Experimental Evaluation of Shale Oil Development Effectiveness by Air Injection

Chao Chen, Xiang Tang, Ming Qin, Rui Zhou, Zhenhua Ding, Guihui Lian, Huan Qi, Xin Chen, Zheyu Liu and Yiqiang Li ()
Additional contact information
Chao Chen: Research Institute of Exploration and Development, Xinjiang Oilfield Company, Karamay 834000, China
Xiang Tang: China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Co., Ltd., Beijing 100070, China
Ming Qin: Research Institute of Exploration and Development, Xinjiang Oilfield Company, Karamay 834000, China
Rui Zhou: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Zhenhua Ding: Research Institute of Exploration and Development, Xinjiang Oilfield Company, Karamay 834000, China
Guihui Lian: Research Institute of Exploration and Development, Xinjiang Oilfield Company, Karamay 834000, China
Huan Qi: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Xin Chen: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Zheyu Liu: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Yiqiang Li: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: In recent years, as an important part of unconventional resources, the effective development of shale oil has been a key area of research in petroleum engineering. Given the widespread availability and low cost of air, the evaluation of air injection in shale reservoirs is a topic worth exploring. This paper analyzes the production performance of different methods of air injection development in the shale reservoir, including air flooding and air huff and puff (HnP), based on full-diameter core air injection experiments. Meanwhile, the characteristics of the residual oil and produced oil are revealed by forming a systematic evaluation method that includes nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), and gas chromatographic (GC) analysis. The results show that air flooding development is characterized by early gas breakthrough, long oil production period, and “L” shape oil production decline; while air HnP is characterized by first producing gas and then producing oil, rapid oil production, and high oil recovery efficiency in the first round. Compared with air flooding, the replacement efficiency of the first round of air HnP is significantly higher, demonstrating higher feasibility of air HnP in the early stages of development, although the cumulative recovery of three rounds air HnP (17.17%) is lower than that of air flooding (23.36%). The large pores (T 2 > 10 ms) are the main source of air injection recovery, while the residual oil is mainly concentrated in the medium pores (1–10 ms). Air injection development has a higher recovery factor for light components ( C 15 − ), resulting in a higher level of heavy components in the residual oil. This paper discusses the feasibility and development effectiveness of air injection in shale oil reservoirs, and its development characteristics are further clarified.

Keywords: shale oil; air flooding; air hnp; enhance oil recovery; residual oil; components (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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