with carbon storage using water over gas injection improves production performance and carbon storage compared to WAG injection. The fluid description is based on matching the PVT-derived viscosity, total and relative volume of a heavy oil sample (density 893 kg/m3 [17 degrees API]). The reservoir description is based on an unconsolidated deltaic, sandstone deposit in the Gulf of Paria, offshore Trinidad. Water over gas injection is an injection strategy proposed by Stone and Jenkins to increase gas sweep efficiency. In this injection design water is injected in the upper portion of the reservoir and gas is injected in the bottom portion of the reservoir using either vertical or horizontal injectors. Increasing the sweep efficiency improves both oil recovery and carbon storage. The counter current flow of injected fluids uses gravity effects to reduce gas override and water underride typical of WAG injection strategies and continuous single fluid injection. The results show that the water over gas injection design results in a larger mixing zone that extends further into the reservoir. Although oil recovery was essentially the same, with water over gas injection, there was greater than 50% increase in carbon storage, 20% reduction in water cut and 85% reduction in producing GOR compared to WAG.

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Design of Simultaneous Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Dioxide Storage Applied to a Heavy Oil Field Offshore Trinidad

Cited by 6 publications

References 35 publications

Design of Simultaneous Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Dioxide Storage With Potential Application to Offshore Trinidad

Design of Simultaneous Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Dioxide Storage With Potential Application to Offshore Trinidad

Investigating the effects of fault reactivation and CO2 migration during combined CO2-EOR and sequestration within a mature oil reservoir

Comparison of WAG and Water Over Injection for Carbon Storage and Oil Recovery in a Heavy Oil Field

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