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Three-Phase Immiscible WAG Injection: Micromodel Experiments and Network Models

2000; Linguagem: Inglês

10.2523/59324-ms

J.K. Larsen, N. Bech, A. Winter,

Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis

Three-Phase Immiscible WAG Injection: Micromodel Experiments and Network Models J.K. Larsen; J.K. Larsen Technical University of Denmark Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar N. Bech; N. Bech Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar A. Winter A. Winter Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 2000. Paper Number: SPE-59324-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/59324-MS Published: April 03 2000 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Larsen, J.K., Bech, N., and A. Winter. "Three-Phase Immiscible WAG Injection: Micromodel Experiments and Network Models." Paper presented at the SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 2000. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/59324-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference Search Advanced Search AbstractThis paper is concerned with planning and optimization of three-phase immiscible Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) injection processes. This goal is achieved by applying an iterative procedure linking the pore-level displacement mechanisms with a macroscopically defined WAG process.IntroductionThe adopted investigation strategy starts with an experimental micromodel study of a WAG injection process. Micromodels are physical analogs of a discrete mathematical model of porous media. In micromodels used in this study pore networks were etched in silicon and covered by transparent glass plates with similar surface properties.The goal of the micromodel experiments is to identify the pore-scale displacement mechanisms ensuring small residual oil saturations and increased oil relative permeabilities in three-phase sweep displacement patterns. The pore-scale mechanisms identified during micromodel experiments are then incorporated into a three-dimensional mathematical network model based on percolation theory. The role of the network model is to determine the relative permeability functions for a prespecified saturation path traversing the domain of three-phase coexistence. The relative permeability functions is then used as input to a 1-D reservoir simulator which computes its own saturation trajectory.The saturation path used by the network and its counterpart produced by the reservoir simulator may not be the same. Consequently, an iterative procedure, similar to that suggested by Fenwick and Blunt3, is started. The goal of the iterative procedure is to compute a set of relative permeabilities for the three coexisting phases that yield identical saturation paths for the network model and the macroscopic 1-D simulator.Injection and Initial Conditions for the WAG ProcessThe petrophysical parameters used in the computations described in this paper are the same as in Marchesin and Plohr2.Three sets of macroscopic WAG injections coresponding to different proportion of injected fluid volumes are considered. The injection cycles of the three sets are as follows:65% water and 35% gas,60% water and 40% gas,55% water and 45% gas.During each cycle one percent of the total pore volume is injected. The total number of cycles is 43. The initial state of the reservoir is the same in the three cases, namely 76% oil, 16% water and 8% gas.In all cases the initial point of the saturation path traversing the triangular domain of the three-phase coexistence is situated near the oil vertex (see Figure 1). The final point appears at the opposite edge corresponding to a depleted oil reservoir.The saturation profiles versus position for the three sets of initial conditions for the oil, water, and gas phases, obtained using a 1-D reservoir simulator (Eclipse 100) with 1000 grid points are shown in Figures 2,3, and 4, respectively. Keywords: expression, miscible method, enhanced recovery, reservoir simulator, network model, upstream oil & gas, pore body, micromodel experiment, shock wave, relative permeability Subjects: Fluid Characterization, Reservoir Fluid Dynamics, Improved and Enhanced Recovery, Fluid modeling, equations of state, Flow in porous media, Miscible methods This content is only available via PDF. 2000. Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.