Wettability effects on water mixing during waterflood oil recovery

Graue, A.; Fernø, Martin A.; Aspenes, E.; Needham, R.B.

doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2012.06.020

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…An important application area for digital rock physics is to understand the role of wetting in two-fluid flows. The wetting condition influences reservoir-scale transport behavior based on the sensitivity of the relative permeability and capillary pressure [61]. It is also evident that the local wetting state is subject to significant spatial variability in typical geological reservoirs [62,63].…”

Section: Modeling Wetting With Lattice Boltzmann Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The LBPM software package for simulating multiphase flow on digital images of porous rocks

McClure¹,

Li²,

Berrill³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Direct pore scale simulations of two-fluid flow on digital rock images provide a promising tool to understand the role of surface wetting phenomena on flow and transport in geologic reservoirs. We present computational protocols that mimic conventional special core analysis laboratory (SCAL) experiments, which are implemented within the open source LBPM software package. Protocols are described to simulate unsteady displacement, steady-state flow at fixed saturation, and to mimic centrifuge experiments. These methods can be used to infer relative permeability and capillary curves, and otherwise understand two-fluid flow behavior based on first principles. Morphological tools are applied to assess image resolution, establish initial conditions, and instantiate surface wetting maps based on the distribution of fluids. Internal analysis tools are described that measure essential aspects of two-fluid flow, including fluid connectivity and surface measures, which are used to track transient aspects of the flow behavior as they occur during simulation. Computationally efficient workflows are developed by combining these components with a twofluid lattice Boltzmann model to define hybrid methods that can accelerate computations by using morphological tools to incrementally evolve the porescale fluid distribution. We show that the described methods can be applied to recover expected trends due to the surface wetting properties based on flow simulation in Benntheimer sandstone.

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Section: Modeling Wetting With Lattice Boltzmann Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The LBPM software package for simulating multiphase flow on digital images of porous rocks

McClure¹,

Li²,

Berrill³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Water injection development is the primary development method of fault block reservoirs nowadays. The DFC is formed under comprehensive factors. − The evolution law of DFC in the reservoir with a partially sealed fault should be characterized by the combination of quantitative characterization methods based on seepage theory and numerical simulation. It can provide essential support for the formulation of enhanced oil recovery measures for complex reservoirs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution Law of Dominant Flow Channel and Enhanced Oil Recovery Measures for Water Flooding in Reservoirs with Partially Sealed Faults

2023

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The presence of strongly sealed faults can divide a reservoir into complex fault blocks, while partially sealed faults can be created by farewell faults within each block, leading to more intricate fluid migration and residual oil distribution. However, oilfields often overlook these partially sealed faults, focusing instead on the entire fault block, which can impact the efficiency of the production system. In addition, the current technology struggles to quantitatively describe the evolution of the dominant flow channel (DFC) during the water-flooding process, especially in reservoirs with partially sealed faults. This limits the ability to formulate effective enhanced oil recovery measures during the high water cut stage. To address these challenges, a large-scale sand model of a reservoir with a partially sealed fault was designed, and water flooding experiments were conducted. Based on the results of these experiments, a numerical inversion model was established. By combining percolation theory and the physical concept of DFC, a new method was proposed to quantitatively characterize DFC using a standardized flow quantity parameter. The evolution law of DFC was then studied, considering the variations of volume and oil saturation of DFC, and the water control effect of different measures was evaluated. The results revealed that, during the early stage of water flooding, a vertical uniform dominant seepage zone formed near the injector. As the water was injected, DFCs from the top of the injector to the bottom of the producers gradually formed in the unoccluded area. However, DFC was only formed at the bottom in the occluded area. During water flooding, the volume of DFC in each area gradually increased and then tended to stabilize. The development of the DFC in the occluded area lagged behind due to gravity and fault occlusion, leading to the formation of an unswept area near the fault in the unoccluded area. The volume of the DFC in the occluded area was the slowest, and the volume was the smallest after stabilization. Although the volume of the DFC near the fault in the unoccluded area grew the fastest, the volume was only higher than that in the occluded area after stabilization. During the high water cut period, the remaining oil was mainly distributed in the upper part of the occluded area, the area near the unoccluded fault, and the top of the reservoir in other areas. The plugging of the lower part of the producers can increase the volume of DFC in the occluded area, and the DFC moves up throughout the entire reservoir. This improves the utilization degree of the remaining oil at the top of the entire reservoir, but the remaining oil near the fault in the unoccluded area remains inaccessible. The combination of producer conversion, drilling infill wells, and producer plugging can alter the injection−production relationship and weaken the occlusion effect of the fault. The occluded area forms a new DFC, leading to a significant increase in the recovery degree. The deployment of infill wells near the fau...

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“…Some studies suggest that connate water adds additional perturbations to the displacement front, causing more irregular water fingering in oil-wet porous medium during water flooding (Paterson et al, 1984;Jamaloei et al, 2010). During water flooding, the connate water is displaced from the core and connate water bank accumulation is formed in front of the injected water, thus affecting invasion patterns (Graue et al, 2012). Connate water displaces in a piston-like displacement during spontaneous imbibition (Graue and Ferno, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pore-scale investigation of the effect of connate water on water flooding behavior

Setiawan

Suekane²,

Deguchi

et al. 2014

JFST

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Water flooding is one of the most important processes in oil production. Water is injected into an oil reservoir to maintain the reservoir's pressure and sweep some of the oil toward the production well. In an actual oil reservoir, in situ water, or connate water, is usually present and significantly impacts the water flooding process. We developed a visualization scheme utilizing a microfocused X-ray CT scanner to three-dimensionally observe the effects of connate water during water flooding at the pore scale. The water phase was injected upward into packed glass beads containing an oil phase both with and without connate water, and the process was scanned every minute until steady state was reached. Three-dimensional images were then constructed from X-ray CT data to clearly show the phenomena. Connate water significantly reduces oil recovery. In the porous medium without connate water, water flooding was able to produce approximately 1.5 times more oil than in the medium with connate water because of steadier interface movement. When injected water came in contact with connate water, the displacement front suddenly expanded into the pores containing connate water, thereby creating a jump-like movement leading to fingering. The pressure gradient between the inlet and outlet forced water to select the shortest route to the outlet. Water reached the outlet earlier when connate water exists. Short-circuiting due to fingering leads to formation of entrapped oil pockets and oil recovery yields.

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Wettability effects on water mixing during waterflood oil recovery

Cited by 11 publications

References 29 publications

The LBPM software package for simulating multiphase flow on digital images of porous rocks

The LBPM software package for simulating multiphase flow on digital images of porous rocks

Evolution Law of Dominant Flow Channel and Enhanced Oil Recovery Measures for Water Flooding in Reservoirs with Partially Sealed Faults

Pore-scale investigation of the effect of connate water on water flooding behavior

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