Investigation of the Conditions Required for Improved Oil Recovery by an Earthquake

Abstract

Summary This study aims to clarify a phenomenological relationship between earthquakes and temporarily improved oil recovery for a small oil field located in a seismically active region of Japan. Our study concludes that the conditions required for an earthquake to temporarily improve oil recovery in this field are as follows: An earthquake with a seismic intensity of at least 3 hits the well. The well experiences a decline in productivity, with a flowing wellhead pressure of less than 690 kPaa (100 psia). The corresponding skin factor lies within the range of 18 to 40. The well is producing oil from a reservoir.

Violent Groundwater Eruption Triggered by a Distant Earthquake

“…The results have implications for the impact of earthquakes on some engineering applications such as understanding the mechanism of enhanced oil production following earthquakes (Beresnev & Johnson, 1994; Gao et al., 2006; Uetani et al., 2016). Our study suggests that earthquake‐induced permeability increases and exsolution of gas may lead to leakage of sequestered CO 2 , which should be considered in geological storage of CO 2 .…”

Ground uplift related to permeability enhancement following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in the Kanto Plain, Japan

“…For the Kanto Plain, a permeability change caused by the 2011 earthquake was estimated by Nakata and Snieder (2012), using seismic velocity variations. The increase in permeability after major earthquakes has been reported in oil fields, which occurred through a removal of asphaltene particles that were deposited in narrow pore throats within the oil reservoir (Uetani et al 2016). Ground displacement is expected from pore fluid flow resulting from a permeability change after powerful earthquakes.…”

Study of the Surfactant Transport Law Based on an Improved Adsorption Model with an Artificial Seismic Wave

“…Zheng et al and Beresnev et al analyzed the critical threshold of oil droplets with different diameters passing through different capillary radii with and without seismic wave action. , Liu et al established a mathematical model of the microdynamics of the thin-tube flow of a single-phase incompressible fluid under low-frequency vibration conditions, and they analyzed the effect of fluctuations to change the attached layer . In terms of the coupled seepage of saturated rock and fluid disturbances with elastic wave excitation, the Biot porous medium theory and the BISQ model, which considered liquid–solid coupling and which were proposed by Biot, Dvorkin, and Nur, were used to analyze the laws of longitudinal and transverse wave propagation, dissipation, and attenuation in porous media considering fluid–solid coupling and jet flow conditions. , Uetani et al explored wells with significant production decline and reservoir injury in the near-well zone and found that seismic waves could promote coupled subsurface oil–water seepage. Karve et al found that surface initiation waves could modify the subsurface shallow seepage field, drawing on the principle of elastic wave propagation in seismic surveys and the numerical simulation of a two-dimensional vertical model.…”

“…Zheng analyze the laws of longitudinal and transverse wave propagation, dissipation, and attenuation in porous media considering fluid−solid coupling and jet flow conditions. 17,18 Uetani et al 19 explored wells with significant production decline and reservoir injury in the near-well zone and found that seismic waves could promote coupled subsurface oil− water seepage. Karve et al 20 found that surface initiation waves could modify the subsurface shallow seepage field, drawing on the principle of elastic wave propagation in seismic surveys and the numerical simulation of a two-dimensional vertical model.…”