JOGMEC-TRC

Reservoir Engineering Course

Lecture 9: Recovery Method (2)

March, 2022

Lecturer: Hisanao Ouchi

Japan Oil Engineering Co., Ltd.

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 Primary
Natural Drive
Recovery

Artificial Lift

Secondary
Recovery Water Flooding

Gas Immiscible Flooding

Tertiary Thermal Recovery

Recovery
Chemical Flooding
(Enhanced Oil Recovery)
Gas Miscible Flooding

Secondary Recovery Others

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 Secondary Recovery
 Even if artificial methods are applied, the effects of those methods
on oil recovery are limited since those methods do not affect an oil
reservoir itself (only affecting on wells.
 Recovery factor only by applying the primary recovery is about 20 –
30 % at best except for some rarely exceptional reservoirs (very
strong water drive with favorable reservoir structure)

So, as a second step of oil recovery, the fluid injection methods

such as gas injection or water injection are applied to the oil
reservoirs. They are called “secondary recovery method”.
Injecting Gas Gas Injection (or Gas Immiscible Flooding)
Injecting Water Water Injection (or Water Flooding)

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Secondary Recovery

The expected effects of secondary recovery are as follows,

 Supporting Oil Drainage Energy

(= Supporting Reservoir Pressure)
 Oil Replacement by an Injecting Fluid
(= Pushing Oil toward Producers)

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Secondary Recovery
Gas Immiscible Flooding

Why gas should be injected

from the top of the reservoir
as a rule of thumb?

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Secondary Recovery
Water Flooding

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 Example of Secondary Recovery
Peripheral Water Flooding
Time : 2001-01-01 (Initial)

Producer
Water Injector

Oil Saturation (fraction) Field Performances

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 Example of Secondary Recovery
Peripheral Water Flooding
Time : 2005-01-01
Oil Production Pressure
Rate
Producer
Water Injector

Oil Saturation (fraction) Field Performances

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 Example of Secondary Recovery
Peripheral Water Flooding
Time : 2009-01-01
Oil Production Pressure
Rate
Producer
Water Injector

Oil Saturation (fraction) Field Performances

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 Example of Secondary Recovery
Peripheral Water Flooding
Time : 2009-01-01
Oil Production Pressure
Rate
Producer
Water Injector

Oil Saturation (fraction) Field Performances

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 Example of Secondary Recovery
Peripheral Water Flooding
Time : 2013-01-01
Oil Production Pressure
Rate
Producer
Water Injector

Oil Saturation (fraction) Field Performances

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 Example of Secondary Recovery
Peripheral Water Flooding
Time : 2017-01-01
Oil Production Pressure
Rate
Producer
Water Injector

Oil Saturation (fraction) Field Performances

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 Example of Secondary Recovery
Peripheral Water Flooding
Time : 2021-01-01
Oil Production Pressure
Rate
Producer
Water Injector

Oil Saturation (fraction) Field Performances

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 Example of Secondary Recovery
Peripheral Water Flooding
Time : 2024-01-01 (Final)
Oil Production Pressure
Rate
Producer
Water Injector

Oil Saturation (fraction) Field Performances

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Secondary Recovery
Water Flooding Patterns

Regular Four-Spot Skewed Four-Spot

Normal Nine-Spot Inverted Nine-Spot

Five Spot

Direct Line Drive Staggered Line Drive

Seven Spot Inverted Seven Spot

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Recovery Factor After Applying
Secondary Recovery
Secondary recovery Total
Primary recovery
Oil type (% extra of Oil in (Primary +
(% of Oil in Place)
Place) Secondary)
Extra heavy 1–5 -
Heavy 1 – 10 5 – 10 6 – 20
Medium 5 – 30 5 – 15 10 – 45
Light 10 - 40 10 - 25 20 - 65

Even after applying secondary recovery, more than 50%

of oil still remains in most of the reservoirs.
Volumetric Sweep Efficiency
Why?
Displacement Efficiency

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 Recovery Factor After Applying
Secondary Recovery
The ratio of the volume contacting the injected fluid to the total
reservoir volume is called “volumetric sweep efficiency.”
Volumetric sweep efficiency is further divided into the following
two factors.
Horizontal Area Contacting the Injection Fluid
 Areal Sweep Efficiency:
Total Horizontal Area

Cross Sectional Area Contacting the Injection Fluid

 Vertical Sweep Efficiency:
Total Cross Sectional Area

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Aerial Sweep Efficiency
Aerial sweep efficiency is highly affected by mobility ratio between the
mobility of the injection fluid and the mobility of the replaced fluid.

Mobility? Indicator to express how easily fluid moves:

Effective Permeability of the Fluid
Viscosity of the Fluid

Mobility Ratio? Ratio of the motilities between injection and

replaced fluid
Mobility of the Injection Fluid
Mobility of the Replaced Fluid (= Oil)

For example, in the case of water flooding, mobility ratio M = water mobility / oil mobility

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Aerial Sweep Efficiency

If the mobility ratio <= 1

Stable Displacement

If the mobility ratio > 1

Unstable Displacement (= Viscous Fingering)

Aerial sweep efficiency decreases.

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 Aerial Sweep Efficiency
The more mobility ratio increases, the more
heterogeneous displacement front appears.
Producer
M=(krw/mw)/(kro/mo)
Oil

M = 0.151 M = 1.0

M = 2.4 M = 4.58
Water

Injector

M = 17.3 M = 71.5
Source: B. Habermann, “The Source:
Efficiency of Miscible
B. Habermann, “TheDisplacement as a Function
Efficiency of Miscible of Mobility
Displacement Ratio,”
as a Function Trans.
of Mobility AIME
Ratio,” , vol.
Trans. 219,
AIME , vol. 21
no. 01, pp. 264–272, Dec. 1960,
no. doi: 10.2118/1540-G.
01, pp. (Reproduced
264–272, Dec. 1960, with permission
doi: 10.2118/1540-G. of Society
(Reproduced with of Petroleum
permission of Society of Engineers)
Petroleum Engineers)

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 Vertical Sweep Efficiency
 Vertical sweep efficiency is highly
Producer affected by the permeability
heterogeneities among the layers.

Injector  If density difference is huge between

the injection fluid and the replaced
fluid (for example, gas injection),
gravity segregation also affects the
vertical sweep efficiency.

Gravity segregation?

Vertical Sweep Efficiency

Blue Area Inside the Red Square
=
Total Area of the Red Square

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Displacement Efficiency
The porous medium levels of microscopic displacement efficiency
of oil by the injection fluid is called “displacement efficiency.”
Even if the area seems to be completely swept by the injection fluid from the
macroscopic point of view, displacement efficiency never becomes 0 due to the
existence of residual oil saturation as shown below.

Producer

Oil
Injector Water
Rock Grain

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Quiz: Recovery Factor Calculation
in the Secondary Recovery
Volumetric Sweep Efficiency = 50 %
Producer

Oil
Injector Water
Rock Grain

Residual Oil Saturation = 25 %

Irreducible Water Saturation = 20 %
(= Initial Oil Saturation = 80 %)

How much is the recovery factor of the water

flooding if the conditions shown left are known?
1  0.2   0.25
R factor  Evol  Edisp  0.5   0.34375
1  0.2

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Summary
Primary objective of secondary recovery methods
is to maintain reservoir pressure.

Recovery factor after applying the secondary

recovery method is typically 30 – 40%. This can be
explained by volumetric sweep efficiency and
displacement efficiency.

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Appendix

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Gravity Segregation
Since gas is lighter than fluid, gas moves upper region of the reservoir due to gravity
segregation effect. This phenomena is called “gravity override”.

Miscible Zone Oil Bank

Injector Producer
Gas

Unswept Region
Gas

Water

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