Experimental study of the influencing factors and mechanisms of the pressure-reduction and augmented injection effect by nanoparticles in ultra-low permeability reservoirs

Nanoparticles(NPs)have gained significant attention as a functional material due to their ability to effectively enhance pressure reduction in injection processes in ultra-low permeability reservoirs.NPs are typically studied in controlled laboratory conditions,and their behavior in real-world,complex environments such as ultra-low permeability reservoirs,is not well understood due to the limited scope of their applications.This study investigates the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of NPs in decreasing injection pressure under various injection conditions(25—85℃,10—25 MPa).The results reveal that under optimal injection conditions,NPs effectively reduce injection pressure by a maximum of 22.77%in core experiment.The pressure reduction rate is found to be positively correlated with oil saturation and permeability,and negatively correlated with temperature and salinity.Furthermore,particle image velocimetry(PIV)experiments(25℃,atmospheric pressure)indicate that the pressure reduction is achieved by NPs through the reduction of wall shear resistance and wettability change.This work has important implications for the design of water injection strategies in ultra-low permeability reservoirs.

Optimization of Gas-Flooding Fracturing Development in Ultra-Low Permeability Reservoirs

Ultra-low permeability reservoirs are characterized by small pore throats and poor physical properties, which areat the root of well-known problems related to injection and production. In this study, a gas injection floodingapproach is analyzed in the framework of numerical simulations. In particular, the sequence and timing of fracturechanneling and the related impact on production are considered for horizontal wells with different fracturemorphologies. Useful data and information are provided about the regulation of gas channeling and possible strategiesto delay gas channeling and optimize the gas injection volume and fracture parameters. It is shown that inorder to mitigate gas channeling and ensure high production, fracture length on the sides can be controlled andlonger fractures can be created in the middle by which full gas flooding is obtained at the fracture location in themiddle of the horizontal well. A Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm is provided by which the gas injectionvolume and the fracture parameters of gas injection flooding can be optimized. It is shown that an improvedoil recovery factor as high as 6% can be obtained.

Numerical Simulation of Oil-Water Two-Phase Flow in Low Permeability Tight Reservoirs Based on Weighted Least Squares Meshless Method

In response to the complex characteristics of actual low-permeability tight reservoirs,this study develops a meshless-based numerical simulation method for oil-water two-phase flow in these reservoirs,considering complex boundary shapes.Utilizing radial basis function point interpolation,the method approximates shape functions for unknown functions within the nodal influence domain.The shape functions constructed by the aforementioned meshless interpolation method haveδ-function properties,which facilitate the handling of essential aspects like the controlled bottom-hole flow pressure in horizontal wells.Moreover,the meshless method offers greater flexibility and freedom compared to grid cell discretization,making it simpler to discretize complex geometries.A variational principle for the flow control equation group is introduced using a weighted least squares meshless method,and the pressure distribution is solved implicitly.Example results demonstrate that the computational outcomes of the meshless point cloud model,which has a relatively small degree of freedom,are in close agreement with those of the Discrete Fracture Model(DFM)employing refined grid partitioning,with pressure calculation accuracy exceeding 98.2%.Compared to high-resolution grid-based computational methods,the meshless method can achieve a better balance between computational efficiency and accuracy.Additionally,the impact of fracture half-length on the productivity of horizontal wells is discussed.The results indicate that increasing the fracture half-length is an effective strategy for enhancing production from the perspective of cumulative oil production.

Imbibition mechanisms of high temperature resistant microemulsion system in ultra-low permeability and tight reservoirs

Lower-phase microemulsions with core-shell structure were prepared by microemulsion dilution method.The high temperature resistant systems were screened and the performance evaluation experiments were conducted to clarify the spontaneous imbibition mechanisms in ultra-low permeability and tight oil reservoirs,and to direct the field microfracture huff and puff test of oil well.The microemulsion system(O-ME)with cationic-nonionic surfactant as hydrophilic shell,No.3 white oil as oil phase core has the highest imbibition recovery;its spontaneous imbibition mechanisms include:the ultra-low interfacial tension and wettability reversal significantly reduce oil adhesion work to improve oil displacement efficiency,the nanoscale“core-shell structure”formed can easily enter micro-nano pores and throats to expand the swept volume,in addition,the remarkable effect of dispersing and solubilizing crude oil can improve the mobility of crude oil.Based on the experimental results,a microfracture huff and puff test of O-ME was carried out in Well YBD43-X506 of Shengli Oilfield.After being treated,the well had a significant increase of daily fluid production to 5 tons from 1.4 tons,and an increase of daily oil production to 2.7 tons from 1.0 ton before treatment.

Profile improvement during CO_2 flooding in ultra-low permeability reservoirs

Gas flooding such as CO2 flooding may be effectively applied to ultra-low permeability reservoirs, but gas channeling is inevitable due to low viscosity and high mobility of gas and formation heterogeneity. In order to mitigate or prevent gas channeling, ethylenediamine is chosen for permeability profile control. The reaction mechanism of ethylenediamine with CO2, injection performance, swept volume, and enhanced oil recovery were systematically evaluated. The reaction product of ethylenediamine and CO2 was a white solid or a light yellow viscous liquid, which would mitigate or prevent gas channeling. Also, ethylenediamine could be easily injected into ultra-low permeability cores at high temperature with protective ethanol slugs. The core was swept by injection of 0.3 PV ethylenediamine. Oil displacement tests performed on heterogeneous models with closed fractures, oil recovery was significantly enhanced with injection of ethylenediamine. Experimental results showed that using ethylenediamine to plug high permeability layers would provide a new research idea for the gas injection in fractured, heterogeneous and ultra-low permeability reservoirs. This technology has the potential to be widely applied in oilfields.

The tectonic fracture modeling of an ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir based on an outcrop analogy: A case study in the Wangyao Oilfield of Ordos Basin, China

Due to inherent limits of data acquisition and geophysical data resolution, there are large uncertainties in the characterization of subsurface fractures. However, outcrop analogies can provide qualitative and quantitative information on a large number of fractures, based on which the accuracy of subsurface fracture characterization can be improved. Here we take the tectonic fracture modeling of an ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir based on an outcrop analogy, a case study of the Chang6t~ Formation of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Group of the Wangyao Oilfield in the Ordos Basin of China. An outcrop at the edge of the basin is a suitable analog for the reservoir, but the prerequisite is that they must have equivalent previous stress fields, similar final structural characteristics, relative timing and an identical depositional environment and diagenesis. The relationship among fracture density, rock type and bed thickness based on the outcrop is one of the most important fracture distribution models, and can be used to interpret fracture density in individual wells quantitatively. Fracture orientation, dip, geometry and scale, also should be described and measured in the outcrop, and can be used together with structure restoration and single well fracture density interpretation to guide fracture intensity prediction on bed surfaces and to constrain the construction of the 3D fracture geometry model of the subsurface reservoir. The application of the above principles shows the outcrop-based tectonic fracture models of the target ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir are consistent with fractures inferred from microseismic interpretation and tracer tests. This illustrated that the fracture modeling based on the outcrop analogy is reliable and can reduce the uncertainty in stochastic fracture modeling.

On the Development of an Effective Pressure Driving System for Ultra-Low Permeability Reservoirs

Given its relevance to the exploitation of ultra-low permeability reservoirs,which account for a substantial proportion of the world’s exploited and still unexploited reserves,in the present study the development of an adequate water injection system is considered.Due to the poor properties and weak seepage capacity of these reservoirs,the water injection pressure typically increases continuously during water flooding.In this research,the impact on such a process of factors as permeability,row spacing,and pressure gradient is evaluated experimentally using a high-pressure large-scale outcrop model.On this basis,a comprehensive evaluation coefficient is introduced able to account for the effective driving pressure.

Experimental study on the degree and damage-control mechanisms of fuzzy-ball-induced damage in single and multi-layer commingled tight reservoirs

Fuzzy-ball working fluids(FBWFs)have been successfully applied in different development phases of tight reservoirs.Field reports revealed that FBWFs satisfactorily met all the operational and reservoir damage control requirements during their application.However,the damage-control mechanisms and degree of formation damage caused by fuzzy-ball fluids have not been investigated in lab-scale studies so far.In this study,the degree of fuzzy-ball-induced damage in single-and double-layer reservoirs was evaluated through core flooding experiments that were based on permeability and flow rate indexes.Additionally,its damage mechanisms were observed via scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive spectroscopy tests.The results show that:(1)For single-layer reservoirs,the FBWF induced weak damage on coals and medium-to-weak damage on sandstones,and the difference of the damage in permeability or flow rate index on coals and sandstones is below 1%.Moreover,the minimum permeability recovery rate was above 66%.(2)For double-layer commingled reservoirs,the flow rate index revealed weak damage and the overall damage in double-layer was lower than the single-layer reservoirs.(3)There is no significant alteration in the microscopic structure of fuzzy-ball saturated cores with no evidence of fines migration.The dissolution of lead and sulfur occurred in coal samples,while tellurium in sandstone,aluminum,and magnesium in carbonate.However,the precipitation of aluminum,magnesium,and sodium occurred in sandstone but no precipitates found in coal and carbonate.The temporal plugging and dispersion characteristics of the FBWFs enable the generation of reservoir protection layers that will minimize formation damage due to solid and fluid invasion.

Determination of microscopic waterflooding characteristics and influence factors in ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir

Actual sandstone micromodel was used in this work to conduct the microscopic waterflooding experiment of ultra-low sandstone reservoir,since the inside seepage characteristics of microscopic waterflooding process of Chang 8 ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir of Upper Triassic Yanchang formation in Huaqing region of the Ordos Basin,China is difficult to observe directly.Combined with physical property,casting thin sections,constant-rate mercury injection capillary pressure and nuclear magnetic resonance,the influence of reservoir property on the waterflooding characteristics in pores were analyzed and evaluated.Seepage paths of waterflooding characteristics were divided into four types:homogeneous seepage,reticular-homogeneous seepage,finger-reticular seepage and finger-like seepage,the waterflooding efficiency of which decreases in turn.More than 70%of residual oil occurs as flowing-around seepage and oil film.Physical property,pore structure and movable fluid characteristics are all controlled by digenesis and their impacts on waterflooding efficiency are in accordance.Generally,the pore throat radius size and distribution and movable fluid percentage are closely related to waterflooding law.

The control effect of low-amplitude structure on oil-gaswater enrichment and development performance of ultra-low permeability reservoirs

Based on drilling, logging, test production and dynamic monitoring data, the control effects of low-amplitude structure on hydrocarbon accumulation and development performance of ultra-low permeability reservoirs were discussed by using the methods of dense well pattern, multi-factor geological modeling, macro and micro analysis and static and dynamic analysis. The results show that the low-amplitude structure always had a significant control and influence on the distribution and accumulation of original hydrocarbon and water and the evolution trend of water flooding performance in ultra-low permeability reservoirs, and it was not only the direction of oil and gas migration, but also a favorable place for relative accumulation of oil and gas. The controlling effect of low-amplitude structure on ultra-low permeability reservoir mainly depended on its tectonic amplitude and scale;the larger the tectonic amplitude and scale, and the higher the tectonic position of the low amplitude structure, the better the reservoir characteristic parameters, oil and gas enrichment degree and development effect, and the larger the spatial scope it controlled and influenced;water cut and oil well output always fluctuated orderly with the height of the low-amplitude structure;the dynamic response of waterflooding was closely related to the relative structural position of the injection and production wells;the injected water always advanced to the low-lying area of the structure first and then moved up to the high-lying area of the structure gradually;with the continuous expansion of the flooded area, part of the oil and gas in the low-lying part of the structure was forced to be distributed to the high part of the structure, resulting in a new oil and gas enrichment, so that the dynamic reserves of oil wells in the high part increased, and the production capacity remained stable.

Method of moderate water injection and its application in ultra-low permeability oil reservoirs of Yanchang Oilfield, NW China

To explore the method of improving development effect and solving the problem of water breakthrough and water out for ultralow permeability fractured reservoirs, an indoor evaluation method of dynamic imbibition for fracture-matrix system was established taking the Chang 8 reservoir in southern Yanchang Oilfield as a research target. Key factors for the imbibition effect were obtained, an imbibition's rate expression was obtained, a model considering the double effects of imbibition-displacement was built and optimal injection and production parameters for the research area were obtained as well. The results show that an optimum displacement rate that maximizes the oil displacement efficiency exists in the water displacing oil process, and the optimal displacing rate becomes smaller as the permeability decreases. The imbibition displacement efficiency increases as the reservoir quality index and water wettability index of rock become bigger. But the larger the initial water saturation or oil-water viscosity ratio is, the smaller the imbibition displacement efficiency is. The optimal injection-production ratio for the Chang 8 reservoir of southern Yanchang Oilfield is 0.95, and the predicted recovery is 17.2% when the water cut is 95%, it is 2.9% higher than the recovery of conventional injection-production ratio 1.2. By using the moderate water injection technique based on the double effects of imbibition-displacement mechanism, the water injection development effect for the ultra-low permeability fractured reservoirs can be improved significantly.

A quantitative evaluation for well pattern adaptability in ultra-low permeability oil reservoirs:A case study of Triassic Chang 6 and Chang 8 reservoirs in Ordos Basin

Based on the previous studies and development practice in recent 10 years, a quantitative evaluation method for the adaptability of well patterns to ultra-low permeability reservoirs was established using cluster analysis and gray correlation method, and it includes 10 evaluation parameters in the four aspects of optimal evaluation parameters, determination of weights for evaluation parameters, development stage division, and determination of classification coefficients. This evaluation method was used to evaluate the well pattern adaptability of 13 main ultra-low permeability reservoirs in Triassic Chang 6 and Chang 8 of Ordos Basin. Three basic understandings were obtained: Firstly, the well pattern for ultra-low permeability type-I reservoirs has generally good adaptability, with proper well pattern forms and well pattern parameters. Secondly, square inverted nine-spot well pattern is suitable for reservoirs with no fractures; rhombic inverted nine-spot injection pattern is suitable for reservoirs with some fractures; and rectangular well pattern is suitable for reservoirs with rich fractures. Thirdly, for the ultra-low permeability type-Ⅱ and type-Ⅲ reservoirs, with the principles of well pattern form determination, the row spacing needs to be optimized further to improve the level of development of such reservoirs.

An Experimental Study on the Effect of a Nanofluid on Oil-Water Relative Permeability

The low porosity and low permeability of tight oil reservoirs call for improvements in the current technologies for oil recovery.Traditional chemical solutions with large molecular size cannot effectively flow through the nanopores of the reservoir.In this study,the feasibility of Nanofluids has been investigated using a high pressure high temperature core-holder and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR).The results of the experiments indicate that the specified Nanofluids can enhance the tight oil recovery significantly.The water and oil relative permeability curve shifts to the high water saturation side after Nanofluid flooding,thereby demonstrating an increase in the water wettability of the core.In the Nanofluid flooding process the oil recovery was enhanced by 15.1%,compared to waterflooding stage.The T2 spectra using the NMR show that after Nanofluid flooding,a 7.18%increment in oil recovery factor was gained in the small pores,a 4.9%increase in the middle pores,and a 0.29%increase in the large pores.These results confirm that the Nanofluids can improve the flow state in micro-sized pores inside the core and increase the ultimate oil recovery factor.

Synchronous injection-production energy replenishment for a horizontal well in an ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir: A case study of Changqing oilfield in Ordos Basin, NW China

It is difficult to build an effective water flooding displacement pressure system in the middle section of a horizontal well in an ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir.To solve this problem,this study proposes to use packers,sealing cannula and other tools in the same horizontal well to inject water in some fractures and produce oil from other fractures.This new energy supplement method forms a segmental synchronous injection-production system in a horizontal well.The method can reduce the distance between the injection end and the production end,and quickly establish an effective displacement system.Changing the displacement between wells to displacement between horizontal well sections,and point water flooding to linear uniform water flooding,the method can enhance water sweeping volume and shorten waterflooding response period.The research shows that:(1)In the synchronous injection and production of horizontal well in an ultra-low-permeability sandstone reservoir,the water injection section should select the section where the natural fractures and artificial fractures are in the same direction or the section with no natural fractures,and the space between two sections should be 60?80 m.(2)In addition to controlling injection pressure,periodic water injection can be taken to reduce the risk of re-opening and growth of natural fractures or formation fracture caused by the gradual increase of water injection pressure with water injection going on.(3)Field tests have verified that this method can effectively improve the output of single well and achieve good economic benefits,so it can be widely used in the development of ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoirs.

Stress sensitivity of tight reservoirs during pressure loading and unloading process

Laboratory experiments were conducted on laboratory-made tight cores to investigate the stress-dependent permeability hysteresis of tight reservoirs during pressure loading and unloading process. Based on experiment results, and Hertz contact deformation principle, considering arrangement and deformation of rock particles, a quantitative stress dependent permeability hysteresis theoretical model for tight reservoirs was established to provide quantitative analysis for permeability loss. The model was validated by comparing model calculated results and experimental results. The research results show that during the early pressure-loading period, structural deformation and primary deformation worked together, rock permeability reduced dramatically with increasing effective stress. When the effective stress reached a certain value, the structural deformation became stable while the primary deformation continued; the permeability variation tended to be smooth and steady. In the pressure unloading process, the primary deformation recovered with the decreasing effective stress, while the structural deformation could not. The permeability thus could not fully recover, and the stress-dependent hysteresis was obvious.

Experimental Investigation on the Pressure Propagation Mechanism of Tight Reservoirs

Low permeability tight sandstone reservoirs have a high filtrational resistance and a very low fluid flow rate.As a result,the propagation speed of the formation pressure is low and fluid flow behaves as a non-Darcy flow,which typically displays a highly non-linear behavior.In this paper,the characteristics and mechanism of pressure propagation in this kind of reservoir are revealed through a laboratory pressure propagation experiment and through data from an actual tight reservoir development.The main performance mechanism is as follows:A new pressure cage concept is proposed based on the pressure variation characteristics of the laboratory experiments.There are two methods of energy propagation in the actual water injection process:one is that energy is transmitted to the deep reservoir by the fluid flowing through the reservoir,and the other is that energy is transmitted by the elasticity of the reservoir.For one injection well model and one production well model,the pressure distribution curve between the injection and production wells,as calculated by the theoretical method,has three section types,and they show an oblique“S”shape with a straight middle section.However,the actual pressure distribution curve is nonlinear,with an obvious pressure advance at the front.After the injection pressure increases to a certain level,the curve shape is an oblique and reversed“S”shape.Based on the research,this paper explains the deep-seated reasons for the difference in pressure distribution and proposes that it is an effective way to develop low permeability tight reservoirs using the water injection supplement energy method.

Characteristics of Tight Sandstone Reservoirs and Controls of Reservoir Quality: A Case Study of He 8 Sandstones in the Linxing Area, Eastern Ordos Basin, China

Determining the process of densification and tectonic evolution of tight sandstone can help to understand the distribution of reservoirs and find relatively high-permeability areas.Based on integrated approaches of thin section,scanning electron microscopy(SEM),cathode luminescence(CL),nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR),X-ray diffraction(XRD),N2 porosity and permeability,micro-resistivity imaging log(MIL)and three-dimensional seismic data analysis,this work discussed the reservoir characteristics of the member 8 of the Permian Xiashihezi Formation(He 8 sandstones)in the Linxing area of eastern Ordos Basin,determined the factors affecting reservoir quality,and revealed the formation mechanism of relatively high-permeability areas.The results show that the He 8 sandstones in the Linxing area are mainly composed of feldspathic litharenites,and are typical tight sandstones(with porosity<10%and permeability<1 mD accounting for 80.3%of the total samples).Rapid burial is the main reason for reservoir densification,which resulted in 61%loss of the primary porosity.In this process,quartz protected the original porosity by resisting compaction.The cementation(including carbonate,clay mineral and siliceous cementation)further densified the sandstone reservoirs,reducing the primary porosity with an average value of 28%.The calcite formed in the eodiagenesis occupied intergranular pores and affected the formation of the secondary pores by preventing the later fluid intrusion,and the Fe-calcite formed in the mesodiagenetic stage densified the sandstones further by filling the residual intergranular pores.The clay minerals show negative effects on reservoir quality,however,the chlorite coatings protected the original porosity by preventing the overgrowth of quartz.The dissolution of feldspars provides extensive intergranular pores which constitute the main pore type,and improves the reservoir quality.The tectonic movements play an important role in improving the reservoir quality.The current tectonic traces of the study area are mainly controlled by the Himalayan movement,and the high-permeability reservoirs are mainly distributed in the anticline areas.Additionally,the improvement degree(by tectonic movements)of reservoir quality is partly controlled by the original composition of the sandstones.Thus,the selection of potential tight gas well locations in the study area should be focused on the anticline areas with relatively good original reservoir quality.And the phenomena can be referenced for other fluvial tight sandstone basins worldwide.

Porosity Calculation of Tight Sand Gas Reservoirs with GA-CM Hybrid Optimization Log Interpretation Method

Tight sand gas reservoirs are our country’s fairly rich unconventional natural gas resources, and their exploration and development is of prime importance. Sulige Gas Field which located in the northern Ordos Basin is tight sand gas reservoirs. It is typically featured by low porosity and low permeability, and the error of porosity calculation by traditional methods is larger. Multicomponent explanation model is built by analyzing the thin slice data, and the objective function is got according to the concept of optimization log interpretation method. This paper puts the Genetic Algorithm and the Complex Algorithm together to form the GA-CM Hybrid Algorithm for searching the optimal solution of the objective function, getting the porosity of tight sandstone gas reservoirs. The deviation got by this method is lesser compared with the core porosity, with a high reliability.

基于微观流固耦合的超深层致密砂岩气藏应力敏感性分析

超深层致密砂岩气藏具有强应力敏感性,目前常用的研究方法包括压力脉冲实验法和实时在线CT扫描法两种,压力脉冲实验法不能揭示产生应力敏感性的微观机理,而实时在线CT扫描法也无法模拟深部地层高压、高应力的条件。为解决应力敏感性实验研究的不足,基于离散单元法与管道网络模型建立了微观流固耦合算法,编制了模拟器,并对模拟器力学计算和流固耦合模块的正确性进行了验证,分析了应力大小、加载方向和孔隙压力对岩心渗透率的影响,最后从微观上揭示了超深层致密砂岩气藏的应力敏感性机理。研究结果表明:①应力通过增加与之垂直方向上喉道两侧的法向压力,减小喉道的水力半径,进而降低储层的渗透率;②较高的孔隙压力能够阻碍岩石颗粒在应力作用下的移动,从而减缓了孔隙和喉道的变形,使模型保持较高的渗透率;③致密砂岩气藏的渗透率受到应力和地层压力的共同控制,并且具有各向异性,在垂直于最小主应力方向上形成渗透率较大的优势通道;④异常高压阻碍了地应力的压实作用,有利于保护储层孔隙,使地层有较好的储集性能和较高的渗透率。结论认为,根据离散元法结合孔隙网络模型建立的流固耦合方法可为理解超深层致密砂岩应力敏感性提供理论参考,并为超深层致密砂岩气藏的科学高效开发提供指导。

低渗致密气藏防水锁剂配方性能评价

基于吐哈油田低渗致密气藏,研发一种新型气藏防水锁剂GY-HE85,对其界面张力、表面张力和润湿性等基本性能进行研究,并分析了岩心渗透率恢复效果。实验结果表明,氟碳表面活性剂与碳氢表面活性剂复配后,碳氢表面活性剂除降低界面张力的作用之外,由于异电性亲水基之间强烈的静电吸引作用,表面活性剂分子在更低含量即可达到饱和吸附,还可降低表面活性剂的使用量。防水锁剂GY-HE85含量为0.1%~0.5%(w)的溶液时,表面张力为20.23~47.52 mN/m,随着溶液含量减小,拟黏附功逐渐降低,降幅呈“先快后慢”趋势,防水锁剂GY-HE85溶液优选含量为0.3%(w)。防水锁剂GY-HE85溶液具有较好的抗吸附性能,岩心渗透率恢复率在86.44%~91.20%,较好地预防了致密气藏储层“水锁”现象的发生。