MODELLING EOR TECHNIQUES USING ECLIPSE AND INTERSECT ALEXANDER SHADCHNEV, RESERVOIR ENGINEER TAOUFIK MANAI, RESERVOIR ENGINEERING ADVISOR SCHLUMBERGER INFORMATION SOLUTIONS

FORCE: EOR Process Modeling Workshop / 26.05.14 / Stavanger, 2014

EOR modelling Challenges

Increasing number of EOR projects

Modelling challenges

– Conversion from primary and

secondary recovery to EOR

– Difficult to set up EOR models

– Modelling scale

– Simulation run times

– Disconnected from operations

Source: Omer Gurpinar - SLB EOR Services

Integrated EOR Build a representative history matched

simulation model

Evaluate various EOR

development

scenarios

Engineering design of

facilities

Surveillance,

Monitoring and Optimisation

Rapid

updating of models

Understanding geological

complexities and uncertainties

High resolution

design

SLB simulators EOR capabilities E

OR

Chemical

Miscible Injection

Thermal

Chemical EOR Functionality

EO

R

Chemical Polymers

Surfactants

Solvents

Foams

Low salinity brine

Alkalis

Miscible Injection

Thermal

Log K

Alkaline

Surfactant

Polymer

Black Oil

Compositional

Miscible Injection EOR Functionality E

OR

Chemical

HC Gas

CO2

Others

Miscible Injection

Thermal

Black Oil

Compositional

Thermal EOR Functionality E

OR

Chemical

CSS

SAGD

ISC

VAPEX

Miscible Injection

Thermal

Black Oil

Compositional

EOR modelling – An incremental approach

EOR Black Oil: Add few keywords in tabular form

EOR Compositional: Add complexity when required

Start: Primary / secondary history matched model

2000 Polymer,

surfactant: 1990

Brine: 1991

WAG: before

1993

Temperature,

Thermal: 1995

CO2 solubility

in water: 1997

1990

Solids:

2003

Hysteresis 1984

Black Oil:

Low Salinity, Alkaline, Foam,

extensions to Polymer, Multi-

Component Brine, Temperature

Compositional:

Improvements to miscible flood, CO2,

Thermal;

Chemical Reactions, Water

components, Asphaltenes,

2008 2013

Continuous improvement

2014 Compositional:

Surfactant/Foam

Polymer

WAG INTERSECT Thermal Polymer Tracer

Simulators functionality development

NEW EOR functionality in 2013

Surfactant in compositional – Compatible with foam

Polymer Enhancements – Salinity dependent adsorption

– Cell based permeability reduction

– Temperature dependent permeability reduction

– Improved rheology model

– Simplified gel workflow

WAG improvements

Surfactant model in ECLIPSE 300 (new in 2013) Same effects as in the E100 surfactant model

reduction of oil-water IFT

wettability modification

Surfactant is a water component

Rock-fluid interaction via reactions

e.g. adsorption

Can be run in

Black-oil

Compositional K-values

Compositional EOS

So water flood

So surfactant

Multicomponent Water, Solids, Reactions Reach and flexible functionality

components change viscosity and density of water

components can react

in particular, water components with solids

components affect oil-water IFT

solids affect wettability

solids may block pore space

– porosity and permeability reduction

or they can dissolve and increase pore space

Temperature-Sensitive “Popping” Polymer Microgel Example technology: BrightWaterTM*

*TradeMark of Tiorco

SPE 144234: BrightWaterTM is activated by heat and time. Particles expand up to 10 times the original size; they get adsorbed and retained by the rock.

What ECLIPSE does? Polymer viscosity and residual resistance factor functions of temperature

mw = mw(Cp,T)

RRF = RRF(T)

As reservoir temperature warms the mixture, increased viscosity and

permeability reduction slows flow through thief zone

Later injection of pure water will bypass the blocked thief zone and

displace oil from low permeability regions

ECLIPSE EOR advantages

Multiple physical effects modelled

Easy transition to EOR predictions

Fast EOR screening

Add complexity if required

Results fidelity

+ CO2

+ CO2 + Polymer

FAWAG

ECLIPSE EOR Plans for 2014

Polymer in ECLIPSE black-oil

– temperature dependent adsorption

– more general rheology model

EOR in ECLIPSE compositional

– adding polymer functionality to water components

• viscosity mixing rules

• rheology

INTERSECT** Representative High Resolution

Modeling of

– Geology

– Physics

– Asset

Enabled by fast and scalable

reservoir simulation

Petrel RE simulation

environment

** Mark of Chevron, Total and Schlumberger

Fast and Scalable reservoir simulation

Fit for purpose solver

Adaptive Multi-grid solver (CPR-AMG)

Solver stability

Efficient with non-linearity

Flexible domain decomposition

Efficient allocation of work load allows

better scalability

INTERSECT EOR simulation

Full field high resolution simulation

Reduce impact of numerical dispersion

Detailed pilot design

Fast multiple realization modeling for

uncertainty management

Advanced field management logic

Single platform for every stage

EOR incremental approach

Models consistency

Transparent data transfer between

models

EOR staged modeling & evaluation

Petrel: Modeling Platform

Deployment Pilot Project Injectivity Test Detailed Analysis Preliminary

Analysis

Published SPE papers

Reservoir

Wells

Facilities

An integrated approach to solving EOR challenges