Application of New Water Flooding Characteristic Curve in the High Water-Cut Stage of an Oilfield

The oil production predicted by means of the conventional water-drive characteristic curve is typically affected by large deviations with respect to the actual value when the so-called high water-cut stage is entered.In order to solve this problem,a new characteristic relationship between the relative permeability ratio and the average water saturation is proposed.By comparing the outcomes of different matching methods,it is verified that it can well reflect the variation characteristics of the relative permeability ratio curve.Combining the new formula with a reservoir engineering method,two new formulas are derived for the water flooding characteristic curve in the high water-cut stage.Their practicability is verified by using the production data of Mawangmiao and Xijiakou blocks.The results show that the error between the predicted cumulative oil production and production data of the two new water drive characteristic curves is less than the error between the B-type water drive characteristic curve and the other two water drive characteristic curves.It is concluded that the two new characteristic curves can be used to estimate more accurately the recoverable reserves,the final recovery and to estimate the effects of water flooding.

An effective method to predict oil recovery in high water cut stage

The water flooding characteristic curve method based on the traditional regression equation between the oil and water phase permeability ratio and the water saturation is inappropriate to predict the oil recovery in the high water cut stage. Hence, a new water flooding characteristic curve equation adapted to the high water cut stage is proposed to predict the oil recovery. The water drive phase permeability experiments show that the curve of the oil and water phase permeability ratio vs. the water saturation, in the semi-logarithmic coordinates, has a significantly lower bend after entering the high water cut stage, so the water flooding characteristic curve method based on the traditional regression equation between the oil and water phase permeability ratio and the water saturation is inappropriate to predict the oil recovery in the high water cut stage; therefore, a new water flooding characteristic curve equation based on a better relationship between ln（kro/k,.~） and S~ is urgently desirable to be established to effectively and reliably predict the oil recovery of a water drive reservoir adapted to a high water cut stage. In this paper, by carrying out the water drive phase permeability experiments, a new mathematical model between the oil and water phase permeability ratio and the water saturation is established, with the regression analysis method and an integration of the established model, the water flooding characteristic curve equation adapted to a high water cut stage is obtained. Using the new water flooding characteristic curve to predict the oil recovery of the GD3-block of the SL oilfield and the J09-block of the DG oil field in China, results with high predicted accuracy are obtained.