Test of the Relative Permeability Curve of a Gas and Oil Condensate System and its Effect on the Recovery of Oil and Gas

The relative permeability curve has been measured with simulation oil (refined oil) and gas (nitrogen or air) at room temperature and a lowpressure, both of which are very important parameters for depicting the flow of fluid through porous media in a hydrocarbon reservoir. This basic measurement is often applied in exploitation evaluation, but the underground conditions with high temperature and pressure, and the phase equilibrium of oil and gas, are not taken into consideration when the relative permeability curve is tested. There is an important theoretical and practical sense in testing the diphase relative permeability curve of the equilibrium of oil and gas under the conditions of high temperature and pressure. The test method for the relative permeability curve is proposed in this paper. The relative permeability of the equilibrium of oil and gas and the standard one are tested in two fluids, and the differences between these two methods are stated. The research results can be applied to the simulation and prediction of CVD in long cores and then the phenomenon can better explain that the recovery of condensate gas rich in condensate oil is higher than that of CVD test in PVT. Meanwhile, the research shows that the relative permeability curve of equilibrium oil and gas is sensitive to the rate of exploitation, and the viewpoint proves that an improved gas recovery rate can properly increase the recovery of condensate oil.

Modeling of multiphase flow in low permeability porous media:Effect of wettability and pore structure properties

Multiphase flow in low permeability porous media is involved in numerous energy and environmental applications.However,a complete description of this process is challenging due to the limited modeling scale and the effects of complex pore structures and wettability.To address this issue,based on the digital rock of low permeability sandstone,a direct numerical simulation is performed considering the interphase drag and boundary slip to clarify the microscopic water-oil displacement process.In addition,a dual-porosity pore network model(PNM)is constructed to obtain the water-oil relative permeability of the sample.The displacement efficiency as a recovery process is assessed under different wetting and pore structure properties.Results show that microscopic displacement mechanisms explain the corresponding macroscopic relative permeability.The injected water breaks through the outlet earlier with a large mass flow,while thick oil films exist in rough hydrophobic surfaces and poorly connected pores.The variation of water-oil relative permeability is significant,and residual oil saturation is high in the oil-wet system.The flooding is extensive,and the residual oil is trapped in complex pore networks for hydrophilic pore surfaces;thus,water relative permeability is lower in the water-wet system.While the displacement efficiency is the worst in mixed-wetting systems for poor water connectivity.Microporosity negatively correlates with invading oil volume fraction due to strong capillary resistance,and a large microporosity corresponds to low residual oil saturation.This work provides insights into the water-oil flow from different modeling perspectives and helps to optimize the development plan for enhanced recovery.

Characterization of the generalized permeability jail in tight reservoirs by analyzing relative-permeability curves and numerical simulation

This study comprehensively characterizes the boundary values of generalized permeability jail in tight reservoirs through relative-permeability curve analysis,numerical simulation,and economic evaluation.A total number of 108 relative-permeability curves of rock samples from tight reservoirs were obtained,and the characteristics of relative-permeability curves were analyzed.The irreducible water saturation(Swi)mainly ranges from 20% to 70%,and the residual gas saturation(Sgr)ranges from 5% to 15% for 55% of the samples.The relative-permeability curves are categorized into six types(Category-Ⅰ to Ⅵ)by analyzing the following characteristics:The relative permeability of gas at Swi,the relative permeability of water at Sgr,and the relative permeability corresponding to the isotonic point.The relative permeability curves were normalized to facilitate numerical simulation and evaluate the impact of different types of curves on production performance.The results of simulation show significant difference in production performance for different types of relative-permeability curves:Category-Ⅰ corresponds to the case with best well performance,whereas Categories-Ⅴ and Ⅵ correspond to the cases with least production volume.The results of economic evaluation show a generalized permeability jail for Categories-Ⅳ,Ⅴ,and Ⅵ,and the permeability jail develops when the relative permeability of gas and water is below 0.06.This study further quantifies the range of micro-pore parameters corresponding to the generalized permeability jail for a tight sandstone reservoir.

Characterization of reservoir properties and pore structure based on micro-resistivity imaging logging: Porosity spectrum, permeability spectrum, and equivalent capillary pressure curve

According to the capillary theory,an equivalent capillary model of micro-resistivity imaging logging was built.On this basis,the theoretical models of porosity spectrum(Ф_(i)),permeability spectrum(K_(i))and equivalent capillary pressure curve(pe)were established to reflect the reservoir heterogeneity.To promote the application of the theoretical models,the Archie's equation was introduced to establish a general model for quantitatively characterizing bi,K,and pei.Compared with the existing models,it is shown that:(1)the existing porosity spectrum model is the same as the general equation of gi;(2)the Ki model can display the permeability spectrum as compared with Purcell's permeability model;(3)the per model is constructed on a theoretical basis and avoids the limitations of existing models that are built only based on the component of porosity spectrum,as compared with the empirical model of capillary pressure curve.The application in the Permian Maokou Formation of Well TsX in the Central Sichuan paleo-uplift shows that the Ф_(i),K_(i),and p_(ci) models can be effectively applied to the identification of reservoir types,calculation of reservoir properties and pore structure parameters,and evaluation of reservoir heterogeneity.

Classification Study on Relative Permeability Curves

The classification method of relative permeability curves is rarely reported, when relative permeability curves are applied;if the multiple relative permeability curves are normalized directly, but not classified, the calculated result maybe cause a large error. For example, the relationship curve between oil displacement efficiency and water cut, which derived from the relative permeability curve in LD oilfield is uncertain in the shape of low water cut stage. If being directly normalized, the result of the interpretation of the water flooded zone is very high. In this study, two problems were solved: 1) The mathematical equation of the relationship between oil displacement efficiency and water cut was deduced, and repaired the lost data of oil displacement efficiency and water cut curve, which solve the problem of uncertain curve shape. After analysis, the reason why the curve is not available is that relative permeability curves are not classified and optimized;2) Two kinds of classification and evaluation methods of relative permeability curve were put forward, the direct evaluation method and the analogy method;it can get the typical relative permeability curve by identifying abnormal curve.

A Method for Calculating Oil Field Relative Permeability Curve by Using Water Drive Characteristic Curve in High Water Cut Stage

With the production of strong bottom water reservoir, it will soon enter the ultra-high water cut stage. After entering the ultra-high water cut period, the main means of stable production is liquid extraction. Large liquid volume has a certain impact on the physical property distribution and fluid seepage law of the oilfield. The relative permeability curve measured according to the industry standard is not used for the prediction of development indicators and the understanding of the dynamic law of the oilfield. In order to understand the characteristics of water drive law in high water cut stage of water drive oilfield, starting from the water drive characteristic curve in high water cut stage, the method for calculating the relative permeability curve is deduced. Through numerical simulation verification and fitting the actual production data, it is confirmed that the obtained relative permeability curve is in line with the reality of the oilfield, It can provide some guiding significance for understanding the production law and water drive law of strong bottom water reservoir in ultra-high water cut stage.

Effect of H_(2)S content on relative permeability and capillary pressure characteristics of acid gas/brine/rock systems:A review

Geological storage of acid gas has been identified as a promising approach to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO_(2)),hydrogen sulfide(H_(2)S)and alleviate public concern resulting from the sour gas production.A good understanding of the relative permeability and capillary pressure characteristics is crucial to predict the process of acid gas injection and migration.The prediction of injection and redistribution of acid gas is important to determine storage capacity,formation pressure,plume extent,shape,and leakage potential.Herein,the existing experimental data and theoretical models were reviewed to gain a better understanding of the issue how the H_(2)S content affects gas density,gas viscosity,interfacial tension,wettability,relative permeability and capillary pressure characteristics of acid gas/brine/rock systems.The densities and viscosities of the acid gas with different H_(2)S mole fractions are both temperature-and pressure-dependent,which vary among the gas,liquid and supercritical phases.Water/acid gas interfacial tension decreases strongly with increasing H_(2)S content.For mica and clean quartz,water contact angle increases with increasing H_(2)S mole fraction.In particular,wettability reversal of mica to a H_(2)S-wet behavior occurs in the presence of dense H_(2)S.The capillary pressure increases with decreasing contact angle.At a given saturation,the relative permeability of a fluid is higher when the fluid is nonwetting.The capillary pressure decreases with decreasing interfacial tension at a given saturation.However,the existing datasets do not show a consistent link between capillary number and relative permeability.The capillary pressure decreases with increasing H_(2)S mole fraction.However,there is no consensus on the effect of the H_(2)S content on the relative permeability curves.This may be due to the limited availability of the relative permeability and capillary pressure data for acid gas/brine/rock systems;thus,more experimental measurements are required.

The Influence Law of Oil Relative Permeability on Water Cut

Water cut is a key evaluation parameter for reservoir development evaluation. Relative permeability curve reflects reservoir characteristics and fluid characteristics. It is important to figure out the influence law of oil relative permeability on water cut. Based on the 269 relative permeability curves of Bohai oilfields, the distribution of oil index of Bohai oilfields were studied. On the basis, combined with Corey expression of relative permeability and fractional flow equation, the theoretical relationship between oil index and water cut increasing rate was established. Three end points of water cut increasing rate curve were proposed and the influence law between three end points and oil index was studied. The results show that the oil index has a linear relationship with three end points. When the value of water oil mobile ratio is large than 1, with the increase of oil index, maximum value of water cut increasing rate gradually increase. When the value of water oil mobile ratio is less than 10, oil index has great effect on recovery percent when water cut increasing rate reaches to the maximum value as well as water cut when water cut increasing rate reaches to the maximum value. The application of SS field shows that the theoretical value is consistent with the field data.

Pore network modeling of water block in low permeability reservoirs

A pore network model was used in this paper to investigate the factors, in particular, throat radius, wettability and initial water saturation, causing water block in low permeability reservoirs. A new term - ＇relative permeability number＇ （RPN） was firstly defined, and then used to describe the degree of water block. Imbibition process simulations show that the RPN drops in accordance with the extension of the averaged pore throat radius from 0.05 to 1.5 μm, and yet once beyond that point of 1.5 μm, the RPN reaches a higher value, indicating the existence of a critical pore throat radius where water block is the maximum. When the wettability of the samples changes from water-wet to weakly water-wet, weakly gas-wet, or gas（oil）-wet, the gas RPN increases consistently, but this consistency is disturbed by the RPN dropping for weakly water-wet samples for water saturations less than 0.4, which means weakly waterwet media are more easily water blocked than water-wet systems. In the situation where the initial water saturation exceeds 0.05, water block escalates along with an increase in initial water saturation.

Wettability modification effects on relative permeability end-points:Comparative analysis of surfactant agents for enhanced oil recovery

This research examines the impact of wettability alteration on the end points of relative permeability,a crucial property of fluids and porous media that influences the displacement processes of immiscible fluids through such media.The estimation of the mobility ratio for oil recovery relies on these end points,which are influenced by connate water saturation and residual oil saturation.To investigate this relationship,carbonate rock is generally subjected to wettability alteration using surfactant agents,and core flooding is employed to determine the relative permeability before and after the alteration.The wettability of the rock is commonly assessed through contact angle measurements.Two surfactants,TritonX-100(Tx-100)and Cedar,were tested in reducing the wettability of the porous media for oil.The contact angle measurements revealed that Tx-100 was more effective for this purpose than Cedar.Furthermore,the relative permeability tests indicated that both surfactants decreased residual oil saturation,but Tx-100 also improved system pressure.In contrast,Cedar reduced residual oil saturation but increased system pressure,possibly because of its high viscosity.The results also demonstrate that injecting Tx-100 leads to a 14%increase in ultimate oil recovery compared with water injection,while Cedar injection increased the recovery factor by 5%.This difference may be attributed to the incomplete coverage of the pore wall by Cedar or its weaker chemical structure than Tx-100.Notably,in carbonate cores,neither non-ionic surfactant enhanced oil recovery.

A Statistical Model for the Relative Hydraulic Conductivity of Water Phase in Unsaturated Soils

Permeability coefficients of fluids occupying the pore space of a porous medium have significant influence on the flow of these fluids through the porous medium. In the case of unsaturated soils, in addition to other parameters such as void ratio, void distribution, particle size distribution and initial density the degree of saturation also affects the permeability coefficient of water. The degree of saturation, in unsaturated soil, is directly related to the matric suction of the soil through soil water characteristic curve. Matric suction is one of the two stress state variables widely used to characterize the deformation behavior of unsaturated soils. Therefore, it can be stated that both flow and deformation behaviors of unsaturated soil are affected by the permeability coefficient of water. Numerical modeling of coupled deformation-flow behavior of unsaturated soil requires a mathematical equation that relates the permeability coefficient to the degree of saturation. Since the parameters that affect the permeability coefficient of water in unsaturated soil have similar direct or indirect effects on the soil water characteristic curve, permeability can be effectively predicted using the soil water characteristic curve as done in statistical models. In this paper, a statistical model is proposed for the permeability of water in unsaturated soil using soil water characteristic curve of the soil. The calibrated parameters of the soil water characteristic curve are directly used in the prediction of permeability with- out additional calibration using measured permeability data. The predictive capability of the new equation is verified by matching the measured data of eight different soils found in the literature.

Analysis of the bounded and unbounded forms of USBM wettability index

Understanding wettability is important in many processes where porous media and fluids are in contact.The U.S.Bureau of Mines(USBM)is one of the industry standard techniques for measuring wettability.This index is calculated as USBM=lg(A_(1)/A_(2)),where A_(1) and A_(2) are the areas under capillary pressure curves of oil-drive and water-drive processes,respectively.Usually,the USBM is mistakenly assumed to vary over the range of-1 to 1 and compared with other indices.In this study we indicate that the lower and upper bounds of this index are not fully known in practice.As a result,comparison between USBM and other indices may cause erroneous interpretations due to dissimilar ranges of variation.In addition,even during examining the USBM of a sample it may not be possible to accurately interpret its wettability.We highlight the bounded form of the USBM index(denoted as USBM^(*)=A_(1)-A_(2)/A_(1)+A_(2)),which varies over the range of -1 to 1,and suggest that it should replace the traditional form of USBM index.Twenty limestone coreplugs were collected from Asmari and Fahlian formations in two Iranian fields.These samples were used for performing primary imbibition relative permeability measurements,as well as primary imbibition and secondary drainage capillary pressure tests.These experiments are used to show the differences between USBM and USBM^(*)in comparative studies and compare them against other indices of Amott-Harvey,Lak and modified Lak.

砂岩油藏高倍数水驱物性及驱替特征变化规律研究进展

采用注水开发的砂岩油藏一般在进入到高含水阶段后,务必会经过长期的注水开发,水驱倍数一般较高,高倍水驱后储层的驱替特征会发生显著变化,从而会影响油田的驱油效率和最终的采收率。针对储层孔隙结构、渗透率、孔隙度、矿物组成、润湿性等参数,总结了各种参数的研究方法和技术手段,归纳了高倍水驱后储层微观孔隙参数和宏观参数的变化规律,阐述了研究过程中可能存在的问题,为后续的储层时变研究提供技术指导。

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.

储层中CO_2—水—岩石相互作用研究进展

本文综述了CO2对储层渗透率和储层岩石润湿性的影响、CO2与水间的相互作用,以及CO2、水与矿物(石英、硅酸盐和碳酸盐等)之间的相互作用。指出储层物性的改变会直接影响CO2的封存和EOR的效率;二氧化碳注入储层后,与地层水、储层岩石之间发生复杂的矿物溶蚀和沉淀作用是改变储层物性的直接原因。本文给出了大量可能发生的化学反应,讨论了影响反应速率的因素、研究中存在的问题和发展趋势,为今后实施CO2封存和EOR提供参考。

高含水期油藏储集层物性变化特征模拟研究

在华北油区的 5个主力高含水期砂岩油田不同沉积微相带上选取了具有可对比性的 2 92块岩样 ,采用室内模拟实验技术、密闭取心井分析技术和示踪剂监测技术 ,对储集层物理特征的变化进行了研究。结果表明 ,曲流河道和水下分流河道储集层物性相对较好 ,长期水驱后变化幅度较大 ,其渗透率和孔喉半径分别升高了 3 8%和 17% ,排驱压力和粘土矿物含量分别约降低了 2 3 %和2 4%。河口坝和近岸滩坝储集层物性较差 ,长期水驱后其变化幅度相对较小 ,渗透率和孔喉半径分别升高了 17%和 12 % ,排驱压力和粘土矿物含量分别约降低了 11%和 17%。各种储集层敏感性减弱 ,油水相对渗透率曲线发生了一定程度的变化 ,油层润湿性主要从弱亲水变为强亲水。该研究成果在制定高含水期油田开发调整方案、选择注采调整措施及设计三次采油方案中得到较好的应用。

三元复合驱后关键储层特征参数实验研究

确定三元复合驱对储层关键物性特征参数变化的影响程度是保证三元复合驱应用效果的重要前提。利用岩芯驱替及原子力显微镜探测等实验,对大庆油田某区块三元复合驱前后岩芯润湿性、敏感性、孔隙度与渗透率等物性参数的变化规律进行系统评价和分析。相对渗透率测定结果表明三元复合驱后储层岩石润湿性会发生改变,亲油性储层岩芯可反转为亲水润湿性;敏感性实验表明,三元复合体系对储层不同敏感性造成不同影响,主要表现在驱后水敏性增加但速敏性、酸敏性、碱敏性等有所降低。对储层孔渗统计分析表明,三元复合驱后岩芯孔隙度和渗透率绝对值均有所增加,且二者相关性较好;结合原子力显微镜对岩芯微观孔隙结构的观测结果进一步验证了孔渗改善的相关认识。

低孔低渗储层孔隙结构分形特征

选取4块低孔低渗储层的岩心样品,进行了岩心分析和压汞实验,获取了压汞曲线特征参数;利用分形理论分别以含水饱和度和水银饱和度对岩心样品进行了2种分形维数的计算.结果表明:低孔低渗储层的微观孔隙结构应为多分形结构;2种方法所计算的分形维数并不相同,而且对于同一块岩心的不同孔径范围也具有不同的分形维数;由水银饱和度所计算的分形维数可以反映储层物性特征,而由含水饱和度所计算的分形维数不能反映储层物性特征.

砂岩储层孔隙结构分形特征描述

在前人对孔隙结构分形特征研究的基础上,利用分形几何理论,建立了描述储层孔径分布的分形几何公式和储层毛管压力曲线的分形几何公式;利用岩心压汞测试资料,建立了描述孔隙结构的分形几何模型,探讨了砂岩孔隙结构的分形特征。研究表明孔隙的分形特征是分区域的,分形维数可以定量描述孔隙的非均质性,分形维数大,砂岩孔隙分布的非均质性强。依据建立的孔隙分形模型,在考虑孔隙结构、润湿性变化的基础上,根据函数公式和毛管束模型,推导出了油水相对渗透率的理论预测公式。根据所得到的理论预测公式,进行了相对渗透率曲线预测。预测结果表明,预测曲线与理论曲线是一致的。同时,可用于长期水驱后油水相对渗透率的预测和不同储层相渗曲线的归类,指导油田开发。

储层孔隙度-渗透率关系曲线中的截止孔隙度与储层质量

截止孔隙度可从储层孔隙度-渗透率关系曲线获取,是要获得某一特征渗透率所需要的孔隙度临界值,也是储集岩的岩石结构(杂基或灰泥的含量、碎屑的粒度和分选性)、自生矿物构成(如以孔隙衬里方式存在的自生矿物的数量)、白云石的含量和储层孔隙构成(粒间孔、晶间孔、粒内孔、铸模孔、大孔、中孔和微孔等)等各种沉积、成岩因素的表征。鄂尔多斯盆地陇东地区三叠系延长组不同油层组储层与0.1×10-3μm2渗透率对应的截止孔隙度大致变化在7%～12%之间,主要受印支期暴露时间间隔中大气水作用与次生孔隙形成的控制,如果以0.1×10-3μm2渗透率作为渗砂岩下限,相应孔隙度的下限也大致变化在7%～12%之间,这显然会影响不同油层组烃类的储量计算;以孔隙衬里方式存在的自生矿物对埋藏条件下储集空间具有保护作用,但这些胶结物数量的增加会导致储层截止孔隙度增加,储层质量比具有类似孔隙度但缺乏孔隙衬里胶结物的储层差;由不同类型孔隙构成的碳酸盐岩储层1×10-3μm2渗透率对应的截止孔隙度变化在5.4%～31.3%之间,粒间孔、晶间孔为主的碳酸盐岩截止孔隙度较小,储层质量较好,灰泥岩微孔为主的碳酸盐岩的截止孔隙度最大,储层质量最差,粒内孔和铸模孔为主的碳酸盐岩具有中等的截止孔隙度、中等的储层质量。