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Waterflooding: Development Geology Reference Manual
Waterflooding: Development Geology Reference Manual
Chapter Waterflooding
Waterflooding is a process used to inject water into an oil-bearing reservoir for pressure
maintenance as well as for displacing and producing incremental oil after (or sometimes before)
the economic production limit has been reached. This is done through the displacement of oil and
free gas by water. In waterflooding, water is injected into one or more injection wells while the
oil is produced from surrounding producing wells spaced according to the desired patterns. There
are many different waterflood patterns used in the industry, the most common of which are
illustrated in Figure 1.
Contents
1 Quick estimation of waterflood recovery
2 Mathematical modeling of waterfloods
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
Quick estimation of waterflood recovery
Figure 5 Effect of mobility ratio on oil production for the five-spot pattern.[1]
The overall recovery (ER) is a product of displacement efficiency (ED), invasion or vertical
sweep efficiency (EV) and the pattern or areal sweep efficiency (EP).
where
The displacement efficiency is a function of residual oil saturation (Sor) of the swept region. The
following equation gives the displacement efficiency as a function of Sor and the interstitial
(irreducible) water saturation (Swi):
where
The displacement efficiency depends upon the ratio of the viscous to capillary forces or capillary
number. In enhanced recovery processes, the interfacial tension between the oil and water is
reduced to improve the capillary number.[4]
The vertical sweep efficiency is a function of the vertical heterogeneity (layering) and the
mobility ratio (M). The mobility ratio defined here is the ratio of the relative permeability to
water at Sor (krw) to the relative permeability of the oil at Swi multiplied by the oil-water viscosity
ratio (μo/μw) as expressed in the following equation:
where
M = mobility ratio, or the ratio of relative permeability to water at Sor divided by the
relative permeability of oil at Swi multiplied by the oil-water viscosity ratio
krw = relative permeability of water
kro = relative permeability of oil
μo = viscosity of oil
μw = viscosity of water
where
The pattern efficiency is a function of the previously defined mobility ratio, the flood pattern,
and given water cut. Figure 5 shows the pattern efficiency as a function of mobility ratio and
water cut for a five-spot pattern. Craig[1] shows similar plots for several other common patterns.
A word of caution is appropriate at this point. The knowledge of directional permeability can be
crucial in placement of pattern injectors. The injectors should always line up in the direction of
maximum permeability. As shown in Figure 6, infill drilling can rotate the flow pattern and in
some cases it can reduce the areal sweep efficiency, as exemplified in this figure for a five-spot
and line-drive case. As shown, the sensitivity of the sweep efficiency to the ratio of maximum to
minimum areal permeability depends heavily upon whether the maximum permeability is in the
direction of injection to injection wells or injection to production wells.
Estimate the overall recovery of a five-spot waterflood for the following cases:
Solution:
The rest of the solution is given in the following table:
See also
Enhanced oil recovery
Drive mechanisms and recovery
Reservoir modeling for simulation purposes
Reserves estimation
Fluid flow fundamentals
Introduction to reservoir engineering methods
Petroleum reservoir fluid properties
References
1. ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Craig, F. F., 1971, Reservoir engineering aspects of
waterflooding: Richardson, TX, Society of Petroleum Engineers Monograph Series, v. 3.
2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dykstra, H., Parsons, R. L., 1950, Secondary recovery of oil in U., S.:
American Petroleum Institute Publication, p. 160–174.
3. Jump up ↑ Landrum, B. L., Crawford, P. B., 1960, Petroleum Transactions, AIME, v.
219, p. 407.
4. Jump up ↑ Willhite, P. G., 1986, Waterflooding: Society of Petroleum Engineers
Textbook Series No. 3, chap. 2.
5. Jump up ↑ Bradley, H. B., ed., 1987, Petroleum Engineering Handbook: Richardson, TX,
Society of Petroleum Engineers.
External links
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