Browsing by Subject "Fractured reservoirs"
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Item Experimental investigation of imbibition in oil-wet carbonates under low IFT conditions(2016-08) Li, Yuxiang, M.S. in Engineering; Pope, G. A.; Mohanty, Kishore KNatural reservoir drives and waterflooding in naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs with an oil-wet matrix generate very low oil production. Surfactants enhance oil recovery in these reservoirs by altering wettability and reducing interfacial tension (IFT). The main purpose of this research was to determine how to scale up low IFT surfactant imbibition from the lab to fractured, oil-wet carbonate reservoirs. A series of imbibition experiments were conducted using cores with different horizontal (i.e. diameter) and vertical (i.e. height) dimensions. Their fractional oil recoveries (% OOIP) were systematically measured to better understand how to scale up the surfactant imbibition process. There was a particular need to perform experiments using cores with larger horizontal dimensions since almost all previous experiments in the literature used cores with a small diameter, typically 3.8 cm. The core diameters in this study varied from 3.8 to 20 cm. The traditional static imbibition experimental method was adapted and modified by periodically flushing out fluids surrounding the cores inside the cells to better estimate the oil recovery, including the significant amount of oil produced as an emulsion. The high performance surfactant formulations for the oils used on in this study were developed using microemulsion phase behavior tests. These surfactants gave ultra-low IFT (on the order of 0.001 dynes/cm) at optimal salinity and good aqueous stability. Although most of the experiments used ultra-low IFT formulations, experiments using higher IFT (on the order of 0.1 dynes/cm) formulations were also performed for comparison. Even for the higher IFT experiments, the capillary pressure is very small compared to gravity and viscous pressure gradients. In addition, experiments were done to understand the role of other variables on oil recovery, such as matrix permeability, surfactant and co-solvent concentrations, microemulsion viscosity, and oil viscosity. A simple analytical model was developed to predict the oil recovery as a function of vertical and horizontal fracture spacing, rock and fluid properties, and time. The model and experimental data are in good agreement considering the many simplifications made to derive the model. Both experimental data and the model showed that the oil recovery was lower for cores with larger horizontal and vertical dimensions. However, the decrease was not proportional to an increase in these dimensions. The scaling implied by the model is significantly different than the traditional scaling groups in the literature.Item Implementation and application of the embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) for reservoir simulation in fractured reservoirs(2015-12) Xu, Yifei; Sepehrnoori, Kamy, 1951-; Chin, LeeFractured reservoirs have gained continuous attention from oil and gas industry. A huge amount of hydrocarbon are trapped in naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs. Besides, the advanced technology of multi-stage hydraulic fracturing have gained a great success in economic development of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. Fractures add complexity into reservoir flow and significantly impact the ultimate recovery. Therefore, it is important yet challenging to accurately and effectively predict the recovery from fractured reservoirs. Conventional dual-continuum approaches, although effective in the simulation of naturally fractured reservoirs, may fail in some cases due to the highly idealized reservoir model. The unstructured-grid discrete fracture models, although flexible in representing complex fracture geometries, are restricted by the high complexity in gridding and high computational cost. An Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) was recently developed to honor the accuracy of discrete fracture models while keeping the efficiency offered by structured gridding. By dividing the fractures into segments using matrix cell boundaries and creating non-neighboring connections (NNCs), the flow influence of fractures can be efficiently modeled through transport indices. In this work, the EDFM was implemented in UTCHEM, a chemical flooding in-house reservoir simulator developed at The University of Texas, to study complex recovery processes in fractured reservoirs. In addition, the model was applied in commercial simulators by making use of the non-intrusive property of the EDFM and the NNC functionality offered by the simulators. The accuracy of the EDFM in the modeling of orthogonal, non-orthogonal, and inclined fractures was verified against fine-grid explicit fracture simulations. Furthermore, case studies were performed to investigate the influence of hydraulic fracture orientations on primary depletion and the impact of large-scale natural fractures on water flooding processes. The influence of matrix grid size and fracture relative permeability was also studied. Finally, with modifications in NNC transmissibility calculation, the EDFM was applied to the modeling of a multi-lateral well stimulation technology. The accuracy of the modified formulations was verified through comparison with a multi-branch well method. The simulations carried out in this work confirmed the flexibility, applicability, and extensiveness of the EDFM.Item Mobility control of gas injection in highly heterogeneous and naturally fractured reservoirs(2016-05) Cavalcante Filho, Jose Sergio de Araujo; Sepehrnoori, Kamy, 1951-; Delshad, Mojdeh; Mohanty, Kishore; Chin, Lee; Moinfar, AliSince a significant portion of the world's oil reserves resides in naturally fractured reservoirs (NFR), it is important to maximize oil production from these reservoirs. Mobility control EOR techniques, such as water alternating gas (WAG) and foam injection, may be used in NFRs to improve oil recovery. Foam injection may be modeled by empirical or mechanistic models, the latter being capable of representing foam generation and coalescence effects. Numerical models are needed to evaluate EOR techniques in NFR. The Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) is capable of representing conductive faults or fractures and describing NFR and unconventional reservoirs as a triple porosity medium (hydraulic fractures, natural fractures, and matrix). This work aims at developing a general EDFM framework to allow the evaluation of different mobility control EOR methods in NFR. The mobility control EOR methods evaluated were the WAG and continuous foam injection. The formulation used to evaluate mobility control by foam injection in NFR was the population balance assuming local equilibrium and the Pc* models. Nanoparticle transport models (Two Site and Two Rate models) were implemented and validated to allow simulation of nanoparticle stabilized foam injection. An EDFM preprocessor was further developed and validated against the in-house fully implicit simulator, unstructured grid models from the literature and fine-grid models using a commercial simulator. Simulation run time was reduced by applying a porosity cut-off in the fracture cells assuming constant fracture conductivity. Validation case studies included multi-fractured wells producing through depletion and a 2D quarter five-spot production scheme (water and miscible gas injection) in NFR. We obtained a good agreement between EDFM, unstructured grid, and fine-grid models. Application case studies included 3D models under water, miscible gas and WAG injection, which confirmed the efficiency of the EDFM in modeling complex fracture networks. We used the EDFM to simulate multilateral well stimulation and we performed an automated history matching of the production data of a field test. The foam model and the nanoparticle transport models were validated against experimental data from the literature. It is concluded that the effect of fractures on hydrocarbon production depends on fracture network connectivity, which may be modeled using the EDFM preprocessor. Simulation results using mobility control EOR methods show considerable improvements in oil recovery due to a postponement in gas breakthrough.