Research on Quantitative Identification of Three-Dimensional Connectivity of Fractured-Vuggy Reservoirs

The fractured-vuggy carbonate oil resources in the western basin of China are extremely rich.The connectivity of carbonate reservoirs is complex,and there is still a lack of clear understanding of the development and topological structure of the pore space in fractured-vuggy reservoirs.Thus,effective prediction of fractured-vuggy reservoirs is difficult.In view of this,this work employs adaptive point cloud technology to reproduce the shape and capture the characteristics of a fractured-vuggy reservoir.To identify the complex connectivity among pores,fractures,and vugs,a simplified one-dimensional connectivity model is established by using the meshless connection element method(CEM).Considering that different types of connection units have different flow characteristics,a sequential coupling calculation method that can efficiently calculate reservoir pressure and saturation is developed.By automatic history matching,the dynamic production data is fitted in real-time,and the characteristic parameters of the connection unit are inverted.Simulation results show that the three-dimensional connectivity model of the fractured-vuggy reservoir built in this work is as close as 90%of the fine grid model,while the dynamic simulation efficiency is much higher with good accuracy.

Utilization mechanism of foam flooding and distribution situation of residual oil in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs

The development of fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs is extremely difficult because of the complex fractured-vuggy structure and strong heterogeneity.Foam flooding is a potential enhanced oil recovery(EOR)technology in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs.Based on the similarity criterion,three types of 2D visual physical models of the fractured-vuggy structure were made by laser ablation technique,and a 3D visual physical model of the fractured-vuggy reservoir was made by 3D printing technology.Then the physical analog experiments of foam flooding were carried out in these models.The experimental results show that foam can effectively improve the mobility ratio,control the flow velocity of the fluid in different directions,and sweep complex fracture networks.The effect of foam flooding in fractures can be improved by increasing foam strength and enhancing foam stability.The effect of foam flooding in vugs can be improved by reducing the density of the foam and the interfacial tension between foam and oil.Three types of microscopic residual oil and three types of macroscopic residual oil can be displaced by foam flooding.This study verifies the EOR of foam flooding in the fractured-vuggy reservoir and provides theoretical support for the application of foam flooding in fractured-vuggy reservoirs.

Architecture characterization of Ordovician fault-controlled paleokarst carbonate reservoirs in Tuoputai,Tahe oilfield,Tarim Basin,NW China

Based on outcrop,core,logging,seismic and production data,and the formation of fault-controlled karst reservoirs,the types and characterization of Ordovician fault-controlled karst reservoir architectures in the Tuoputai area of the Tahe oilfield are studied.According to the concept of genetic geologic body,the fault-controlled karst reservoir is divided into architecture elements of four levels,the strike-slip fault impact zone is the level-1 architecture element,the fault-controlled karst reservoir the level-2 architecture element,the fracture-cave zone(which can be further subdivided into dissolution cave,dissolution pore and vug,and fracture zones)inside the fault-controlled karst reservoir the level-3 architecture element,and fillings inside caves is the level-4 architecture element(which can be further divided based on the filling degree and lithologic types of the fillings).Specific characterization techniques have been optimized according to the characteristics of various architecture elements.The zone impacted by strike-slip fault is characterized by seismic coherence and artificial interpretation.Under the constraint of zone impacted by strike-slip fault,fault likelihood(FL)property is used to characterize the outline of fault-controlled karst reservoir.Under the constraint of fault-controlled karst reservoir outline,the internal structures are divided based on seismic texture attribute.Finally,the cavern filling pattern is interpreted based on drilling and logging data.The fault-controlled karst reservoirs can be interpreted in 3-dimensional space by architecture element levels,and the characterization technology combining log and seismic data for fault-controlled karst reservoir has been worked out,which has complemented the development theory and technologies for this kind of reservoirs in the Tahe oilfield.

Theoretical exploration of water injection gravity flooding oil in ultra-deep fault-controlled fractured-cavity carbonate reservoirs

Based on the analysis of geological characteristics of ultra-deep fault-controlled fracture-cavity carbonate reservoirs and division of reservoir units, two physical models were made, and physical simulations of oil displacement by water injection were carried out to find out water flooding mechanism in the fault-controlled fracture-cavity carbonate reservoir under complex flow state. On this basis, a mathematical model of fault-controlled carbonate reservoir with coexisting seepage and free flow has been established. Pilot water injection tests have been carried out to evaluate the effects of enhancing oil recovery by water injection. The results show that: fault-controlled fracture-cavity carbonate reservoir units can be divided into three types:the strong natural energy connected type, the weak natural energy connected type and the weak natural energy isolated type;the fault-fracture activity index of the fault-controlled fractured-cavity body can effectively characterize the connectivity of the reservoir and predict the effective direction of water injection;the mathematical model of fault-controlled carbonate reservoir with coexisting seepage and free flows can quantitatively describe the fluid flow law in the fracture-cavity body;the water injected into the fault-controlled fracture-cavity body is weakly affected by the capillary force of the lithologic body, and the oil-water movement is mainly dominated by gravity. The development modes of single well water injection, unit water injection,and single well high pressure water injection proposed based on the connection structure of fracture-cavity space and well storage space configuration are confirmed effective by pilot tests, with obvious water injection gravity flooding effect.

Key oil accumulation periods of ultra-deep fault-controlled oil reservoir in northern Tarim Basin, NW China

A giant fault-controlled oilfield has been found in the ultra-deep(greater than 6000 m) Ordovician carbonate strata in the northern Tarim Basin. It is of great significance for hydrocarbon accumulation study and oil exploitation to determine the key oil accumulation periods. Based on detailed petrographic analysis, fluid inclusion association(FIA) in calcite samples filling in fractures from 12 wells were analyzed, and key accumulation periods of the strike-slip fault-controlled oilfield was studied by combining oil generation periods of the source rocks, formation periods of the fault and traps, and the fluid inclusion data.(1) There are multiple types of FIA, among them, two types of oil inclusions, the type with yellow fluorescence from the depression area and the type with yellow-green fluorescence from the uplift area with different maturities indicate two oil charging stages.(2) The homogenization temperature of the brine inclusions in FIA is mostly affected by temperature rises, and the minimum temperature of brine inclusions symbiotic with oil inclusions is closer to the reservoir temperature during its forming period.(3) FIA with yellow fluorescence all have homogenization temperatures below 50 ℃, while the FIA with yellow-green fluorescence have homogenization temperatures of 70–90 ℃ tested, suggesting two oil accumulation stages in Middle-Late Caledonian and Late Hercynian.(4) The Middle-Late Ordovician is the key formation period of the strike-slip fault, fracture-cave reservoir and trap there.(5) The oil generation peak of the main source rock of the Lower Cambrian is in the Late Ordovician, and the oil accumulation stage is mainly the Late Ordovician in the depression area, but is mainly the Early Permian in the uplift area. The key oil accumulation period of the strike-slip fault-controlled reservoirs is the Late Caledonian, the depression area has preserved the primary oil reservoirs formed in the Caledonian, while the uplift area has secondary oil reservoirs adjusted from the depression area during the Late Hercynian. Oil reservoir preservation conditions are the key factor for oil enrichment in the strike-slip fault zone of northern Tarim, and the Aman transition zone in the depression is richer in oil and gas and has greater potential for exploration and development.

Lost circulation material for abnormally high temperature and pressure fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs in Tazhong block, Tarim Basin, NW China

To effectively solve the problem of lost circulation and well kick frequently occurring during the drilling of abnormally high temperature and pressure fractured-vuggy reservoirs in the Tazhong block, a rigid particle material, GZD, with high temperature tolerance, high rigidity(> 8 MPa) and low abrasiveness has been selected based on geological characteristics of the theft zones in the reservoirs. Through static pressure sealing experiments, its dosage when used alone and when used in combination with lignin fiber, elastic material SQD-98 and calcium carbonate were optimized, and the formula of a new type(SXM-I) of compound lost circulation material with high temperature tolerance and high strength was formed. Its performance was evaluated by compatibility test, static sealing experiment and sand bed plugging experiment. The test results show that it has good compatibility with drilling fluid used commonly and is able to plug fractures and vugs, the sealed fractures are able to withstand the static pressure of more than 9 MPa and the cumulative leakage is 13.4 mL. The mud filtrate invasion depth is only 2.5 cm in 30 min when the sand bed is made of particles with sizes between 10 mesh and 20 mesh. Overall, with good sealing property and high temperature and high pressure tolerance, the lost circulation material provides strong technical support for the safety drilling in the block.

Inter-well interferences and their influencing factors during water flooding in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs

Based on the characteristics of injection-production units in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs,nine groups of experiments were designed and performed to analyze the interference characteristics and their influencing factors during water flooding.Based on percolation theory,an inversion model for simulating waterflooding interferences was proposed to study the influence laws of different factors on interference characteristics.The results show that well spacing,permeability ratio,cave size,and cave location all affect the interference characteristics of water flooding.When the cave is located in high permeability fractures,or in the small well spacing direction,or close to the producer in an injection-production unit,the effects of water flooding are much better.When the large cave is located in the high-permeability or small well spacing direction,the well in the direction with lower permeability or smaller well spacing will see water breakthrough earlier.When the cave is in the higher permeability direction and the reserves between the water injector and producer differ greatly,the conductivity differences in different injection-production directions are favorable for water flooding.When the injection-production well pattern is constructed or recombined,it’s better to make the reserves of caves in different injection-production directions proportional to permeability,and inversely proportional to the well spacing.The well close to the cave should be a producer,and the well far from the cave should be an injector.Different ratios of cave reserves to fracture reserves correspond to different optimal well spacings and optimal permeability ratios.Moreover,both optimal well spacing and optimal permeability ratio increase as the ratio of cave reserves to fracture reserves increases.

Research advances on the mechanisms of reservoir formation and hydrocarbon accumulation and the oil and gas development methods of deep and ultra-deep marine carbonates

Based on the new data of drilling, seismic, logging, test and experiments, the key scientific problems in reservoir formation, hydrocarbon accumulation and efficient oil and gas development methods of deep and ultra-deep marine carbonate strata in the central and western superimposed basin in China have been continuously studied.(1) The fault-controlled carbonate reservoir and the ancient dolomite reservoir are two important types of reservoirs in the deep and ultra-deep marine carbonates. According to the formation origin, the large-scale fault-controlled reservoir can be further divided into three types:fracture-cavity reservoir formed by tectonic rupture, fault and fluid-controlled reservoir, and shoal and mound reservoir modified by fault and fluid. The Sinian microbial dolomites are developed in the aragonite-dolomite sea. The predominant mound-shoal facies, early dolomitization and dissolution, acidic fluid environment, anhydrite capping and overpressure are the key factors for the formation and preservation of high-quality dolomite reservoirs.(2) The organic-rich shale of the marine carbonate strata in the superimposed basins of central and western China are mainly developed in the sedimentary environments of deep-water shelf of passive continental margin and carbonate ramp. The tectonic-thermal system is the important factor controlling the hydrocarbon phase in deep and ultra-deep reservoirs, and the reformed dynamic field controls oil and gas accumulation and distribution in deep and ultra-deep marine carbonates.(3) During the development of high-sulfur gas fields such as Puguang, sulfur precipitation blocks the wellbore. The application of sulfur solvent combined with coiled tubing has a significant effect on removing sulfur blockage. The integrated technology of dual-medium modeling and numerical simulation based on sedimentary simulation can accurately characterize the spatial distribution and changes of the water invasion front.Afterward, water control strategies for the entire life cycle of gas wells are proposed, including flow rate management, water drainage and plugging.(4) In the development of ultra-deep fault-controlled fractured-cavity reservoirs, well production declines rapidly due to the permeability reduction, which is a consequence of reservoir stress-sensitivity. The rapid phase change in condensate gas reservoir and pressure decline significantly affect the recovery of condensate oil. Innovative development methods such as gravity drive through water and natural gas injection, and natural gas drive through top injection and bottom production for ultra-deep fault-controlled condensate gas reservoirs are proposed. By adopting the hierarchical geological modeling and the fluid-solid-thermal coupled numerical simulation, the accuracy of producing performance prediction in oil and gas reservoirs has been effectively improved.

Practice and knowledge of volumetric development of deep fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs in Tarim Basin, NW China

Different from the continental layered sandstone and fracture-pore carbonate reservoirs, the fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs in the Tarim Basin are mainly composed of fractured-vuggy bodies of different sizes and shapes. Based on years of study on the geological features, flow mechanisms, high-precision depiction and the recovery mode of fractured-vuggy bodies, the idea of “volumetric development” is proposed and put into practice. A “body by body” production methodology is established with respect to volumetric unit of fractures and vugs based on vuggy body’s spatial allocation and reserves. A variety of development wells, various technological methods, and multi-type injection media are used to develop this type of reservoirs in an all-around way. As a result, the resource and production structures of the Tahe oilfield are significantly improved and a highly efficient development is achieved.

Mechanisms of remaining oil formation by water flooding and enhanced oil recovery by reversing water injection in fractured-vuggy reservoirs

To get a deeper understanding on the formation mechanisms and distribution laws of remaining oil during water flooding, and enhanced oil recovery(EOR) mechanisms by reversing water injection after water flooding, 3D visualization models of fractured-vuggy reservoir were constructed based on the elements and configuration of fractures and vugs, and typical fracture-vug structures by using advanced CT scanning and 3D printing technologies. Then, water flooding and reversing water injection experiments were conducted. The formation mechanisms of remaining oil during water flooding include inadequate injection-production well control, gravity difference between oil and water, interference between different flow channels, isolation by low connectivity channel, weak hydrodynamic force at the far end. Under the above effects, 7 kinds of remaining oil may come about, imperfect well-control oil, blind side oil, attic oil at the reservoir top, by-pass residual oil under gravity, by-pass residual oil in secondary channel, isolated oil in low connectivity channel, and remaining oil at far and weakly connected end. Some remaining oil can be recovered by reversing water injection after water flooding, but its EOR is related to the remaining oil type, fracture-cavity structure and reversing injection-production structure. Five of the above seven kinds of remaining oil can be produced by six EOR mechanisms of reversing water injection: gravity displacement, opening new flow channel, rising the outflow point, hydrodynamic force enhancement, vertically equilibrium displacement, and synergistic effect of hydrodynamic force and gravity.

Experiments on nitrogen assisted gravity drainage in fractured-vuggy reservoirs

Visual models of fractured-vuggy reservoirs were designed and manufactured to conduct experiments of nitrogen assisted gravity drainage(NAGD). The impacts of flooding pattern, gas injection rate, well type, and displacement direction(vertical or horizontal) on development performances and remaining oil distribution were studied. The results show that during NAGD, the sweep scope is decided by the connections between producer and reservoir, and the local sweep efficiency is decided by fracture-vuggy configuration. The homogenous fractured reservoir has higher oil recovery, and the bigger the aperture of fracture is, the higher the recovery. The main regions of remaining oil due to poor connectivity and gas-oil gravity difference include blind fractures and vugs below the connected fractures, the bottom of vugs, and the narrow and low-angle fractures. The accumulation of remaining oil in the bottom of reservoir is easily formed and controlled by the connections between producers and reservoir. The higher the gas injection rate and the stronger the fracture heterogeneity, the earlier the gas channeling and the lower the oil recovery of the producer will be.Horizontal wells have the best development effect, so horizontal well can be applied in fractured-vuggy reservoirs without bottom water.Producers should be preferentially drilled at low structural position. Gas channeling firstly occurs in the producer at high structural position, and it should be shut in timely to improve the utilization of injected gas.

High-pressure capacity expansion and water injection mechanism and indicator curve model for fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs

Water injection for oil displacement is one of the most effective ways to develop fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs.With the increase in the number of rounds of water injection,the development effect gradually fails.The emergence of high-pressure capacity expansion and water injection technology allows increased production from old wells.Although high-pressure capacity expansion and water injection technology has been implemented in practice for nearly 10 years in fractured-vuggy reservoirs,its mechanism remains unclear,and the water injection curve is not apparent.In the past,evaluating its effect could only be done by measuring the injection-production volume.In this study,we analyze the mechanism of high-pressure capacity expansion and water injection.We propose a fluid exchange index for high-pressure capacity expansion and water injection and establish a discrete model suitable for high-pressure capacity expansion and water injection curves in fractured-vuggy reservoirs.We propose the following mechanisms:replenishing energy,increasing energy,replacing energy,and releasing energy.The above mechanisms can be identified by the high-pressure capacity expansion and water injection curve of the well HA6X in the Halahatang Oilfield in the Tarim Basin.By solving the basic model,the relative errors of Reservoirs I and II are found to be 1.9%and 1.5%,respectively,and the application of field examples demonstrates that our proposed high-pressure capacity expansion and water injection indicator curve is reasonable and reliable.This research can provide theoretical support for high-pressure capacity expansion and water injection technology in fracture-vuggy carbonate reservoirs.

A novel polymer gel with high-temperature and high-salinity resistance for conformance control in carbonate reservoirs

Plugging agents have been widely used to enhance oil recovery in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs.However,the harsh conditions of fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs yield a significant challenge in maintaining a long-term stabilization of plugging agents.In this work,we developed an anti-hightemperature and high-salinity polymer gel(APG)with excellent resistance to high temperature(140℃)and ultra-high salinity(240000 mg/L).The rheology and microstructure of APG were characterized before and after gelation.Core plugging tests on fractured cubic cores were conducted to quantify the plugging performance of the gel system.Experimental results showed that the Sclerglucan and Cobalt(Ⅱ)Chloride Hexahydrate filled the three-dimensional(3-D)network with various morphologies,providing extra protection to the cross-linking points of the 3D network structure of APG and thus,leading to a prolongation of the dehydration time.The dehydration rate of APG was only 5%within 30days,and the strength of APG could be maintained at a rigid or near-rigid level over 150 days.Moreover,APG exhibited satisfactory shear and scour resistance.Core plugging tests showed that APG could achieve a plugging rate of 90%and demonstrate ignorable minor damage to the substrate.Our results indicate that APG can serve as a great candidate in channel plugging in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs where fractures are fully developed.

Practice and theoretical and technical progress in exploration and development of Shunbei ultra-deep carbonate oil and gas field,Tarim Basin,NW China

In this review on the exploration and development process of the Shunbei ultra-deep carbonate oil and gas field in the Tarim Basin, the progress of exploration and development technologies during the National 13th Five-Year Plan of China has been summarized systematically, giving important guidance for the exploration and development of ultra-deep marine carbonate reservoirs in China and abroad. Through analyzing the primary geological factors of “hydrocarbon generation-reservoir formation-hydrocarbon accumulation” of ancient and superposed basin comprehensively and dynamically, we point out that because the Lower Cambrian Yuertusi Formation high-quality source rocks have been located in a low-temperature environment for a long time, they were capable of generating hydrocarbon continuously in late stage, providing ideal geological conditions for massive liquid hydrocarbon accumulation in ultra-deep layers. In addition, strike-slip faults developed in tectonically stable areas have strong control on reservoir formation and hydrocarbon accumulation in this region. With these understandings, the exploration focus shifted from the two paleo-uplifts located in the north and the south to the Shuntuoguole lower uplift located in between and achieved major hydrocarbon discoveries. Through continuing improvement of seismic exploration technologies for ultra-deep carbonates in desert, integrated technologies including seismic acquisition in ultra-deep carbonates,seismic imaging of strike-slip faults and the associated cavity-fracture systems, detailed structural interpretation of strike-slip faults, characterization and quantitative description of fault-controlled cavities and fractures, description of fault-controlled traps and target optimization have been established. Geology-engineering integration including well trajectory optimization,high efficiency drilling, completion and reservoir reformation technologies has provided important support for exploration and development of the Shunbei oil and gas field.

Sinian hydrocarbon accumulation conditions and exploration potential at the northwest margin of the Yangtze region, China

Based on outcrop, drilling, logging and seismic data, the reservoir forming conditions, reservoir forming model and exploration potential of the ultra-deep Sinian Dengying Formation at the northwest margin of Yangtze craton region were examined.(1) This area is in craton rifting stage from Sinian to Early Cambrian, characterized by syn-sedimentary faults and rapid subsidence, significant sedimentary differences, and development of Dengying Formation platform margins on both sides of the rift.(2) The Sinian–Cambrian in this area has two sets of high-quality source rocks, Doushantuo Formation and Maidiping-Qiongzhusi Formation;of which, the latter has a thickness of 150–600 m and hydrocarbon generation intensity of(100-200)×10;m;/km;.(3) The mounds and shoals in the platform margin of Sinian Dengying Formation controlled by faults are thick and distributed in rows and zones;they are reformed by contemporaneous–quasi-contemporaneous and supergene karstification jointly, forming pore-type reservoirs with a thickness of 200-400 m.(4) The two sets of source rocks enter oil generation windows from Permian to Early Triassic, and the oil migrates a short distance to the lithologic traps of mounds and shoals to form a huge scale paleo-oil reservoir group;from Late Triassic to Jurassic, the oil in the paleo-oil reservoirs is cracked into gas, laying the foundation of present natural gas reservoirs.(5) The mound-shoal body at the platform margin of Dengying Formation and the two sets of high-quality source rocks combine into several types of favorable source-reservoir combinations, which, with the advantage of near-source and high-efficiency reservoir formation, and can form large lithologic gas reservoirs. The Mianyang-Jiange area is a potential large gas field with trillion cubic meters of reserves. According to seismic prediction, the Laoguanmiao structure in this area has the Deng-2 Member mound-shoal reservoir of about 1300 km^(2), making it a ultra-deep target worthy of exploration in the near future.

Study on gas-liquid relative permeability experiments of fractured-porous reservoirs

For carbonate reservoirs,gas-water and oil-gas relative permeability curve are of importance for parameters calculation in oil-field development,dynamic analysis and numerical reservoir simulation.The oil-gas/gas-water relative permeability curves were measured with unstable method under normal temperature and low pressure,using fifteen artificial fractured cores.The shape and change characteristics of gas/water and oil/gas relative permeability curve were mainly analyzed.The results showed that for the relative permeability curve of water driving gas.The saturation of equal permeability point,the saturation range of two-phase flow region and the displacement efficiency has a good power-function relation with core permeability.In addition,the saturation of equal permeability point,the saturation range of two-phase flow region and the displacement efficiency will decrease with the increasing of core permeability.However,for oil-gas relative permeability curves,the saturation of equal permeability point,the saturation range of two-phase flow region and the displacement efficiency will increase with the increasing of core permeability.It should be noted that the gas relative permeability presents a straight line in the normalized relative permeability curve,which indicates that the main flow is dominated by fracture with low displacement efficiency.The research results provide theory basis for fracture-vuggy carbonate reservoir development and new research idea for the further study of this kind of reservoir.

Wormholes propagation for fractured-vuggy formation:Laboratory tests,numerical simulation and field application

The propagation of wormhole is vital important for matrix acidizing and acid fracturing in carbonate reservoirs.While the formation of acid dissolved wormhole is derived from heterogeneous physical and chemical transportations and reactions.Alveolate dissolved pores,krast caves,and natural fissures are the major reservoir spaces for the Sinian dolomite formation in the Anyue gas field of the Sichuan Basin.There were four categories of formation,which are matrix dominated,inter-breccia dissolved pore dominated,dissolved pore and cave dominated,and fissure and cave dominated,based on the development intensity and connectedness of caves and fissures.The caves and fissures make the wormhole formation and propagation particularly complicated.Firstly,the 3-D topological structure of dissolved pores,vugs,fissures and throats inside cores is quantitatively scanned by CT imaging technology for its feature of vivid and damage-free.Secondly,3-D patterns of wormhole are obtained with CT scanning after core flooding by acid.Additionally,the porethroat network model is reconstructed with digital cores technology.Then,the size and ratio of pore and throat before and after core flooding by acid is analyzed and the absolute permeability of pore scale flow is numerically simulated to understand the fundamental influence of pores and vugs distribution and connectedness on wormhole propagation.Lastly,the wormhole pattern gained by CT scanning and simulating with two-scale model is compared.Meanwhile,the corrected two-scale model is utilized to simulate the wormhole propagation for matrix acidizing and acid fracturing of Sinian fractured-vuggy dolomite in Anyue gas field,Sichuan Basin.The optimized injection rate and volume were in agreement with the characteristic matrix acidizing operating curve,which indicates that the two-scale model was suitable for matrix acidizing optimization design of such formations.In addition,the simulated acid etched fracture length with considering the dynamic wormhole leakoff was consistent with the well testing interpreted result.