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SPE 10024
ABSTRACT
Waterflooding is the oldest and by far the most
important method used by the petroleum industry to
increase recovery from both onshore and offshore
reservoirs. Waterflood design is a complex problem
that must ultimately be handled on an individual
reservoir basis. This paper presents factors that
should be considered in designing both onshore and
offshore waterfloods.
The need for careful examination
following factors is discussed:
geology
the
method
of
1.
Reservoir
deposition
2.
3.
4.
Reservoir pressure
5.
Well spacing
patterns
and
and
of
possible
(i)
waterflood
INTRODUCTION
Waterflooding was first used over 100 years
ago, but it was not until the 1950's that it gained
popularity when field applications increased at a
rapid rate. At the present time, waterflooding is
so well regarded as a reliable and economic oil
recovery technique that almost every field that does
not have a natural water drive, is being or soon
will be waterflooded.
Waterflood projects from a
reservoir engineering viewpoint, are very tedious
and require detailed data.
There are two basic
classifications of water injection projects:
SPE 10024
Formation volume
flooding, RB/STB.
Swc
Sor
Residual
saturation
oil
waterflooding, fraction.
Ev
Ed
after
Npwf
2.
4.
5.
6.
1.
Geologic
(structure,
considerations (1, 3, 6).
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
1.
7.
Bof
V12 ( 1 - Swc) x {1
Boi
Rp - Boi x ( 1 - Ev x Ed)}
Bof
(1)
and
(Sorl (1 - Swc
Vp
Floodable
reservoir
(7758Ahl6), barrels
Boi
Original
RB/STB.
Ed
(2)
where:
formation
pore
volume
volume
factor,
204
SPE 10024
S. P. SIOOH, O. G. KIEL
Structural features
such as faults,
or
stratigraphic features such as shale outs, or any
other permeability barriers, will usually influence
waterflood design. An otherwise suitable reservoir
may be so highly faulted as to make any injection
program unattractive. For efficient production each
fault block must be considered a separate reservoir.
205
Ei
Unit displacement efficiency, Ed
Figure 6 depicts these three efficiencies (7).
Areal sweep efficiency is the pattern area that
has been displaced by water divided by the total
pattern area. Vertical sweep or invasion efficiency
is a measure of the uniformity of water invasion and
is defined as the cross sectional area contacted by
the injected fluid divided by the cross sect ional
area of the entire reservoir thickness behind the
injected fluid front.
The unit displacement
efficiency is that fraction of initial oil
saturat ion that has been displaced from pores by
water, thus:
x.!:!:!L
kro
--~--~-----
1 + kro Mw
krwMo
2.
1.
SPE 10024
Soi
Sor
(5)
Soi
(4)
Overall recovery efficiency ER,
displacement process can be written as:
by
the
AREAL SWEEP
Numerous studies have shown that the areal sweep
efficiency is a function of the following reservoir
and operating variables:
1.
2.
Mobility ratio
Permeability orientation
206
4.
5.
Formation dip
6.
Depleted zones
7.
SPE 10024
S. P. SINGH, O. G. KIEL
A wide variety of flood patterns (injection production well arrangement) have been studied.
Figure 7 shows the arrangement of various patterns
and Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of these
patterns (6). The efficiencies listed in Table 2
for various confined well patterns at breakthrough
indicate the effect of the type of pattern.
A
comparison of the data for the two direct line drive
patterns indicate that sweep is a function of
spacing ratio, the greater ratio resulting in higher
breakthrough sweep efficiency.
The areal sweep
efficiency of a developed pattern continue to
increase
after
water
breakthrough.
This
has been shown for five spot and line drives (8) and
for nine spots (9). The effect of off-pattern wells
was studied by Prats et al (10) and they found that
the oil recovery at breakthrough is always lower
with an off-pattern injection well. Sweepout beyond
normal pattern was studied by Caudle et al (11).
They found that at least 90 percent of the area
lying outside the last row of wells and within one
well spacing of these wells would ultimately be
swept by the injected water.
VERTICAL SWEEP
Landrum and Crawford (14) have studied the
effect of direct ional permeability on sweep
efficiency at unit mobility ratio, for a five spot
and direct line drive (square pattern).
Their
results are shown in Figure 9 for two relative
positions of directional permeability.
A 45 0
rotation of patterns could result in approximately
100 percent
sweep
for
the
five
spot
and
approximately zero sweep for a line drive.
207
SPE 10024
fw
3.
Viscosity of fluids.
4.
Gravity forces.
its
kro
)10
krw
b,p
Sin ad}
(8)
where:
2.
)1w
+--
1.
fw
= Formation permeability, md
kro
krw
)10
= Oil viscosity, cp
)1w
= Water viscosity, cp
qt
distribution
ad
b,p
( p
w-
0),
gmlcc
Pc
= Capillary
= Distance
Area of
direction
cross
section
normal
to
flow
(~
aL
= o
0 and
ad=O.O)
208
S wbt
- Swc
1.0 - Swc
(9)
SPE 10024
S. P.
SI~H,
o.
(10)
G. KIEL
1.
2.
Other
factors
such
as
permeability
variation, reservoir geometry, etc.
(ii) The
vertical
sweep
efficiency
is
influenced by viscous, capillary and
gravity forces. The viscous forces result
from the pressure gradient and thus are
proportional to the flow rate. In water
wet rocks, capillary forces can be
efficient in displacing oil from less
permeable portions of the reservoir. With
lower injection rates more time is
available
for
imbibition.
However,
published information (22) suggests that
rate variations of five-fold or more have
little effect on recovery. The degree of
gravity
segregation
depends
on
the
injection rate - lower values enhance the
tendency for water to under run the oil
and cause earlier water breakthrough.
However,
the
degree
of
gravity
segregation also depends upon horizontal
and vertical transmissibilities to fluid
movement.
Again, published information
(23) supports that a significant change in
flow rate is required to effect small
changes in volumetric sweep resulting
from gravity forces.
209
SPE 10024
5.
6.
(a)
(b)
Waterflooding
utilizing
a
repeating
pattern such as five spot, nine spot, etc.
PHERIPHERAL FLOODING
As the name implies, this technique ut ilizes
wells along the flanks of a reservoir for water
injection. For example, one of the worlds largest
offshore waterfloods is the Umm Shaif field (27) of
Ahu Dhabi which has 25 peripheral injection wells.
In such a flood, production wells can be shut in at
or shortly after water breakthrough, and the oil
recoverable at these wells will be recovered at the
next row of producers. Of course, the operator of a
peripheral flood may choose to convert watered - out
producers to injectors and thus keep injection wells
as close as possible to the water front without bypassing any oil. In dipping reservoirs this type of
flooding is preferred to take advantage of the
formation dip to even out of the waterflood front.
Some of the advantages and disadvantages of
peripheral flooding are as follows:
DESIGN OF WATERFLOODS
The
reservoir
waterfloods involves:
engineering
design
of
1.
2.
3.
Estimation
of
producing
expected oil recovery.
rates
1.
Generally
maximum
oil
recovery
is
obtained with a minimum of produced water.
Also,
production
of
significant
quantities of water can be delayed until
only the last row of producers remains.
2.
3.
Sufficiently
high
permeability
is
required to move water at the desired rate
over a distance of several well spacings
if the operator does not wish to convert
watered out producers to injectors.
and
The
interrelated
factors
affecting
oil
recovery have been discussed earlier.
It is
difficult to estimate water injection rates with any
accuracy using analytical methods. Frequently, the
most reliable injection data is obtained from pilot
tests or from similar waterfloods located nearby.
SELECTION OF A FLOODING PATTERN
The regular waterflood patterns yield areal
sweep efficiencies in the high permeability layers
approaching 100 percent at economic water-oil
ratios.
The proposed optimum waterflood pattern
should (6):
1.
2.
3.
4.
210
SPE 10024
S. P. SIOOH,
o. G. KIEL
1.
2.
Early
coordination
with
Drilling
Department for best directional drilling
and completion program.
3.
Determination
of
platform
size
to
accomplish desired drilling densi ty and
its
capRbility
to
hold
waterflood
facilities.
4.
5.
6.
7.
WELL SPACING
The major factor in recovering oil by
waterflooding is ,reservoir heterogeneity. In 1945,
Craze and Buckley (29) concluded that recovery
efficiency is independent of well spacing. Some of
the leading experts in the oil industry believe that
well spacing is the key to solving recovery problems
caused by heterogeneity (30). It is not difficult
to see that in reservoirs with limited lateral
communication
such
as
lenticular
sands
or
discont inuous porosity development in blanket
carbonate deposits, or in faulted reservoirs, there
should be an improvement in oil recovery with
reduced well spacing, but this is very difficult to
quantify.
Certainly, reduced well spacing does
allow for higher total injection and oil production
rates.
OFFSHORE RESERVOIRS
Waterflood operations in the offshore areas are
different, not so much in reservoir characteristics,
but in special operating considerations that exist
in the those regions. First, a high economic limit
is particular to offshore and the life of these
fields is shorter than onshore reservoirs. From the
standpoint of well spacing, the luxury of having
wells close together does not exist.
Thus, sand
continuity and fault patterns may not always be
completely understood.
Also wells are completed
into more than one sand.
In
addition
to
the
above
engineering
considerations, another important factor is a team
approach.
Since offshore development usually
requires "large" accumulations, it is very important
to maintain continuity of manpower over the first
few (five or so) years of a project.
Here, the
explorationist, engineer and project people must be
continually updated on new wells and how they fit
the plan.
Many changes take place in the early
years of a project.
The
uncertain
reservoir
configuration,
faulting, and large spacings usually preclude the
possibility of a pattern -type flood. Also, since
offshore operating costs are much higher than
onshore, most water injection projects (in the
absence of an active water drive) will be started
211
10
SPE 10024
SUMMARY
This paper presents important factors that
should be considered in designing both onshore and
offshore water injection projects.
The need for
carefully examining the reservoir geology, primary
production mechanisms, stage of depletion, rock and
fluid properties, etc. is discussed. A brief review
of effects of injection and production rates,
pattern type, well spacing, and injection timing on
waterflood recovery is also presented.
Since
offshore reservoirs are of significant concern and
do require speCial continued attention, a list of
important engineering factors pertaining to their
development is provided.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
Gaucher,
D.
H.,
and
Lindley,
D.
C.:
"Waterflood Performance in a Strat Hied Five
Spot Reservoir - A Scaled Model Study", Trans.
AIME (1960), 219, 208-215.
23.
24.
25.
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
8.
9.
10.
212
" J.
Pet.
SPE 10024
S. P. SIOOH, O. G. KIEL
26.
29.
27.
30.
28.
213
11
TABLE 1
CHARACTERISTICS OF DISPERSED
INJECTION PATTERNS (6)
Ratio of
Pracucing Hells
to In jection Wells
Pattern
Drilling Pattern
Required
Equilateral triangle
Four-spot
Skewed four-spot
Five-spot
Square
SquarE'
Equilateral triangle
Seven-spot
Inverted seven-spot
Equilateral triangle
Square
1/3
Nine-spot
Inverted nine-spot
(single injection well)
Direct line drive
Staggered line drive
Square
Rectangle
Offset lines of wells
TABLE 2
Type of Pattern
= 1.0
0.570
= 1.5
0.706
Five Spot
0.723
Seven Spot
0.740
0.800
1.5
TABLE 3
FACTORS AFFECTING VERTICAL SWEEP
Reservoir Parameters
1.
Formation stratification
(subdivision of format ion
into correlative noncommun ica t ing zones)
relative to other).
2.
Permeability variation
3.
Mobility ratio
In
systems
having
permeability
strat ificat ion,
an
unfavorable
mobility ratio tends to increase the
effect of permeabili ty variat ion and
decrease the vertical sweep.
The
reverse is true when the mobility
4.
5.
Capillary forces
In water wet
systems,
due to
imhibi t ion, capillary forces can
increase sweep in low permeability
layers.
6.
Cross flow
7.
Vert ical
sweep
increases
increased water throughput.
214
with
...
INJ.
PROD
PROD.
INJ.
..
PROD.
..
PROD.
INJ.
INJ.
[JPAY
CURRENT GEOLOGIC CONCEPT
NON CONTINUOUS PAY
FIGURE 1
OLD AND NEW GEOLOGIC CONCEPTS(4)
'A
5'
II
5'
:;;;::
5'
"''WEDGE'' AREA
.....:::::
III 10'
5'
5'
5'
"UNIFORM" AREA
(a)
(b)
>
!::
:;)
z
i=
z
U
I-
40
w
u
a: 20
w
a..
~
HORIZONTAL DISTANCE BETWEEN WELLS FEET
(c)
FIGURE 2
FLOODABLE PAY CONCEPTS(4)
215
5'
10 . .____~------~----~----. .
~
a:
>
~~1
O\V
d.~~
1~------~~~~~~~~~------~------~
en
:2:
...I
o .1.---~~~-------+------~------~
a:
w
I-
oCt
:i:
.1
10
100
1000
OIL VISCOSITY, CP
FIGURE 3
EFFECT OF OIL VISCOSITY ON WATER OIL
MOBILITY RATIO (6)
1.0
0.9
a:
w
I-
0.9
0.8
ffi
oCt
I-
:i: 0.7
u.
:i: 0.6
0.5
oCt
:i:
0.7
o
:i:
o...I
0.6 ...._-1-1--1-1'-1---#--1
U.
...I
0.5
u.
...I
U.
...I
...._---1I----jr-'/
~---+---I
...._---1I-I-iJ
oCt
0.4
I-
oCt
a: 0.3
oCt
0.4 '--111-1--1-+-+-1+---+---+--1
I-
a:
u.
0.8 .---t--)~y+--I-I-I--t---t
oCt
u.
0.2 ~--Ir-~"'-+-J-4I
~ 0.2I-Jr-tt-/ f--V--f--f--+--I
0.1
20
30
40
o ....~...-j~-'-...-j~-'-....
50
60
70 80
WATER SATURATION, % PORE VOL.
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
FIGURE 4
EFFECT OF OIL VISCOSITY ON
FRACTIONAL FLOW CURVE,
STRONGLY WATER WET ROCK(6)
FIGURE 5
EFFECT OF OIL VISCOSITY ON
FRACTIONAL FLOW CURVE,
STRONGLY OIL WET ROCK(6)
216
. , . - - - - -.. 8
SWEEP
EFFICIENCY
UNIT
DISPLACEMENT
EFFICIENCY
RESIDUAL OIL-~~~
FIGURE 6
FRACTION OF OIL RECOVERY BY WATERFLOODING
AS A FUNCTION OF 1) AREAL SWEEP EFFICIENCY
2) VERTICAL SWEEP EFFICIENCY AND 3) UNIT
DISPLACEMENT EFFICIENCY (7)
.... - --I
I
I
-.--- --.,.-----....-----,
,
I
I
;6
If----If
,e
'
t--:
t:
}----}6
;6
1d
CORNER:
: 7.
~
i
)Ll-} P
Q"
7 - SPOT \ :
jIf-----A
,e
:I
jJ---
JIf
r--/6
a ---'I
'
d:I
~ ~
I
I
Q
,I " ' ,
,"
\"
0
'.,4 - SPOT
,'"0
,':
'.
0
'-
6-------~-----b
,
6.
,0
""""c:r'" "
'
I
...
.: T :
:d :
(d)
....
a-,, ,,
NINE SPOT
jf---/f
SIDE
INJEcTION
,e p
~
WE~ :
.... ----..---- -- ------- ...
I
I
~_m_:~~~~ __ ~
'
I
I
I
o
o
o
;f
(e)
,
,
(e) 5 SPOT
SEVEN AND
FOUR SPOTS
d/a = 1/2
FIGURE 7
DIAGRAMATIC REPRESENTATION OF WATERFLOOD NETWORKS
217
SMALLEST AREA OF
FLOW SYMMETRY
100
'#. 90
I
>
u
z
80
w
~ 70
LL
LL
W
60
::J
0Q,.
w 50
w
~
(I)
..J
40
<t
w
a:
<t
as
w
1
10
100
MOBILITY RATIO
1000
FIGURE 8
AREAL SWEEPOUT PATTERN EFFICIENCY AS A
FUNCTION OF MOBILITY RATIO FOR THE FIVESPOT PATTERN OF VARIOUS PRODUCING CUTS (td)
100
100
90
90
80
80
>
u
Z
>
u
70
70
u 60
60
LL
LL
w 50
w
w
~ 40
(I)
LL
LL
30
20
;q'l'.,...
~~Itt
(I)
/
,I
,
5 SPOT
LINE DRIVE
5 SPOT
r L11
cr----~
30
--~~l
20
Li
10
$SA
0'l'/l
w 50
Q,.
w
w
~ 40
Q,.
.5
1.5
.2
2.5
.3
LINE DRIVE
1";--0--,
b.~]
~NKI
kSE I
~_.J
10
3.5
.5
1.5
kx/kv
kNE/ksE
(b)
(a)
FIGURE 9
THE EFFECT OF DIRECTIONAL PERMEABILITY
ON SWEEP EFFICIENCIES FOR VARIOUS DEGREES
OF PERMEABILITY ANISOTROPY FOR A FLUID
MOBILITY RATIO OF ONE (14)
218
2.5
3.5
75~------~~~--~~~--+-----------i
*~
120
11.
W
~ 501-----"~~~------------_r--~----~__1
~
~~
*- 100
ec
>
0
25~~~------+_----------+_~~--~__1
z
w
________
L = FRACTURE
LENGTH
______
________
~
w
11.
w 40
w
3:
en
(al
20
Unfavoration Orientation
. 0 2 . 03
u.
u.
1
2
THROUGHPUT - DISPLACEABLE VOLUMES
80
.0' . 02
. 03
#.
75.-------~~----------~--------_I
FIGURE 11
EFFECT OF PRODUCING RATIOS ON SWEEP EFFICIENCY
ON NINESPOT PATTERNI18)
t-
11.
~ 501-----#-----~----------_+----------__t
w
ec
251-~--------+_----------+_------~__i
(bl
Favorable Orientation
"
FIGURE 10
EFFECT OF FRACTURE LENGTH AND ITS
ORIENTATION ON AREAL SWEEP 1151
>
0
Z
100
(PERM. VARIATION)
!!!#.
o-:I:.
u.C!I
80
:b::J
0
11.
wec 60
w:l:
3:~
en~
0
-w
ecec
40
w~
20
~CD
~
....I
>
V~O.8
.01
.1
1.0
MOBILITY RATIO
10
Swt
100
WATER SATURATION, % PV
FIGURE 12
VOLUMETRIC SWEEP EFFICIENCY AT BREAKTHROUGH,
FIVESPOT PATTERN; ZERO INITIAL GAS SATURATION 1191
FIGURE 13
DETERMINATION OF AVERAGE WATER
SATURATION AT BREAKTHROUGH, Swbt
219