Similarities and Differences of Low Salinity Polymer and Low Salinity LPS (Linked Polymer Solutions) for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Linked polymer solution (LPS) is nano-size particles made of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) cross-linked with aluminum citrate. The propagation of LPS has been compared to non-cross-linked polymers at low brine salinity condition. The possible differences in properties and potentials for oil recovery have been investigated using water-wet and intermediate-wet cores. The target oil for polymer flooding (PF) is assumed to be the portion of the reservoir that has been bypassed by water during waterflooding and not the residual oil saturation in flooded zones. Our recent studies have shown that a positive synergy can be obtained by combining low salinity and PF. It has been claimed in the literature that cross-linking polymer such as colloidal dispersion gels (colloidal dispersion gels (CDG), micron-size aggregates) or LPS (nano-size particles) would extend the application of polymers to also include change in residual oil saturation. The results of this study indicated higher pressure buildup when low salinity LPS was propagated through brine saturated cores compared to low salinity polymer solution. The pressure buildup was even stronger for high salinity LPS injection. In two phase flow experiments, both polymer and LPS under low salinity condition, showed approximately similar propagation and oil recovery potential when injected into water-wet and intermediate-wet cores.     

Simulation and transport phenomena of a ternary two-phase flow

A chemical flood model for a three-component (petroleum, water, injected chemical) two-phase (aqueous, oleic) system is presented. It is ruled by a system of nonlinear partial differential equations: the continuity equation for the transport of each of its components and Darcy's equation for the two-phase flow. The transport mechanisms considered are ultralow interfacial tension, capillary pressure, dispersion, adsorption, and partition of the components between the fluid phases (including solubilization and swelling).The mathematical model is numerically solved in the one-dimensional case by finite differences using an explicit and direct iterative procedure for the discretization of the conservation equations. Numerical results are compared with Yortsos and Fokas' exact solution for the linear waterflood case including capillary pressure effects and with Larson's model for surfactant flooding. The effects of the above-mentioned transport mechanisms on concentration profiles and on oil recovery are also analyzed.     

Stochastic and upscaled analytical modeling of fines migration in porous media induced by low-salinity water injection

Fines migration induced by injection of low-salinity water(LSW) into porous media can lead to severe pore plugging and consequent permeability reduction. The deepbed filtration(DBF) theory is used to model the aforementioned phenomenon, which allows us to predict the effluent concentration history and the distribution profile of entrapped particles. However, the previous models fail to consider the movement of the waterflood front. In this study, we derive a stochastic model for fines migration during LSW flooding, in which the Rankine-Hugoniot condition is used to calculate the concentration of detached particles behind and ahead of the moving water front. A downscaling procedure is developed to determine the evolution of pore-size distribution from the exact solution of a large-scale equation system. To validate the proposed model,the obtained exact solutions are used to treat the laboratory data of LSW flooding in artificial soil-packed columns. The tuning results show that the proposed model yields a considerably higher value of the coefficient of determination, compared with the previous models, indicating that the new model can successfully capture the effect of the moving water front on fines migration and precisely match the effluent history of the detached particles.     

Dynamics of the Water–Oil Front for Two-Phase, Immiscible Flow in Heterogeneous Porous Media. 2 – Isotropic Media

We study the evolution of the water–oil front for two-phase, immiscible flow in heterogeneous porous media. Our analysis takes into account the viscous coupling between the pressure field and the saturation map. Although most of previously published stochastic homogenization approaches for upscaling two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media neglect this viscous coupling, we show that it plays a crucial role in the dynamics of the front. In particular, when the mobility ratio is favorable, it induces a transverse flux that stabilizes the water–oil front, which follows a stationary behavior, at least in a statistical sense. Calculations are based on a double perturbation expansion of equations at first order: the local velocity fluctuation is defined as the sum of a viscous term related to perturbations of the saturation map, on one hand, plus the perturbation induced by the heterogeneity of the permeability field with a base-state saturation map, on the other hand. In this companion paper, we focus on flows in isotropic media. Our results predict the dynamics of the water–oil front for favorable mobility ratios. We show that the statistics of the front reach a stationary limit, as a function of the geostatistics of the permeability field and of the mobility ratio evaluated across the front. Results of numerical experiments and Monte-Carlo analysis confirm our predictions.     

Dual Mesh Method for Upscaling in Waterflood Simulation

Detailed geological models typically contain many more cells than can be accommodated by reservoir simulation due to computer time and memory constraints. However, recovery predictions performed on a coarser upscaled mesh are inevitably less accurate than those performed on the initial fine mesh. Recent studies have shown how to use both coarse and fine mesh information during waterflooding simulations. In this paper, we present an extension of the dual mesh method (Verdière and Guérillot, 1996) which simulates water flooding injection using both the coarse and the original fine mesh information. The pressure field is first calculated on the coarse mesh. This information is used to estimate the pressure field within each coarse cell and then phase saturations are updated on the fine mesh. This method avoids the most time consuming step of reservoir simulation, namely solving for the pressure field on the fine grid. A conventional finite difference IMPES scheme is used considering a two phase fluid with gravity and vertical wells. Two upscaling methodologies are used and compared for averaging the coarse grid properties: geometric average and the pressure solve method. A series of test cases show that the method provides predictions similar to those of full fine grid simulations but using less computer time.     

努拉里边底水油气藏提高采收率注采制度优化方法

开发边底水油气藏关键因素是抑制边底水锥进,延长油井无水采油期以提高油藏采收率,因此需要设置合理的开采速度和油水井注采制度.为深入了解不同井网系统和注采参数对边底水油气藏开发效果的影响程度,针对努拉里边底水油气藏开展研究.对边底水影响程度进行研究,得到各井在改变水体倍数后,以含水率差值4%为界限定义受边底水影响程度强弱,差值超过4%则定义为强水侵井,反之则为弱水侵井.在此基础上,采用油藏工程和数值模拟方法优选了注采参数,得出最优井距为1000m,最佳日注水量为30m³/d,最佳采液速度为4.75%-5%,并对优化参数进行了模拟预测,优化后累计产油量增加1.98×10⁴t,采收率达到54.7%.运用油藏工程方法对优化后的开发方式调整进行了分析,结果表明:可采储量采出程度小于62.78%时应以扩大波及体积为主,大于62.78%后应以增加驱油效率为主,目标区块优化后可采储量采出程度达到71.3%,相对潜力值i=0.81<1,处于开发后期,此时开发方式应以提高驱油效率为主.研究成果为同类边底水油气藏前期开发和后期措施调整提供了理论指导和借鉴.     

基于区间数的TOPSIS方法在水驱油田开发效果评价上的应用

针对目前油田高含水期水驱开发效果评价难度大、评价方法多集中在模糊综合评价方法上,提出应用区间数的TOPSIS方法(逼近理想点排序)对油田水驱开发效果进行评价.首先对区间数多指标决策问题和区间数的相关运算进行了描述,给出了区间数TOPSIS方法的计算步骤.然后根据水驱开发效果指标评价标准及待评价区块生产数据建立评价对象区间数决策矩阵,进而确定最优方案(正理想点)和最劣方案(负理想点),并计算待评价方案与最优方案的相对贴近度,再结合[0,1]语言标度区间确定评价结果.最后,给出实例验证该方法的可行性和有效性.     

非均质砂岩油藏异步周期注水数值模拟理论及应用研究

针对砂岩油藏周期注水特点,综合考虑弹性力、毛管力和重力的影响,建立起非均质砂岩油藏异步周期注水数学模型,并推导出相应的数值解.提出了一种新的流动系数取值方法,能够准确描述停注过程中毛管力作用引起的吸渗现象.在杏树岗油田周期注水试验区进行了实例验证,结果表明:地层压力相对误差为4.0%,产液量相对误差为3.2%,含水率绝对误差为0.9%.应用该方法对杏树岗油田厚油层不同周期注水方案进行了数值模拟计算,决定采取异步周期注水方案,并确定出合理的油层纵向组合方式和水井平面组合方式.平均注水强度为25m3/(d.m)左右,注水和停注半周期都是3个月.现场实施5个月后,区块综合含水率由92.17%下降到91.51%,产油量稳定,预计最终水驱采收率提高1%以上,取得了良好的开发效果.     

基于模糊综合评判的宋芳屯油田南部水驱开发效果综合评价

以宋芳屯油田南部区块为例,采用层次分析和模糊综合评判相结合的方法,对该油藏的水驱储量控制程度、水驱储量动用程度、可采储量、能量保持水平、能量利用程度、即时含水采出比、累积注水量、剩余可采储量采油速度、井网密度和注采井数比10项指标进行了评价,形成了一套水驱开发效果综合评价体系.评价结果认为该区目前水驱开发效果差,有必要进行井网加密及挖潜措施调整.