The Missing Piece of The Puzzle: How Time-Lapse Seismic Helped Assessing Water Injection in an Offshore Carbonate Reservoir in The Campos Basin, Brazil

Author(s):  
Paulo Roberto da Motta Pires ◽  
Marcos Hexsel Grochau ◽  
Florine Villaudy ◽  
Pedro Monteiro Benac
2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 509-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lang Zhan ◽  
Fikri Kuchuk ◽  
Ali M. Al-Shahri ◽  
S. Mark Ma ◽  
T.S.. S. Ramakrishnan ◽  
...  

Summary This paper presents a novel technique to characterize detailed formation heterogeneity for a carbonate reservoir using measurements from electrode resistivity array (ERA), a wireline formation tester, and a permanent downhole pressure sensor. The ERA was installed on tubing in a barefoot well rather than permanently cemented outside the casing as in previous applications. This notable difference provided flexibility for device installation and operation but also introduced particular issues in the ERA data acquisition and interpretation. Furthermore, the ERA measurements were carried out in conjunction with low-salinity water injection and oil and water production in the same well. The primary finding presented in this paper is that the time-lapse ERA voltages near a source electrode showed unique characteristics that represented local formation heterogeneity. This localized sensitivity of ERA data allows detailed characterization of the formation heterogeneity within the length of the ERA string in the vertical direction and about 100 ft laterally around the wellbore. The scale size of the investigated formation heterogeneity is comparable to typical grid sizes used in current reservoir simulations. Models were developed to identify stratified permeability heterogeneities from the time-lapse ERA voltages. The stratified heterogeneity estimated from the ERA measurements was compared to and verified by openhole logs and core analyses data. The final heterogeneous reservoir model from the ERA was subsequently applied to a numerical simulation that integrated the dynamic fluid flow, salt transport, and electrode array responses for monitoring water-front movement and estimating multiphase formation properties. The history matching of the time-lapse ERA data confirmed the first pass estimates of the identified heterogeneities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 488-496
Author(s):  
Lee Jean Wong ◽  
Hamed Amini ◽  
Colin MacBeth

A legacy seismic data set from 2001 and 2011 was used for time-lapse interpretation over a Brazilian carbonate reservoir in Field-X of Campos Basin. The acquired 4D seismic data set was noisy and initially deemed to be uninterpretable. Pressure data were limited, and the initial simulation model was poorly calibrated. All of these challenges warranted the need to establish an interdisciplinary interpretation workflow. In this paper, we introduce a tiered integrated approach to optimize data value from multiple sources. The results of interwell connectivity from production data analysis were used as a basis for assignment of 4D signal confidence flags, which were later combined with simulation-to-seismic modeling of history-matched realizations, enabling interpretation efforts of the noisy 4D seismic data set. This integrated approach led to identification of the injected water front and a potential sweet spot for an infill well.


2021 ◽  
pp. 014459872199465
Author(s):  
Yuhui Zhou ◽  
Sheng Lei ◽  
Xuebiao Du ◽  
Shichang Ju ◽  
Wei Li

Carbonate reservoirs are highly heterogeneous. During waterflooding stage, the channeling phenomenon of displacing fluid in high-permeability layers easily leads to early water breakthrough and high water-cut with low recovery rate. To quantitatively characterize the inter-well connectivity parameters (including conductivity and connected volume), we developed an inter-well connectivity model based on the principle of inter-well connectivity and the geological data and development performance of carbonate reservoirs. Thus, the planar water injection allocation factors and water injection utilization rate of different layers can be obtained. In addition, when the proposed model is integrated with automatic history matching method and production optimization algorithm, the real-time oil and water production can be optimized and predicted. Field application demonstrates that adjusting injection parameters based on the model outputs results in a 1.5% increase in annual oil production, which offers significant guidance for the efficient development of similar oil reservoirs. In this study, the connectivity method was applied to multi-layer real reservoirs for the first time, and the injection and production volume of injection-production wells were repeatedly updated based on multiple iterations of water injection efficiency. The correctness of the method was verified by conceptual calculations and then applied to real reservoirs. So that the oil field can increase production in a short time, and has good application value.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genjiu Wang ◽  
Dandan Hu ◽  
Qianyao Li

Abstract It is generally believed that Cretaceous bioclastic limestone in Mesopotamia basin in central and southern Iraq is a typical porous reservoir with weak fracture development. Therefore, previous studies on the fracture of this kind of reservoir are rare. As a common seepage channel in carbonate rock, fracture has an important influence on single well productivity and waterflooding development of carbonate reservoir. Based on seismic, core and production data, this study analyzes the development characteristics of fractures from various aspects, and discusses the influence of fractures on water injection development of reservoirs. Through special processing of seismic data, it is found that there are a lot of micro fractures in Cretaceous bioclastic limestone reservoir. Most of these micro fractures are filled fractures without conductivity under the original reservoir conditions. However, with the further development of the reservoir, the reservoir pressure, oil-water movement, water injection and other conditions have changed, resulting in the original reservoir conditions of micro fractures with conductivity. The water cut of many production wells in the high part of reservoir rises sharply. In order to describe the three-dimensional spatial distribution of fractures, the core data is used to verify the seismic fracture distribution data volume. After the verification effect is satisfied, the three-dimensional fracture data volume is transformed into the geological model to establish the permeability field including fracture characteristics. The results of numerical simulation show that water mainly flows into the reservoir through high angle micro fractures. Fractures are identified by seismic and fracture model is established to effectively recognize the influence of micro fractures on water injection development in reservoir development process, which provides important guidance for oilfield development of Cretaceous bioclastic limestone reservoir in the central and southern Iraq fields.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement Fabbri ◽  
Haitham Ali Al Saadi ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Flavien Maire ◽  
Carolina Romero ◽  
...  

Abstract Polymer flooding has long been proposed to improve sweep efficiency in heterogeneous reservoirs where polymer enhances cross flow between layers and forces water into the low permeability layers, leading to more homogeneous saturation profile. Although this approach could unlock large volumes of by-passed oil in layered carbonate reservoirs, compatibility of polymer solutions with high salinity - high temperature carbonate reservoirs has been hindering polymer injection projects in such harsh conditions. The aim of this paper is to present the laboratory work, polymer injection field test results and pilot design aimed to unlock target tertiary oil recovery in a highly heterogeneous mixed to oil-wet giant carbonate reservoir. This paper focuses on a highly layered limestone reservoir with various levels of cyclicity in properties. This reservoir may be divided in two main bodies, i.e., an Upper zone and a Lower zone with permeability contrast of up to two orders of magnitude. The main part of the reservoir is currently under peripheral and mid-flank water injection. Field observations show that injected water tends to channel quickly through the Upper zone along the high permeability layers and bypass the oil in the Lower zone. Past studies have indicated that this water override phenomenon is caused by a combination of high permeability contrast and capillary forces which counteract gravity forces. In this setting, adequate polymer injection strategy to enhance cross-flow between these zones is investigated, building on laboratory and polymer injection test field results. A key prerequisite for defining such EOR development scenario is to have representative static and dynamic models that captures the geological heterogeneity of this kind of reservoirs. This is achieved by an improved and integrated reservoir characterization, modelling and water injection history matching procedure. The history matched model was used to investigate different polymer injection schemes and resulted in an optimum pilot design. The injection scheme is defined based on dynamic simulations to maximize value, building on results from single-well polymer injection test, laboratory work and on previous published work, which have demonstrated the potential of polymer flooding for this reservoir. Our study evidences the positive impact of polymer propagation at field scale, improving the water-front stability, which is a function of pressure gradient near producer wells. Sensitivities to the position and number of polymer injectors have been performed to identify the best injection configuration, depending on the existing water injection scheme and the operating constraints. The pilot design proposed builds on laboratory work and field monitoring data gathered during single-well polymer injection field test. Together, these elements represent building blocks to enable tertiary polymer recovery in giant heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs with high temperature - high salinity conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 494-501
Author(s):  
Jean-Paul van Gestel

In 2019, the fourth ocean-bottom-node survey was acquired over Atlantis Field. This survey was quickly processed to provide useful time-lapse (4D) observations two months after the end of the acquisition. The time-lapse observations were immediately valuable in placing wells, refining final drilling target locations, updating well prioritization, and sequencing production and water-injection wells. These data are indispensable pieces of information that bring geophysicists and reservoir engineers together and focus the conversation on key remaining uncertainties such as fault transmissibilities and drainage areas. Time-lapse observations can confirm the key conceptional models already in place but are even more valuable when they highlight alternative models that have not yet been considered. The lessons learned from the acquisition, processing, analysis, interpretation, and integration of the data are shared. Some of these lessons are reiterations of previous work, but several new lessons originated from the latest 2019 acquisition. This was the first survey in which independent simultaneous sources were successfully deployed to collect a time-lapse survey. This resulted in a much faster and less expensive acquisition. In addition, full-waveform inversion was used as the main tool to update the velocity model, enabling a much faster turnaround in processing. The fast turnaround enabled incorporation of the latest acquisition to better constrain the velocity model update. The updated velocity model was used for the final time-lapse migration. In the integration part, the 4D-assisted history-match workflow was engaged to update the reservoir model history match. All of the upgrades led to an overall faster, less expensive, and better way to incorporate the acquired data in the final business decisions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pankaj Kumar Tiwari ◽  
Zoann Low ◽  
Parimal Arjun Patil ◽  
Debasis Priyadarshan Das ◽  
Prasanna Chidambaram ◽  
...  

Abstract Monitoring of CO2 plume migration in a depleted carbonate reservoir is challenging and demand comprehensive and trailblazing monitoring technologies. 4D time-lapse seismic exhibits the migration of CO2 plume within geological storage but in the area affected by gas chimney due to poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), uncertainty in identifying and interpretation of CO2 plume gets exaggerated. High resolution 3D vertical seismic profile (VSP) survey using distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) technology fulfil the objective of obtaining the detailed subsurface image which include CO2 plume migration, reservoir architecture, sub-seismic faults and fracture networks as well as the caprock. Integration of quantitative geophysics and dynamic simulation with illumination modelling dignify the capabilities of 3D DAS-VSP for CO2 plume migration monitoring. The storage site has been studied in detailed and an integrated coupled dynamic simulation were performed and results were integrated with seismic forward modeling to demonstrate the CO2 plume migration with in reservoir and its impact on seismic amplitude. 3D VSP illumination modelling was carried out by integrating reservoir and overburden interpretations, acoustic logs and seismic velocity to illustrate the subsurface coverage area at top of reservoir. Several acquisition survey geometries were simulated based on different source carpet size for effective surface source contribution for subsurface illumination and results were analyzed to design the 3D VSP survey for early CO2 plume migration monitoring. The illumination simulation was integrated with dynamic simulation for fullfield CO2 plume migration monitoring with 3D DAS-VSP by incorporating Pseudo wells illumination analysis. Results of integrated coupled dynamic simulation and 4D seismic feasibility were analyzed for selection of best well location to deploy the multi fiber optic sensor system (M-FOSS) technology. Amplitude response of synthetic AVO (amplitude vs offsets) gathers at the top of carbonate reservoir were analyzed for near, mid and far angle stacks with respect to pre-production as well as pre-injection reservoir conditions. Observed promising results of distinguishable 25-30% of CO2 saturation in depleted reservoir from 4D time-lapse seismic envisage the application of 3D DAS-VSP acquisition. The source patch analysis of 3D VSP illumination modelling results indicate that a source carpet of 6km×6km would be cos-effectively sufficient to produce a maximum of approximately 2km in diameter subsurface illumination at the top of the reservoir. The Pseudo wells illumination analysis results show that current planned injection wells would probably able to monitor early CO2 injection but for the fullfield monitoring additional monitoring wells or a hybrid survey of VSP and surface seismic would be required. The integrated modeling approach ensures that 4D Seismic in subsurface CO2 plume monitoring is robust. Monitoring pressure build-ups from 3D DAS-VSP will reduce the associated risks.


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