Application of Horizontal Wells to Reduce Water Production during Gel Treatment

2013 ◽  
Vol 807-809 ◽  
pp. 2629-2633
Author(s):  
Guang Xi Shen ◽  
Ji Ho Lee ◽  
Kun Sang Lee
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Vertical Permeability ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Gel Treatment

It is well known that gel treatment has outstanding potential to delay water breakthrough and reduce water production. However, it causes the decrease of oil production by permeability reduction, even though it is not as much as reduction of water production. For this reason, to improve oil production with substantial reduction of water production, performances of gel treatments through the combination of horizontal and/or vertical wells were assessed and compared. An extensive numerical simulation was executed for four different well configurations under gel treatment associated with waterflood to accomplish the purpose of this study. Performances were compared according to cumulative oil recovery and water-oil ratio at the production well for different systems. Though all of well configurations considered in this study effectively decreased the water production compared with waterflood, applications of horizontal wells led to much higher oil recovery than vertical well because of improved sweep efficiency. Based on these results, the potential of horizontal wells was examined through different scenarios in combinations of injection and production wells. Furthermore, various well lengths of injectors or producers were assessed for horizontal wells. Because cross-flow between layers dominates performance of gel treatment, effects of vertical permeability were also investigated in application of gel treatment with horizontal well. Longer wells and higher cross-flow results in better performance. This study represents that effectiveness of horizontal wells for gel treatment even for reservoirs having dominant cross-flow.

Autonomous Inflow Control Valve Applications Creating Better Wells: A Review of Design Optimization and Associated Benefits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Abd El-Fattah ◽  
Ahmed Moustafa Fahmy ◽  
Hamed Wahaibi ◽  
Abdullah Shibli ◽  
Khaled Zuhaimi
Keyword(s):  
Control Valve ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Gas Oil ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Control Devices ◽  
Water Gas

Abstract One of the largest oil fields in the GCC was developed in the 1960's. The field was initially produced under natural depletion supplemented by gas injection. The high offtake rates led to a rapid displacement of the gas/oil contact; thus, the field has now been suffering from early gas/water breakthrough and uneven fluid influx along with the horizontal wells. The reservoir has been on production for more than 50 years. Water/gas breakthrough from fractures being the major challenge which negatively affects wells oil production rates. Applying technology which can manage water/gas breakthrough in a cost-effective manner whilst allowing increased oil production was a key goal from operators in this field. Passive Inflow Control Devices (ICD) were introduced to the global oil and gas market in mid/late-1990's, and the first generation of Autonomous ICD (AICD) that can help reduce more unwanted gas or water was first installed in 2007. ICD's successfully demonstrated that they could delay the gas and/or water breakthrough within horizontal wells, but they could not choke gas when the coning/gas-breakthrough occurred and along with limited abilities to stop unwanted water production. To help solve this problem, the Autonomous Inflow Control Devices (AICD-RCP) with a movable disc was introduced to the market and demonstrated reduction of gas production by 20-30% with similar gains in oil production[1]. In this paper, the newest generation of Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV) technology is presented. The AICV technology has a movable piston that can close and reduce the unwanted gas and water production by up to 95%[2]. The application of AICVs discussed herein were deployed within several wells which had extremely high Gas Oil Ratio (GOR) and low oil production. The novel AICV technology can differentiate between fluid types based on viscosity and density. When undesired fluid (gas and/or water) starts to be produced, the AICV chokes the valve flow area gradually until completely shutting off, all without well intervention[3]. Well production performances are documenting the benefits of installing AICV completions. The results demonstrate the AICVs closing the zones with high gas production and favoring oil-rich zones. Majority of evaluated wells demonstrated clearly that the extremely high GOR was reduced; some wells have returned to solution GOR for more than two years, and at the same time, the daily oil production is increased.

The Effects of Wettability on Gel Performance in Layered Heterogeneous Reservoirs

2013 ◽  
Vol 448-453 ◽  
pp. 4028-4032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guang Xi Shen ◽  
Ji Ho Lee ◽  
Kun Sang Lee
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Substantial Cost ◽  
Heterogeneous Reservoirs ◽  
Reservoir Performance ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Gel Treatment ◽  
Reservoir Wettability

Regarding the application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), reservoir heterogeneity leads to early water breakthrough and significant water production, so that substantial cost may be needed to treat the produced water. Gel treatments have been widely used to prevent early water breakthrough and great amount of water production by the modification of permeability. Reservoir wettability gives significant impact on gel treatment. This study is to assess the effect of wettability on the reservoir performance during gel treatment in layered heterogeneous reservoirs. Performances were compared in terms of water-oil ratio and cumulative oil recovery for different wettability conditions. With respect to oil recovery, there is no striking improvement by gel treatment. However, the results indicate that gel process presents 77% decrement of water-oil ratio over waterflood for oil-wet system and 51% for water-wet system. Gel is distributed in reservoir more widely for oil-wet conditions than water-wet conditions, which means the effect of gels is more dominant in oil-wet conditions rather than water-wet conditions.

New Gel Aggregates To Improve Sweep Efficiency During Waterflooding

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 120-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanglun Lei ◽  
Lingling Li ◽  
Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
High Water ◽  
Resistance Factor ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Low Viscosity ◽  
Productivity Decline ◽  
High Water Cut ◽  
Water Cut

Summary A common problem for oil production is excessive water production, which can lead to rapid productivity decline and significant increases in operating costs. The result is often a premature shut-in of wells because production has become uneconomical. In water injectors, the injection profiles are uneven and, as a result, large amounts of oil are left behind the water front. Many chemical systems have been used to control water production and improve recovery from reservoirs with high water cut. Inorganic gels have low viscosity and can be pumped using typical field mixing and injection equipment. Polymer or crosslinked gels, especially polyacrylamide-based systems, are mainly used because of their relatively low cost and their supposed selectivity. In this paper, microspheres (5–30 μm) were synthesized using acrylamide monomers crosslinked with an organic crosslinker. They can be suspended in water and can be pumped in sandstone formations. They can plug some of the pore throats and, thus, force injected water to change its direction and increase the sweep efficiency. A high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) rheometer was used to measure G (elastic modulus) and G" (viscous modulus) of these aggregates. Experimental results indicate that these microspheres are stable in solutions with 20,000 ppm NaCl at 175°F. They can expand up to five times their original size in deionized water and show good elasticity. The results of sandpack tests show that the microspheres can flow through cores with permeability greater than 500 md and can increase the resistance factor by eight to 25 times and the residual resistance factor by nine times. The addition of microspheres to polymer solutions increased the resistance factor beyond that obtained with the polymer solution alone. Field data using microspheres showed significant improvements in the injection profile and enhancements in oil production.

Undersaturated Hydrocarbon Reservoir Waterflooding: A simulation Approach to Performance Assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adekunle Tirimisiyu Adeniyi ◽  
Miracle Imwonsa Osatemple ◽  
Abdulwahab Giwa
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Present Value ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Recovery Method ◽  
Solution Approach ◽  
Hydrocarbon Reservoir

Abstract There are a good numbers of brown hydrocarbon reservoirs, with a substantial amount of bypassed oil. These reservoirs are said to be brown, because a huge chunk of its recoverable oil have been produced. Since a significant number of prominent oil fields are matured and the number of new discoveries is declining, it is imperative to assess performances of waterflooding in such reservoirs; taking an undersaturated reservoir as a case study. It should be recalled that Waterflooding is widely accepted and used as a means of secondary oil recovery method, sometimes after depletion of primary energy sources. The effects of permeability distribution on flood performances is of concerns in this study. The presence of high permeability streaks could lead to an early water breakthrough at the producers, thus reducing the sweep efficiency in the field. A solution approach adopted in this study was reserve water injection. A reverse approach because, a producing well is converted to water injector while water injector well is converted to oil producing well. This optimization method was applied to a waterflood process carried out on a reservoir field developed by a two - spot recovery design in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria that is being used as a case study. Simulation runs were carried out with a commercial reservoir oil simulator. The result showed an increase in oil production with a significant reduction in water-cut. The Net Present Value, NPV, of the project was re-evaluated with present oil production. The results of the waterflood optimization revealed that an increase in the net present value of up to 20% and an increase in cumulative production of up to 27% from the base case was achieved. The cost of produced water treatment for re-injection and rated higher water pump had little impact on the overall project economy. Therefore, it can conclude that changes in well status in wells status in an heterogenous hydrocarbon reservoir will increase oil production.

scholarly journals Comparison Between Homogenous and Heterogeneous Reservoirs: A Parametric Study of Water Coning Phenomena

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-131
Author(s):  
Frzan F. Ali ◽  
Maha R. Hamoudi ◽  
Akram H. Abdul Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Production Rate ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Effective Parameters ◽  
Radial Cross Section ◽  
Heterogeneous Reservoirs ◽  
Water Breakthrough ◽  
Water Coning ◽  
Water Cut ◽  
Reservoir Simulator

Water coning is the biggest production problem mechanism in Middle East oil fields, especially in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. When water production starts to increase, the costs of operations increase. Water production from the coning phenomena results in a reduction in recovery factor from the reservoir. Understanding the key factors impacting this problem can lead to the implementation of efficient methods to prevent and mitigate water coning. The rate of success of any method relies mainly on the ability to identify the mechanism causing the water coning. This is because several reservoir parameters can affect water coning in both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. The objective of this research is to identify the parameters contributing to water coning in both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. A simulation model was created to demonstrate water coning in a single- vertical well in a radial cross-section model in a commercial reservoir simulator. The sensitivity analysis was conducted on a variety of properties separately for both homogenous and heterogeneous reservoirs. The results were categorized by time to water breakthrough, oil production rate and water oil ratio. The results of the simulation work led to a number of conclusions. Firstly, production rate, perforation interval thickness and perforation depth are the most effective parameters on water coning. Secondly, time of water breakthrough is not an adequate indicator on the economic performance of the well, as the water cut is also important. Thirdly, natural fractures have significant contribution on water coning, which leads to less oil production at the end of production time when compared to a conventional reservoir with similar properties.

scholarly journals Integrated Halo Model And Hydrodynamic Simulation For Optimization Oil Production In Crystalline Fractured Reservoirs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung Vo Thanh ◽  
Kang-Kun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
History Matching ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Modelling And Simulation ◽  
Development Plan ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Field Development ◽  
The World

Abstract Basement formation is known as the unique reservoir in the world. The fractured basement reservoir was contributed a large amount of oil and gas for Vietnam petroleum industry. However, the geological modelling and optimization of oil production is still a challenge for fractured basement reservoirs. Thus, this study aims to introduce the efficient workflow construction reservoir models for proposing the field development plan in a fractured crystalline reservoir. First, the Halo method was adapted for building the petrophysical model. Then, Drill stem history matching is conducted for adjusting the simulation results and pressure measurement. Next, the history-matched models are used to conduct the simulation scenarios to predict future reservoir performance. The possible potential design has four producers and three injectors in the fracture reservoir system. The field prediction results indicate that this scenario increases approximately 8 % oil recovery factor compared to the natural depletion production. This finding suggests that a suitable field development plan is necessary to improve sweep efficiency in the fractured oil formation. The critical contribution of this research is the proposed modelling and simulation with less data for the field development plan in fractured crystalline reservoir. This research's modelling and simulation findings provide a new solution for optimizing oil production that can be applied in Vietnam and other reservoirs in the world.

Individual Fracture Efficiency Monitoring in Horizontal Wells by Using a New 3d Fine-Grid Temperature Modelling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitaly Virt ◽  
Vladimir Kosolapov ◽  
Vener Nagimov ◽  
Andrey Salamatin ◽  
Yulia Fesina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Transient Analysis ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Fine Grid ◽  
Hydrodynamic Parameters ◽  
Multistage Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Differential Efficiency

Abstract Profitable development of hard-to-recover reserves often involves drilling of horizontal wells with multistage hydraulic fracturing to increase the oil recovery factor. Usually to monitor the fracture sweep efficiency, pressure transient analysis is used. However, in case of several fractures this method delivers only average hydrodynamic parameters of the well-fracture system. This paper illustrates the value of temperature logging data and demonstrates possibilities of the 3-D thermo-mechanical modelling in evaluating the differential efficiency of multi-stage hydraulic fracturing.

A Novel Double-Group Crosslinked Hydrogel with High Thixotropy for Water Control in Horizontal Wells

SPE Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Gang Li ◽  
Lifeng Chen ◽  
Meilong Fu ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Yadong Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Gelation Time ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Uniform Grid ◽  
Drilling Fluids ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Water Control ◽  
Recovery Coefficient ◽  
Metastable Structure ◽  
Control Water

Summary Horizontal wells that are completed with slotted liners often suffer from a severe water-production problem, which is detrimental to oil recovery. It is because the annulus between the slotted liners and wellbore cannot be fully filled with common hydrogels with poor thixotropy, which determines the ultimate hydrogel filling shape in the annulus. This paper presents a novel hydrogel with high thixotropy to effectively control water production in horizontal wells. This study is aimed at evaluating the thixotropic performance, gelation time, plugging performance, and degradation performance. The thixotropic performance of the new hydrogel was also investigated by measuring its rheological properties and examining its microstructures. It was found that the new hydrogel thickened rapidly after shearing. Its thixotropic recovery coefficient was 1.747, which was much higher than those of traditional hydrogels. The gelation time can be controlled in the range of 2 to 8 hours by properly adjusting the concentrations of the framework material, crosslinker, and initiator. The hydrogel could be customized for mature oil reservoirs, at which it was stable for more than 90 days. A series of laboratory physical modeling tests showed that the breakthrough pressure gradient and the plugging ratio of the hydrogel in sandpacks were higher than 9.5 MPa/m and 99%, respectively. At the same time, it was found that the hydrogel has good degradation properties; the viscosity of the hydrogel breaking solution was 4.22 mPa·s. Freeze-etching scanning-electron-microscopy examinations indicated that the hydrogel had a uniform grid structure, which can be broken easily by shear and restored quickly. This led to the remarkable thixotropic performance. The formation of a metastable structure caused by the electrostatic interaction and coordination effect was considered to be the primary reason for the high thixotropy. The successful development of the new thixotropic hydrogel not only helps to control water production from the horizontal wells, but also furthers the thixotropic theory of hydrogel. This study also provides technical guidelines for further increasing the thixotropies of drilling fluids, fracturing fluids, and other enhanced-oil-recovery polymers that are commonly used in the petroleum industry.

Increased Recovery Using Autonomous Inflow Management

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernt S. Aadnøy ◽  
Beder Al Furati
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Active Devices ◽  
Considerable Portion ◽  
Master Thesis ◽  
Control Devices ◽  
Reservoir Simulator ◽  
The University ◽  
Viscosity Fluid

Abstract Inflow control devices (ICD) were first introduced 26 years ago on the Troll field. The main purpose was to reduce water coning to delay water production. This technology is commonly used in long horizontal wells. An ICD is a passive orifice. More recently several types of active devices have been developed. The choking effect here depends on viscosity, fluid density or pressure contrasts. They are called autonomous devices as they react on changes inside the reservoir, without signal from surface. The main objective is to maximize oil recovery, before water production is so large that the wells are abandoned. A master thesis study conducted at the University of Stavanger together with Neptune Energy has investigated the applications of passive and autonomous inflow devices, to see which tool actually provides the highest oil recovery. The analysis was based on existing products and tools under development. Areas where a specific tool works most optimally were identified. Wells from a producing field were used as candidates for the analysis. A considerable portion of the work was to build a realistic reservoir simulator from production data. This paper will present the work and discuss the results of the study.

scholarly journals Multiphase, Multicomponent Simulation for Flow and Transport during Polymer Flood under Various Wettability Conditions

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Ji Ho Lee ◽  
Kun Sang Lee
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Flow Process ◽  
Flow And Transport ◽  
Polymer Flood ◽  
Reservoir Simulator ◽  
Reservoir Wettability ◽  
Flow And Mass Transport

Accurate assessment of polymer flood requires the understanding of flow and transport of fluids involved in the process under different wettability of reservoirs. Because variations in relative permeability and capillary pressure induced from different wettability control the distribution and flow of fluids in the reservoirs, the performance of polymer flood depends on reservoir wettability. A multiphase, multicomponent reservoir simulator, which covers three-dimensional fluid flow and mass transport, is used to investigate the effects of wettability on the flow process during polymer flood. Results of polymer flood are compared with those of waterflood to evaluate how much polymer flood improves the oil recovery and water-oil ratio. When polymer flood is applied to water-wet and oil-wet reservoirs, the appearance of influence is delayed for oil-wet reservoirs compared with water-wet reservoirs due to unfavorable mobility ratio. In spite of the delay, significant improvement in oil recovery is obtained for oil-wet reservoirs. With respect to water production, polymer flood leads to substantial reduction for oil-wet reservoirs compared with water-wet reservoirs. Moreover, application of polymer flood for oil-wet reservoirs extends productive period which is longer than water-wet reservoir case.

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