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Key Concepts in the Simulation Study of a New Green Gel System for Enhanced Oil Recovery
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 79th EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2017, Jun 2017, Volume 2017, p.1 - 5
Abstract
Numerical simulation study of water diversion by gel treatment is presented in this paper. Permeability reduction and crossflow are the main mechanisms evaluated. Permeability reduction is modelled by adsorption of gel. Slow gelation is assumed for the kinetics model to simulate the controlled release of the crosslinkers. Velocity-dependent gelation model is also applied to improve the simulation in order to avoid gel formation around the injector.The location of the high permeability streak is analysed to investigate gravity and crossflow. High permeability reduction in the thief zone, necessary to improve the recovery, was justified by observing the distribution of water resistance factor. Gel treatment is often efficient when there is significant permeability contrast, however, gel is not completely formed in the case of high crossflow between layers since some reactants are lost to the low permeability zone. Investigation of individual layers shows increased oil saturation and production rate of the high permeability layer which is due to the resaturation of this depleted layer. Effects of some injection conditions that need to be optimized when designing a treatment are studied and guidelines for selecting the best reservoir candidate and conditions of gel application are suggested.