PETROLEUM SOCIETY PAPER 2008-127

Optimization of Displacement Efficiency

in a CO2 Flooding Reservoir
Under Uncertainty
S. CHEN, H. LI, D. YANG
Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC), University of Regina

This paper is accepted for the Proceedings of the Canadian International Petroleum Conference/SPE Gas Technology Symposium
2008 Joint Conference (the Petroleum Society’s 59th Annual Technical Meeting), Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 17-19 June 2008. This
paper will be considered for publication in Petroleum Society journals. Publication rights are reserved. This is a pre-print and
subject to correction.

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

Abstract
CO2 flooding can enhance oil recovery by up to 8-16% of
the original oil in place and might be suitable for about 80% of
oil reservoirs worldwide. In addition to miscibility,
displacement efficiency is another factor that needs to be
optimized for achieving high oil recovery. Although many
techniques have been made available for production
optimization in the upstream oil and gas industry, it is still a
challenging task to optimize reservoir performance in the
presence of physical and/or financial uncertainties. In this
paper, a new technique is developed to optimize the
displacement efficiency in a CO2 flooding reservoir under
uncertainty. More specifically, potential uncertainties
influencing reservoir performance are analyzed and assessed
by using the geostatistical technique. This enables us to
integrate the available information within a unified and
consistent framework and to generate multiple geological
realizations accounting for uncertainty and spatial variability.
Subsequently, the net present value (NPV) is selected as the
objective function to be optimized by using the genetic
algorithm, while well rates of the injectors and the flowing
bottomhole pressures for the producers are chosen as the
controlling variables. In addition, corresponding modifications
have been made to accelerate the convergence speed of the
genetic algorithm. A field case is used to demonstrate the
successful application of the newly developed technique. It has
also been found that the genetic algorithm combined with the
geostatistical technique can be used to optimize the
displacement efficiency under uncertainty in a CO2 flooding
reservoir.
Introduction
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) plays an increasingly
important role in the petroleum industry. Among the various
EOR processes, CO2 flooding is considered as the most
promising and practical process since it not only significantly
increases oil recovery, but also considerably reduces
greenhouse gas emissions by sequestrating CO2 into the
depleted reservoirs. In practice, CO2 flooding performance can
be greatly affected by the reservoir heterogeneity, which can
severely reduce the displacement efficiency, result in early CO2
breakthrough at the producers, and thus, leave a large amount of
bypassed oil in the reservoir. Thus, it is of fundamental and
practical importance to optimize production performance of a
CO2 flooding reservoir.
The main objective of production optimization in a CO2
flooding reservoir is to monitor and control the propagation of
the flood front, delay CO2 breakthrough at the producers, and
thus, increase the oil recovery and/or the net present value
(NPV). Such optimization is made possible by adjusting a set of
controlling variables (e.g., flow rates and/or flowing bottomhole
pressures)1. After an oil reservoir is put into production, it will
be converted from a static system into a dynamic system. Such
a system can be treated as a black box, to which injection fluids
including gas and water are considered as the inputs and from
which the production fluids are treated as the outputs. Changing
flow rate and/or bottomhole pressure of the well in turn changes
the dynamic state of the system (i.e., reservoir pressure and
fluid saturation distribution). These changes will subsequently
affect the cumulative production and then the oil recovery
and/or NPV.
In general, a field-scale production optimization problem
often encounters a complex reservoir model, production and
facilities-related constraints, and certain number of unknowns.
These factors have made the production optimization process
through rate and front control very complicated and time-
consuming. Thus, the production optimization applications to
date have been mostly limited to small problems. Besides,
production optimization process in a CO2 flooding reservoir
also requires integration of the geological properties, production
strategies and economic evaluation, which makes the process
even more complex because parameters such as permeability
distribution, oil price and fluid saturation distribution are
uncertain. These uncertainties can be caused by measurement
errors (especially for factors such as relative permeability),
upscaling errors and measurement at only a few clustered
locations. It is still largely unexplored and remains to be a
challenging task to optimize reservoir performance in CO2
flooding reservoirs, especially under practical field conditions
and physical and/or financial uncertainties.
In this paper, a new technique is proposed for implementing
field-scale production optimization in a CO2 flooding reservoir
under uncertainty. The genetic algorithm is used as an
optimization engine to optimize the reservoir performance,
while the geostatistical technique is employed to account for the
uncertainty. More specifically, the geostatistical technique is
first utilized to integrate the available information within a
unified and consistent framework and to generate multiple
geological realizations accounting for uncertainty and spatial
variability. History matching is then conducted to update each
of the geostatistically generated reservoir models. The NPV is
selected as the objective function, while the flow rates of the
injectors and the flowing bottomhole pressures of the producers
are chosen as the controlling variables. Certain principles are
also developed to provide proper selection of the injection rates
and flowing bottomhole pressures. A field case is finally
presented and analyzed to demonstrate the successful
application of the newly developed technique.
Geostatistical Technique and
Uncertainty Analysis
Successful implementation of various EOR methods requires
accurate description of the reservoir models which mainly
include an accurate determination of porosity, permeability and
other reservoir parameters. In the past several decades, the
geostatistical techniques have become increasingly important in
the effort to build complex reservoir models, which can meet
the demands imposed by the needs for improving reservoir
management, reservoir simulation, production prediction and
optimization. As for geostatistical reservoir characterization, it
is a common practice to generate a large number of realizations
of the reservoir model to assess the uncertainty in reservoir
description and performance prediction.
In this study, the conditional geostatistical technique is first
used to generate multiple equiprobable reservoir models. Then,
assisted history matching is conducted to reduce the uncertainty
of the reservoir petrophysical parameters. Finally, production
optimization is carried out based on each of the history-matched
models to quantify the uncertainty of the optimal production
performance.
Production Optimization
Principles of determining constraints
As for production optimization process, a crucial issue is to
generate the proper controlling variables (i.e., injector rates and
flowing bottomhole pressures for producers) so that the genetic
algorithm can be used to determine the optimum production
scenario for a CO2 flooding process. The following are the
principles utilized to generate the proper variables.
Producers: For a CO2 flooding reservoir, the flowing
bottomhole pressure for each producer needs to be maintained
at or higher than the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) for
ensuring miscibility between CO2 and crude oil in the reservoir.
Production and facilities-related constraints should also be met
in order to obtain steady production. Then, based on the flowing
bottomhole pressure for each producer, the corresponding
production rates can be firstly determined according to the
inflow performance relationship (IPR) curve.
Injectors: The total injector rate can be generated to maintain
the injection-production ratio to be in the range of 1.0 to 1.2.
Flow rate for each injector can then be determined on the basis
of the formation fracturing pressure, the total injection rate,
injectivity of the injector and the injection-production balance
with the surrounding producers.
Objective function
The purpose of this study is to optimize displacement
efficiency of a CO2 flooding process. More specifically, the
objective is to maximize the NPV of the CO2 flooding process,
which can be calculated by,
n
CI t − COt
NPV = ∑ − CPc
t =1 (1 + i ) t .
where n is the number of evaluation years; i is the discount rate,
which is equal to 0.12; CIt is the net profit due to the production
increase, $; COt is the net disbursement due to injection
augmentation, $; and CPc is the cost for changing the lifting
methods, $.
Case Study
Field background
The Pubei Oilfield is located in the west of the Taibei
concave in the Turpan-Hami basin, China. The reservoir
formation is integrated and well-connected with an undeveloped
fracturing system. The average depth of the reservoir is 3436 m, optimization process, the genetic algorithm and the uncertainty
while the original reservoir pressure is in the range of 37.5 to analysis will be presented in the subsequent full paper.
38.5 MPa. Reservoir temperature is 94ºC and the average
permeability is 110.5 md. Reservoir fluid is characterized as a
typical volatile oil with low density (0.803g/cm3), low viscosity Conclusions
(0.4 mPa·s), high formation volume factor (2.929), high content
of the light-ends (57.16 mol%) and high saturation pressure In this paper, a new and pragmatic technique is developed to
(31.14 MPa). The MMP between the reservoir oil and CO2 is optimize reservoir performance in CO2 flooding reservoirs
calculated to be 33.0 MPa by using the WinProp software under physical and/or financial uncertainties. The geostatistical
(CMG, Version 2007.10). technique is utilized to analyze and assess potential
uncertainties influencing reservoir performance. Principles for
Constraints of flow rates for injectors and generating the controlling variables (i.e., injection rates and
flowing bottomhole pressures for producers) are proposed. Then,
flowing bottomhole pressures for producers the genetic algorithm is employed as the optimization engine
Producers: The formation pressure for the Pubei Oilfield has and is proved to be suitable for handling the production
been maintained at 35.0 MPa. Since the MMP is 33.0 MPa, two optimization problems.
flowing bottomhole pressures are respectively selected for
producers which are 33.0 MPa and 34.0 MPa to ensure that
miscibility is always achieved between CO2 and crude oil in the Acknowledgments
reservoir.
Injectors: Water alternating gas (WAG) process is utilized in The authors acknowledge a Discovery Grant from the
this case study and the water-gas ratio is equal to 1.0. Based on Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
the principles mentioned previously, three flow rates for each of Canada and a research fund from the Petroleum Technology
injector are preliminarily determined. For example, the injection Research Centre (PTRC) to D. Yang.
rate candidates for CO2 in well PB 2-4 are selected to be 40000,
43000, and 50000 m3/d. NOMENCLATURE
i = discount rate, which is equal to 0.12
Uncertainty analysis t = index of the year
The uncertainty analysis will be provided in the full paper. CIt = net profit due to the production increase, $
Cop = cost for the production operation, $
COt = net disbursement due to injection
Results and Discussion augmentation, $
Partial results have been obtained for the optimization CPc = cost for changing the lifting methods, $
process, which show that the oil recovery after optimization is NPV = net present value, $
increased by about 3%. More results and discussion will be
provided in the full paper.
Partial results for the genetic algorithm calculation are shown REFERENCES
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can not be achieved. More results and discussion on the
70.5

70.0
Oil recovery (%)

69.5

69.0

68.5

68.0

67.5
0 200 400 600 800 1000

Children index
Figure 1 Oil recovery obtained by using genetic algorithm.