A New Method for Optimizing Water-Flooding Strategies in Multi-Layer Sandstone Reservoirs

Junhui Guo (), Erlong Yang, Yu Zhao, Hongtao Fu, Chi Dong, Qinglong Du, Xianbao Zheng, Zhiguo Wang, Bingbing Yang and Jianjun Zhu
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Junhui Guo: MOE Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163712, China
Erlong Yang: MOE Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163712, China
Yu Zhao: E&D Research Institute, PetroChina Daqing Oilfield Company Limited, Daqing 163712, China
Hongtao Fu: Unconventional Petroleum Research Institute, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Chi Dong: MOE Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163712, China
Qinglong Du: E&D Research Institute, PetroChina Daqing Oilfield Company Limited, Daqing 163712, China
Xianbao Zheng: E&D Research Institute, PetroChina Daqing Oilfield Company Limited, Daqing 163712, China
Zhiguo Wang: E&D Research Institute, PetroChina Daqing Oilfield Company Limited, Daqing 163712, China
Bingbing Yang: E&D Research Institute, PetroChina Daqing Oilfield Company Limited, Daqing 163712, China
Jianjun Zhu: MOE Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163712, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: As one of the most important and economically enhanced oil-recovery technologies, water flooding has been applied in various oilfields worldwide for nearly a century. Stratified water injection is the key to improving water-flooding performance. In water flooding, the water-injection rate is normally optimized based on the reservoir permeability and thickness. However, this strategy is not applicable after oilfields enter the ultra-high-water-cut period. In this study, an original method for optimizing water-flooding parameters for developing multi-layer sandstone reservoirs in the entire flooding process and in a given period is proposed based on reservoir engineering theory and optimization technology. Meanwhile, optimization mathematical models that yield maximum oil recovery or net present value (NPV) are developed. The new method is verified by water-flooding experiments using Berea cores. The results show that using the method developed in this study can increase the total oil recovery by approximately 3 percent compared with the traditional method using the same water-injection amounts. The experimental results are consistent with the results from theoretical analysis. Moreover, this study shows that the geological reserves of each layer and the relative permeability curves have the greatest influence on the optimized water-injection rate, rather than the reservoir properties, which are the primary consideration in a traditional optimization method. The method developed in this study could not only be implemented in a newly developed oilfield but also could be used in a mature oilfield that has been developed for years. However, this study also shows that using the optimized water injection at an earlier stage will provide better EOR performance.

Keywords: sandstone oilfield; stratified water injection; optimized displacement; reservoir physical property; flow characteristics (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: 2024
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