Effect of CO_(2)flooding in an oil reservoir with strong bottom-water drive in the Tahe Oilfield,Tarim Basin,Northwest China

The dissolution and diffusion of CO_(2)in oil and water and its displacement mechanism were investigated by laboratory experiment and numerical simulation for Block 9 in the Tahe oilfield,a sandstone oil reservoir with strong bottom-water drive in Tarim Basin,Northwest China.Such parameters were analyzed as solubility ratio of CO_(2)in oil,gas and water,interfacial tension,in-situ oil viscosity distribution,remaining oil saturation distribution,and oil compositions.The results show that CO_(2)flooding could control water coning and increase oil production.In the early stage of the injection process,CO_(2)expanded vertically due to gravity differentiation,and extended laterally under the action of strong bottom water in the intermediate and late stages.The CO_(2)got enriched and extended at the oil-water interface,forming a high interfacial tension zone,which inhibited the coning of bottom water to some extent.A miscible region with low interfacial tension formed at the gas injection front,which reduced the in-situ oil viscosity by about 50%.The numerical simulation results show that enhanced oil recovery(EOR)is estimated at 5.72%and the oil exchange ratio of CO_(2)is 0.17 t/t.

Displacement characteristics of CO_(2)flooding in extra-high water-cut reservoirs

Carbon dioxide(CO_(2))flooding is a widely applied recovery method during the tertiary recovery of oil and gas.A high water saturation condition in reservoirs could induce a‘water shielding’phenomenon after the injection of CO_(2).This would prevent contact between the injected gas and the residual oil,restricting the development of the miscible zone.A micro-visual experiment of dead-end models,used to observe the effect of a film of water on the miscibility process,indicates that CO_(2)can penetrate the water film and come into contact with the residual oil,although the mixing is significantly delayed.However,the dissolution loss of CO_(2)at high water-cut conditions is not negligible.The oil-water partition coefficient,defined as the ratio of CO_(2)solubility in an oil-brine/two-phase system,keeps constant for specific reservoir conditions and changes little with an injection gas.The NMR device shows that when CO_(2)flooding follows water flooding,the residual oil decreasesdnot only in medium and large pores but also in small and micro pores.At levels of higher water saturation,CO_(2)displacement is characterized initially by a low oil production rate and high water-cut.After the CO_(2)breakthrough,the water-cut decreases sharply and the oil production rate increases gradually.The response time of CO_(2)flooding at high watercut reservoirs is typically delayed and prolonged.These results were confirmed in a pilot test for CO_(2)flooding at the P1-1 well group of the Pucheng Oilfield.Observations from this pilot study also suggest that a larger injection gas pore volume available for CO_(2)injection is required to offset the dissolution loss in high water saturation conditions.

Characteristics of water alternating CO_(2)injection in low-permeability beach-bar sand reservoirs

Water flooding can be ineffective in highly heterogeneous low-permeability beach-bar sand reservoirs.The introduction of CO_(2)flooding helps boost the oil production of the reservoirs but only in an early stage.During the late stage of flooding,gas channeling would occur.Water alternating gas(CO_(2))(WAG)process can be used to delay gas channeling and improve the effect of CO_(2)injection,though its adaptability to beach-bar sand reservoirs remains unclear.In order to clarify CO_(2)injection characteristics in these reservoirs,experiments were carried out in high-temperature high-pressure NMR on-line displacement experiment apparatus to simulate different flooding modes on synthetic cores that can reflect the vertical heterogeneity of beach-bar reservoirs.Different CO_(2)injection modes were implemented on these cores and the displacement characteristics and residual oil distribution features during both WAG injection and continuous CO_(2)injection were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.The results show that the scheme of WAG injection after continuous CO_(2)injection can obtain better oil displacement efficiency than that of the scheme of continuous CO_(2)injection after WAG injection,but there is no significant difference in respect of oil displacement efficiency of WAG flooding between the mode of bar-injection e beach-production(injection into bar sand e production from beach sand)and the mode of beach-injection e beach-production(injection into and production from beach sand),with the former mode having a higher oil recovery rate.The wider pore-size distribution range of microscopic residual oil after WAG injection shows great potential of enhancing oil recovery from subsequent continuous gas injection.When WAG injection is implemented prior to continuous CO_(2)injection,the displacement effect of the latter is more significant.This research may provide a theoretical basis for CO_(2)EOR in this type of reservoirs.

A new model simulating the development of gas condensate reservoirs

A new simulation model for the development of gas condensate reservoirs is introduced based on the influence that phase change,non-Darcy flow,and capillary pressure have on the production of gas condensates.The model predicts well performance,including bottom-hole pressure,oil/gas production rate,oil/gas recovery,gaseoil ratio,and the change in produced fluid composition.It also calculates dynamic characters,such as the change of pressure field and oil/gas saturation field during the development of gas condensate reservoirs.The model is applicable to different boundary conditions(both constant-pressure and sealed boundary)and different production modes(both constant-pressure and constant-volume production modes).Model validation attempted using numerical simulation results for sealed boundary conditions with constant-pressure production mode has shown a relatively good match,proving its validity.For constant-pressure boundary conditions with constant-volume production mode,four stages are defined according to the dynamic behavior of production performance in the development of gas condensate reservoirs.